Chad's Weblog: Weekend in Houston

Last weekend we went to Houston for Nada's grandmother's birthday. It was Faris' first time to meet his Great Grandmother, Uncle Zeine, and Great Aunt Val. Nada's mom cooked a delectable curry dinner - yellow curry with potatoes and chicken, rice, and a full assortment of add-ons like fried bananas, fresh bananas, mango, mango chutney, chopped onion, red Thai chili pepper (home grown), sweet green pepper, tomato, and peanuts. DELICIOUS! The only thing I didn't add to my plate was mangos. Not a fan of the mango fruit. The chili peppers were HOT, and even though I was forewarned, I loaded them onto my plate en masse and got what I deserved.

Later that night, Nada's sister Zena, Nada, and I met up with my friend John Boyd, who is visiting from Paris, France, at the Red Lion Pub at Westheimer and S. Shepherd. That is my favorite area in all of Houston. LOTS going on and lots to do, incluing one of my favorite Indian restaurants, Bombay Palace. We didn't have much time and I had to drive home so we took it very easy on the drink. John is coming up to Austin tomorrow night and I'm sure I'll be able to then have more than 1 beer ;)

We have talked alot recently about moving to Houston for these reasons: 1. lower cost of living; 2. higher salaries; 3. to be near Faris' grandparents. It sounds nice in theory, but I tend to forget just how monstrous Houston really is until I drive around it from time to time. In the time it took us to get from Nada's parents' house (NW Houston @ 290 and 1960) to Westheimer and S. Shepherd (to get to Red Lion Pub), I could have driven end-to-end, twice, in Austin. Not sure I want to live there anymore, since my commute from the affordable suburbs in the NW area of town to the downtown businesses would be about 45 minutes each way - without traffic.

Now, I'm 15 minutes from work driving on 2222, which is a hilly, twisty, scenic road w/out any traffic. And my office overlooks Town Lake, the 360 bridge, and the outlying hills to the West. It's a hard view to beat (in Austin). Not sure I'd get that kind of office view in the 4th largest city in the US. However, it was nice to drive on real hi-ways with 5 lanes. Supposedly, they are expanding I-10 in Houston to 26 lanes or something ridiculous. If only Austin would learn to manage (rather than ignore) its own growth by building some decent hi-ways for commuters, with more than 2 lanes (S. MoPac) and w/out any stoplights (Loop 360).

The Pics

Nada's Grandmother's House