Taking a Trip To College Station

All I ever knew about College Station my whole life was that it was the home of Texas A&M. Last week I had a chance to take a trip through this lovely slice of the country, though, and was surprised to learn a few things about this city. So my apologies for giving this from my lowly Yankee perspective, but here's some observations.

Oh, and before I get started, after spending some time in the South I'll preface this with "thanks to all y'all who were so nice to me throughout my travels."

Look, there's a college called Corpus Christi College!

• The temperatures are HOT, but the dry heat makes it a bit more bearable than what we've seen in the midwest this summer. I can't believe I just said that, but it's true.
• There are some fun Aggie bloggers to meet!
• The economy's booming there. Nearly everyone I talked to spoke about the job boom in Texas and how easy it is to find a job. That's a stark contrast to what I've seen and heard throughout my travels to other regions of the country but good to hear nonetheless. It seems the news I've been reading kind of backs this up as well (see http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/article/Texas-to-help-fuel-national-growth-3714005.php and http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2012/07/05/north-texas-job-growth-leads-to-robust.html)
•  There are no shortage of rec centers and places to exercise. I'm always big on keeping my fitness in order as I travel, so this was a nice bonus for me while I was on the road. 

Anyhow, I'd ramble on some more, but needless to say, there's more to the town than just a slew of Aggies fans.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaet44/1464759684/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Cheap Businesses Don't Get My Respect!

You better appreciate that Soy Sauce, and that.. other thing (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today, I go to fill up my gas tank at a local gas station that I never go to. This one always seems to be empty, and there's never a wait for gas here. I slide my credit card in the pump and proceed to fill up my tank. While I’m waiting, I go inside and grab a bottle of Pepsi. The bottle costs $1.39 and I don’t have any cash, so I take out my credit card to pay for it. The guy points to a sign and says “There’s a $0.50 charge for purchases under $5.00.”

I tell him I’m paying $50.00 for gas outside! I’m charging well over the $5.00 minimum. He’s says it’s a $5.00 minimum per charge. How ridiculous! I just left in amazement. I wish I could have unfilled my tank cause I’m obviously never coming back.

Why do some businesses lose customers over a few pennies. Was he not going to make a profit off the $1.39 Pepsi?

Here are some huge pet peeves of mine when it comes to cheap businesses.

1) I once went to a hamburger/hotdog place that charged extra for condiments. Seriously, it was like $0.10 for onions, $0.10 for relish, $0.10 for ketchup! The place was out of business a few months later.

2) Italian restaurants that don’t give you enough pasta. Come on! That’s the cheap part of the meal. Piling on the pasta gives the impression that you give huge portions.

3) Chinese restaurants that charge extra for sweet & sour or soy sauce packets on take out orders. Is it really costing you that much money? Are people just hoarding soy sauce so they don’t have to buy the bottle?

4) Fast food places that don’t let you get your own napkins. Then when you go ask for some they give you “one” napkin. Ok, how am I suppose to eat your greasy food with one napkin.

Any others?

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