Cypress / Houston , TX Impressions

[Fattening Ass]

Im in Texas, assisting with the set up of our new Houston Premium Outlet store and here's my thoughts so far about this part of Texas:

Feeder roads. WTF? There is a road that runs alongside EVERY freeway. Why is this necessary? In my opinion: dumb.

Tollways. Ok, so this is a "not-so-free freeway". There is a toll fee at every exit, and a toll after every few miles, regardless if you exit. I had to pay 4 tolls. What is this toll for and where does the money go? I can understand a bridge toll. Bridge tolls usually go towards maintaining the bridge and/or retrofitting it. The Sam Houston tollway shows nothing for the tolls you must pay.

Sidewalks. There are no sidewalks, even in big commercial areas with stores and restaurants, nor are there really any crosswalks. It appears no one walks, even in big, populated areas where there are businesses that you would think they'd be walking near.

Stop lights. Stop lights are hung sideways and on wires. How these things don't fall with strong winds, i don't know. And whats with there being two to three stop lights hanging in each direction, how is one not enough?

So far, even with all the businesses and restaurants, Cypress looks incredibly boring. Its also humid here and sticky. Gross.

...and whataburger is NOTHING to call home about. A Seriously overrated, average burger joint.

[ammy]

shit, i still haven't gone to whataburger yet and i only have one day left!
oh well.


why is it pronounced whahta-burger instead of whut-a-burger? erg.

To continue on the TX netphorian experience: my impressions on San Anotnio

-the humidity in san antonio the last few days has been horrific, holy hell it's gross
-I have had pizza from three different places now and every single one has been the worst pizza i've ever eaten
-why is nothing spicy? every time i get foods that should have some kick, or something with jalapenos or whatnot the kick is sad and makes me cry (of sadness not hotness)
-hanging out with Brendan the other night was awesome, however, as i noted to him and his brethren - it was the single most un-PC night of my life, i spent much of it in shock that it was normal conversation - it felt like... netphoria in real life or something
-everyone is nice here. it's freaky. you walk down the street and people look at you and say 'hello' or 'how are you' instead of looking down at their feet and pretending the didn't notice you
-i've never seen so many cops on a constant basis in my life
-ghetto here is not the same as ghetto at home. it feels safe here. (not that i've seen too much of it.. but)
-so few homeless!

[wHATcOLOR]

Originally Posted by Fattening Ass

Im in Texas, assisting with the set up of our new Houston Premium Outlet store and here's my thoughts so far about this part of Texas:

Feeder roads. WTF? There is a road that runs alongside EVERY freeway. Why is this necessary? In my opinion: dumb.

Tollways. Ok, so this is a "not-so-free freeway". There is a toll fee at every exit, and a toll after every few miles, regardless if you exit. I had to pay 4 tolls. What is this toll for and where does the money go? I can understand a bridge toll. Bridge tolls usually go towards maintaining the bridge and/or retrofitting it. The Sam Houston tollway shows nothing for the tolls you must pay.

Sidewalks. There are no sidewalks, even in big commercial areas with stores and restaurants, nor are there really any crosswalks. It appears no one walks, even in big, populated areas where there are businesses that you would think they'd be walking near.

Stop lights. Stop lights are hung sideways and on wires. How these things don't fall with strong winds, i don't know. And whats with there being two to three stop lights hanging in each direction, how is one not enough?

So far, even with all the businesses and restaurants, Cypress looks incredibly boring. Its also humid here and sticky. Gross.

...and whataburger is NOTHING to call home about. A Seriously overrated, average burger joint.

get a load of andy rooney over here

[Fattening Ass]

Originally Posted by ammy

shit, i still haven't gone to whataburger yet and i only have one day left!
oh well.


why is it pronounced whahta-burger instead of whut-a-burger? erg.

To continue on the TX netphorian experience: my impressions on San Anotnio

-the humidity in san antonio the last few days has been horrific, holy hell it's gross
-I have had pizza from three different places now and every single one has been the worst pizza i've ever eaten
-why is nothing spicy? every time i get foods that should have some kick, or something with jalapenos or whatnot the kick is sad and makes me cry (of sadness not hotness)
-hanging out with Brendan the other night was awesome, however, as i noted to him and his brethren - it was the single most un-PC night of my life, i spent much of it in shock that it was normal conversation - it felt like... netphoria in real life or something
-everyone is nice here. it's freaky. you walk down the street and people look at you and say 'hello' or 'how are you' instead of looking down at their feet and pretending the didn't notice you
-i've never seen so many cops on a constant basis in my life
-ghetto here is not the same as ghetto at home. it feels safe here. (not that i've seen too much of it.. but)
-so few homeless!

Serious about spicy stuff. I just had dinner at the Texas Steak House, and the jalapeno cheese things were so weak. The dumb waitress failed to mention to me that their green beans had been cooked with bacon even after i declined gravy on my mashed potatoes because she told me it had meat in it. I told her i wasn't getting anything with meat !!!

Sucks i am here too late, with probably no real free time, as i would love to kick it with Ammy. How did you even walk down the street, there are no sidewalks !!!!

[ammy]

i have no solid plans tomorrow night if you find free time! (actually i think i'm done with the conference by 12)
i also have no car, though

which is why i haven't made it to waddaburger yet

[Fattening Ass]

I doubt i have free time tomorrow. ;/ We get our first big semi-truck @ 7:00am and will be working probably through 8:00pm. We get a 2nd semi on thursday morning ;[ at 7:00am. I also have no idea how to get around here. Yahoo and google can help, im sure. I do have a rental tho, so if im not too beat, and you're still doin' nuthin, maybe i can take you to a whataburger or something ;D

I ate there when i lived in Arizona, and its like whatever. I'd still go even tho im not eating meat. I could get a faggy salad or something.

[ammy]

lol, sounds like a solid plan, man!

[Fattening Ass]

drop me an e-mail Ammers with the addy you're staying at so i can try to see the distance i'd be drivin'. It also depends on where you're at too, as im not sure the mileage coverage this car has. it might be unlimited, i didn't think to check it, as its covered by Vans, who are cheapasses sometimes (they don't pay for in car navigation!!!).

[ammy]

it says you don't want e-mails or PMs so that makes things a bit tricky

i'm in san antonio, at the La Quinta, 100 W Durango Blvd.
please no one come and kill me in my sleep. i need my sleep.

[Fattening Ass]

aw shite, you're 3 hours away from me. Definately not gonna happen xD.

[ammy]

rofl, it was a nice thought!
i keep forgetting san antonio is so far south and stuff

[wHATcOLOR]

i will kill you when you wake

[Fattening Ass]

I like how persistent this guy is until attention is given to him.

i was doing fine ignoring him.. damn.

[ammy]

Originally Posted by wHATcOLOR

i will kill you when you wake

if it'll keep me out of 5 hours of macro seminars...

[Fattening Ass]

Ammy is a botter !!!

[ammy]

uhhh what's going on in this thread!?

[Fattening Ass]

you use bots to farm monsters using macros in MMORPGS !!!!

that and im talking about TEHAS even tho i should be getting rest for tomorrow's labor heavy workday

[ammy]

i know what a botter is but....


OH MACROS.. oh man.. left field. ok. yeeeeeeeeeeeah
sleeeeeeeeeeeeep now. must sleep.

[Fattening Ass]

Werd. Peace out !

[wHATcOLOR]

get a good night's sleep you fucking dickhead

[murgle]

Originally Posted by Fattening Ass

Im in Texas, assisting with the set up of our new Houston Premium Outlet store and here's my thoughts so far about this part of Texas:

Feeder roads. WTF? There is a road that runs alongside EVERY freeway. Why is this necessary? In my opinion: dumb.

Tollways. Ok, so this is a "not-so-free freeway". There is a toll fee at every exit, and a toll after every few miles, regardless if you exit. I had to pay 4 tolls. What is this toll for and where does the money go? I can understand a bridge toll. Bridge tolls usually go towards maintaining the bridge and/or retrofitting it. The Sam Houston tollway shows nothing for the tolls you must pay.

Sidewalks. There are no sidewalks, even in big commercial areas with stores and restaurants, nor are there really any crosswalks. It appears no one walks, even in big, populated areas where there are businesses that you would think they'd be walking near.

Stop lights. Stop lights are hung sideways and on wires. How these things don't fall with strong winds, i don't know. And whats with there being two to three stop lights hanging in each direction, how is one not enough?

So far, even with all the businesses and restaurants, Cypress looks incredibly boring. Its also humid here and sticky. Gross.

...and whataburger is NOTHING to call home about. A Seriously overrated, average burger joint.

Feeder roads: for exiting and stuff. When you get out into the country and stuff, they actually become 2-way so you can avoid the highway if you want to.

Toll roads: go to building more and mainting the toll roads. They're actually really great because (at least in DFW, can't necessarly speak for Houston) since they cost money, less people use them. Therefore, less traffic. I'm totally okay with paying money for less traffic.

Sidewalks: Yeah, the city planners make it so it's usually impossible to walk to most places. It really sucks. Then again, even if there ARE sidewalks in a lot of places, you'll get run over because people drive like ass.

Stop lights: not all of them are like that. The wire ones typically hold up pretty well, surprisingly.

Whataburger: Since you're not eating meat, I don't think you can judge the whole place on the basis of their salads and/or french fries alone.

[murgle]

Originally Posted by ammy

shit, i still haven't gone to whataburger yet and i only have one day left!
oh well.


why is it pronounced whahta-burger instead of whut-a-burger? erg.

To continue on the TX netphorian experience: my impressions on San Anotnio

-the humidity in san antonio the last few days has been horrific, holy hell it's gross
-I have had pizza from three different places now and every single one has been the worst pizza i've ever eaten
-why is nothing spicy? every time i get foods that should have some kick, or something with jalapenos or whatnot the kick is sad and makes me cry (of sadness not hotness)
-hanging out with Brendan the other night was awesome, however, as i noted to him and his brethren - it was the single most un-PC night of my life, i spent much of it in shock that it was normal conversation - it felt like... netphoria in real life or something
-everyone is nice here. it's freaky. you walk down the street and people look at you and say 'hello' or 'how are you' instead of looking down at their feet and pretending the didn't notice you
-i've never seen so many cops on a constant basis in my life
-ghetto here is not the same as ghetto at home. it feels safe here. (not that i've seen too much of it.. but)
-so few homeless!

-Welcome to Texas. It's humid. You should come back in July
-It's a Texas thing to greet people on the street and in stores and stuff. Some Texans actually get angry if they don't get a "How're you?" or "Hi" back from people.
-Trust me, there are bad ghettos and homeless people a plenty.

Texas is an interesting place

Oh, and some people say, "Water-burger" instead of "what-a-burger" (or whuttaburger or whatever)

[SlingeroGuitaro]

the lights are hung sideways on wires because of the wind. lights that hang down in high wind areas fall off

there are sidewalks all over austin- houston sucks balls

[sppunk]

Originally Posted by Fattening Ass

Feeder roads. WTF? There is a road that runs alongside EVERY freeway. Why is this necessary?

They alleviate traffic congestion, even though you can't tell. If there is a wreck that clogs up 45 be happy you have an alternative.

Originally Posted by Fattening Ass

Tollways.

Do you live in a goddamn cave or something? Texas' tollroads are nothing compared to the NE. Tollroads function as alternative transit lanes and are subsidized by passenger traffic. Many tollroads are private and not operated by TxDOT.

Originally Posted by Fattening Ass

Sidewalks.

Hi, welcome to Houston where it's 90 with 100 percent humidity for eight or nine months of the year. It's one of the worst sprawling cities in the U.S. and has the least amount of zoning laws for any city over 1 million.

Originally Posted by Fattening Ass

Stop lights. Stop lights are hung sideways and on wires. How these things don't fall with strong winds, i don't know. And whats with there being two to three stop lights hanging in each direction, how is one not enough?

Those lights withstand strong winds and storms Texas sees far better than lights hanging down. There are two or three at each light because usually there is one set per lane (and that's not a Texas thing, it's kinda like you're in the big city for the first time after living in an Incan cliffdwelling.

Originally Posted by Fattening Ass

So far, even with all the businesses and restaurants, Cypress looks incredibly boring. Its also humid here and sticky. Gross.

You're in the suburbs. It's McMansions and strip malls - that's mostly all Texas because it's "recently discovered".

Originally Posted by Fattening Ass

...and whataburger is NOTHING to call home about. A Seriously overrated, average burger joint.

You don't eat meat so can't really judge a hamburger place. Besides, I expect you have inferior taste in all things good.

[sppunk]

Originally Posted by ammy

why is it pronounced whahta-burger instead of whut-a-burger? erg.

It is pronounced whut-a-burger (listen to any commercial - they're from Corpus) but most just shorten that into whataburger

Originally Posted by ammy

-the humidity in san antonio the last few days has been horrific, holy hell it's gross

It's not even hot yet, suck it up.

Originally Posted by ammy

-why is nothing spicy? every time i get foods that should have some kick, or something with jalapenos or whatnot the kick is sad and makes me cry (of sadness not hotness)

Real Mexican food is more bland than spicy. But you're unfortunately probably eating at restaurants that aren't the best in the area. :shrug:

Originally Posted by ammy

-everyone is nice here. it's freaky. you walk down the street and people look at you and say 'hello' or 'how are you' instead of looking down at their feet and pretending the didn't notice you

That's a Texas trademark and it's uber annoying, but refreshing in a twisted way.

Originally Posted by ammy

-i've never seen so many cops on a constant basis in my life

Texas has to feed the electrical chair somehow, yo.

Originally Posted by ammy

-so few homeless!

I don't think San Antonio has a very high homeless population, actually, even though it's one of the biggest cities in the U.S.

[pink_ribbon_scars]

houston is really quite cool is you involve yourself in the right stuff, but if you stay in a car in strip-mall hell, you're not going to be impressed.

[Fattening Ass]

Originally Posted by sppunk

They alleviate traffic congestion, even though you can't tell. If there is a wreck that clogs up 45 be happy you have an alternative.

Do you live in a goddamn cave or something? Texas' tollroads are nothing compared to the NE. Tollroads function as alternative transit lanes and are subsidized by passenger traffic. Many tollroads are private and not operated by TxDOT.

Hi, welcome to Houston where it's 90 with 100 percent humidity for eight or nine months of the year. It's one of the worst sprawling cities in the U.S. and has the least amount of zoning laws for any city over 1 million.

Those lights withstand strong winds and storms Texas sees far better than lights hanging down. There are two or three at each light because usually there is one set per lane (and that's not a Texas thing, it's kinda like you're in the big city for the first time after living in an Incan cliffdwelling.

You're in the suburbs. It's McMansions and strip malls - that's mostly all Texas because it's "recently discovered".

You don't eat meat so can't really judge a hamburger place. Besides, I expect you have inferior taste in all things good.

1. I guess. Its pretty lame that i have to go out of my way to get in the opposite direction that this feeder lane is going.

2. I live in California and to my knowledge, other than bridge tolls, we don't charge people toll fees on a fucking freeway, especially every fucking few miles. Is one toll not enough? pfft.

3. Humidity sucks monkey balls. Fuck this horrible, constant moisture. Its as if you're being breathed upon. GROSS.

4. After thinking about the lights, i guess wires do hold up better to strong winds. There is still no excuse for one light per lane. I guess people in Texas don't know how to fucking drive, which is surprising since no one apparently walks due to the fact that THERE ARE NO SIDEWALKS.

5. Just because Im not currently eating meat, doesn't mean i have never eaten it from an establishment, especially when I talk about a place where I HAVE eaten meat from. whataburger SUCKS. Assuming my taste in all food is rubbish solely because i bash a shitty ass fast food joint is stupid.

[agenda suicide]

Originally Posted by Fattening Ass

1. I guess. Its pretty lame that i have to go out of my way to get in the opposite direction that this feeder lane is going.

not really... there's a u-turn at almost EVERY intersection/exit

Originally Posted by Fattening Ass

2. I live in California and to my knowledge, other than bridge tolls, we don't charge people toll fees on a fucking freeway, especially every fucking few miles. Is one toll not enough? pfft.

seriously, it's not that bad... It's only $5 to make a round trip between cypress and sugar land. also, there are plenty of other freeways, highways, etc for you to take if you don't want to pay the toll...

Originally Posted by Fattening Ass

3. Humidity sucks monkey balls. Fuck this horrible, constant moisture. Its as if you're being breathed upon. GROSS.

I grew up in Houston, so I'm used to it. Dress properly and get used to using a/c a lot.

Originally Posted by Fattening Ass

4. After thinking about the lights, i guess wires do hold up better to strong winds. There is still no excuse for one light per lane. I guess people in Texas don't know how to fucking drive, which is surprising since no one apparently walks due to the fact that THERE ARE NO SIDEWALKS.

Houston is massive and it's not feasible to walk most places. people will stare at you like a nut if you're walking. ESPECIALLY in the suburbs.

[SlingeroGuitaro]

Originally Posted by agenda suicide

seriously, it's not that bad... It's only $5 to make a round trip between cypress and sugar land. also, there are plenty of other freeways, highways, etc for you to take if you don't want to pay the toll...

yeah, its like what austin is now- a lot of the tolls were built by a private company. you can get on them for a new quick route, or continue on the pre-existing roads for a more congested trip.

[agenda suicide]

Originally Posted by SlingeroGuitaro

yeah, its like what austin is now- a lot of the tolls were built by a private company. you can get on them for a new quick route, or continue on the pre-existing roads for a more congested trip.

Yeah... and if you need to take the tollroad often enough then an ez tag is worth it. The only time I EVER take the beltway really is when I'm going to the airport.