Goings Ons

So I have been here over a week now and am sufficiently bored. I have been exploring and hanging out with some people, but it sucks not knowing the local hole in the wall. I did a haunted house…supposed ranked number 2 in scariness in the city (number 1 was in the GHETTO…therefore the scariness factor was probably just getting there, remaining in the area, and leaving). It was okay. The line was long and there were two parts…they said 4 mazes, two were combined into one type of thing. Not only could I not tell where the first one ended and the second began, they both were LAME. Yeah, the second one had some GREAT 3D effects and a vertigo tunnel at the end, but they didn’t make me shit myself…generally that’s the point of going on one of those things.

I did go downtown and eat at the Aquarium. As its name sounds, it’s a restaurant that’s three stories with HUGE aquariums in the middle and then smaller ones all around. Very nice ambiance. It’s in a little area that has small amusements and games. There’s even a train and ferris wheel. I rode the ferris wheel at night and though it’s not the largest thing on Earth, it gave way to a GREAT view of the skyline at night…or at least part of it.

I volunteered giving candy out at the Zoo this past weekend as well. It was fun getting out and handing candy out. The weather was perfect. I once again have a shirt and neck tan line from the sun, but it was cool anyway. They do something called “Zoo Boo” where all the kids can come out and get candy and do different activities and crafts that all center around halloween. At least I don’t feel so guilty for not giving out candy tonight since it’s Tuesday and it’s the Tuesday Night Dinner Group.

I think that I’m ready to work as well. Boredom is setting in. There is only so much cleaning, cooking (yes cooking), and reading you can do. I’m ready to make some money so I can by a 60″ TV when I move into the house…that and a pool table and hot tub…and a Range Rover.

Driving Texas Style

Driving in Houston has been interesting to say the least. For all of you that think you’ve seen how people can’t drive where you are…come for a visit. They don’t use turn signals, so it’s just random lane changing and pulling out in front of you. If someone wants to get over and there’s no room, they’ll swerve towards the lane they want and then snatch the steering wheel back so that the person brakes or speeds up. Tada, there’s the space the driver needs to get over.

Running red lights is also a favorite pastime it appears. A light will be yellow and then turn red and a line of cars will drive on through. Apparently they’re getting cameras at the intersections in an attempt to modify that behavior. We’ll see how that goes.

Another favorite activity of theirs is to drive right up behind you when you’re completely stopped, at a stop light per se. So not only will they hit you from behind, they will hit you so that their hood will be your back deck ornament. Who needs a wing or spoiler?!

Given that I have noticed how people drive, I have adjusted my own driving style. I leave plenty of room between car ahead and myself, both when driving and when at a stop. I also make sure that there’s room for those that feel the urge to just swing over a lane…of course it’s the lane that I’m in. I have also gotten used to the fact that people don’t signal, so I consider it a pleasant surprise when someone does actually use their turn signal.

Oh, there is something else…apparently not everyone has insurance down here…go figure. Therefore, I have insurance and a camera in my car just in case. Oh, and people don’t really deal with speed limits here except for in the Woodlands. They just seem to go however fast they want, which is great. I suppose that as long as there are no accidents, the police look the other way. Woo hoo!

I’m working…but not getting paid

I have had a couple of job leads, but nothing great. I am going to go ahead and send my teaching stuff into the Texas Board of Education…ugh. I didn’t really want to teach right yet, but I guess I will at least see what they say.

I have been busy around here trying to get situated and cleaned up. I think that I have it mostly under control right now. It seems like I should be getting paid with as much as I’m having to do…I’d much rather be working at a for real job than do this stuff.

Monday was supposed to be nice and quiet, but I wound up at Hooter’s watching Monday Night Football with some friends. Last night I went with some other friends and ate at an Indian restaurant. It wasn’t bad. I think that the last time I went I hated it because I didn’t know what I was ordering. This time I let someone order for me that knew what he was talking about. Thank God. Tonight will be the nice and quiet night here. I haven’t left the apartment all day. Xbox 360 and those damn sports games kept me occupied inbetween cleaning, laundry, and cooking stuff.

This weekend I’m going to volunteer at some event at the zoo. I’m looking forward to it. I want to check the zoo out anyway. I think that a group of us will be going to a haunted house too. I got the halloween thing on my door that says whether or not I’ll hand out candy. Fortunately, the Tuesday night dinner group happens, so I won’t be home. I know it sounds mean, but being in an apartment, I can’t deal with the door pounding. However, I haven’t seen or heard any kids since I’ve been here. It’s mostly a younger crowd. Thank God for minor miracles.

A Great…Grocery Store???

So while I was out running errands…I found a Wachovia (more on that later), I ran across a grocery store called H E B. There are closer ones to me, like right down the street, but this one was in the Woodlands, which is a great area, so I stopped. Dear God almighty, that grocery store was like walking into a good Nordstrom’s…not the crappy one in MacArthur. This thing was huge! They had this great thing where you can weigh your produce and it’ll spit out a little tag that you can put on so the cashier doesn’t have to spend twenty hours looking for the code because their produce section is the size of a small Farm Fresh. I don’t know if this is the norm for all H E B’s, but I’m not tempting fate. This one is 5 minutes away, if that and it’s in the Woodlands Towne Center/Mall area. I spent freakin THREE HOURS in this grocery store!!! I couldn’t believe it. It has all the Harris Teeter type stuff, but then add gourmet stuff and food from the Fresh Market and there it is. This place was awesome. I didn’t want to leave. I don’t cook, but since I don’t have a job right now, I got some food and will cook since I have nothing else to do. Chances are it’ll only last a week or so, but hey.

So points to Houston on the grocery store. The bank…wow. Nothing really special about it…I mean it’s a Wachovia, only the decor was really modern and really business trendy. The office doors are on a track, and therefore slide. However, it looks like a regular office door and the track runs SUPER smooth, not like some cheap patio door or anything. I think that it has to be something like carbon fiber or something because it was really light, but it was sturdy and held a large pane of glass. I couldn’t hear jack after that door shut either. Very nice people at the bank too. They offered me something to drink right off the bat and nobody else was in the building.

This is what I love about this area I’m in. There’s super nice stuff, people obviously have loads of money because of all of the cars, the stores that are around, the botique hotels, etc…I get fantastic service and don’t even have close to the money these people have, yet I reap the rewards!

By the way, I saw several Range Rovers today that I wanted and was mentally constructing one in my head. However, I was quickly distracted when I saw two red ferraris, an aston marten, and this beautiful bmw 7 series. Oh how I wish that I’d win the lottery.

Houston…Not Exactly Virginia Beach

So after getting here, it really hit me that I was here for good. Wow, what a ton of bricks to fall. I’m settled for the most part and need to get going on the small things, like finding the bank, etc. I’m in a really nice area, thank God. I got lost driving through the bario the other night. It wasn’t bad. I mean I did lock my doors, but really, for being one of the not so nice sections of town, it wasn’t bad. Traffic sucks big time and it really irritates me to no end that there are no zoning laws here, so there is just crap next to some really nice stuff. Hopefully people get around that by not renewing leases, forcing companies out, etc. Who knows, maybe I should just post an ad in New York and New Jersey asking for some Sopranos-type help. I wish Houston would get some zoning laws up and running.

It’s dangerous…I have no job and know how to get to Ikea, The Galleria, and I’m right next to the Woodlands Mall…all of them are in really good areas and have really nice stuff in them…scary. I need to find a job. The Range Rover won’t pay for itself. The city itself is really spread out and isn’t like Chicago or NYC where everything is built up…here it’s built out. It makes traffic awful. The interstates all through town, even on the edges are all at least 5 lines wide each direction with an HOV and then a toll road that runs parallel to the North/South interstate. Needless to say, I’ll be paying tolls to get through faster. Thank God for EZ pass.

I feel okay being here, I mean the area is much more to my speed than Virginia Beach was. I just can’t get over this pit in my stomach about leaving friends. I feel awful and can’t get out of this funk. The littlest things that don’t bother me are magnified ten-fold because of it. I’m ready to go back and visit already. I think that once I find a job, things will get better.

Texas So Far

So after driving the 3.5 hours to get to Houston from Lafayette, LA (if you don’t know, don’t worry), I found myself in Houston in a downpour of rain…fantastic. At least it stopped so I could get my stuff up three floors to the apartment. It’s nice here so far. It hasn’t been too humid and the temperatures are in the 60s and 70s. Tomorrow it should be near 80 and the humidity should return. The lows are in the 40s and 50s, so it’s very agreeable.

Went to Best Buy, Target, and Bed, Bath, & Beyond to get stuff that I needed. So it seems that I’m settling in quite nicely. Some friends of mine have been in Savannah, GA visiting my best friend Jamie. I was going to meet them, but I really wanted to get over here and get settled. Oh, I went to Ikea of course as well. I didn’t buy too much from there actually…a chest of drawers, light, and some other small stuff.

So today I guess I’m going to find a Wachovia, get an EZ pass tag, and explore a bit more. I really miss Virginia, but I have a feeling that I will like this area much better, but will miss the weather and the people. I’m really homesick for a few friends back there, but I’m sure things will get better….they better get better, I can’t do that drive again. Driving through two SEC school towns was just pure hell. However, on the plus side, when I was driving through Auburn, I called a buddy of mine who’s an alum and we’re going to try to the World’s Largest Cocktail Party, aka the Florida – Georgia game in Jacksonville. I’ve never been, but it’s just a HUGE tailgate party, the game, then even more partying. I’m very excited about that.

Upsides

So on the way to Houston while I was driving, it hit me that I am very thankful that this time is finally coming to fluition.  I am looking forward to seeing friends and hanging out with people that I’ll be introduced to.  I think that I will feel a bit better once I’m there.  I’m waiting too look for a job until I get down there and settled, but we’ll see.  I only hope that there will be a good job waiting for me down there.  I guess if I teach, I’ve been looking into inner city schools.  I think that I miss that population and am curious about how the schools work down there.  There are a few teachers that I will get to know who are friends of friends that I’m going to talk to, so we’ll see.  I need a job for my Range Rover!

Cars, more cars, trucks, more cars, and a dead skunk

So I have finally stopped driving for the day.  I left my parents this morning at 10:00 after breakfast at Hardees (there are no Hardees or Carl Jr.s down there…can you believe that?!).  I stopped twice at rest stops and once for dinner.  I think that I could have driven all the way to Houston in one day, but I decided to stop at 22:00 (23:00 Eastern Time) in Lafayette, Louisiana.  Houston is only 3.5 – 4 hours away from here.

The drive was nice.  No rain and it wasn’t overly hot.  There were lots of cars, and then some more car, and then some trucks, then some more cars, and towards the end, the smell of a dead skunk.  I almost hit 100 MPH at one point, but according to the GPS, it was only 98.7 mph.  My average speed was 78 mph, which is only because of a little traffic around Atlanta, the rest stops, and the dinner stop.  Otherwise, it was pretty smooth sailing.

I guess I’ll get to Houston tomorrow sometime.  It should be fine driving tomorrow too.  Oh well, off to find something to watch on the boob.

Yikes

So I’m thinking about my move to Texas and there are some fears that I am having a hard time overcoming.  I fear that I won’t find a job right away.  It’s not that I need one for the money as much as it is needing one to feel as if my life has some sort of meaning and purpose personally.  I think that I need to have a job in order to feel like my life is “normal” again, or at least close to it.  My biggest fear with this is knowing that if I don’t find one, I’ll sit around and mope out of boredom and miss Virginia Beach and my friends there.

I’m not really worried about finding friends down there.  I have some down there already and they have already told me that I’m going out with them when I get down there and they each have people to introduce me to…ugh.  It’s going to be a weird process I guess.

I’m really curious as to where this journey will take me.  I’m hoping that once I have a job, the house is built, and I get to know the area, that I can really settle in and concentrate on adapting to the area and really get used to calling Houston “home.”  After being in Virginia Beach for 15 years, the change is dramatic and at times overpowering.

I guess that my biggest fear is that the friends that I left behind in Virginia Beach and I will somehow drift apart.  One of my characteristics if you will is that I put a lot into friendship and even more if I truly consider that person a loyal and true friend.  So having done that with some people there, it makes the attachment that much stronger and my fear that much greater.  I value friendship more than anything else and I can’t imagine losing these people as friends.  I can’t imagine my life without some of the people there, nor would I ever want to.  I guess that it could be considered a character flaw if you will to feel that way about my friends and could be a weakness, especially in this situation.  It certainly doesn’t make things on me any easier.

I can’t tell you how much I miss Virginia Beach already and how much more I miss the people there.  I guess that it means that I’ll be racking up the frequent flier miles going back and forth.

A Thought…

I have started rereading “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank.  I read it a very long time ago, yet never finished it.  There was just one section that I had to read over again just to make sure that I read it right.

     “Where there’s hope, there’s life.  It fills us with fresh courage and    makes us strong again.  We’ll need to be brave to endure the many fears and hardships and the suffering yet to come.”

So being that she was in her late teens when she wrote this just struck me as utterly profound and powerful.  I really took this personlly.  I feel fear with regards to moving, the North Korea situation, and the Middle East.  These are in no way even close to what she was dealing with, but yet are my fears nonetheless.  I feel terrible for even comparing them, but was really drawn to that statement.

So if what she says can be applied today, it only makes me wonder how much hope will it take for the troubles going on in the world to be solved and for people to be healed both physically and emotionally?