“Houston, we have a problem”
They literally sell T-shirts with that iconic line on the front in the Houston airport. So, as I’ve been complaining about for the past two or three weeks, I spent the last few days in work training in Houston, TX. As expected, it was July in Texas and it was really, very, EXTREMELY hot and humid and just downright awful to be outside. And you know that thing where people say “Yes it’s hot but you don’t go outside”? Yeah, no. We had to walk to the office and walk to get food and it was just terrible. I spent the first day sick to my stomach because of the heat. I couldn’t wear glasses outside because they fogged up from the humidity.
But the hotel was nice and the trip down and back wasn’t awful except I had to sit in the middle seat on the airplane. Texas, at least the part I was in, looked exactly like everywhere else. There were a lot of chain restaurants, chain stores, and cars. No sidewalks. As I said before, people don’t walk in Houston. Very sad to have gone and left without getting some good barbecue but I did have a delicious steak dinner one night so that’s good (story there that I won’t discuss on here).
As it was a work trip, I can’t go into the ins and outs of the week. That’ll have to be face to face with you all. Suffice it say, I’m happy to be home.
That is until I found out my cable in my bedroom isn’t working and can’t fixed until the 31st. GAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Another Hundred People 
As to “Texas looked like everyplace else in America” the megacities like San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston are not “Texas” in the cultural sense. You have to go out to west Texas: San Angelo, Midland, Odessa to find that, and it is still there, armadilloes (which make a sickening cracking noise when you run over them on the road), tumbleweed, old pickup trucks with gun racks in the back window (loaded) and drinking Lone Star longnecks, perhaps the worst beer in the world next to Iron City (Pittsburgh) and Carling Black Label (Cleveland, no longer made)