Hallowhat?

Boo!

Hey all and welcome back. Thanks for stopping by and reading what This Guy Over Here has to say about life on the Purdue Campus. At my bible study on Tuesday nights through Campus Crusade, we do something called "Happies and Crappies," and so I thought I would implement that into my blog because I like the idea, and it is a catchy way to tell people about what has been going on since the last blog. SO, since last friday, there have been both some Happies and Crappies. I am always hesitant about which to start with, but for today, I will start with the crappies just because they are shorter. My major crappy for this past week is that the New York Yankees lost in the ALCS to the Texas Rangers. I am a Yankees fan, like it or hate it, but I was very disappointed when the pinstripes went down. Anyways, let's get off the toilet. On the other hand, I had a fantastic weekend that consisted of a water park, making lots of new friends, and a skit that was so good it could have been written by the Shakespearean legend himself (or Ronald Dahl).

As the Purdue students have gone through the week, they have probably noticed one of two things. The first is that this weekend is Halloween. That should be obvious. It's the only thing that anybody talks about. What are you going to dress up as? What parties are you going to? What are you going to dress up as? Wait did I already mention that? Oh well, what are you going to dress up as again? It's like a contagious virus that is spread throughout campus. Speaking of contagious viruses, the other thing that most Purdue students should have realized is that this week marked the kick off of Humans Vs. Zombies. Who knew that nerf guns and thin strips of orange cloth could cause such a controversy. As I was standing outside my math class today, I overheard this dialogue:

"AMBUSH!!! EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF"

"Ouch!" followed by a banging noise, and the sound of someone being tackled (this does have a very distinct noise)

"Gotcha. Alright man give me your feed code."

"No way man. You totally got sideshot before you poisoned me."

"Really? You're going to be that guy?" (To which I responded: I'm This Guy Over Here. Not really. But I should have)

They say nerf guns are for children. I think not. Especially with their wicked sideshots that can kill zombies. Anyways. Enough with that. Back to the first main thing going on at Purdue. Hallowhat?! Halloween! When I was little, I used to dress up in these awesome hand made costumes courtesy of my mom and my best friends mom. Now with no one to make my costume, I am a bit lost in the wardrobe department. With so many possibilities out there, it's a bit hard to narrow down the options. However, I have never really understood the idea of Halloween, and that is what I want to talk about for the remainder of this blog. Hallowhat?

Halloween!

Halloween is the one day of every year where kids and grownups alike can dress up as whatever they want to be. According to history.com, Halloween was originally an ancient Celtic practice. It was one day that straddled the seasons of fall and winter, and it was a say where the dead could return to earth. Now that is some scary stuff. However, throughout the centuries, this custom has been watered down to now degradative image that we see reflected in every skimpy and sleezy halloween costume.

The more I got to thinking about Halloween, the more convinced I became that Halloween actually accomplishes the complete opposite of what it intends to do. Halloween is meant to be a time where individuals can dress up and disguise themselves with costumes and extra weird make-up. However, I believe that people already do a pretty good job of putting on different masks to fit in with different crowds in everyday life, and therefore, I've concluded that on Halloween, the good majority of people actually behave more like themselves than they do on any other day of the year. They feel more comfortable being who they really are because people won't judge them. How can they? It's Halloween.

Do you ever think about who first started the idea of trick-or-treat? I always pictured it as a creeper looking to rob a house, only to find that the owner is inside. This owner just happens to have quite the sweet tooth, and so he keeps a giant bowl of candy right next to the door. The creepy guy peeks in, takes a handful of candy, and runs off with his loot. He then precedes to make every other homeowner in the neighborhood feel guilty by showing them just how good of a neighbor the sweet tooth home owner was for allowing him to take some candy. And so starts trick-or-treat. Fact.

I think that sometimes, we as a society don't really think too much about the reasons why we do something. We simply base our actions on the merit of tradition or norm, but what is norm when it comes to halloween? Is it scary movies? Haunted Houses? Maybe. Is it creepy guys trying to rob houses only to come up with a bag full of candy. Possible. Or is it a day in which people are actually the most open and real with each other? I haven't really decided yet, but one thing I do know is that everybody at Purdue will keep on talking about Halloween, and they probably will keep talking for a solid two weeks after this weekend. It's that legendary.

In terms of the future, I emailed the student newspaper, as I am trying to get them to run something called the "Unheard Voices of Purdue." This would be a small section somewhere in the Exponent that would feature blogs or commentaries that are written by Purdue students that are more underground. It would be similar to a "Letters to the Editor" type of thing, except it wouldn't be random one time blurbs but updates on actual sites or maintained social critique. So far I haven't heard back from them, but I'll keep you all updated on any advancements. If you have any ideas for the future, or any topics that you want me to blog about, feel free to leave them in the comments section along with your name, so I can give you a shoutout!

Finally, as many of you have realized by now, at the end of every blog, I include a line about how I "throw down The Rock." In case you didn't know, this was a reference to my roommate, Evan Staton. It was originally the nickname that I had given him for the purposes of this blog; however, my dorm floor has come up with something a bit more classy, and so from now on for all extensive purposes, you will see that I refer to Evan Staton as Mr. Easy Rider (The Mr. is not always necessary, it just gives it more flair).

That's it, and thanks for reading the thoughts of This Guy Over Here.

Closing tip for the week: If you ever need a really pathetic way of getting out of class, go to the corner of Martin Jischke and third street where the dorm hall Meredith sits. There is a tree out front, and on this tree are some berries. These berries smell like an awful throwup, especially when they are smashed. Saying this, scoop some up, go to class, crush some of these berries right outside your building and make sure that you get some residue in your shoes or on your fingers. Make sure that your hair is ruffled, and you look like you just woke up. Walk into class coughing, and tell your teacher that you are sick and that you are throwing up. The smell will confirm it. You will get to miss class, and you will get brownie points for dragging yourself to class to tell your professor personally that you were sick. Double bonus.

Closing Quote for the week: "There once was a man that was never born. He was made." ~ Me.

Think about it.

Throwing up the NW333 and ghost riding with the Easy Rider,

Signing off,

JD