#phi kap

Last week was Greek Week for Duquesne University. It was such an amazing and fun time for all!

Welcome to the good life

I finally got my brother pin! Proud to be a Phi Kap!

I was back in Pittsburgh (along with a few other Multipliers) for Spring Carnival at Carnegie Mellon. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I graduated from college 20 years ago. I hadn't been back to campus in around 13 years, so it was a lot of fun to see the school, the fraternity house and the city in general. When I was in school, one of my favorite memories was coming out of the Ft. Pitt tunnel and seeing the view of The Point (where the three rivers come together) and downtown Pittsburgh (pronounced "dahntahn" to use accurate Pittsburghese). It was great to experience that again, although thanks to USAir, it was at around 1am this time. Carnival was definitely a different experience this time around. I remember when I was an undergrad thinking that alumni in their mid-twenties were already ancient. Not sure what that makes me at 41, but clearly carnival is different for the married-with-children set. That aside, things still seemed a bit subdued. I think the university is finally winning the war its been waging against the fraternities for the last 20+ years. Between my family's history there, and my six years of undergrad/grad at CMU, the city of Pittsburgh will always be a special place for me. Its definitely changed a lot from what I remember though. Lots of mom-and-pop shops are now retail chains. The cool cafe, used record store and alternative nightclub are now a Starbucks, T-Mobile and grocery store. Oh well. Such is change. Fortunately, Primanti Brothers, the O, and the PHI are still there serving cheap, greasy food and drink. Even the bartender at the Squirrel Cage (Squirrel Hill Cafe) hasn't changed. She's been there 28 years!

I ordered two coney dogs with flint-style chili, cheese fries and a grape Faygo. I am glad that a phi kapp alumni owns this business and is giving back to the community. A lot of my friends talk about What Up Dawg? and actually like it. I see this place starting to become a popular place to visit to get away from the crowded bars of East Lansing. I hope it becomes a cool place to hang out and grab a beer.

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