The Top Ten Things I Miss About College

10. Chug-a-Mug: On Monday nights, this bar in Plattsburgh runs a special known as Chug-a-Mug. For $1.50, you can fill your massive mug with beer or mixed drinks. Conceivably, this meant you could be drunk for about $6.00. This special was amazing and always worked out well for me because I never had classes early on Tuesday morning.

9. Proximity: All throughout college, I never lived more than a few blocks from my closest friends, favorite bars, best food, classes, etc. Even with the horribly cold weather, it was never difficult to get from point A to point B. This meant that there was always someplace to go, and always something to do.

8. Meal Plans: Even after I moved off campus, I knew that having a meal plan was a truly invaluable thing. Having a meal plan afforded me the opportunity to eat as much as I wanted, whenever I wanted, with no cost to me. This meant I could get really stoned, and walk over to any one of the numerous on-campus dining establishments and satisfy my cravings. If it were only that easy now…

7. The Homestead: I have such pleasant memories of breakfasts at The Homestead. We would go there pretty much every weekend to post-game about the previous nights events. Although they always got my order wrong and were always really rude to us, the price was right and it became one of my favorite places to frequent.

6. Pizza Bono: There is nothing better than a late-night slice of heaven. Enough said.

5. The Monopole: I miss the Monopole for so many reasons. They had great music pretty much every night of the week, no cover, and all of my friends were always there. My night didn’t always begin at the Monopole, but it usually ended there. The drinks were cheap, the bartenders knew you by name and the atmosphere was unbeatable.

4. The Adirondacks: A lot of bad things can be said about the North Country of New York, but the sights were un-paralleled. I remember my amazement when driving up 87 for the first time and being surrounded by these massive mountains. Each time you drove by them they looked different and they provided a massive amount of hiking opportunities. I will be lucky if I get to live in a location that is as beautiful as the Adirondacks again.

3. Lake Champlain: Yes, it is dirty and crowded, but it was a refuge for me during the hot summer days. I spent so much time at Lake Champlain over my four years in Plattsburgh and it will always be one of my favorite places to go. Me, my dog, my tunes and the massive lake. To me, there was nothing better.

2. Chuck Wagon: I often said that the proprietor of Chuck’s, Lynn, was my surrogate Grandfather (who started selling me booze when I was a mere 18 years old). The great thing about Chuck’s was that it was so damn convenient. It was located less than a block away from where the majority of my friends lived throughout the majority of college and he sold anything and everything you could possibly need (which for me, was mostly 40’s and cigarettes). Also, if I was ever short on cash (which I usually was), Lynn would front me the booze and cigarettes that I needed. Plus, he had an ATM, which always came in handy.

And the number one thingI miss about college (drumroll please)...

1. My friends: I made such a rag-tag group of friends up there in northern NY, and not a day goes by that I don’t miss all of those crazy people. I don’t see them all nearly enough, but I really do think of most of them daily, and I am really looking forward to the next time that I get to see them (which just so happens to be in Vegas at the end of the month).