Jigsaw falling into place

Last Friday I passed Basement Books, which is a bookstore that is partially underground. You pass it on the way to the train station, so it’s in a rather busy place. It’s a busy place itself though – people like to go there and see what books are on sale (everything!) as well as the stationery and other things.

I was a bit early to class that Friday morning so I took some time to browse the store. I saw a sign that read, “When was the last time you did it?”

In small print underneath, it said, “A jigsaw puzzle, that is.”

This caught my eye, particularly because finishing a jigsaw puzzle is one of the things on my 101 in 1001 list. I wasn’t that specific in my goal, but I usually do try to give myself a challenge. :D I noticed that these puzzles all had a thousand pieces and there were many different pictures. I couldn’t decide, and I realised I would be late for class if I didn’t hurry up. I wasn’t all that sure if I wanted a puzzle either, but the $4.95 price tag was tempting. I thought about it as I walked up the escalator.

I messaged James later and asked him to please get me a box. I’m glad I asked him, because I knew he’d make a good choice. I would have stood around trying to pick the prettiest picture. James chose one that was not only pretty (a garden with lots of colourful flowers) but also difficult. Because of all the greens in the garden, it would make it a difficult puzzle. James told me that the girl at the checkout said, “The greens will make your head spin.”

Funnily enough, when I lugged it to work after class later that morning, my boss said, “Hmm. This is going to be hard because of all the green.” I already spent time during my break at work to do some of the puzzle, and I got a whole pink blob of flowers put together in the puzzle.

I didn’t take the puzzle home since I was going to the Grates’ show that evening, and I thought that since I already started the puzzle I should finish it at work. Today I worked on it some more, but it was so hard to stop myself and draw myself away from it. I must have spent an hour picking through the pieces and putting it together. I can’t stop thinking about it. 😰 I have a large corner done, and nearly the whole bottom edge. My boss said I was going to run out of room soon. 😢

I’ll have to move some of my stuff off my desk. I’ve never been so attached to a jigsaw puzzle. Come to think of it, I wasn’t really a fan of jigsaw puzzles when I was younger. I don’t think I’ve done one for at least ten years. Every time I saw a jigsaw puzzle at a yard/garage sale or at the discount store, I cringed. They were almost like my worst nightmare – something time consuming, uninteresting, and plain horrifying. Now I’m enjoying this one puzzle I have.

I’ve never done a puzzle that big. A thousand pieces seemed insane to me when I was in high school. I never imagined I’d ever be interested in jigsaw puzzles. I’m aiming to finish the puzzle by the end of next week, working on it only when I’m at work.

A week of intense work and university has passed. Four evenings and nights of classes, and work from the morning until the afternoon. It has left me very busy, but I’m not stressed out. I just have less time for hobbies, and I spent nearly the whole weekend studying and doing homework. Thirteen weeks to go, then first semester ends. It can’t be too bad. I can totally do this. Two of my subjects are pretty similar and some topics sort of overlap, so that’s a good thing.

My third subject is Enterprise Computing, which sounds dull and technical as hell, but I hope I can get my head around it all and memorise everything. My fourth subject this semester is Interactive Arts, which is project-based, so it won’t be too bad. I guess I have a good weighting of all my subjects. I am a bit worried about next semester because I think the subjects I’m taking have a greater workload, but that’s all to worry about then. ;)

Comments on this post

i love jigsaw puzzles ♥ i usually take them on holiday with me in case of rainy days, the recent one that i have is a Robert Pattison one, I’m going to try build it this December holidays, wish me luck lol. how big is your puzzle (how many pieces)?
doesnt your boss mind you building a jigsaw puzzle at work? you have such a cool boss.
dont stress hun you will kick ass in your subjects if you continue the way you are

I haven’t done a jigsaw in ages! Not since a kid I think!
Hope your classes go well.

(PS: Loving your new layout!)

I used to love doing jigsaw puzzles. I have a specific way of starting them, too. I have to piece together the entire border before I even start working on the insides. I haven’t done one for (like you) damn near ten years, though, but now I’m thinking about doing one again. I’ll wait until my mom moves into my house, I know she owns some puzzles so I’ll do one of hers. :)

Jigsaw puzzles are awesome! They are extremely satisfying when you see a completed puzzle. The 1000 piece ones are usually especially good. I will admit, though, that areas of grass, water, and clear sky, although stunning in nature, are a bitch when placed in a jigsaw puzzle. Good luck!

Jigsaw puzzles are amazing. The last time I did one was sometime last year with five of my friends. It was only a 500pc one, but we wanted to finish it in a couple of hours. :P

Good luck with your courses, by the way! Juggling school and work is super hard, but it’s also amazing because at the end of the day cuz you feel like you’ve been super productive!

I don’t usually comment on your blog entries, but I always read them and they’re a bit like a guilty pleasure. I love how you always find joy in the simplest things in life. ♥

I’ve never done a jigsaw puzzle this big, so I honestly didn’t know what to expect! I’m glad I’m enjoying it though.

Thank you so much for dropping by. ♥ It’s for about a year now that I’ve been trying to stay positive and find the good things in each day – and you know what they say, the little things make life great. :)

The last time I ever tried to do jigsaw puzzles was like around 2009 when my mom sent me two boxes, both with 300 small pieces. It was time consuming, but I gotta admit, I forgot about the time whenever I put it all together. I would complete the picture, break it into pieces, and put it together again. I guess I just had too much free time. Haha! I bet yours will look really pretty when it’s done since it has 1000 pieces. Goodluck! ✌️

Your boss is pretty cool to let you do it at work ;) Where do you work, by the way? :)

Lol funny name for a bookstore. Plenty of stores in the city here that are partially underground! Lmao was that title supposed to have other meanings? I guess I’m not as prude-y as I think I am.

I saw the picture of your puzzle on Twitter. I’m surprised you got so much done already! I don’t think I’d be able to because I suck at these things. I don’t even know how people can handle 1000 piece ones!!!

That’s cool you have room at work for a puzzle lmao. I’m remembering my job and I wouldn’t be able to. How do you plan on taking that home though? If you do eventually.

You officially have my brother’s life in graduate school. Except he works on weekends too, don’t ask me when the hell he studied and did homework. Don’t get too stressed out! *hug* Hopefully you still have a little time for hobbies or relaxation.

I’ve literally given up my hobbies and I don’t even work. I just have class 3-4 hours a day but I’m at the U all day and by the time I’m free it’s bedtime if I want 6-7 hours of sleep. And my classes are supposed to be easy since it’s only my first year.

I love your new theme! And how you have a little icon related to the post for each post! At least I think you do, I haven’t browsed through everything yet.

Oh man, I haven’t done a jigsaw puzzle in years! I liked them when I was younger though, and my family even had the 3D ones. I remember that, oftentimes, the kitchen floor was the only flat area large enough to do the puzzles XD

A puzzle of a garden does sound hard though, especially if a lot of the pieces look the same. Good luck with it and with your classes!

Ho U. You and your Puzzo. I’m glad you like it :B
and it does seem fun. I might get one myself sometime

But really now, put it away at work. /sweatzuzu

(Y)

Wow, my self-imposed internet boycott made me miss out on a lot of stuff! I know it’s incredibly late, but I’m really loving your layout. I love the cleanliness and simplicity of it. It’s just so pleasing to the eye. That’s definitely my aesthetic: simple and clean. Fantastic job, Georgie!

I know what you mean about jigsaw puzzles. I’ve never really been into them either, but once I get started I HAVE to finish it. I don’t like seeing it undone. I think there’s a relaxing quality to it, too. I never get frustrated with it. I don’t know why. When you finish your puzzle, how about a picture of the finish work?

Hmm, I’m wishing I still had a “week of intense work and university”. I miss being busy. Busy, but not stressed. I think I thrive well in that environment. I took a break from it all when I started getting super stressed, but now I’m ready to jump back into the fray!

That place sounds really cool. I really wish we had some bookstores instead of chains such as Barnes and Nobles. My friends really love used book stores and they said they found a good one but it’s far away. I would love to get books and everything there on sale! It sounds like an awesome deal :D

I never thought of having puzzles on my list of stuff to do, but then again I do not have a list. Maybe I should make one, however I do have a mental one. I think that it was good you asked James to pick it out! That really helps because I know I would be standing there gazing at the pretty pictures lol. Also this will give you a great way to bond even more-I mean if you let him work with you! lol The last time I finished a puzzle must have been years ago. I think it was before and after school care in Elementary school. The person in charge of us use to LOVE puzzles. She had a “roll up/carry on” for her puzzles so that everything was in tack and you could move it. Puzzles are fun overtime and with patients. 1,000 pieces seem a lot so good luck to you :D

This may sound bad, but sometimes I don’t write stuff because I don’t want to cause a huge controversial storm. I don’t feel like arguing or getting into heated debates on blogs. I just don’t see the point in it.

Yea that is what everyone is saying to me about university. It is what YOU make out of it. I want to make the best out of it. I am just nervous and anxious at once lol Some of my friends are making rash decisions about college. Some of them early decision (which is a binding agreement and you need lawyers to get out of it), while others applied and paid their deposit within the first week. I realized there is no perfect school, just a lot of great schools. I believe high school is very important too in life. I don’t get how people hate it so much, I think it’s good to experience it because even if it’s bad we all grow for it. Hopefully we grow for the better though.

well I wasn’t sure if they were called Masters lol I know education is different depending on the country. Good luck getting your masters! I asked what you wanted to do because I have friends doing communications and they want to work in non-profit organizations with women rights and another wants to be a sport journalist. I was just curious to see where your interest lies.

It took me ages to read this post because I just kept singing Jigsaw Falling into Place! The best song off In Rainbows!

You’ve made me what to do a jigsaw so much now! I didn’t even think about how the colours would make it difficult, but it must be hard to see linking patterns in so much green! I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate in work at all with it, but to be honest, they would hide most of the piece where I work and watch me get cross…..

I hope you can finish it! You’ll get a proper sense of achievement and you’ve got something off your list! It’ll be great!

Inteactive Arts sounds SO fun!

So when you get finished with the puzzle, will you glue it together and put in a frame? I’m seriously wondering about that. Lol

I’m not the biggest fan of puzzles honestly or even jigsaw puzzles just because of the space and time consuming it can be and I get frustrated very easily as well.

I’m glad you are enjoying it ;D

Oh I used to love playing jigsaw puzzles. It’s something I got from my mom. In fact, when I was in Year 9, my homeroom teacher gave my then bestfriend and I a box of puzzle to do in the classroom. It took us 8 months to complete (we were only doing a few pieces at one time!) but it was real fun.

That’s such a cool boss you got. :)

Aww man, I miss school. :'( I know it probably sounds crazy to some people, but I do miss working on assignments now that I’m done with all that. But good luck with yours, I’m sure you’ll do a good job like usually do.

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My sister said the same thing about the original Hpnotic Poison. She said it’s the kind of smell associated with mature, sophisticated women, But personally I think just about anyone can wear it, it’s just a matter of whether you have the money to buy it or not. :)

I haven’t done a Jigsaw puzzle in a year or two. I kind of grew up doing them with my grandma – since she was in a wheelchair there wasn’t much she could do with us. I always look at puzzles when I’m in a store because I do want to get a new one to start. We have a new store in our mall that’s all board games and puzzles.

Garden & sky puzzles are always the headache ones. Though I’ve seen one that was a bunch of buttons spilled out.

I used to love doing jigsaw puzzles! We had a ton in our closet, and there would be some days that I would take all of them out (there were probably like fifteen) and I would see if I could do them all in one day. :P

I think the largest one I had ever done was a 1,000 peice one. It took me and my mom about three weeks to complete. When we were done we realized we had lost a few pieces. :( That’s always a bummer, getting so far just to realize you lost a few pieces and it’s not really complete. So don’t lose any pieces! Have fun finishing it!

This makes me want to do a puzzle now. :)

When you finish the puzzle, you should try and glue it together and frame it as an accomplishment. :D

I could never put a 1000 piece puzzle together, it would drive me insane, lol. I would have to use one of those puzzles with the giant pieces, like a kiddy puzzl. lol

I read your email and I’ve decided that me getting another website isnt the right thing to do just yet. So I’m just going to stick with Penzu for right now. Sometimes I have things to get off my chest that I would rather not have people read about.

But I do greatly appreciate you emailing me back and giving me your advice/suggestions.

Thanks. :D

I just might! I haven’t actually thought about what I’m going to do with the puzzle when I’m done. A frame that large would probably be pretty expensive.

Oh it’s up to you entirely, but I am glad I could help. :) I completely understand.