I don’t go the Jake’s very often, but when I do go I always have a good time. They have the “back room”, which is a huge room with a stage where they have concerts. It’s never very expensive to get in, and it’s a really good room for concerts. When they don’t have concerts, you can go back into the room and they have extra seating and another bar than the main one. When Texas Tech plays on TV, it’s a good place to go because there are a lot of TVs and projections. They have pretty good drink specials, depending on what night you go. Every night they have a happy hour from 7 to 8 pm where you get $1.75 drafts, $2 bottles and $2 well drinks. Some of my favorite nightly specials are Monday nights are 2 dollar margaritas, Tuesdays are two dollars drafts and bottles and cherry vodka sours, and Fridays are ten dollars buckets. They also have poker tournaments on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesday at 7 and 9 pm. They have lots of seating room in the front room, a back room that has several pool tables, and then the “Back Room”, where they have stages and more seating. It’s a good place to have a large group of friends because they have a lot more seating, but it’s also fun to just go with a date and sit at the bar or at a table alone and have some drinks.

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This week was the last home game for Texas Tech this football season. The game was at 11 in the morning, which usually isn’t fun to start off but by the time the game is over you’re happy that it was an early one. I didn’t get to tail gate this game because I wasn’t there early enough, so when I got there we went straight into the game. I assumed we weren’t going to do too well, since this season has been tough on us. With that last loss to OSU and the loss to A&M before that, I was trying to be optimistic but wasn’t going to get my hopes up. So, when we started the game off with a field goal I was pretty excited that we were holding our own. And when we kicked their asses and won the game 41 to 13 I was ecstatic. It was the best last home game we could have asked for. Last year when they beat us and ruined our season, they played “Jump Around” by Kriss Kross and went wild, so this year we got to do it back to them and make them suffer. I’m glad that all the senior foot ball players got to leave their stadium for the final time with a win, instead of leaving defeated and upset. It was a great game and I am so glad that I have gotten to go to all the games this season, win or lose. I can’t wait for next year’s foot ball season to start!

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Another bar that I think is really cute is called Gas Light in Lubbock. A lot of the bars here aren’t really pretty on the eyes, and the people in charge of this one have really taken the time to make sure it’s comfortable and looks really nice. They have a few areas where you can sit on big leather couches, so it’s very comfortable to relax after a day of work and have a drink. They also have a selection of cigars for sale in the bar, so if you like to sit down and relax and smoke a cigar this is a nice place to go. Their drinks can be pretty pricey, and most of the specials just cut a dollar off certain drinks on certain nights. They often have life music, and small bands will perform in the front room or single people will sing and play the guitar. They have a big front room, with all the couches and a lot of tables, and then they have a separate back room. They also have a beautiful patio area, that looks over a lake. There is another bar outside that serves drinks for when you are out on the patio. One of the best parts of this bar is that they have waitresses. You don’t have to get up and wait at a crowded bar in line to get a drink, you an just order from your waitress and she can take care of it for you. I like going here, but only when I don’t mind spending a little more on drinking. I think this is a good place to take a date, it’s very dim and romantic and they serve small appetizers if you just want to take someone out for a drink and maybe have a snack.

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Speeds is a pool bar in Lubbock. The tables are alright, they might not be the nicest but they are cheaper than competitor pool halls in Lubbock. They have some pretty good specials during the week for drinks and pool games and they have karaoke on the weekends. I used to work here, so the people that come are pretty regular and you get to know them. They have a college night, with cheap pitchers and free bowling for those students who bring in their college ID. These nights were always really fun, it’s nice to find some place where you can drink and you can do something fun for that cheap. I haven’t heard of anyone going in there in a long time. I stopped working there back in 2007 and have only been back a few times since. It kind of seems like they haven’t been taking care of the place, they need to do a lot of renevations but just don’t take the time to do that. But, fi you’re just looking for a good time and something cheap and you don’t care what it looks like (haha) then Speeds is a good place to hang out for those who are tight on the budget. They even have foosball!

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In Lubbock on the news for the past few days they have been talking about the increase in cases of HIV coming out. Last year, there were 11 confirmed new cases of HIV in Lubbock county total, and already this year there have been over 29 cases. So right now we’re sitting at around three times as many as last year. They’re blaming it on a lack of education, which I can see as being true. I just wish people understood that these are their lives. Not just, oh no I have to get some pills to fix this, but LIVES are at stake. I don’t understand why public schools refuse to educate kids before they get into these situations. We can turn a blind eye only so long, these new cases being evidence for that. I hope me writing this right now is at least getting to someone, if only one person. Simple education can help this. Wear a condom. Go get tested. Limit your partners. I’d rather you didn’t, but if you’re going to do it, be as safe as you can. Parents, talk to your kids. I understand it’s an uncomfortable thing to discuss but it’s on you to protect your children and educate them to keep them safe. If you never told them not to touch the stove, why wouldn’t they try it if they really wanted to? Warn them. Protect them. Educate them. TALK to them and let them know you’re there and not going to just punish them for being curious. This is something you just can’t pretend isn’t going on to make yourself feel better.

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The first bar that I ever went to in Lubbock was Bashes. There are two of them here now, but when iw wen there was only the one that is on Main street. I was only 19, and I went there for a poker tournament. They used to have them pretty often, and I assume they got into trouble for letting underage kids come in there and play for a cash prize. I did really well in the tournament, and that being so many years ago I don’t even remember what I thought of the bar at the time. But now, it’s a pretty cool place. It’s using that whole “old and shitty” motif to it’s advantage. There are a few different rooms in it, the front room is always the most crowded and has the main bar, then a little middle dark room, a game room, and the back room that has another bar. They have some decent sized screens and always show the UFC fights. They have 2 cent pint night on Mondays with a small cover from 9 to 11, which is probably the cheapest you can drink in Lubbock. They also have an “Around the world” beer club, with a pretty good selection of hard to find beers. I was in it, but you have to finish it in three months or they make you start over, so when I went in there and found out I had to start over I gave up. A few downfalls to the bar for me are that it’s incredibly smokey and sometimes it’s hard to sit where you can see a TV clearly. I am usually fine with smoke, but for some reason this place just holds it in like there’s a lit cigarette in your face at all times. And, the TV thing is bad when there’s something intersting going on, so you have to get there early to get a seat, and even if you do someone might just stand right in front of you. Fun, cheap, with a few downfalls, I enjoying going to the Original Bashes.

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When I lived on campus at Texas Tech, our dorm room didn’t have much to help in making food. We ha tiny little fridges and most of us had microwaves in our rooms. But, most of the food that comes from microwaves isn’t healthy. I had been used to having a lot of my meals home made, and suddenly that wasn’t even an option. But, in between my dorm and the boys dorm was a place called The Market that connected us. That place pretty much saved me. Most of the places you can eat on campus don’t have appetizing healthy choices, but the market did. They had tons of different things to choose from, so it wasn’t like walking into a cafeteria and having to eat what was on the menu for that day. They had stations, like a sandwich station, Mexican food, chicken, Italian, and so on. In the middle, there was a huge salad bar where you could just tell the person behind it what you wanted on your salad and they would make it for you, then you paid for it by the ounce. That was another thing that I loved about the market, it wasn’t a one price place where even if you just wanted an apple or a coke you had to pay for the entire meal. You paid for each item you bought. I really liked having that place, cause when I’d go to the cafeterias that were all you can eat I always went over board and ate way too much crap. So, the market turned into my mom. Thanks, Market, for keeping the freshman 15 far, far away.

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I like Buffalo Wild Wings. There’s usually somewhere to sit unless something really big is going on on TV, they have tons of TVs to watch so no matter where you’re sitting you can still see what’s going on, and they have really good food. They have drink “specials”, but I still consider drinking there to be pretty expensive when compared to a lot of the places here in Lubbock. It’s a good place to have a large group together, you can sit in the non-smoking room if you don’t like to be around smoke or go into the bar area if you smoke, and, well, the food. It’s fun to be at a bar and have really good bar food right there that isn’t too expensive. I love their naked tenders wrap, but I also love getting wings. There are two here in Lubbock now, so it’s not as crowded when you go like it used to be. They are both located away from most of the popular bars in town, too, so depending on what’s going on it can be a good way to avoid large crowds and get to sit down and watch the game. It’s not my first choice when I want to go out and eat dinner and have a drink, but I do like to go here when I want to watch a game because I’ll definitely get to see the TV. So, I might not go here all the time, but I don’t hate it when I do. So, Buffalo Wild Wings, you’re alright.

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Favorite spot in Lubbock for me personally: Blue Light. Not only because it’s Blue Light, but because it’s connected to another bar that I love, Tom’s Daiquiri, that I’ll write about later. Blue light has it all. You sit inside and watch awesome bands play, you sit outside in the front and can drink on the sidewalk or walk right into Tom’s with your drink, or you go outside in the back and they have a seating area and sometimes a band out there too. Their drinks are never expensive, and if you go early they have really good specials. They have a staff that never changes, so you actually get to know the door people and the bartenders because they are always the same. That just says that these people have a really sweet job and never want to leave it. The crowd is always good, it never seems shady, and everyone just wants to have fun. There’s a small dance floor right in front of the stage so you can dance to the live music. It’s just one of those bars I feel comfortable in, like I feel at home when I go there. And, being able to enjoy two completely different bars legally with the same drink is a lot of fun too. So, this one definitely gets my approval, because it is one of my very favorite places to go to. So, good job Blue Light, you win.

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The Texas Cafe and Bar, also known as The Spoon, has really great food. I like going there during the day and eating their brisket sandwich. They also have ribs, sausage, turkey, ham, and some fixings. It has been open for over 25 years, and with it’s recent new owners taking overt, they are now focusing on live music and having bands at least 4 nights a week. Which is a nice idea. I guess. Unless you like to talk to your friends when you’re at the bar and actually hear what they’re saying or what you’re thinking. The first few times I went to the spoon I remember having a lot of fun, they have pool tables in the back and foosball. But, the place isn’t exactly huge. It’s good size, but when you bring in a band that wants to be heard over everything else, you better be there just to see the band and not talk to anyone else. Even if you go into the back room, it’s too loud to do anything. Most of the seating is located right in the front and you have no choice but to wait until the breaks to say what you need to. They are known for their special drink, cherry bombs, and you can get them alone or in a pitcher to share. Or put a straw in and drink yourself I guess. But, for me, this place is reserved just for lunch, when I’m in that part of Lubbock. Or, when a band that I know and like is playing and I want to hear them.

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