When people ask me about how I am adjusting to Houston, I really don’t know what to say. Anytime you move to a new place, there is just that time that is weird, kinda like buying a new pair of shoes (because life always relates somehow to Nordstrom). There is that time that you wear the shoe, you usually get a few compliments, but you get blisters and curse the shoes for a while and you want to wear your old worn out shoes for a while, but when you wear those the next time, your real opinion is formed.

Anyway, I feel like I am still in my “first wear” with Houston, and here are some of my first impressions:

The drivers here are really bad. And people that drive the big trucks are usually worse, and more often than not are drunk behind the wheel, especially on a Saturday night. Drivers of Lexuses in the area have no clue of what is going on around them, and drive 5 miles lower than the speed limit.

I have found that it rains more here in Houston in the summer than it does in an entire year in Seattle. I have slowly learned that here in Houston if the weather reporter says there is a 30% of rain, you expect it to rain for at least 30% of the afternoon. If he says 40%, you just stay in doors, because it is liable to be flood like conditions. However, you don’t necessarily see it coming. Twice now I have walked into a store and the sun is shining, and when I come back out, a monsoon has hit, and I have difficulty making it home.

But on the note of weather, I must be adjusting some, because when I went outside yesterday I didn’t think it felt all that bad, only to discover that it was 97 degrees outside.

On the brighter side, the Houstonians that I have met have been pretty friendly. The 20-somethings with designer shoes, nice cars and maxed out credit cards and are pretty snobby, but you find that anywhere these days. But the older crowd is really friendly, and will strike up conversations with you anywhere. In fact, if I feel lonely, I just go grocery shopping and buy zucchini because there is always some nice lady that will talk to me when I am in that section of the store.

Another population that has actually been overly friendly to me are the mosquitoes. While playing croquet with friends the other night, I acquired over 20 of these bites on my arms alone. I feel itchy just thinking about it.

The other overly friendly population is the sales people around here. Bob and I have been looking around for furniture, and have found that the sales people are pushy and over-bearing, and downright silly at times. We were even chased out of one store by an sales associate, wanting to tell us of their financing options. Too bad we didn’t wear running shoes that day so we could have save ourselves from the 20 minute spiel.

So there you have it. My first impressions of Houston.