Amazed at Buc-ee's

On the three hour drive between Austin and Dallas, my driving friend stop us at a place most wondrous. It is called Buc-ee's. The best way I can describe it is the biggest and best highway rest stop I’ve ever been to. There’s apparently many of them dotted all over the expansive Texas highways. To quote the great Stefon, it has absolutely everything.

Perhaps not all Buc-ee’s are similar in size, but the one we went to is enormous. The gas station portion alone I would say is three times the size of a typical Costco gas station. There’s plenty of space between each filling station too. Because it’s Texas, and large pickup trucks rule the road. So then imagine a whole Costco-size building itself is the rest stop - that’s the scale of Buc-ee’s I’m talking about here. The men’s bathroom alone have about 50 stalls, and it is spotlessly clean.

The rest of the store have anything and everything you could possibly want on a road trip - Christmas decorations included. Need an entirely new wardrobe? You can buy it at Buc-ee’s. There’s fresh BBQ and Tex-Mex at the hot foods section, and the world famous wall of jerky. If you’re a jerky enthusiasts, you’ve got to make a stop at a Buc-ee’s. Any meat suitable for jerky-ing, it is there. You can even buy it fresh, unpackaged.

The whole time we were stopped at the Buc-ee’s, I was just in awe of its amazingness. I’ve only previously been to these sort of fully-featured - and clean - highway rest stops in Asia. Never did I expect to find it here in the United States, much less in the State of Texas. Infrastructure has not really been our thing since they last built the great interstate system, you know? I’ll be long dead before the California bullet train project is completed.

Speaking of my State of California, why don’t we have something like Buc-ee’s alongside our highways? It would be perfect on the interminably long and straight highway 5. You can’t even argue there isn’t space like there is in Texas. I’m not asking for a Buc-ee’s in the middle of Los Angeles. Anyone who’s driven on highway 5 knows there’s nothing but farmland and cows for hundreds of miles. I think this is something California can learn and copy from Texas.

View fullsize

I am in awe.

Austin is lovely

A few weeks back was my first time visiting Austin, Texas. I’ve always wanted to go there, as its reputed to be the San Francisco of Texas. Good thing I went the weekend after the Formula One race. I read somewhere the passenger flow at Austin-Bergstrom was the highest ever that weekend. Airfare and hotel would have been at least double of what we paid just seven days later.

Our AirBnb was right in the middle of action in downtown, Austin. A $40 dollar, 20 minutes taxi ride from the airport. We got in right after midnight on a Friday (Saturday?) and downtown was still teeming with people. A complete opposite of San Francisco’s downtown. Also different is the total lack of homeless people and drug users. A clean and vibrant downtown you can walk around without a latent sense of danger - imagine that! I hope San Francisco can get its act together one day.

Because walking around downtown Austin is a delight. Shortly after arrival we walked the one mile across the river to the closest Whataburger, a 24 hour location. For those of you unfamiliar, Whataburger is to Texas what In-N-Out burger is to California (this should be an SAT question). I have to say I still prefer Shake Shack above them all. The Whataburger burger reminds me of the Burger King Whopper; tastes fine, but nothing special. It’s hilarious the smallest beverage cup offered at Whataburger is 32 oz. Diabetes is calling.

I wouldn’t mind moving to Austin - as a lot of people seems to be doing or have done - if it weren’t so bloody hot during the summer. I’ve been to Texas during the those months and it never cools down, even at night. That said, it’s nice to have clean streets and very little quality-of-life crimes. We went to a CVS and everything was available out in the open - nothing was locked behind cabinets to deter theft! Here in San Francisco, even the Walgreens in the “good neighborhoods” have locked frequent theft items behind plexiglass.

I just want a well-governed, functioning city.

Where the bars are.

So fucking sad

There's an implicit contract to living in America: we have to tolerate a decent amount of violent crime. In cities there are neighborhoods you know not to venture into. We have to pass through security just to attend concerts and ballgames, because the chance of someone bringing in a weapon is non trivial. The bad guys have easy access to lots of guns, so our police force is armed like a branch of the military.

A latent sense that some shit can go down at anytime when we're out in public is the mental price we pay to live in this great country. And indeed the United States is a wonderful country, full of opportunity and creativity. There's no better place to elevate your station in life, so long as you're willing to put in the work. I am forever grateful to my parents for bringing us over here from China back in 1996.

But even back then, the young me was warned about the violence and guns that permeate American society. Walking around the neighborhood is not the same here in the States as it was back in China. I didn't really think much of it back then. Because I was only a kid.

It wasn't until my travel to Asian countries in recent years that opened my eyes. It's entirely possible to live in place without the latent backdrop of violent crime potential. You can go absolutely anywhere in a city at any time without fear of something bad happening. I would then fly back to America and get depressed, as the subconscious cloud of danger returns.

It doesn't have to be this way, but those in the seats of federal power keep refusing to do anything. Literal babies getting massacred by bullets in Sandy Hook didn't move the needle towards gun control. I don't expect yet another one to either. That's an incredibly sad and defeatist thing to say, but a freedom - right to bear arms - once granted is supremely difficult to take back. And this is a country that loves its freedoms, for better and worse.

If we could just stop being so individualistic for one moment, and think more of our fellow men, women, and children. Be less selfish, and more selfless. I try hard to not be numb to these mass shootings, but there's so many of them. To care deeply about each one just hurts too much. I can only have immense empathy for the grieving parents that soon will have to bury their young children. It’s so fucking sad.

View fullsize

Small town neighborhood.

Everything is colder in Texas

A historic and unprecedented winter storm has hit Texas, causing below-freezing temperatures and massive amounts of snow. The power grid utterly failed, and millions are left without power for many consecutive hours into the night. Extremely cold weather with no way to heat the house is a potentially lethal combination indeed. Thankfully, my lone friend in the Lone Star State - in a suburb of Austin - is doing fine and has power.

My thoughts are with the millions who aren’t so lucky. I hope everyone can stay safe and get through this.

It’s not without some schadenfreude to see Texas politicians, who have mocked the misfortunes of California in regards to our own weather nightmares, now having to eat massive crow. Goes to show that one, no single area is immune from extreme climate patterns, and two, karma is an absolute bitch. If California’s trouble with wildfires and the electric grid can be blamed on the government run by Democrats, then logically we can blame Texas’ Republicans on their current predicament.

Not so good when the shoe is in the other foot, is it?

It’s best to be kind and considerate at the misfortune of others. The pendulum of luck won’t always be on your side. Some day you too will need help, and the grace - or lack thereof - you’ve shown others previously will be remembered. We’re all in this together; we should be able to debate infrastructure policies without viciousness. More importantly, when others are suffering, we offer a helping hand and words of encouragement, not snark and mockery.

Extreme climates are here to stay, and I’m reminded to be prepare for it. I really should get that emergency kit together…

View fullsize

It’s a bird!

I am bullish

In recent weeks, both Hewlett-Packard and Oracle have announced they are moving headquarters to Texas. The companies seemingly are joining the massive exodus of people out of California, moving to other parts of the country. Areas where the cost of living isn’t so massively skewed, and taxation isn’t so punitive. The COVID-19 pandemic have accelerated the trend, with remote work freeing people from the confines of their workplace location.

My question is: wouldn't some of the problems we have in California follow these people and companies to places like Texas? If there’s a sudden spike in demand for housing, wouldn’t the prices go way up? Wouldn’t a relatively drastic population increase in cities like Austin cause a commensurate uptick in traffic congestion? What I am saying is: some of the issues that are causing people to flee California are just going to follow them to their new spots, provided enough people are going with them.

I remain bullish on San Francisco and California. This byzantine city of ours may be maddeningly inefficient, but the quirks and beauty within and without are worth the hefty price of admission. My friends and family all live here, and my job is returning to physical come next Fall (god willing the vaccines rollout is wildly successful). This many people and companies leaving the area means our cost of living and congestion are going to go down. I just hope there will be enough of us left to have a sustainable tax base. I’m bullish on that, too.

Besides, If I ever were to move out of the Bay Area, it would be to an Asian metropolis, not somewhere else in the United States.

View fullsize

Shuriken.