I have never been adept at jigsaw puzzles, but I decided to give it another try after reading “Why Jigsaw Puzzles are Good for the Brain”. According to this article, some of the immediate benefits in assembling a jigsaw puzzle include alertness, an increase in concentration and an expansion of creativity.

The article also suggests that working on jigsaw puzzles for longer periods will “induce a certain calmness and peace of mind.” It even promised that the activity would lower breath rate, reduce heart rate and reduce blood pressure.

Lies, I tell you! Lies!

I had tried to assemble a 500 piece puzzle using a systematic approach. A slow, painful approach that had me grumbling unprintable words and glaring at the picture on the box. I also found that you can make any two puzzle pieces fit if you force it.

Did I finish the puzzle? No. I didn’t even finish the corners. I gave it all of 30 minutes before I chucked the puzzle back in the box.

I know an Artist’s Date is supposed to get you out of your comfort zone, but this one was too challenging for me!

A lot of people recommend cooking new recipes for Artist’s Dates. I decided to give that a try this week. I’m not familiar with Asian cuisine so I chose to cook a few traditional items for Chinese New Year.

Shopping for ingredients was a bit of a journey. I made quite a few mistakes! And why is it so hard to find mirin, the cooking wine? Most importantly, why was I carded when I bought a bottle at the grocery store? I was more bewildered than flattered.

One recipe I was hesitant to make was the jien duy. They are balls made of sweet dough, rolled in sesame seeds and fried until golden brown. I didn’t know how they should look or taste. While I was making the dough I thought that this had better not be a waste of my time.

And then I paused. How many times had I worked on an idea that didn’t sell? How many times had I written a story and decided it wasn’t ready to send out? While these books never made it to the shelves it doesn’t mean that it was a waste of my time to write them. I learn by doing.

The same goes with cooking. I’m always learning how to cook or improve a recipe by doing. I learn from trying new techniques, discovering new cuisines and stumbling on the occasional happy accident. There have been plenty inedible mistakes throughout the years, and there were plenty of complicated recipes that ultimately I didn’t like. Doesn’t matter. Those experiences helped me become a more confident and competent cook.

Oh, and the jien duy? Imperfect but delicious.

I’m a contemporary romance reader. I don’t care if the story is sweet, spicy, short or gigantic as long as it’s a romance and it’s based in today’s world. The problem is, when you have a steady diet of one genre, you become firmly entrenched in your comfort zone.

There are a few authors I turn to when I want a comfort read, but the familiar isn’t going to spark or strengthen my creativity. So this week I decided to spend my Artist’s Date reading a book I normally wouldn’t. I went for young adult dystopia.

That’s right. I read The Hunger Games.

I enjoyed the book but I have to admit it wasn’t a comfortable read. Not because of the violence or the action. It was because my reader expectations had to be put aside for a different genre. For example, I liked Peeta, but I wasn’t sure if I should become emotionally invested in the character in case he died.

Has reading the book helped my creativity? I don’t know yet. There were moments when I was caught up in the story and there were times when I was aware in how the author handled flashbacks and world-building. (Occupational hazard, I guess.) I haven’t had an “Aha!” moment or felt inspired to write something, but inspiration comes in all forms and in different timetables.

If you plan to reading outside your comfort zone for your next Artist’s Date, I recommend that you get a book everyone is talking about. That way you know you’re a reading a good example of its genre even if you don’t know the genre’s rules. Read a phenomenal bestseller like Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Help, The Hunger Games, The Kite Runner, The Lovely Bones, The Time Traveler’s Wife or Twilight.