As the year progresses, the weather grows colder and our workload increases, the little jewels scattered throughout the Binghamton area can always be counted on to keep our spirits up.

People sometimes rag on this city for being a bit dull, but there’s quite a bit more to it than most pick up at first glance. However awesome and intense your nights Downtown are, it might be worth investing some time into making memories you’ll actually be able to recall the next morning.

Full disclosure: I type this as my right hand is marked with green sharpie and stamped “FU BAR.”

For starters, you’d be in good company with many other students for breakfast at either Chris’ or Rolando’s Diners, two staples of the morning-after scene for many of BU’s finest. The portions are massive and the prices make one wonder how these places can turn profit, but that’s exactly what being in a college town is all about.

Perhaps you’d like to walk off the big breakfast somewhere; well, the Ross Park Zoo isn’t a bad idea at all. Just $6, and with new exhibits rolling in, the zoo now houses cougars, tigers and eagles! It also might be worth scoping out the cool little carousel from the 1920s located right at the zoo — in case you haven’t noticed, carousels have a bit of a history over here.

While the nightly fireworks from the B-Mets games have recently ended their season, a trip to the NYSEG Stadium come spring is a good time. The Binghamton Senators hockey team tends to fill the void well during the winter. Should you choose to play the sports instead of watch them, a trip over to the nicest park in town, Otsiningo Park, would certainly be called for.

“Indoor” folk, however, could easily down a whole day at the legendary Wegmans, cited even by the often-carping staff of the Binghamton Review as “God’s gift to the Greater Binghamton area.”

Of course, there is plenty to check out on campus as well. With the famed Nature Preserve, which has housed many of my old College-in-the-Woods comrades at ungodly hours of the night, to the highly competitive soccer, rugby and March Madness-worthy men’s basketball teams, you can always find something to do with your spare time around Binghamton.

This “Parlor City” certainly has its own charms, and while it may not be home to the majority of us, it can certainly feel quite homey. If you’re still left unconvinced, why not just knock back a few brews and forget where you are altogether? Can’t go wrong with that.