Indoor antics

"Simon says, touch your nose!"

It’s probably been quite a while since most of us have been commanded by Simon to do anything. With the cold weather rolling in, however, students find themselves with a lack of indoor activities to resort to. Times like these call for resourcefulness and an old fashioned game such as simon says. But that’s just the beginning. Here are some other suggestions:

Pillow fight – Get the gang together for a pillow fight and get out your anger in a safe way. Smack Gerald in the face for not paying you back for spotting him lunch. Anything can happen in a pillow fight.

Star Wars marathon – Get out the classic episodes 4-6 and watch them back-to-back. Invite over your nerdy friend Leonard, who will be able to give you commentary on every ridiculous behind-the-scenes fact, and unknown story plotline. Go nuts and see who can do the best Chewbacca or Yoda impression.

Build a fort – Why not? It’s fun and productive. You are never too old to build a fort. Strengthen and strategize your stronghold with blankets, couch cushions, and boxes. On the chance that an invasion of sorts does happen, you will be prepared.

’80s dance party – Dust off your rubik’s cube and crank up some Devo, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Duran Duran, and a whole plethora of other ’80s dance music. After dancing, wind down by watching Sixteen Candles.

Real potato heads – Toys nothin’! This is the real deal, Neal. Go buy some potatoes and dress them up into your own Mr. or Mrs. Potato head. Then bake em’ and eat em’.

Read Poetry – Gather your beatnik friends and read poetry, diddies, thoughts and whatever else.

Prank Call – Make a prank phone call. Call your friend and tell him he has won a cruise.

Handstands – See who can do handstands the longest. Winner gets brownies.

Make a movie – Get some friends together and film a short movie. It doesn’t have to have a screenplay, and you don’t have to be Scorcese. Just have fun with it. Then you can upload it onto youtube with all the other awesome home-made movies.

Guitar Hero III – It’s fun, addictive and provides untold hours of senseless, beautiful entertainment.

Real guitar – Better yet, pick up that acoustic guitar that has only been known to play horrible renditions of Jack Johnson songs, and learn how to play some other stuff. Find guitar tablature online, or just listen and transcribe your favorite songs by ear.

Throw water balloons at hot tubbers – Ok, so this is outdoors, but ‘bare’ with me. Often, you can find people hot tubbing up into the wee morning hours. This is a great opportunity to throw water balloons at them, the last thing they are expecting. After you throw, run and get back indoors. Then you can laugh about it all night while drinking some hot chocolate.

Watch Curb Your Enthusiasm– This show can make any indoor time enjoyable. If you’re tired of Seinfeld reruns, watching its co-creator Larry David and his antics is what you need.

Read War and Peace – You’ve been meaning to, but haven’t had the time. Now is the time.

Write your own War and Peace – Finish writing that novel. You know, that one you started that’s supposed to be epic? Finish it already.

Get an ant farm – Watch those ants diligently work and build majestic tunnels, then watch there disappointment as you shake it up and ruin they’re long hard hours of labor.

Full-House marathon – You liked the show, admit it.

States and capitals tournament – If you watched Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?, now is your chance to shine.

Summon the dead – Party with your dead grandparents!

You wanted an arsenal of strategies for entertainment, now you’ve got it! You have an ’80s mix to make and a fort to construct, so start preparing. But wait, I gotcha – Simon didn’t say.