Artificial Cheese

My consulting career started this Monday in Austin, Texas.  Frankly, I expected more cowboy boots and rodeos.  Not many people down here have that cartoony Texas accent.  But there are some differences of note, here is a rundown.

Roads

I’ve been a bit spoiled driving around in suburban Bucks County for the past few years.  I’ve become accustomed to things like shoulders on the sides of the roads.  Here in Austin there are no such things.  The roads are 100% drivable.  Its kind of concerning sometimes going 70 miles per hour with a wall or sidewalk just inches off of your mirrors.

The lanes themselves are very…snug as well.  I would say that they are a full foot thinner than the lanes on I-95.  Again, going 70 miles per hour with a truck within arms length gives me sweaty palms, but its not so bad.

Traffic

The traffic is absurd in Austin as well.  The city is very tall and very thin, so it is divided up into north and south.  There are two highways that run north to south, one on either side of the city.  One is called ‘Mo-Pac’, and I am not sure what that means.  The other is I-35, which is running non-stop right outside of my hotel.  These roads are persistently jammed, regardless of rush hour or weekends or anything like that.

Water

Damn the water here tastes really funky.  It has an odor AND a taste, you can taste the difference even without inhaling the smell.  It even burns a little when you use it to brush your teeth.  It hasn’t had any adverse affects on me but I’m going to stick to bottled water for a little while.

Traffic Lights

Traffic lights in Austin are serious.  When a light turns red, you might as well call out of work and take a nap because you’re not going anywhere.  The result is people flying through yellow lights like there’s hamburgers on the other side.

Hamburgers

People down here LOVE hamburgers.  Its the mainstay in the Texas diet.  If you ever wondered how McDonalds could sell 99 billion, just come down to Austin and watch the traffic around a hamburger joint.