What Las Vegas puts together, let no man tear asunder

From Steve Dunn:

A call to action. (Cue the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”)

Gentlemen…

We all started college the same, fresh faced and curious, naïve but optimistic, full of promise, full of life. We knew not what would become of us, what we would learn, what we would see. Our stories were, in the main, yet to be written.

Along the way we became Pi Kapps. Why? There are many reasons. For some, it was to live and espouse the highest ideals of Christian brotherhood. For others, it was the lure of free beer. We came through friends and mutual acquaintances. We came through Central Campus apartments inexplicably filled with three tons of sand. We came through Stonehenge, Round Table, the Arts Dorm. We came through our love of sports, for the sound of our own voices, for convenient access to Zetas and DGs.

(The music swells)

Together, we found purpose. Together, we burned benches. We served grain alcohol out of plastic trash cans. We sang together, and danced. We did charitable works. We gave roses to the dumps we took each morning. We vomited across wide swaths of North and South Carolina. We searched our hearts and bared our souls and shared the trials and tribulations of college lives full of promise, full of life.

We lived, gentlemen. It wasn’t always easy and it wasn’t always right, but we lived. We lived well.

(The music builds to a crescendo)

As the years slip away and Duke shrinks smaller in the rear view mirror of life, we may occasionally ask ourselves, “What was it all for?” “What was the meaning of the Pi Kapp experience?” “What was its purpose?”

I have pondered these questions many times, but today the answer is clear. On this day all shall be revealed.

Every moment of your life, every decision you ever made, every experience you had, has led you inexorably to this moment, the moment you read this email. All your life before this moment has been merely its opening act. Today begins the second part of your life, and its character and direction shall be determined by your answer to this simple question:

Will you be in Las Vegas for the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament in March 2007?

My friends, a critical mass has formed. Its gravitational force cannot be resisted. It cannot be denied! What Las Vegas puts together, let no man tear asunder!!! Now is the moment to stand and be counted!! Now is the time for doers to do, for deciders to decide!!

WHO OF YOU SHALL JOIN US???

Vegas, Baby!

Fellas,

So I've been lurking in the background, considering the Vegas trip for awhile. I'm pleased to let you know that I've pulled the trigger and booked a flight. I will be joining you for the festivities. I'm pretty excited...

BIG thank you to Anders/Mike for handling the organization of this event. Well done, gentlemen.

kraiggers.

____________________________________________
Kraig Schmidt

Five more for Vegas

We have five more commitments for Vegas, bringing our total attendance to ten! Steve Dunn (Thu-Sun), Kraig Schmidt (Wed-Sun), Matt Clink (Thu-Sun), Henry Wang (Thu-Sun), and his, um, friend, Kryz (Thu-Sun), are all confirmed. Mike and I worked with Matt at Hewitt and he's a great guy.

Pi Kapps in the suite: Anders, Dan, Kraig, Chris, Heath
Pi Kapps not in the suite: Steve Dunn, Henry, Kryz
Non-Pi Kapps in the suite: Mike Smith, Matt Clink
Non-Pi Kapps not in the suite: Drew Roeser

With the number of commitments for the suite up to seven, we now have the option of doing one suite or two. Here are the details:

One-suite option:
Wed-Sun people (Anders/Mike/Dan/Kraig): $382 each
Thu-Sun people (Chris/Matt): $286
Fri-Sun people (Heath): $191
Maximum number of people in the suite (Fri and Sat nights): 7

Two-suite option:
Wed-Sun people (Anders/Mike/Dan/Kraig): $763
Thu-Sun people (Chris/Matt): $572
Fri-Sun people (Heath): $382
Maximum number of people in a suite (Fri and Sat nights): 4

If we get any more people for Friday or Saturday night, I think we'll want to go with the two-suite option. But we still have some time to decide.

Everybody post your flight arrangements here!!

If your flight gets in on Wednesday around 8:00, let me know. Mike and I are willing to share our limo.

See comments section...

Total suite cost falls by $1,000!

Mike's wife Jill is on the ball. She checks the Mirage website daily to find us better deals and she just came through for us again. The total cost for our suite has fallen from $3,270 to $2,289. I have updated my estimate of the approximate room charges below:

Anders/Mike/Dan: $539 each (was $769)
Chris: $404 (was $577)
Heath: $269 (was $385)

Since it was so cheap and I'm hoping to get some more commitments soon, Mike and I went ahead and reserved a second suite (we can cancel with 48 hours notice) and we put the $1,145 deposit for both rooms on our credit cards.