Excessive use of "ph"

For a long list of reasons, I ended up at the UChicago "Phoenixphest." One of the people I was there to meet I never met; the other I did, which was cool, so now I have one fewer 'imaginary' blog-friend. I also got to see a few pre-existing real-life friends I see otherwise, but all told rather wish I'd just organized something on my own with the relevant people at some bar in the East Village, one where a night out is less than $15 and where the 40-ish single male banker set is a bit less prevalent. The dark underworld of Manhattan wealth is composed of aging, possibly high-income men at "young alumni" events preying on the class of 2007. Uh, bonne chance. The problem with an event held in a venue best suited to a low-end but expensive bar mitzvah is that it attracts desperate-seeming men in striped shirts. I don't know quite how this happens, but it does. A couple of my old classmates expressed a desire not to socialize. But they (you!) were, well, at the event. You can bring UChicago to an open bar, but you can't make its alums interact. For some weird reason I find this reassuring. Keep UChicago Nerdy!