9 months

It's 9 months to the day that I started my job here at Florida State University. The first thought that crosses my mind is ,"Has it really been that long?" Then, after thinking about all that I've been a part of and seen since I've been here, it's hard to believe that it's only been 9 months, seems longer.

To compare Tallahassee to Starkville, MS (where I lived for 4 years) wouldn't be fair because they don't compare when it comes to size and everything that goes with that (number of retail outlets, accessibility to the interstate, and number of people to hang out with my age). What's that Tallahassee friends? You think that Tally is only a college town and people in their mid-to-late 20's don't live here. . . B.S. I've lived in the smaller, rural town setting where the discrepancy is much worse. Tallahassee is great and I love the friends that I've made here, but I'd like to take a minute to list 10 things that I miss about Starkville and Mississippi State University.

#1) The people that I worked with, I worked under a great Union Director and I miss a great number of the other people in the building. (Namely: Raymond - I could trust him to talk about anything personally or professional. Dave - we shared the same opinions about a lot of stuff. Debi - we had weekly American Idol discussions and analysis.) I miss many others too, but the above are people I miss the most.

#2) Little Dooey's because it's some of the best BBQ that I can remember.

#3) Mughsots, they are the best burgers I've had. Plus, watching someone across the place trying to eat a "Mugshot" (a triple stacked burger, fully dressed and a side of fries) in 15 minutes or less so it would be free was very entertaining. I heard of people that did it, but I never witnessed it.

#4) CHEAPER RENT (and cheaper utilities, golf, groceries, etc.) - sorry that was more of a rant about Tallahassee.

#5) The softball teams that I played on, Crosspoint Church and the campus Intramural team (I was a founding member of "The Crockpots").

#6) Working with multiple, large scale concerts over the course of the year. It didn't matter if it was to help the SA, CAB, or MMP. I enjoyed doing the shows in the Cotton District, the Amphitheater and the Hump.

#7) Baseball games at Dudy Noble. To this day, the Super Regional win in 2007 over Clemson ranks near the top of any sporting event I've ever been to.

#8) Getting free MSU Ice Cream at a lot of different campus events. I also need to mention the State Fountain Bakery; fresh baked goods across the street from the Union (yummy).

#9) Being in the SEC. It's so easy to already have it ingrained in you to despise Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, and Ole Miss. Learning to hate ACC rivals is going to take time, but the Florida thing is already there.

#10) The shrimp burrito from Mi Hacienda. No one even comes close to that bit of seafood heaven rolled up with grilled vegetable in a flour tortilla and smothered in queso dip.

I made the move from Starkville to Tallahassee for all the right reasons. I couldn't be happier being where I'm at and doing what I'm doing. Tallahassee may be a small town to a lot of you, but it reminds me a lot of Knoxville and I loved living there. A town this size may not have everything you want, but it has everything you need. Plus, the people here are great. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have a Blog.