Tuesday, March 31, 2009

In case of a LEGO emergency

It's always nice to have an emergency set.

I used to keep notebooks and books written by others on hand, just in case I found myself with time to spare while waiting for a meeting or an appointment. But now, I've added small LEGO sets to the mix, keeping one inside my car at all times.

It turns out that building with LEGO sets is a nice way to spend a few idle minutes, particularly when that time is elastic and you're not sure just how much time you have to kill.

I guess it's not long before I keep a spare juice box and box of crackers to make sure I don't get cranky.

Photo by Squiggle.

Friday, March 27, 2009

I need to wear shoes indoors

It was bound to happen and I'd like to pretend that it didn't hurt; but I finally understand the hullabaloo over stepping on a LEGO brick.

It really hurts. There is the sharp bite of the plastic edge digging into your foot followed by the panic impulse in your brain that is trying to stop your foot from descending further and feeling the LEGO brick sink further into your heel.

Then the pain really sets in. As you curse and hop around the room trying to massage out the pain, that's when your dog strikes. A LEGO brick on the floor is a deliciously textured treat to a canine, too sweet to be resisted. So then there is the joy of chasing your dog around the living room while hopping on one foot and trying a series of ineffectual commands.

Photo by DARKSpawn.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Digging through the slush pile

Old bricks get lost in the shuffle. It's easy to get excited by new pieces and forget the LEGO that got you to where you are today. The next set always seems like the best set. It's very alluring to keep buying and never stop to think about what you already have in stock. And that's the beauty of sorting, you start to see what you might make with the pieces you've managed to accumulate.

Old bricks are basically the slush pile- the collection of manuscripts or queries that arrive without being beckoned on the desks of agents and editors. Occasionally, you hear about great works being rescued from the slush pile- the kind of story that makes for a great movie in and of itself. But the majority of pieces in that slush pile will remain there to gather dust in a jumble of words.

Today, I'm digging through the slush pile of LEGO. It's tedious and I'm not that excited by most of the bricks I see- they came into my house as extras in a set or part of somebody else's collection. But all it takes is one gem to make it worthwhile like the sweet light blue LEGO lightsaber I just found.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

I'll sort it all out

And we're back to regularly scheduled programming...

The first major re-sort is in the midst of happening on the shelves behind me. Plastic tubs are rapidly filling up with each color. I have a lot more red, black, and light grey than I expected. I'm thinking I could make a LEGO argyle sweater.

It's hard to leave behind your initial sorting scheme, but when it becomes unwieldy for building, a man has no other choice than to dump it all out and start fresh. In the interim, there is something satisfying in having a row of shelves that look like Pick A Brick cubes in the LEGO retail stores.

Photo by Brickbuilder711.