Attention exercise enthusiasts - Terry Hershey Park continues to be a great place to go relax !
In my last post, I mentioned how my mother had just finished two months of illness. Unfortunately, she had a heart attack over the weekend and has landed back in the hospital again.
Of course, getting that phone call puts a shock in one's system. Last night, I decided to go enjoy walking through Terry Hershey Park and get some of that stress out of my system. I walked along the trails from about 7:55 - 8:30 p.m. At 8:10 on the dot, all of the trail lights came on.
The park maintains wildflowers along the banks of the bayou and among some of the berms or hills along the trails. Black-Eyed Susans, dandelions, natural grasses, and cat tails were abundant everywhere.
Enjoyable sites inlcuded people playing with their dogs, a man and his son throwing a baseball back and forth, and a family of 6 making a full team. Yet another family of 4 biked upwards from the bayou level to the upper level with the oldest child outpacing mom and dad, and the youngest riding in a toddler seat just in front of mom, who definitely got the raw end of the deal.
As I left the park at 8:30, the bugs and mosquitoes started buzzing. Reminder to self - take bug spray next time!
Get out and enjoy this local treasure of a park...Cheers, Terre
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
The Economy in Houston
Hello everyone! I'm back after almost two months of caring for a sick loved one. See my other blog, "Frugal, Single Mom" for details.
Houston always has one of those economies that maintains no matter what is happening in the rest of the world. As an almost native Houstonian, it can be depressing at times, because it is hard to maintain friendships when your coworkers are being rotated in and out of jobs every two years. Luckily for me, some of my oil and gas coworkers from years ago have finally landed back in West Houston, and I shake their hands vigorously and get a five minute update whenever I happen to bump into one of them.
The Houston economy, at least in my opinion, is leveling out. I've called one of the local recruiting agencies lately (mainly because I'm so put out with my current job), and was told to "stay put", at least for now. That means, I've got to sit and eat crow for at least another 4 months.
Unleaded gas this week hit $3.50/gallon. My car gets 22 mpg compared to many of my coworkers who get 15 mpg or less because they drive SUVs. When gasoline goes to $4.00/gallon, I told myself that I would start staying at home, walking more, or riding the bus, but the reality becomes that Houston is 2 weeks away from 90F or higher temperatures. Sigh!
All that glitters is not gold. There are a lot of hidden costs to living in Houston...sales tax 8.25%, long commutes to your job (sometimes 60 miles roundtrip per day), high crime rates depending on where you live, TRAFFIC +++ (that's a HUGE understatement), no reliable commuter system, and it's hotter than hell here in the summer time with electric bills at $225.00 + through October.
So, my advice to those who feel lured to move to Houston this summer...stay put! Unless you have a lot of money saved up, have a great car, or are willing to live in substandard housing conditions or overly priced housing (with a high crime rate), don't make the trip.
I'm sure our mayor, who I dearly love, would paint a rosier picture. I'm Houston Proud, but not Houston Stupid. Good luck to everyone during this tricky economy!
Houston always has one of those economies that maintains no matter what is happening in the rest of the world. As an almost native Houstonian, it can be depressing at times, because it is hard to maintain friendships when your coworkers are being rotated in and out of jobs every two years. Luckily for me, some of my oil and gas coworkers from years ago have finally landed back in West Houston, and I shake their hands vigorously and get a five minute update whenever I happen to bump into one of them.
The Houston economy, at least in my opinion, is leveling out. I've called one of the local recruiting agencies lately (mainly because I'm so put out with my current job), and was told to "stay put", at least for now. That means, I've got to sit and eat crow for at least another 4 months.
Unleaded gas this week hit $3.50/gallon. My car gets 22 mpg compared to many of my coworkers who get 15 mpg or less because they drive SUVs. When gasoline goes to $4.00/gallon, I told myself that I would start staying at home, walking more, or riding the bus, but the reality becomes that Houston is 2 weeks away from 90F or higher temperatures. Sigh!
All that glitters is not gold. There are a lot of hidden costs to living in Houston...sales tax 8.25%, long commutes to your job (sometimes 60 miles roundtrip per day), high crime rates depending on where you live, TRAFFIC +++ (that's a HUGE understatement), no reliable commuter system, and it's hotter than hell here in the summer time with electric bills at $225.00 + through October.
So, my advice to those who feel lured to move to Houston this summer...stay put! Unless you have a lot of money saved up, have a great car, or are willing to live in substandard housing conditions or overly priced housing (with a high crime rate), don't make the trip.
I'm sure our mayor, who I dearly love, would paint a rosier picture. I'm Houston Proud, but not Houston Stupid. Good luck to everyone during this tricky economy!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
New Structures, New Restaurants
Along with the highway changes along the I-10 West and Energy Corridor, have come a change of the scenery along our local streets. On Eldridge, just north of I-10, Foster Wheeler (Engineering) has placed their name on a modern new highrise just across the street from Conoco Phillips. Also on Eldridge, 1/4 mile south of I-10 are new apartments (The Broadstone) that have a modern look and feel, yet have the curb appeal of an ultra-luxury "flat" as some of our British coworkers might say.
Oh, and speaking of the British, did I mention that BP's parking garages and new trading center are shaping up well at the WestLake campus. By the way, I do miss all my coworkers there. It's been hard leaving a group of friends after 13 years of comraderie. It's a pleasure when I bump into you guys in my ramblings about the city, especially at Federal jury duty this past week.
Along Memorial between Dairy Ashford and Eldridge, we've had a new "Burger Shack" open up, apparently a favorite to the local Stratford High School teens. And south on Eldridge, about 1/2 mile past the Buffalo Bayou bridge near Terry Hershey Park, cafe type restaurants are offering nouveau, niche, market type fare. Examples include Poblanos Mexican Restaurant, one or two Japenese sushi places and my still all-time favorite Cafe Red Onion, which serves the best seafood enchildas you'd ever want to honor your tastebuds with.
We're getting there, West Houston. Oh, and how I still love this neighborhood almost 20 years later!
Oh, and speaking of the British, did I mention that BP's parking garages and new trading center are shaping up well at the WestLake campus. By the way, I do miss all my coworkers there. It's been hard leaving a group of friends after 13 years of comraderie. It's a pleasure when I bump into you guys in my ramblings about the city, especially at Federal jury duty this past week.
Along Memorial between Dairy Ashford and Eldridge, we've had a new "Burger Shack" open up, apparently a favorite to the local Stratford High School teens. And south on Eldridge, about 1/2 mile past the Buffalo Bayou bridge near Terry Hershey Park, cafe type restaurants are offering nouveau, niche, market type fare. Examples include Poblanos Mexican Restaurant, one or two Japenese sushi places and my still all-time favorite Cafe Red Onion, which serves the best seafood enchildas you'd ever want to honor your tastebuds with.
We're getting there, West Houston. Oh, and how I still love this neighborhood almost 20 years later!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
What $100/barrel oil means in the oil & gas services business
One would think that with the price of gas hovering at $3.00 +/gallon and finally hitting the $100/barrel mark this past week, that everything oil related would be doing well. Guess what, we are hitting challenges we've never seen before in this industry.
First of all, try being a service company, whether onshore or offshore. Equipment is hard to find. If you are working in the offshore environment, ask anyone who handles the barges, ships, tugs, rigs, etc., how easy it is to find available equipment at a reasonable price. It won't and can't happen. Then, say you are an operator in the Gulf of Mexico...just one vessel can run up to $500,000/day to lease, and the vessel is only available for a certain period of time. Should the vessel not finish the job or become disabled due to weather or accident, then the whole project goes off schedule, causing the company to lose millions per day both in vessel expense and production...either cut totally or slowed significantly.
I'm not saying that the majors aren't posting a profit. Certainly the number one and two companies have 10 year plans in place and will always be a good investment. What I am trying to say is that the oil industry is not living in the land of gold fixtures in our offices and the lavish days associated with former boom times.
If you are reading this and are unhappy about the price of oil, consult Wall Street, Venezuela, Iran and West Africa to see what's really happening. The balance between supply and demand is fragile, and I don't think we will be seeing even $75/barrel oil anytime soon.
I had hoped by 2010 that this country would be further along in solar power or alternative sources of energy. I can remember being a young 20-something and smarting off to my oil industry bosses years ago. Guess what - it ain't happened yet! As long as oil remains a highly valued commodity, we're stuck!
First of all, try being a service company, whether onshore or offshore. Equipment is hard to find. If you are working in the offshore environment, ask anyone who handles the barges, ships, tugs, rigs, etc., how easy it is to find available equipment at a reasonable price. It won't and can't happen. Then, say you are an operator in the Gulf of Mexico...just one vessel can run up to $500,000/day to lease, and the vessel is only available for a certain period of time. Should the vessel not finish the job or become disabled due to weather or accident, then the whole project goes off schedule, causing the company to lose millions per day both in vessel expense and production...either cut totally or slowed significantly.
I'm not saying that the majors aren't posting a profit. Certainly the number one and two companies have 10 year plans in place and will always be a good investment. What I am trying to say is that the oil industry is not living in the land of gold fixtures in our offices and the lavish days associated with former boom times.
If you are reading this and are unhappy about the price of oil, consult Wall Street, Venezuela, Iran and West Africa to see what's really happening. The balance between supply and demand is fragile, and I don't think we will be seeing even $75/barrel oil anytime soon.
I had hoped by 2010 that this country would be further along in solar power or alternative sources of energy. I can remember being a young 20-something and smarting off to my oil industry bosses years ago. Guess what - it ain't happened yet! As long as oil remains a highly valued commodity, we're stuck!
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