Ending to May's Challenge

I must admit I didn't enjoy this challenge as much as I did my other challenges. I guess it's because it was not as challenging as I expected. I'm very proud that I accomplished my goal of learning seven sentences. I'll continue to learn on how to sign the alphabet and the numbers. Now on to June's Challenge.

Solving Rubik's Cube From Memory

I'm happy to announce that I can now solve the Rubik's Cube from  memory. I couldn't have done it without YouTube videos from "Math Meeting" They break it down into five videos. At times I thought it would not happen as there are a lot of steps to remember and if you fuck up one step, you get lost. I concentrated on memorizing one video at a time and along with my notes and weeks of practice, I got it. In order not to forget all of my hard work, I solve it at least once a day. While it may not be a big deal to others, it is a big deal to me. High five myself. Now enjoy my hijacks. 

Oh BTW if you wish to view the "Math Meeting" YouTube Channel here is the link to the first video. http://youtu.be/crqDdk3J-S0

Six Facts About Betsy Hearts

Six Facts About Betsy Hearts

1.  I love animals but hate bugs.

2.  Everyday I watch cartoons.

3.  I own a pink rifle.

4.  I secretly wish to visit the moon.

5.  Mess with my dogs, get your ass kicked. 

6.  I'm NYC born and bred.

Above is the sentences that I've decided to learn how to sign. I watched several YouTube videos and visited several websites, but I could not find what I was looking for. After an hour of searching for an app, I found ASL Translator. At $4.99 it has been the most expensive app, that I've ever purchased. I'm thrilled with my purchase. You can enter a single word or a sentence and it will translate it to sign language. Just what I was looking for. I've got a three part system to learning. I learn one word at a time. Then try to sign a sentence from those words. Then go to the app, enter the sentence and see if I signed it correctly. So far I've learned twenty-four words. As of this morning I've forgotten about six of them. I believe that learning to solve the Rubik's Cube from memory and learning to play Chess has exercised my brain. It has made learning sign language easier than I thought. On a side note, if I've signed anything wrong in the video, please leave in comments. Thx

May Challenge: Sign Language

I've always been intrigued by different forms of communication. I keep a list of different languages I want to learn and one of them is sign language. I remember when I was in the sixth or seventh grade I checked out a sign language book from the library. I was planning on teaching myself. I learned the alphabet, how to introuce myself and how are you?. I only remember some of the alphabet and how to introduce myself. Now that we live in the wonderful world of Youtube, it's going to be much easier than learning from a book. We are all guilty of using our hands to communicate. Peace, f**k u, I love you, etc... At one time or another we have used one of the above hand signs. BTW, had to leave the pic with my puppy. I set the camera and didn't realize he had photobombed me. What makes the picture even cutier is that I'm saying "I love you". Okay back to my May Challenge; Sign Language. The plan is to learn seven sentences. Why seven? Because it's my favorite number. What sentences? Don't know yet. I plan on watching videos and the sentences will come to me. Now off I go to cuddle with my puppies. 

One Last Win

Since my last chess post, I only won one more game, until last night. It was scary on how it played out. It was late, so I opted to play only one game before going to bed. As usual I lost the match. I felt a bit defeated because here it was the last day of my challenge, I should go out with a win. I asked hubby can we play again. I won!! I didn't tell him that I had felt defeated but just to be safe, I asked "did you let me win?". He looked as if I had insulted him. He would never let me win. I won with two minutes to spare in the month. I've had a blast with this challenge. Chess will now be part of my entertainment life. I have not plans on putting the set away.  I need to work on my strategies and will continue to play everyday.

While cleaning out my recycling basket, I found my chess notes. Excuse the misspelled words. I write quickly during class and then rewrite later on. I thought it would be more detailed, but it barely took up a whole page. My hubby is an excellent teacher. He made learning chess fun. I enjoy our matches. Will I ever be as good as him? Only time will tell.