A favourite folly of mine has been to imagine my alternative life. If I was born elsewhere, where would I live, who would I do things with, and what political leanings would I have. Finishing up here in Houston, I have had a chance to try-out the real thing, if only for 8 weeks. I have enjoyed this city far more than I thought though. There are liberals here in Houston (quite a lot of them), they have an OK public radio station KPFT 90.1FM, which, if it cut out the Zydeco music and semi-hysterical political rants, could be a great. I might even volunteer there if they were close-by. There are nice neighbourhoods and interesting neighbourhoods, and I suspect I would prefer the latter, so maybe around the Memorial Park/Heights area would be good so I could jog in the evenings. Nothing like a bit of urban grit to keep things from getting too whitebread sometimes. I would stick with the car I have because I don’t know any better. I would avoid the Galleria like the plague. I would setup shop near a local bar that could be a weekend sport and music hangout. I would get a Foleys and Frys discount card. I would only buy the Chronicle on weekends because there are already too many trees chopped down to produce it. Perhaps I’d also explore opportunities in the local payroll in sports scene. I would explore some of those interesting Asian supermarkets down in the southwest of town and do a birdwatching or wildflower tour in central Texas. I would chase a storm or two in May. I’m not sure what I would do for friends – it seems the most difficult part of any relocation (you don’t have old schoolfriends to fall back on). Maybe I would join a bookgroup, or do something with the cycling group people – though they’re a lot older. I could watch the young lady in the opposite apartment who never seems to close her curtains for cheap entertainment. I would find out where things get recycled and hoard my stuff for regular trips there. I would buy one of those wine storage machines that many folks have, and ready a few dozen in there. I wouldn’t revert to smoking, despite the insanely cheap prices. I would invest in some older style housing in midtown because I am certain that the area is going to boom bigtime once all the bars and groovy shops arrive. I would drink Saint Arnold beer in large quantities over summer. And lastly I would become an energy guzzling air-conditioner user, because there seems little alternative in this hot and humid town.