finite.style

I was talking with a friend of mine yesterday about energy drinks. I'm partial to Red Bull (when I don't feel like coffee), not because I have anything against the countless other energy drinks on the market, but becuase it's the original, I like the taste, and don't see any reason to change. My friend on the other hand, let's call him Bob, is the thrifty type. He purchased a knock off brand called Red Rave.

Now I'm sure Red Rave is a fine drink, with all the prerequisite sugar, caffeine, and taurine, but the funny thing about this story is Bob has a bad history with knockoff brands, particularly with drinks. A few years ago Bob was involved in a profession where he regularly interacted with characters of the unsavoury type. One day he was at the gym (he loves the gym), and before working out he made himself a protein shake. A "friend" of his went up to him and asked why he would spend so much money on brand name protein drinks, when he could get just as much nutritional value out of a no-name brand.

So he gives Bob a case of these cans which are supposedly protein drinks. Bob thinking this to be the deal of the century, tries one and absolutely loves it. Tastes good, comes in a nice can (no mixing involved), and he felt great afterwards. So he starts taking these before every workout, and everything is going fine until one day he forgets to bring a can. All of a sudden he feels really anxious, and is really low on energy. All he can think about is having another can of the protein drinks. When he gets home, he finally decides to take a look at the contents of the energy drink on the lable. Guess what the magic ingredient was?

Nicotine.

Moral of the story? Sometimes it's worth it to pay for the real deal.