Online Crosswords

Having completed a second month without work, I'm spending a lot more time online. To keep myself occupied while waiting for job updates or recruiter e-mails, I do crossword puzzles online.

I currently do 3 crosswords at USA Today, WebCrosswords.com, and the Los Angeles Times. I chose these 3 because they are all in the same format (edited by Timothy Parker). If I choose the "regular skill" format, the puzzle will highlight letters in red if they aren't correct.

While this isn't the bonafide way to do a crossword puzzle, my ultimate goal is to see how quickly I can complete the puzzle. On average, it takes me about 20 to 25 minutes. I love it on Sundays when the LA Times features a total of 3 puzzles: Daily, Magazine and Calendar Sunday. Magazine and Calendar Sunday are the hard ones. It usually takes me about 45 to 50 minutes to complete them.

I bet you're wondering if I've tried the New York Times crosswords. No, I haven't. First of all, they're really hard. I'm not at that skill level. Second, they're only available offline. I did try online puzzles that were published 2-5 years ago. Still too hard.

This is a good way to kill time, but like I said about not working on Black Friday, I don't want this to be permanent. I look forward to the day I won't have time to do puzzles.