For Sumit . . .

Today I found out that my best friend from freshman year of college has passed away. Of course something like this makes you think a lot about life and friendships and all of that, and I realize that anyone who reads this blog his probably never met Sumit Mallik, but I'm still going to share my top Sumit moments because I know Sumit would have done the same for me except that he would have done it better than I will.

I met Sumit after my first few weeks at Purdue and he was the first person who I knew I would be friends with for years to come. If you watch The Muppet Movie, Ganzo sings a line in the song, "I'm Going to Go Back there Someday" that says "There's not a word yet for old friends who've just met." Now I realize that this line is coming from a Muppet, but this is what it was like when Sumit and I met. In our first meeting Sumit and I only talked briefly, but it was understood that we would meet up the next night to trudge to the dining hall for dinner, and we would probably repeat this routine week in and week out - which we did.

We spent a good deal of time in the first month watching the Mets vs. the Yankees in the World Series. I could care less about that, but Sumit supported the Mets so I'm glad he got to see it.

For some reason Sumit wanted people to think he was an asshole, but he was not. In my exhaustion of trying to figure out college I would often fall asleep on his couch (usually during the Mets/Yankees series), and I'd wake up the next morning to find that I was covered with a blanket and somehow obtained a pillow in my sleep. If other people were around, I would still wake up with a pillow and blanket, but I'd find out the next day that Sumit would have led a charge to take incriminating photos of me passed out on the couch surrounded by lotion, Victoria's Secret catalogs, and (strangely) blocks of wood. Like I said, he wanted to appear to be an asshole.

A few months into college I bought a computer, and when I got it Sumit told me to bring it over so I could set it up. Now, it takes a real friend to realize that when an 18-year-old guy gets a new toy like this one all he wants to do it play with it and not hang out with his friends. Sumit, both realizing this and being an IT guy, made me a big list of all the programs that I'd need (such as WinAmp and Snood) so I could have the computer that every college freshman in the year 2000 should have and then left me alone to play.

One time in second term Sumit wanted me to come with him on an impromptu road trip to see his friends at Thee Ohio State University. I had a scholarship application that I needed to finish, but this served as no excuse for Sumit. He went off and wrote my scholarship essay for me (which was probably better than I would have done myself) and then dragged me to Ohio. (Now, neither of us promotes cheating but I think we both knew I had no chance of actually getting this scholarship.) Needless to say, X-hours later we arrived at OSU, met his friends, went to a crappy house party, and had a relatively miserable time. Sumit, however, refused to let a night end badly. So at 2:00am we stop off at Steak and Shake. Now because this was Steak and Shake at 2:00am, it took about 3 hours to get our food. The food couldn't have been better than mediocre, and I don't remember what we talked about, but by the time we wandered back to his friend's dorm room it was a pretty good night. I think you are always in a debt of gratitude to the person who takes you on your first unplanned college road trip.

Sumit decided that he was going to transfer out of Purdue (a good choice for him bad news for me) and when it got near the end we decided to spend one night taking pictures around campus. Me, Sumit, and a few other people got together, put on stupid clothes, and wend all round campus taking photos near all the statues and landmarks that all colleges seem to have. I can't explain why, but this ranks as one of my top 10 nights of college.

And finally . . . I always thought it was awkward to tell people it was my birthday in college - this goes double for freshman year. My birthday (April 30) was during finals week and everyone was busy enough. On my birthday freshman year I had taken couple of finals, and I only had one test left so I was studying for it at Sumit's apartment while watching TV. I don't know what we were watching, but on the show it was one of the character's birthdays. I say, "It's my birthday today." Sumit doesn't believe me and after a few minutes of arguing (most things with Sumit were an argument) he checks my driver's license to which he replies, "Holy shit, why didn't you tell me it was your birthday!" I was happy just to concretely win an argument with Sumit, and it seemed like it wouldn't come up again.

A few days later, I go with Sumit to his house in Ohio to hang out for a few days, kick off summer, and to catch a U2 concert in Columbus. (Our original idea was that we would always get together at the beginning of summer to catch a concert but, sadly, that trip never happened again.) The first night I'm at Sumit's house his mom cooked us a nice, traditional Indian meal, and we were all just chatting and having a good time. All of the sudden, at 9:00 sharp, the front door opens and a whole ton of people come pouring in shouting "SURPRISE" and "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Sumit disappears into the kitchen and comes back with a birthday cake. He says, "I know you don't know any of these people, but they are my friends from high school and they've heard about you. I told you you should have told me it was your birthday." It was truly a surprise party.

Thinking about it now, I only spent one good year with Sumit. After freshman year he came back to Purdue a few times, and I made a few road trips to Michigan. He came to see me at ND, and I would spend a few days with him whenever I was passing through Chicago. We'd talk on the phone to catch up a few times a year, but we never got to spend time together like we did that one year. It was only one year, but it doesn't matter. We won't be catching up on the phone anymore and I guess the second U2 concert really isn't going to happen, and "there's not a word yet for old friends who've just met" but there is a word for old friends who won't be forgotten - memories.

Thank you Sumit for all the memories, you are missed.