Texas’ New Driving Laws Against Text Messaging: Is it a joke?

Many Texans agree. Some don’t. When the Department of Public Safety issued new driving laws just recently, there is indeed a mix of emotions elicited from everyone of us. Personally, I think if people lived up to expectations, were rational all the time, and were more mature for their age, there would be no additional driving laws where even teenagers can get tickets for text messaging while driving. Nor should everybody in the car wear seatbelts regardless of where they are seated.  But in reality, people are not perfect, and majority of people are not smart enough to NOT use the phone while driving. In reality, car accidents are by far one of the top causes of death in the United States. So is there any argument against these new laws?

I know many teen students protest against these stringent rules. But our family has been a victim of an accident back when text messaging while driving wasn’t yet banned. You can read the whole story and comment at New Driving Laws Against Teenagers Text Messaging in Texas.

Texas in September: Wine, Hotdogs, Music, Party!

Okay, here’s a question: If you are spending September in Texas, what is there to do besides hanging out at the waterparks? (FYI: Texas has really the best waterparks in US, if you’ve never heard of Schlitterbahn). Anyways, I digress. It will still be hot at this time of the year, but you can beat the heat by checking out the events that rock in this corner of the globe.

First, the Marfa Lights Festival. Marfa may not be the biggest, most exciting town in Texas but it has its share of glory — in the form of out-of-this-world skylights that occur in September. Everybody in town celebrates with parade, music, barbecue, and good ol’ Texas partying. Labor Day weekend is usually the time the Marfan residents celebrate this event.

Then, there’s the Grapefest. How can you be in the Dallas area if you’ve never tried to join this world renowned event? Shame on you! And yet even non-Dallasites come around to be part of the grape stomping and a gazillion other contests. This North Texas event is hardly overrated — there are indeed so much good stuff to check out. Wines? Of course. Painting, golf, carnival, stage shows…and everything in between. Be warned it can get crowded, especially on Thursday and Friday (September 17-18) when admission is free.

If it’s music, music, and more music that you want, head south for Corpus Christi. On September 25th to 27th our folks from Southern Texas are celebrating the Bayfest. What’s better than hobnobbing by the shoreline listening to bands big and small with the sound of waves in the background? What’s nicer than a mere $7 ticket to get in? The Bayfest homepage can help you where to find a great hotel to stay at, where to park, food vendor information, and a guide to the musical performers throughout the week. Can’t wait to party?

Now, I’ve saved the best for last. Texas won’t be without the biggest event ever: the State Fair of Texas. Another one of those events Dallasites should be proud of. It runs from the last week of September to mid-October. Perfect time for the start of autumn, when the weather is starting to mellow down to eighties. Car shows, livestock exhibits, arts and crafts, wines, corn dog contests, ice cream, carnival…this is truly an event for the whole family. The Big Tex is waiting out there!

September is truly never a boring month for Texans and visitors alike. There’s plenty of stuff to do in the Lone Star state. Whether you live in the north, or on the south, there is one more room for your family in the events. It’s truly hot out here, with sizzling events even non-Texans can enjoy!

Our Dallas Asian Market has moved again!

Asian Market goodies

We seriously got lost trying to find the Asian market that we always frequent whenever we go to Dallas. Apparently they kept changing locations. This time around, the owner of the Vietnamese restaurant in that same square where the Asian grocery was located said it moved about a mile from their original location. So we drove over to check it.

Although it’s not the same Asian market that we were used to (the original one was bigger), Joe was able to score some huge blue crabs. I got my lumpia wrappers and Mang Tomas lechon sauce. Always, even though there were some old stuff missing, there were some new stuff on the shelves. I took my seasonings, noodles and Mung Bean soup mix. Everything else in the store looked foreign to me.

When we come back, we hope that the Asian market would branch out and occupy the other building next to where they moved now. Who knows what new exotic Asian stuff we may find there!

Weekend Getaway in Dallas, Texas

On our weekend getaway we decided to drive 100 miles from home to Dallas — to spend the night, party out, check out the malls and flea markets, and…who knows what else? We’ve been to Dallas a thousand times but there is always something new that Joe wants me to see. Also, we have always wanted to check out places we saw along the way, but never had the time to do so before. This weekend we made such opportunity possible.

We booked a hotel room at Crowne Plaza Suites — not necessarily extravagant — but there are things to like in our room. The bathroom is not big, the bed is not soft enough, but the hotel offered a mini-living room separate from the main bedroom, which has its own cable TV and laptop desk. The hotel has a nice pool and a hot tub but we figured it was too cold to swim, so we skipped the dip. We also wanted to work out in the gym as soon as we checked into the hotel but then time was running out.

I brought my own warm clothes but Joe didn’t, so I harassed him into getting himself a long sleeved shirt at the mall. After checking out Barcadia and spending a minute talking to a friend living near the hotel area, we drove straight to North Park Center.