Simpler Times

Remember the days when we quickly arose out of bed, ran downstairs and turned on the television just as Power Rangers was beginning. Mom would bring us a bowl of cereal or some form of breakfast and we would just sit back and enjoy the good life. (I can’t think of a time when my mother ever had a bowl of cereal waiting for me, but my good old days memory is of the show Pinky and the Brain.) Well fast forward about 15 years and oh how much things have changed. Jobs, taxes, school, homework, essays, groceries, rent, all of these things we didn’t even comprehend as we were growing up.  They’re here now and in some ways we welcome the present, but also in other ways we can honestly say we miss the simpler times.  The things that motivate us now, the things that encourage a smile across our faces have drastically changed since the times we were all younger.  Remember the times though when the simplest thing made us happy. This became very apparent to the two of us as we observed at the Purdue football game against Ball state, just shy over a week ago…

                My friends and I had decided it would be a cool idea to have our parents and other family members come up, down, etc for the game.  There were roughly 18-20 of us piled around a table outside our apartment eating, drinking, and enjoying the weather leading up to the game.  As we arrived at the stadium the parents sat in their respective seats and the students sat in theirs. At halftime Nick and I decided to join my parents in the end zone, row eight, prime seating position.  These seats were excellent all except for one big, or rather “small” thing. We were right behind a large group, of young, future cheerleaders.  Now readers (males) you may be thinking to yourself, “doesn’t sound too bad” well let me assure you they were very young. I’m going to estimate the group ranged from ages six to probably about fifteen.  Therefore, these girls were obnoxious, loud, immature, and yet they were extremely entertaining much to our surprise.  Little did we know that in roughly sixty minutes of sitting behind them we would have our second blog topic, courtesy of the young ladies themselves.

The atmosphere of our perspective changed almost minute by minute as we sat behind these cheerleaders of the future.  The first impressions we had of them was when the coach of these young ladies was handing out cheese puffs and candy.  We saw before our eyes these sweet, young girls transform into crazed, starved creatures.  The girls forgot about having fun or watching the game and switched every ounce of their energy towards acquiring those snacks.  I really can’t say I blame them.  I remember the snacks after tee ball practice. They were literally the best and by far the highlight of the day.( I just could not help contemplating that in a few years that instead of candy, these  young ladies would be clamoring for alcohol, and yes while an unfounded generalization I am sure they would somehow try to get free drinks.)   I think it is fair to say we envied these girls as we were quite hungry ourselves. I honestly considered reaching over when they weren’t looking and grabbing a few of the treats myself. Luckily at our age we are well schooled in the art of composure and resisting at least some temptations.

Now don’t think for a second the fun ended here. On the contrary it was just getting interesting.  Out of the corner of our eyes we saw an inflatable beach ball being battered high into the sunny sky.  As the girls noticed this feat happening, yells of joy and exuberance rang out into the pleasant September air.  At this point the clouds seemed to cover the sun, the crowd quieted and the hairs on the back of our necks rose.  Something was amiss, that was obvious.  We could feel it deep in our bones.  We looked at each other, then up at the sky, then back at each other (well that part may not have happened) and then we saw what was wrong.  It was not a screaming lunatic streaker, large spider or even a snake, but rather one of earth’s smaller insects.  Yes, that is correct readers, it was a bee.  A bee had just entered the bleachers.  The squeals of laughter quickly turned into loud, fearful screams of panic.  Gone were the fond memories of cheese puffs and beach toys.  Gone were the smiles and moments of delight.  A bee had single handedly ruined the game for these young ladies.  Now we must admit as these cheerleaders were swatting, fleeing and yelling, we were clapping, smiling and laughing at their plight.  (Now I was a little more reserved as I am supposedly allergic to bees, however I also realize yelling or shrieking will not do anything but annoy every one.) Eventually the dreadful bee flew on to torment other sections of the stadium.  We assumed our entertainment for the day was gone but ohhhh were we wrong.

A magnificent play was unfolding on the field, our QB has just stepped back to deliver a deep pass. As the pass was flying the receiver was promptly covered by two of the opposing team members. The pass plummeted down and right onto the shoulder of the opposing player. And then as if by some magic happenstance or the properties of footballs, the ball bounced. The ball bounced right out of his outstretched arms and into our receivers hands, the fast forward button was hit, with the opposing players some how knocking each other down. Our receiver is running and easily makes it into the end zone. It is after this play that the one and only mascot of Purdue comes vaulting over.  Like a knight shining in black and gold Purdue Pete showed up a mere row away, and thusly the young maidens flocked.  Back were the yells of excitement; back were the bouts of unconstrained giddiness.  We could only look on in amazement at the scene unfolding before our eyes.  What we saw before us was something straight out of a motion picture.  Girls were running, jumping, diving, and earnestly looking for their pom-poms. (I mean everyone knows you can’t take a picture with a sports mascot unless you have your trusty pom-poms at the ready and at attention.)  They launched themselves on Pete in a clearly volatile manner as Pete could only look on in utter terror (or so we could only assume.)  His dead eyes gave no clear indication to his true emotion.   Before Pete could blink an eye he was enveloped into a circle of young cheerleaders, who wanted nothing more in life at that moment than to get a photo with their knight.  Satisfied with their victory they quickly left his side and returned back to their phones, cheese puffs, and knock off purses. (You are asking yourselves right now, “how can two guys who barely know their own fashion, tell the difference with purses?”… We know this to be true because these girls were very young and have not been immersed into the world of Coach as of yet.)  It was at this point of our adventure when the fun ended, and we left the stadium to head home back to our adult lives.

Throughout this afternoon we were reminded just how much things have changed from the time we were kids to the age of adulthood.  We are no longer as eagerly motivated by cheese puffs, or bags of candy.  We don’t squeal in unrestrained delight at the sight of a college mascot.  We don’t retreat in horror at the sight or sound of a bee.  All of these things considered, and we still couldn’t help but look on in amusement and wonderment.  While there were great moments witnessed during this afternoon, it is hard to imagine we would trade our current lives for the simpler times.

Bending the Truth

Necessary vs. Amusing

                Now we have all grown up being taught or at least hopefully being taught it’s generally frowned upon to lie. Whether it’s fibbing about skipping class or all out telling your mom you were not smoking marijuana last night it’s never a great idea to lie.  Usually such phrases as “It always comes back to haunt you in the end” and “What goes around comes around” are tossed about. We could go on and on listing famous sayings and quotes concerning the matter of lying. There is a very clear distinction between lying and bending the truth.  Lying can hurt your friendships, your relationships, even your own self if you get into the habit.   That’s why we don’t lie. We bend the truth.  We believe bending the truth is not only necessary at times, but also highly amusing as well.   When one bends the truth no real harm is inflicted on either party. No one loses sleep or feels slighted after the interaction. Deciphering the difference can sometimes be tricky but more times than not you can usually tell.  When in doubt just remember the highly popular, highly inspirational words of wisdom, “what would Nick and Alex do?”  After reading some of our short stories below we believe you will be able to see why it is fun, and sometimes necessary to bend the truth in certain situations.

Amusing

"I have a glass eye"

(Alex)

Now before I begin this fairly short but exhilarating (for me anyway) tale I would first like to say that I do not find it funny to have a missing eye, or any limb, or other disability. With that being said I shall continue.  I was at a small get together last year before heading to the bars for the night and we were playing quarters and having a nice relaxing time. I glance over to the side and see a small group of very attractive females, my age, my type.  I initiate conversation and its going semi-fine (she wasn’t interested) when a great idea came into my head. “Tell her you have a glass eye” So at some point in the conversation I slip in the undeniable fact that I have a glass eye and she shouldn’t be mean to me because of it.  Now she wasn’t buying it at first but I stuck to my guns and persisted.  I continued staring deeply into her eyes and I could tell she was staring back into my eye.  I perceived she still wasn’t buying it so I offered to remove it and have her hold it. At this point I think I won her over and I could tell she was starting to feel badly for doubting me and my glass eye. (Now to take a moment to boast, this girl was extremely attractive, I had never met her before and my opening line had something to do with me have one eye… I think a pat on the back is well deserved for this feat.) I suppose in my heart I knew nothing was going to come from this bending of the truth, yet I thought it would be extremely fun to try and pull such an outrageous attempt.   Unfortunately nothing materialized with this unknown beauty and my friends and I left the house and went on to cause further mischief into the night.

                                             “I’m President Cordova’s son”

(Alex)

              Now for those of you who don’t know, President France A. Cordova is Purdue University’s president. She makes well into the six figures, attended Stanford University, was born in France and happens to be my mother… at least that’s what I like to tell people from time to time.  My favorite pastime over the last year has been to convince people that I am in fact the president’s son. I don’t do this because it always works, or because people take pictures with me (that has happened) or because people buy me drinks… I do this because it’s extremely fun and always a challenge to see how well you can sell a completely false and foreign fabrication.  I’m an extremely competitive person, and to me, convincing someone you are a “famous” person’s son is a challenge, a goal, and ultimately it’s not hurting anyone, so let the games begin.

Now right off the bat it’s hard to convince someone I am her son. Right around 95% of people think I am lying.   I start off by talking about where she is traveling this weekend which usually results in someone either overhearing me and asking, “are you really her son”, or staring at me in deep bewilderment. Usually I have to be well dressed and have a sound game plan.  Having a solid smile and look of confidence will go a long way I have learned.  When people begin to doubt me I usually start spitting out facts such as where she was born, birthday, university attended, etc.  Most of the time these facts are not facts at all, but if you can say them with conviction, most people will buy into it, at least partially anyway.  At this point I have officially become Alex Cordova. Now most people will pull the same old trick time after time. They usually request to see my license, which obviously reads Alex Dehr.  That’s fine. I’m prepared for that. “My mom didn’t take my dad’s name, for obvious reasons.” That is usually my reply or at least something close to that. Most people have no idea what her husband’s name is. If you can tell me off the top of your head, a beer is in your future, courtesy of Alex Cordova.   Now in reality Mrs. Cordova really didn’t take her husband’s name so this does make my story somewhat more believable.  Sometimes this works, like the time a few ladies requested to take a picture with me, (a request I obviously granted) Then again, sometimes it doesn’t.  Usually depends on how I respond to their questions.   Ultimately engaging in this little venture of bending the truth really doesn’t hurt anyone and for that reason alone I find worth and amusement in it.

                                                         Necessary

(Nick)

Much like most men of the college age, I have spent my share of nights in the bars. Now while there I do mostly two activities drink and flirt with women.  I like to think I am skillful enough to not totally ruin a woman’s evening with my talking. I remember one such evening when I eventually got around to chatting a fine lady up, I must say my conversation was not too appalling because it must of lasted fifteen minutes. Eventually it got to the moment when she wanted to know “what my major is”. I must say I hate this question and always toy with how to respond. This time of course I decided on truth.  “I am in nuclear engineering.”  Barely before I finish uttering those words, she gets up and vanishes. I have now learned my lesson, at bars your major is never the truth or at least mines not. “I am in management.”

 Now my work often takes me gallivanting to the great state of Pennsylvania, specifically the Pittsburgh area. One weekend evening some of my friends and I from work went out to the bowling alley. The main cashier was a damsel. I use the word damsel for the simple reason that she was a beautiful lady seemingly out of place in such a dump. The moment came which I feared. “ What size shoe do you need?” she asked with a hint of pout behind the lips. Do I respond with the true size or uncomfortably bowl the rest of the evening. I decide to proceed with the actual size and the hint of pout becomes a snicker. My friends are laughing. She asks hesitantly “Really?”  “Yes” in the sternest of manners.  Without being coarse I am sure my dilemma is quite apparent. Unfortunately, in
today’s lewd society there is a misleading connotation with shoe size. Thus I am whatever shoe size you want missy. 

and Suit Night was born…

For the most part it is discouraged and looked down upon for guys to dress up too much when going to the bars.  So like all standards or norms Dehr and I decided to “suit up” one Friday evening and observe the reactions of our fellow peers.  Now this is partially homage to Barney, a quick witted, well dressed, and undeniable ladies man off of the popular CBS television show “How I met your Mother.”  We also decided it was just a brilliant idea in general. 

So to not appear as complete “tools” we decided an appropriate back-story was a must.   We toyed with the ideas of a funeral, wedding, etc. Eventually after some refinement the waters parted, the heavens shown bright, revealing to us the perfect scenario.   As we made our way out this lovely evening we were bombarded much quicker than expected with the foreseen question, “why are you guys so dressed up?”  To which we responded with veiled smiles and a dash of arrogance, “our friend just had a wedding rehearsal in Indianapolis, and we just got back.”  We held true to this deception throughout the evening with only a few mistakes by Nick telling the inquirers we had come from a reception rather than a rehearsal.  With a smile and a quick pat on the head, they quickly forgot any discontinuity between the stories.

To sum up our first post we would both like to make it very clear that we do not advocate nor embrace lying.  We simply wished to heartedly express our opinion surrounding the undeniable fact that bending the truth is both necessary and amusing in certain situations.  If accomplished with great poise and skill no party is hurt, or feels affronted.

A little Extra

                To comment on some general maintenance issues we wanted to address a couple things.  In order for you to be updated on our most recent postings, or add a comment of your own, you can simply click on the “follow” tab located on the right hand margin of our blog. Doing this will ask you to sign in using your gmail account information.  For those of you who do not wish to follow us or do not have gmail you can check our site throughout the week for general updates involving movies, drink specials, Purdue sports, etc. Every Monday morning we will have a new, full blog topic posted and ready to go.  Sometimes we will even have two posts up during one week.  Once again to all of our readers thank you for checking our blog out, and keep tuning in throughout the week and every Monday.

Our Humble Beginnings

In case you don’t know Nick:

   I first met Nick Powell three years ago in Tarkington Hall. We didn’t really know each other or spend time together until our spring semester of 2010. It was just recently however that we actually started to interact with each other. Nick is a guy who within five minutes you grow to love him. He has a unique sense of humor and a great outlook on life. Although when you are talking to him he is obviously smarter than you( don’t fight it, I don’t care who you are, he is smarter) he doesn’t make you feel like you are inferior. He’s not condescending, arrogant or rude. One of the best qualities about Nick is his inability to say “no” to a drink. I’m not talking about going to the bars and being kicked out because we’ve had too much, just a simple relaxing drink. Many times in the last few weeks I have often finished one of our blog sessions with a “wanna grab a drink?” Every time to my delight and amusement he replied with a “where?” and then a resounding YES! I believe we share a common love for comedy, although at times it seems I have to work much harder to achieve success than he. Nick reminds me of George Costanza from Seinfeld. I will say however that I find Nick to be much brighter, interesting and even funnier, which is quite a compliment coming from me. I enjoy conversing with him as he often supplies viewpoints I had not even fathomed. He has become a very good friend and I am very excited to be undertaking this project with him. If you sit down with him one on one for more than five minutes you will know exactly what I mean. Now before you start to think I am getting mushy all you need do is tune in for some of our blogs and you will quickly notice I am anything but mushy. I simply wish to provide credit when it is due.



In case you don’t know Alex:

   As the story goes I met Alex freshman year of college. I won’t say I really knew him then; however I do remember some spectacular intramural experiences involving him soaring and diving to catch a Frisbee in an Ultimate Frisbee tourney. I would say we really met Spring of 2010 and it is to then I will project my memories. Alex is one of those men that takes up a room. Sometimes he smashes you against the wall but for the most part his presence just radiates throughout. Holy cow does this sound homosexual (not that there's anything wrong with that). Anyways, Alex is what I call a storyteller he has lived and done the adventures or misdeeds others scoffed at. Alex takes you for who you are; whatever your troubles he has the bags and door and will escort, wherever it is you’re trying to get.

    I also am not going to sugar coat it, Alex is loud. He is the man at the bars that everyone else not in his party is pissed at. Yet for those that enjoy his presence the uproar is cacophonous. He is not embarrassed by himself and is perfectly content to carry on. You know stuff is going to go down when you are with Alex. If it is him defending a woman’s honor or merely yelling at the nearest douchebags, you are assured that the results will provide a tale of humor for many nights. And I firmly believe that Alex has the best intentions in mind, others just don’t know how to appreciate or accept his methods of going about them. When something catches Dehr’s attention he goes all out. Whether that is working out or just having a great time, he persists even when the crackling of lightning suggests the end is nigh. Dehr is his word, if he honestly commits, he does it. His recent pact to not eat McDonalds for a month comes to mind.

Our Intent & Purpose

     It was a Thursday night at 9:30 pm and we were enjoying some drinks with our friends at the Neon Cactus, Purdue’s largest bar. I look over and Nick was fist pumping to some Jason Derulo song or something and it was at this point that I realized he and I needed to write a blog. He was obliterated and the cactus was not even half full yet, and once more, IT was 9:30 pm…<Its here that I must interject. While I may have been on the train to obliteration, it was purely cause our group was playing a drinking card game and for some odd reason decided to pin practically every drink on myself>. I brought the idea up with Nick the next night at Jakes and we both seemed to think it was a great idea. Several days later and “Necessary Amusement” was born (I must give full credit on the creation of the name to Mr. Nick Powell) We’re both completely different people. Nick is in nuclear engineering with a 3.9 g.p.a, and I’m an aspiring cop with a 2.6 in law and society. Two completely different people with basically the same sense of humor, different walks of life, and different friends for the most part. We do enjoy each others company and humor and we thought we could make this blog work and make it entertaining. And yet we boil down to the same ingredients. A man just trying to chase his dreams and the woman close by.

    If you’re like the two of us you have your favorite websites that you visit several times throughout the day. We soon get to that point where the same old websites become just that, the same old websites. There’s only so many times a day we can stand getting on fb, or espn, or texts from last night, or charloutte rouse(ladies). At a certain point you're hitting refresh on face book, you've looked at all the photos, and it would just be nice to have something else to look to from time to time. No one has commented on your status yet, so you should probably wait before posting another one. Something else to read and be entertained by when we’re sick of face book. We’re hoping our blog can fill that void and provide some entertainment and humor. Mainly we want to use it as kind of a distracter. You’re sitting in class obviously bored, statuses aren’t updating on facebook, so come take a look at our blog, read some of our opinions, perspectives, observations, leave some feedback or your opinion. It will give you something different to do instead of the same old same old.

Basically we want to cover in our blog a variety of topics such as:

everyday habits

phones as a means to everything

personality vs. looks

being public conscious

dating stories

bar stories

judgments

can girls really just be friends with guys

breakup tactics

lying, when and when not to…

things men do but won’t want to admit

and other classic yet somewhat older stories you can find in our ‘archive section’


     Along with these topics if you check our margins you can find interesting polls to take throughout the week and helpful links that can quickly guide you to other often visited sites. In addition to these features we also have a calendar set up listing all the major Purdue sports times, opponents, dates, and locations, as well as Sunday/Monday Night NFL Football schedules, 2010/2011 movie release dates, etc. After the first few postings we will be accepting guest writers.Throughout our blog please leave feedback or comments as we are always looking for new and interesting topics as well as ways to improve.If you think you have a funny story, comment, or blog topic you can email Nick or myself and if we post it you will get full credit.

     Obviously some of the things that we feature in our blog will be happening to us from week to week, things we see, things we hear etc, again check our archive section for real examples of what we mean. A lot of our material will be about the bar situation as we have several under 21 readers. Some things we’ve learned, some do’s and don’ts about the bar scene. Plenty will be written about topics other than the bar scene, although the majority of our blogs will discuss items and topics concerning college life. Our aim with this blog is not to capture the writing style of Hemmingway but merely to share our thoughts and stories as seen through our eyes. We have spent a lot of time and effort in making this blog a reality and we truly hope you enjoy reading.