How I Met Robby

Now, college was good times. There was all sorts of folk there; all walks, all interests, and all that jazz.

2002 again? We're not sure, to be honest. I recall parts of this memory very clearly, but I cannot pinpoint the date better than that.

This afternoon was like many others. Brandon and I went to the Moody Towers cafeteria and got the usual of unhealthy food. I had the chicken strips and as per usual, took a long time to eat them. We chatted awhiles about various deep things like how much calculus sucks, how we don't understand women, and how much the world at large was a big (yet small) and confuzzling place. So as I finally finished my meal, we were getting ready to leave. Brandon then noticed two friends showing up: J.D. and Robby. Robby and J.D. got their food and then sat down with us. There we sat and shot the breeze and waxed philosophical about a wide range of things. After they finished eating, we continued to talk.

What makes this memory particularly memorable was that Robby kept playing with an unopened ketchup packet all the while. He was arranging various packets, squeezing packets, flicking them, etc. In the middle of the conversation the ketchup packet he was playing with burst. He looked genuinely surprised at it, as did we all.

Robby's a smart guy, one of the smartest I know. He was a founding father of Contest Theory and has scored more than 1 victory against me in Crimson Skies (2 is still more than 1). When it comes to academics, he can sit down and power through just about anything when he needs to. We would go on to become very good friends after eating lunch together regularly later on. All that being said, to this day, whenever I see him with a packet of ketchup I wonder if it's going to burst.