What I Like About You

As promised, here's a semi-comprehensive list of "Things That Are Awesome About Texas that I May or May Not Have Even Realized That I Missed".

1. My family. This one's a no-brainer.

2. Playing with our spastic Chihuahua, Fred. Fred, darling, if you will. You know, like Breakfast at Tiffany's. He's so spoiled, he makes me look well-adjusted and non-materialistic. :)

3. Driving on the highway. Hot, nasty, bad-ass speed, as Eleanor Roosevelt would say. It's pretty bad that I had forgotten that you're supposed to buckle your seatbelt when riding in cars.

4. Cheap beer. I'm sorry, NYC, but a $6 draft is NOT a special. It's even better when you go to the one bar in town where everyone under the age of 30 congregates and have a good time without paying a dime.

5. Wal-Mart. Okay, this one's actually a toss-up. I enjoy the huge grocery section and the kitschy High School Musical merch on every aisle. However, I was slightly nervous that I was going to have to stop and talk to a ton of people with whom I had no desire to carry on a conversation. Fortunately, I only saw two people I knew and I actually like them.

6. Movie tickets that are $2-$4. Pardon me if I spend an entire day just watching everything I want to see for the price of one ticket in the city.

7. Mexican food.

8. My favorite hole-in-the-wall local restaurants. A short list (of which I probably won't hit up in its entirety): Sandwich Etc., Burger Land, La Familia, Taco Delite, Magel's, Capizzi's, and then the chains I've been missing - Braum's and Sonic.

9. Speaking of Sonic - Sonic ice should get it's own distinction on this list.

10. Friends from high school. I don't feel the need to make this visit a high school reunion, but there are a few friends that are high on my list of need-to-see while I'm in town.