Boilermaker Ballin'

Last night was the first annual Boilermaker Ball for Purdue alumni, held here in Indy at the Crowne Plaza Union Station. It just so happens that our med school dance in January was held there, too. You could tell the Purdue people had a much larger budget to work with, just from the decorations. It almost felt like we were in a different place. I went with Hayley, Stephanie, and her fiance, so it was a good break for the med students among us.

Purdue Pete wearing a tux! I feel short.

I read somewhere that tickets were $100 a piece or something. Yeah, I'm such a high roller. Actually, we were lucky to be guests of the College of Science, and we got to have dinner with Dean Vitter and other administrators I hadn't seen in a while. There was a silent auction beforehand with tons of amazing items that I couldn't afford, including vacation packages and assorted Purdue paraphernalia. Dinner was pretty awesome, since there were dishes presented in ways I had never seen before. When you have to ask yourself, "How do I eat this salad?" you know you're in the company of greatness. Oh, yeah, the food tasted amazing, too. There was a live auction after dinner, which included typical purchases like "Fighter Pilot for a Day Adventure" (where you fly in a real fighter jet with a real pilot), and a "driving experience" where you can go for a casual spin in such cars as a Murcielago, Maserati Gran Tourismo, and your choice of Ferraris. Each live auction item sold for over $3000. I love going to events where everyone else there is on average 1,000,000 times richer than me. I'm not ashamed to admit that my net worth is about $1, and that's counting the nickel I found last week. On second thought, is it possible to have a negative net worth? I just filed my taxes, and it turns out Uncle Sam wants more milk money or he'll give me a swirly.

I was impressed at how nice the event was for its first year. The irony is that I'm not one for extravagance at all. While I thoroughly enjoyed the evening, it was mostly because of the company and being able to see people I hadn't seen in some time. If I somehow manage to accidentally become wealthy down the line, I still wouldn't really see myself jumping at events like this. I mean, yeah, I will always support my alma mater, and I'm proud to call myself a Purdue alumnus, but I'm just more of a low-key type of person. I'd rather donate some cash and then sit at home with a good book, I suppose.