It's a Small World After All - RPI Big Red Freakout Trip

I just got back into Memphis about an hour ago. I left yesterday (Saturday) morning and flew to Upstate New York to see the RPI Big Red Freakout hockey game. The Big Red Freakout is the annual alumni hockey game that my college puts on. It's been a few years since I've been, so I decided to go.

The other RPI-Memphian and I flew up together. While waiting in the airport, we were discussing how Memphis is such a small town and how easy it is to run into people. And, sure enough I did. The pilot of our plane was none other than my Oklahoma-Memphis friend. She moved here from Oklahoma around 6 months ago to fly for Northwest. It was great to see her!

At RPI, I ran into a few people who I knew-- the other RPI-Oklahoman, my friend Tom, and the ballroom dancing friend. I also saw quite a few other familiar faces, including an Alpha Phi, and the guy who used to work at the bank in the Union.

Anyway...

Unfortunately, the hockey game was less than memorable. RPI lost to Princeton, 4-0. It's the first time in the past 19 years that they've lost the Big Red Freakout game. Normally, RPI is known for a great hockey team, but this year, I'm just not sure...

In Troy, we managed to visit all of the bars that I never actually saw while I attended RPI. We made it to the Troy Pub (now renamed), the Ruck, Positively Fourth Street, and the RPI Pub (in the Union). I also stopped by Ben & Jerry's and I Love New York (pizza). Actually, at I Love, these high school kids were filming a drunk man. It was a little crazy; if I find it on YouTube, I'll be sure to share.

Last, we took a tour of the campus. Things are mostly the same, but there are a few new buildings. Oh yeah, and a LOT of added security. My two cents is that the security is totally unnecessary (at that level) and just takes away from the college experience. We were unable to even get into the campus library. So crazy. One building we were able to sneak into however was the 24 hour computer lab, the VCC. The VCC is built in the shape of a cross. It was once a church and still has the stained glass windows overlooking the students as they check their e-mail 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The EMAC (electronic media arts and communications) building was the most odd. It's completely futuristic and doesn't fit in with the rest of the campus.

Okay, well that's all that I have for now. I'm TIRED!

Here are a few photos from the weekend.