2010 Starkville Hotel Update

Just getting around to noting our findings from our last trip (Kentucky game). I know this will disappoint many of you, but the University Inn is no more. I had the pleasure of staying at America's Best Value for the first time. This pretty much sums up my thoughts on it.

Luckily JoJo travels prepared.

ABV does have one thing going for it--it's right next to Hardee's.

University Inn Condos?

Developers oppose University Inn condo conversion project

The developers of CottonMill Marketplace fought what could be a renovation of the adjacent University Inn on Spring Street by another developer who asked the city Tuesday for a conditional use of the general business district.
Planning to turn the hotel’s 100 units into 50 condominiums, Larry Tabor of Tabor Properties LLC argued to the Board of Aldermen that the development, University Club Condominiums, would not hinder any plans for the Marketplace project.

I hope they plan on preserving the character of the Inn. It would be really nice to keep the furniture and bedding. Luke, we could be University Inn neighbors!

Starkville Wrapup

James and I went to Starkville last weekend. You want to hear about it? Aight. We had an eaaarly flight (6 AM'ish) from Austin to Jackson with a quick stop in Houston. The snow had been causing airport issues, but our flight was listed as a go when we left the house. We boarded our Southwest flight, and put some of our belongings in the middle seat to make it look occupied. They announced that the flight was completely full on several occasions, but we were holding out hope that we'd keep that comfort seat open. Everyone had boarded and the seat was still clear. I should rephrase that. Everyone that had gotten to the airport on time had boarded, and the seat was still clear. They continue to hold the plane at the gate while a high school cheerleading team trickled in. The seat was soon occupied, and before we knew it we were being asked how to buckle the seat belt. After our instructions failed to get the task done, I ended up having to buckle it for the poor girl.

Running long here--let me condense this down some. We get to Houston and are told our flight to Jackson is canceled. We're directed to stand in a line of 40-50 other folks trying to arrange alternative plans. A couple girls behind us were trying to make it to Jackson for a Saturday wedding (we'll circle back to them later). We stood near the end of this line for a few minutes when a dude from the front of the line walks up and asks if we're headed to Jackson. We affirm and he tells us that the remaining two flights are booked, that we could try to get on standby, but the odds of that aren't good. He then makes his proposal. He has rented a car and we can ride with him. We're not people to pass up a long ride with a stranger, so off we went.

Turns out he went to Ole Miss, and we worked out our 3 degrees of separation. The most notable part of this trip is we didn't stop once the entire trip; not for gas, not for bathroom breaks, and not for food. We left Houston right after 9AM, and he dropped us off at the terminal in Jackson at 2:52PM. That's fast, and it was snowing most of the way on I-55 in MS. Another funny thing to note about this leg of the trip. Ol' boy and I were discussing Toyota vehicles (we had passed a truck hauling new 'yotas). His family owns them and he vouches for their safety. Turns out he had hydroplaned off the road and rolled his car a while back, but made it out basically unharmed. Information like this would probably been helpful before we got in the car seeing that we had been hauling ace through the snow while the driver checked his Blackberry. James must have been too wrapped up in browsing Please Rob Me, as he missed that gem.

The only thing I want to report on in Starkville is the new Grill. The new location is open. It's very restauranty now. We stopped in around 11:30 PM Friday night.



Busy, huh? The main area has a bunch of booths. We met Clay and Shay up there on Sat. and heard maybe the worst news of all--they changed the honey mustard! They're now using the Sweet Peppers formula. (I wonder if they used my concept)

Well, one more thing, then I'm out. We saw this whip on campus.

Road Trip: Founders Day 2010

It's March 26-28 this year. Georgia will be playing our baseball team in Starkville that weekend. I believe all of the normal golf and crawfish festivities will be on again. Anyone planning on going?

Also, anyone got any tickets for sale (or know someone that's selling) for the Auburn @ MSU basketball game on Feb 13? John and I will be in Starkville and for a reasonable price would like to go to the game.

Sunday Sales in Starkville

From The Reflector:

Beginning Sunday, Starkville residents will have the ability to purchase both beer and liquor by the drink in local restaurants.

The State Tax Commission approved Starkville Sunday liquor sales in a 2-1 vote Wednesday. Sunday beer, liquor and wine sales in restaurants approved by the Mississippi Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control will be available from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday beer sales in off-premise locations, including grocery and convenient stores, will begin Sept. 27. The new alcohol code takes effect immediately.

What is this teaching our youth? Back in my day it paid off to plan accordingly if you wanted a cold one on Sunday. You needed to stock-up on Saturday or include a quick drive over to West Point in your Sunday festivities. This will simply create a society of drunk, lazy students.

Welcome to post-Prohibition.

Breaking up is hard to do.....or Is It?

Well as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. After 14 wonderful years, I have ended my love affair with smoking. I am proud to announce that today is my 28th consecutive day without a cigarette. To the layperson, that is 4 weeks!

Why did I do it you ask? I honestly don't know. When it comes down to it, I love smoking. I suppose the only good answer I can come up with is that I know it is bad for me. Aside from that I love everything about it.

How did I do it you ask? Easy. 4 weeks ago I checked my luggage in at LAX as I prepared for my trip to the Philippines. Once my luggage was on it's way to the underbelly of the plane, I stepped outside, smoked my final cigarette and proceeded to board the plane bound for the land of little people. It wasn't easy but a steady diet of rice and Asian Tang sure helped. I know I know.....you are all curious to hear what I mean by Asian Tang. By Asian Tang, I mean the orange Tang drink. While on vacation, one of the resorts I stayed at tried to pawn off the powdered Tang mix as freshly squeezed Florida orange juice. I knew when I tasted it that something was up, but it wasn't until the next morning that I noticed one of the servers behind the bar mixing powdered Tang mix with water in a pitcher named “OJ”. Busted! But anyways, I digress.

So what does all this mean? It means that I must now retrain my body to function without a Marlboro in my hands. There are many things that prior to 4 weeks ago I had never experienced sober (without a cigarette). I started smoking at 15 so activities such as driving, drinking, gambling and sex are all things that I now get to enjoy smoke free. On a side note, all of those activities are much better enjoyed with a cigarette, but I'm hopeful that in time that will all change.

In closing, I am sure the time will come when I will smoke another cigarette or perhaps even a pack or two (upcoming trip to Starkville), but having experienced this 4 week hiatus, I am confident that aside from those few instances here and there that I will be able to stay the course and continue my journey of being smoke free.

Breakfast Idea

I wish I would have gotten a picture of this, but it was too early in the morning for me to be thinking clearly.  Last weekend in Starkville, John made me take him to Zaxby's at the end of the evening for a late night snack.  He was "asleep" before we I pulled out of the parking lot and pretty much stayed that way until I woke him up when we got back to the hotel.

Once we got into the room I proceeded to chow down on my chicken strips and John went directly to the bed.  Being the good brother I am, I put his meal in the refrigerator so he could potentially enjoy it later (or the next day).

When we woke up in the morning I told John that his Zaxby's was in the fridge and he immediately went for it.  I asked if it was still good and he told me it was frozen.  I guess the fridge must have been jacked up a little too high, but this did not seem to deter him too much as I could hear him crunching the fries.  John decided to let the rest of the food defrost while he showered and I went to check out the breakfast provided by the hotel.

When I came back to the room, I told John that they had biscuits and gravy for breakfast and that maybe he should try some of the hot gravy on his chicken tenders to counteract the coldness.  He did and I sat jealously watching.

So if you ever have some frozen Zaxby's chicken tenders be sure to try them covered in the gravy from the Comfort Suites breakfast.

Starkville Trip Wrap Up

Some random thoughts and comments from our trip to Starkville last weekend:

• The alumni events would be a lot cooler if they served alcohol (at least at the banquet portion...maybe not so much at the Saturday 8 AM events).
• You should check out the new Templeton Athletic Academic Center on your next trip.  It's really nice.
• Everyone seems really excited about our new coach.  He was entertaining when he addressed the alumni association as well.  One of the questions Mullen fielded from the audience was along the lines of, "...anyway you could get Tebow to come with you to MSU..."
• The Rock Bottom bar needs to do something about the lack of running water in the bathroom.
• What is the red stuff splattered on the walls in the bathroom at Up Your Alley?  Looks like a crime scene in there.
• As John already mentioned, why would you stand around on the street (at both of the bars mentioned in the last two bullets) when The Grill is sitting empty 1 block away?  Kids these days.
• The Mossy Oak store in West Point is not as cool as I remember it. 
• Speaking of kids these days; some students ended up drinking at our table and we quickly figured out we were all from the Coast.  So they started running through the name game to see if we knew any of the same people and it went something like this:
  Girl: Do you know Person X?
  Us: No
  Girl: Do you know Person Y?
  Us: No
  Girl: Do you know Person Z?
  Us: Look, we're a little bit older than yall.
  Girl: When did you graduate high school?  Like 2000 or 2001?
  Us: Try 92, 96 and 96 (Curtis was with us)
  Girl: Oh
• You know how much John loves people.  I'm amazed he's so dang friendly after he gets drunk.  John ended up going to eat dinner with two of the kids from the last bullet point minutes after that conversation.  When he got back I asked if he even knew their names...he did not.
• Some things never get old.  One of the kids from the Coast left her camera on the table and left the bar.  Curtis went ahead and took a couple pics of his rat brain so she'd have something to ponder the next day.  We did eventually find the girl and return her camera...she was ecstatic that we returned it.  Too bad she didn't know it was tainted.
• You should get involved with your local MSU alumni if you're not already.  Sometimes it's hard for John and I to drink by ourselves at the game watches and I'm sure you've got officers near you that feel the same way.  And if you don't have a chapter...start one...you'll be the president.

The Grill

This is James at the Grill a little after 10 PM last Friday. Note the crowd.



They booted us out a couple minutes later. Turns out the kids would rather stand around some bars on University these days. I couldn't believe they took their nachos off the menu years ago, and they didn't have Coors Light on tap this time (also an inadequate supply of Bud Light Limes).

The cheese sticks are still good though.