The Story of How I Made A Little Green Friend

When I met Cubebot in the summer of 2013 at a local gadget store, little did I know that we would become inseparable.

Back then, I played with him a few times until the rush of life (and my tidiness) had me put him back nicely in my closet drawer. But not before I spent hours trying to figure out how to fold him back into a cube. (There are YouTube videos for that now and the recently launched Cubebot website provides quick tutorials.)

And so, Cubebot stayed in the drawer until January 2016, when I took him out for an animated video I made for an animation course I was taking. And we’ve stayed close ever since, perhaps all the more so because I realized that Cubebot helps me cope and live with the depression I fell into last year. He occupies my mind and keeps me focused when I get him to do one of his tricks, instead of me being overwhelmed by my troubling memories of what triggered the depression, and thoughts of self-hate, guilt, and worthlessness.

Now, Cubebot’s become my good friend and companion. He’s always in my backpack. While on a work trip to Dakar in April 2016, I had some time for myself. So I went with Cubebot to explore the city. On Gorée Island, a small island off the coast of Dakar, a local artisan was intrigued by Cubebot when he saw me folding him for a photo op. So I told him that I can move Cubebot’s limbs because of his elastic-band muscles. He liked what he saw. “Would you trade it for one of my artifacts?” he asked with a smile.

I kindly rejected his offer. I couldn’t part with Cubebot. I didn’t want to be alone. Perhaps neither did Cubebot. “I guess Cubebot wants to be more bot, less cube,” one of my friends said when I told her my story with my little green pal.

See all the antics and adventures of Cubebot in this gallery. Or click here to see the album on Flickr.