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!

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!

Road Construction Everywhere

These days it's not easy to get anywhere in West Houston. The Sam Houston tollway (known as Beltway 8 to locals) @ I-10 has closed access ramps to I-10 through September 2008. This means you can no longer access I-10 in any direction and will have to find an alternative route to the tollway. The olds ramps will be demolished and new ones will be put into place. Opinion: Why didn't Texas DOT make a 40 year plan, instead of allowing that money and structural work to be torn down after only 20 years! I'm mad because they've wasted our tax dollars.

Most roads north and south of I-10 from Highway 6 to the 610 loop are under construction. Be sure to plan an extra 30 - 45 minutes into your schedule should you visit West Houston anytime during 2008.

Happy 4th! (It's still raining here...)

The good news is that I don't live in the Texas Hill Country or anywhere near Dallas. It continues to be soggy weather here in West Houston. The plants are happy...

Many fireworks displays have been cancelled tonight. However, our biggest fireworks display, The Freedom Festival, will still go on. News is that the main stage has been moved directly onto Allen Parkway and not on the soggy hill. My advice...watch the ABC affiliate and stay home!

As always, I thank the sponsors of this year's event...Shell and Chevrolet.

Prom, End of Year Celebrations in Houston

Wow! What a busy weekend here in West Houston. I chaperoned the 8th grade prom at my son's middle school on Saturday night. What a blast!

This generation dances differently than we old folks of yester-year. Although a few 70's and 80's nostalgia music was added in (remember John Travolta and "Staying Alive"?) the mix, most of the songs played consisted of rap and hip hop. I must say the dance moves on the floor, jumping from the bottom of the floor, up and back down again make my earlier punk rock days look mild. Fun was had by all, despite one pretend fight, one slam dance that ended up with one student again a pole (no injuries) and one attempt at doing a lollapaloosa by passing one student over the top of the crowd.

That got the teachers and principals moving into the middle of the crowd. Next thing you know they were out there in the middle dancing it up, doing some pretty good caricatures of what one of my co-workers calls "getting it on, man!" Trust me, dedicated parents, teachers and principals kept it all at a G rating.

Of other note this weekend was the end of the confirmation season at my son's church. By the end of the second church service today, a group of tired 8th graders were looking at all of their parents with major annoyance. If you had been a fly on the wall, the buzz would have been..."Why did my stupid parents put me through this, why are we still standing here, and quit taking my picture!" Teenagers, you gotta love them... Have a great week...it will be a relief to sit back down at my desk tomorrow for 30 second intervals! Take care, Terre

Volunteer! April 21-22 BP MS 150

Folks, I don't think it's too late to sign up to be a volunteer for the BP MS 150. There are lots of jobs to do, anything from deliverying bicycles to handing out food and water.

If you like a road trip with a purpose, this one's for you. Opportunities abound from the starting point at Tully Stadium located at I-10 and Dairy Ashford in West Houston; and, up along the route through some beautiful heritage German and Czech communities along the route of Industry, Fayetteville and LaGrange. On Day 2, the trip routes up to and ends in Austin.

For more information, follow the link:

http://www.ms150.org/ms150/volunteering/index.cfm

Thanks for volunteering and supporting a great cause!

Busy at work, will post more concerts soon

I've recently taken on more job assignments at work and have not had time to post the West Houston concerts. There is an upcoming concert next week at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church.

Houston's 2006-2007 church sponsored concerts season generally draws to a close at the end of May, usually coinciding with the local school calendars.

Don't forget to check out artshound.com for local events happening over the summer.

More to follow this weekend...Terre

I-10 Construction Blues: "The Pit"

The local news is calling this intersection "the pit". What am I referring to? The horrible intersection at Interstate 10 West and the Sam Houston Tollway (Beltway 8).

The old sky high ramps from the Beltway 8 feeding onto I-10 are coming down to make way for new feeder ramps that will accommodate the new eight lane monolith that will eventually become the new I-10.

I don't know why Texas DOT couldn't have planned all of this out 20 years ago, as it seems a HUGE waste of time and money, not to mention a big headache for Houston commuters. I certainly wish that Houston METRO had put a train, monorail or some form of mass transit down one of our busiest corridors. It certainly might have kept me working downtown.

Fellow commuters, plan carefully...this intersection will be "the pits" for approximately the next eight months, and it does flood when we get heavy rains.

For more info, connect to Houston Transtar: ttp://traffic.houstontranstar.org/construction/construction_report.aspx

Saturday, March 31st - Lenten concert @ Grace Presbyterian

Grace Presbyterian Church, 10221 Ella Lee Lane , will present Sing Me to Heaven, a Lenten worship concert at 7:30 p.m. March 31.

Sacred Voices, a 15-voice professional choral ensemble will perform works from the Renaissance through the 21st century, including pieces by Durufle, Mendelssohn, Bruckner and Whitacre.

The group's founder and artistic director, Phillip Moody, will conduct.

Admission is free. For more information, call 713-267-5061.

And I-10 closes again this weekend

Please see last weekend's post for more information. Once again, I will post the link for local traffic info: http://traffic.houstontranstar.org/construction/construction_report.aspx

I-10 closures this weekend - right click your mouse to open in a new window

For more information on road closures, and how to get around the construction in our area, please go to: http://traffic.houstontranstar.org/construction/construction_report.aspx

Spring gardening in the air

Finally! Sunny weather (possibly for a whole week?) has arrived to Houston. What does that mean to this West Houston woman? A trip to the local nurseries for some of my favorite herbs, plants and flowers.

Cornelius on Dairy Ashford was bursting with people yesterday. I'm sure today will be the same.

I discovered four different types of mint varieties, including: mint (strong), peppermint (sweet), spearmint, and chocolate mint. All smell luscious, yet my favorite was the regular mint and proved particularly handy for my oncoming migraine. I broke a leaf in half and ran it across the pulse points of my temple, nose and sinuses. Instant relief!

I also picked up another favorite: Greek Oregano, which adds a light peppery flavor to any dish. Two years ago during the Hurricane Rita evacuation, I lost all my oregano plants, including an especially hardy Cuban Oregano which added savory flavor to soups and stews. Believe it or not, for a hurricane, that one proved to be particularly dry, and I lost all my plants that hot, dry summer.

Here's to lovely spring weather. Get outside and enjoy!

I-10/Energy Corridor Construction Blues

What a construction boom we are having here in the Energy Corridor. I enjoyed the rare opportunity of driving around the neighborhood today and noticed construction cranes on Dairy Ashford @ Eldridge near the Omni West Houston and Conoco-Phillips. This appears to be a new office space available for lease. My guess...it will fill up long before construction ends!

Conoco-Phillips also recently completed a multi-level parking garage, in addition to having a surface lot for their employees adjacent to the Conoco gas station.

In the WestLake Park area south of I-10, BP has started construction on a new parking garage after recently having constructed a new surface lot for their employees. Also, more retail areas are planned west of the BP complex. And supposedly in the works, BP plans on replacing their current daycare center with another BP building. Not to worry parents...a new daycare is on the way.

And certainly not to be forgotten...the Interstate 10 (I-10) construction project. Currently core areas of construction span from the Energy Corridor (I-10 @ Highway 6) all the way to the 610 Loop.

Drive carefully in the area. I'll try to add traffic links as I have time.

Enjoy the boom (while it lasts...said sarcastically by a long-time O&G veteran.) Cheers! Terre

Talk to your Teen @ Dimassi's

My stepmom had graciously given me a couple of $20 gift certificates to Dimassi's Mediterranean Buffet for Christmas. I used the last of the two gift certificates this past Saturday, and enjoyed treating myself and my two almost 15 year old sons (one mine, one my son's best friend) to lunch out.

Located on I-10 southside feeder road between Kirkwood and Wilcrest, you pay for your buffet meal at the front door in the amount of $8.00 per person. From there, you are allowed full access to two huge buffet tables of food ranging from greek salad, tabouleh, stuffed grape leaves and my favorite hummus, to the hot buffet items on the second buffet which include items such as mustard chicken, creamed spinach, lentils with rice and shredded beef. Mind you, I'm somewhat of a picky eater, so if it looks too "out there", I'm not likely to eat it.

Not to be forgotten was the attendant at the brick oven who was baking or reheating pita breads. And, if you haven't fully indulged yourself by the time you've eaten one plateful of food, try out some of the lucious sweet treats like yogurt bread and baklava. Grab a cup of coffee and to me it's a perfect day.

The best thing I like about taking my "sons" to this restaurant is the conversation that ensues. Arabic videos are playing in the background, sometimes with a theme that seems to be mimicking President Bush. If ever you wanted to draw your teenager out of himself, take them to Dimassi's. The environment is very family friendly and if you enjoy lively conversation, you're likely to enjoy one here.

http://www.b4-u-eat.com/houston/restaurants/reviews/rsv0993.asp

Did anyone attend the concerts?

Happy Monday, everyone! Unfortunately, I was unable to attend either of the concerts I mentioned for Sunday, February 18th.

I'll try to post more later, yet I do know about a couple of upcoming concerts, including:

1. The Bach Society will be hosting Chamber Music this Sunday, Feb. 25th at 7:30 p.m. I promise to fill in the details later this week.
2. Diane Bish, Organist, will be performing at Chapelwood United Methodist Church on Sunday, March 25th. If you don't know who Diane Bish is, she's the lady who frequently appears on one of the religious channels and hosts concerts from the great cathedrals and pipe organs of the world.

More West Houston postings later this week. Have a good one! Terre

Why I enjoy living in West Houston

Along with all of this commerce comes a diversity of cultures fed by the boom of higher priced energy. Our local economy benefits greatly, since a percentage of these monies winds up back in the community. The industry helps sponsor local activities such as leadership in Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS), assisting food pantries and hurricane relief efforts, and benefiting medical charities such as multiple sclerosis.

We have a high interest in educating our children and our community, and put great effort into supporting our local schools and also in building our local park systems.

What would you like to know about West Houston?

Introduction

Welcome to my blog! My name is Terre Parker, host of a blog about life in (West) Houston, Texas. I will start out by telling you about the area I live in, and hope to eventually introduce you to the remainder of the city and the culture as well.

I live in the Houston West Energy Corridor, which is currently booming with new buildings, construction on Interstate 10, hotels, restaurants and commerce in general. I have lived in the area for over 20 years and have watched my neighborhood bloom with different cultures, foods, people, parks and places. What once felt like a small town, has now grown into a more regionally recognized area, especially in the oil and gas industry.

We have most of the major corporate oil, gas and chemical companies nearby, including: BP, ExxonMobil Chemical, Citgo, Conoco-Phillips, Shell, and associated engineering, drilling, marine, seismic, and geophysical companies.