still officially "On Vacation", though i am actually back at home now. i have to say, Texas was really... not that bad. we (meaning me, Mike, Mike's brother-in-law, and a guy Mike has known for 20 years) made a circuit through a few of the major cities. here are some highlights:

• Houston, the country's most polluted city. buttloads of fun for an asthmatic like me. the recent flooding also left the city with an unpleasant water-damaged smell.
• Austin, home of UT, the archnemesis of OU, and former home of our current president. felt a near-overwhelming compulsion to piss on everything.
• San Antonio. the Alamo. didn't bother to stop. somehow passed three "San Antonio City Limits" signs on our way straight through the city.
• Waco. uh, ok, there's nothing to see there.
• Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington. hummed the theme song and had thoughts of Larry Hagman's liver transplant/grateful, after a long day with my traveling companions, for the liquor store i spotted from the highway/the place where i nearly murdered one of my traveling companions.
• Corpus Christi. sand, sun, water, hot bartenders and jellyfish.
• El Paso. we didn't actually visit El Paso. i tried to talk my companions into going there, because, once there, i thought it'd be easy to talk them into a short 206 mile side trip to Roswell, NM, where the cute big-eared alien guy is. they didn't bite.

that's it for the highlights. i will add some more detail about a few places later. i'm not in the mood right now. i think i'm afflicted with Post-Vacation Depression, even if it was just Texas.