My past two years in Texas

[Thesealion]

Ok that's cool! It's too bad you didn't get to go see San Antonio, Austin, or Dallas while you were here...

I passed through once...

[The Dark Knight]

Hi Robert. How much did you miss me.

[Tumbleweed]

Jul 16, 2014 4:49:49 GMT -8 Robyn said:

Jul 13, 2014 21:43:00 GMT -8 Tumbleweed said:

Welcome back Robyn! I can't hardly believe two years have gone by and I'm still here (I need a life!) and you are back! Honestly, it really only seems more like one year.

I still think it is wonderful you dedicated two years of your life toward doing good things. Most people can't say they dedicated a day. 

How long did you have to learn the basics of sign language? Even learning the basics, it takes a lot of practice to be able to communicate well so I'm impressed.

Crazy how it all works right?
Thanks!
To learn basic sign language about 10 weeks. Then consistently being involved in the deaf community and having deaf people to talk with every day helped me to behave more like a deaf person and sign faster and catch sign language more.

I guess that sounds like enough time to get the basics down. I just watched your video and you are doing pretty good with that sign language. I sang in a trio (all girls) in my church when I was in highschool (way back when) and we did our songs in sign language so I can talk basic stuff to a deaf person but I can promise I'd be signing so slow it would drive them crazy. lol  Deaf people get left out of so much because so few people know sign language so that is an awesome skill to learn and it's really not something you ever forget even if you don't use it much. You get rusty but don't really forget. 

[Robyn]

Jul 18, 2014 0:31:56 GMT -8 Tumbleweed said:

Jul 16, 2014 4:49:49 GMT -8 Robyn said:

Crazy how it all works right?
Thanks!
To learn basic sign language about 10 weeks. Then consistently being involved in the deaf community and having deaf people to talk with every day helped me to behave more like a deaf person and sign faster and catch sign language more.

I guess that sounds like enough time to get the basics down. I just watched your video and you are doing pretty good with that sign language. I sang in a trio (all girls) in my church when I was in highschool (way back when) and we did our songs in sign language so I can talk basic stuff to a deaf person but I can promise I'd be signing so slow it would drive them crazy. lol  Deaf people get left out of so much because so few people know sign language so that is an awesome skill to learn and it's really not something you ever forget even if you don't use it much. You get rusty but don't really forget. 

Yeah it's hard but I'm glad I learned it. I just hope, as you said, that even if I get rusty I will continue to find opportunities to use my sign language for the rest of my life. Hopefully I can get certified as an interpreter eventually.

[alexx]

Jul 17, 2014 20:43:52 GMT -8 The Dark Knight said:

Hi Robert. How much did you miss me.

I am pretty sure he missed me more

Robert I am sorry but I found it weird that you tought Christians about Jesus

And you kinda look like Daniel Tosh

[Macro]

Did you use/learn a name-sign? I have a cousin who is deaf and we all learned sign-language shortly after he was born - the teacher had us all come up with a simple way to identify ourselves (for example, mine was my first initial tapped over my heart). Unfortunately, I didn't stick with it because he got a cochlear implant at 2 1/2 and has been able to hear ever since; he just graduated from college.

I hope you enjoyed Texas. I've lived here all my life and love it here (although the summers stink).

[Hero]

Jul 16, 2014 4:49:49 GMT -8 Robyn said:

Jul 13, 2014 14:13:18 GMT -8 @zar said:

What's it like to live in? Is it a nice place to live & spend time in?

It's a lot more big, the sky is more lower. The temps are a lot higher. It feels the same as Wisconsin in general. Just withoutthe cold snow. The sky plays a big part in it. The grass is bigger too! 

There are SOME towns that I lived in during my 2 years that I'd be willing to spend time in, yes. Such as Tomball tx or Klein Tx or Katy tx.

As someone who's lived in Katy for the majority of the past 14 years, I can't see why anyone would choose to live there (in their 20s anyway). It's the land of bland chain restaurants, bland landscapes, and houses that all look the same. Crime has slowly been going up the past few years too, so we have that going for us now!

I'd even go as far as saying I don't know why anyone would choose to live in Houston. The traffic is terrible, it seems like we enjoy tearing down any notable landmarks we have (Astroworld is gone, the Astrodome will probably be gone within the next few years, and the Space Center doesn't have nearly the same pizazz that it once had), and did I mention traffic is pretty terrible (depending on what you want to do and when you want to do it, it may take 2 hours to get from one side to the other).

Houston is nice for jobs and we have some excellent hospitals, but culturally I think Austin and San Antonio are much, much more interesting cities (Austin has a really nice music scene and the hill country is gorgeous. San Antonio has nice touristy things, and the food their is terrific). I guess on the bright side, Houston isn't Dallas.

When I get ready to move back to the US, I'm definitely going to be looking into Austin, San Antonio, or small towns like Round Rock and San Marcos.

Jul 13, 2014 11:25:01 GMT -8 @zar said:

What is Texas like?

Texas is a huge place. East Texas is different than West Texas (both in culture and weather), Cities are different than small towns, etc. Some places are more liberal than others (Houston even has a lesbian mayor!). I don't think I've seen any video explain it better than this:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNgMtK1ska8

[Robyn]

Jul 29, 2014 19:16:53 GMT -8 Macro said:

Did you use/learn a name-sign? I have a cousin who is deaf and we all learned sign-language shortly after he was born - the teacher had us all come up with a simple way to identify ourselves (for example, mine was my first initial tapped over my heart). Unfortunately, I didn't stick with it because he got a cochlear implant at 2 1/2 and has been able to hear ever since; he just graduated from college.

I hope you enjoyed Texas. I've lived here all my life and love it here (although the summers stink).

Yes name signs were very big in the Deaf culture here in Houston. One of the interpreters even mentioned how in other Deaf communities in other states such as Utah or New York, name signs and using them were not as important as they are in Houston. I used name signs for everyone. Mine is the letter G in the side of my head (old sign for Computer + my last name, first initial). But now I use my first name as well, it's the letter R on my chest (where my name badge used to be).

That's cool, but did you give yourself that name sign or did someone Deaf give it to you? I've been quite a controversy between implants being good and bad, it's an interesting debate I didn't know existed.

Where do you live?

Jul 29, 2014 22:51:49 GMT -8 Hero said:

Jul 16, 2014 4:49:49 GMT -8 Robyn said:

It's a lot more big, the sky is more lower. The temps are a lot higher. It feels the same as Wisconsin in general. Just withoutthe cold snow. The sky plays a big part in it. The grass is bigger too! 

There are SOME towns that I lived in during my 2 years that I'd be willing to spend time in, yes. Such as Tomball tx or Klein Tx or Katy tx.

As someone who's lived in Katy for the majority of the past 14 years, I can't see why anyone would choose to live there (in their 20s anyway). It's the land of bland chain restaurants, bland landscapes, and houses that all look the same. Crime has slowly been going up the past few years too, so we have that going for us now!

I'd even go as far as saying I don't know why anyone would choose to live in Houston. The traffic is terrible, it seems like we enjoy tearing down any notable landmarks we have (Astroworld is gone, the Astrodome will probably be gone within the next few years, and the Space Center doesn't have nearly the same pizazz that it once had), and did I mention traffic is pretty terrible (depending on what you want to do and when you want to do it, it may take 2 hours to get from one side to the other).

Houston is nice for jobs and we have some excellent hospitals, but culturally I think Austin and San Antonio are much, much more interesting cities (Austin has a really nice music scene and the hill country is gorgeous. San Antonio has nice touristy things, and the food their is terrific). I guess on the bright side, Houston isn't Dallas.

When I get ready to move back to the US, I'm definitely going to be looking into Austin, San Antonio, or small towns like Round Rock and San Marcos.

Jul 13, 2014 11:25:01 GMT -8 @zar said:

What is Texas like?

Texas is a huge place. East Texas is different than West Texas (both in culture and weather), Cities are different than small towns, etc. Some places are more liberal than others (Houston even has a lesbian mayor!). I don't think I've seen any video explain it better than this:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNgMtK1ska8

Considering where I lived most of my Mission, Katy/Klein/Spring/Tomball/Magnolia area is a lot nicer. If I had to live in the Houston area, I'd chose that just because of the memories I have in that area. It's the most country/peaceful place in all of the Houston county line. I lived in both Tomball (2920 and 249) and Houston (290 and the beltway). Country and ghetto. But then again, I only did Missionary work, so I was in member's home most of the day, teaching them and didn't get much of a chance to experience the culture and other non-religious related things.

Yes I do agree, the traffic is terrible. That's how we got to every place we needed to go. We were given a car my full two years and I must tell you, i45 = avoid it. HOV lane = cherish it despite it's imperfections. Beltway 8 = cherish it when there aren't crashes. NASA was cool but did show signs of aging. It had an angry birds exhibit, which was odd. I've driving from Galveston to Windrose before on i45 =D

We hit up San Antonio on the way to Utah. It was nice, I suppose. We visited the Alamo. It was good, but way too locked up for me. I like exploring everything with no restrictions.

You been to places like Riverside or Willis? Have you hitup the bluebell factory? Hmmmm delicious!

[Hero]

Jul 30, 2014 5:10:49 GMT -8 Robyn said:

Considering where I lived most of my Mission, Katy/Klein/Spring/Tomball/Magnolia area is a lot nicer. If I had to live in the Houston area, I'd chose that just because of the memories I have in that area. It's the most country/peaceful place in all of the Houston county line. I lived in both Tomball (2920 and 249) and Houston (290 and the beltway). Country and ghetto. But then again, I only did Missionary work, so I was in member's home most of the day, teaching them and didn't get much of a chance to experience the culture and other non-religious related things.

Yes I do agree, the traffic is terrible. That's how we got to every place we needed to go. We were given a car my full two years and I must tell you, i45 = avoid it. HOV lane = cherish it despite it's imperfections. Beltway 8 = cherish it when there aren't crashes. NASA was cool but did show signs of aging. It had an angry birds exhibit, which was odd. I've driving from Galveston to Windrose before on i45 =D

We hit up San Antonio on the way to Utah. It was nice, I suppose. We visited the Alamo. It was good, but way too locked up for me. I like exploring everything with no restrictions.

You been to places like Riverside or Willis? Have you hitup the bluebell factory? Hmmmm delicious!

Katy might be one of the most country/peaceful area in Houston, but it used to literally be "the country". When my family moved there in '99, most of it was either rice fields or ranches. Those have long been replaced by endless strip malls and subdivisions. At the rate Katy is growing, it's only a matter of time until the country aspect is gone and you'll need to travel to Brookshire or Sealy (which is definitely not even in Houston) to get that peace and quiet. I'm not sure what part of Katy you lived in, but I'll assume you drove on Fry Road at least once. It used to be 2 lanes, it's now 4, and there's parts of it that could be probably even be 6 because they're so congested at certain parts of the day (5pm, I'm talking to you).

I definitely agree with the Alamo being a disappointment, if you ask any Texan it's the history behind it that makes it cool, not the site itself (I've been there twice and I think both times I spent more time walking the River Walk and checking out the Guinness World Record's and Ripley's Believe it or Not museum's directly across the street).

Bluebell is heaven in a bucket, I would never pass it up. Best ice cream in the world (that's a fact, not an opinion). The factory in Brenham is definitely one of Texas' best kept secrets.

Riverside doesn't sound familiar, but Google tells me it's a small town and those are all over the place in Texas. I've definitely camped out around Willis though, the Sam Houston National Forest and Huntsville state park are pretty popular campsites for scouts.

I barely drove on 45 because it was kind of out of the way, but I would constantly drive on The Widest Freeway in the World, so I guess I had that going for me.

290 also has one of my favorite billboards.

[Vampire Zen]

By you being in Houston, chances are we may have walked by each other.

[Thesealion]

Jul 29, 2014 22:51:49 GMT -8 Hero said:

Jul 16, 2014 4:49:49 GMT -8 Robyn said:

It's a lot more big, the sky is more lower. The temps are a lot higher. It feels the same as Wisconsin in general. Just withoutthe cold snow. The sky plays a big part in it. The grass is bigger too! 

There are SOME towns that I lived in during my 2 years that I'd be willing to spend time in, yes. Such as Tomball tx or Klein Tx or Katy tx.

As someone who's lived in Katy for the majority of the past 14 years, I can't see why anyone would choose to live there (in their 20s anyway). It's the land of bland chain restaurants, bland landscapes, and houses that all look the same. Crime has slowly been going up the past few years too, so we have that going for us now!

I'd even go as far as saying I don't know why anyone would choose to live in Houston. The traffic is terrible, it seems like we enjoy tearing down any notable landmarks we have (Astroworld is gone, the Astrodome will probably be gone within the next few years, and the Space Center doesn't have nearly the same pizazz that it once had), and did I mention traffic is pretty terrible (depending on what you want to do and when you want to do it, it may take 2 hours to get from one side to the other).

Houston is nice for jobs and we have some excellent hospitals, but culturally I think Austin and San Antonio are much, much more interesting cities (Austin has a really nice music scene and the hill country is gorgeous. San Antonio has nice touristy things, and the food their is terrific). I guess on the bright side, Houston isn't Dallas.

When I get ready to move back to the US, I'm definitely going to be looking into Austin, San Antonio, or small towns like Round Rock and San Marcos.

Jul 13, 2014 11:25:01 GMT -8 @zar said:

What is Texas like?

Texas is a huge place. East Texas is different than West Texas (both in culture and weather), Cities are different than small towns, etc. Some places are more liberal than others (Houston even has a lesbian mayor!). I don't think I've seen any video explain it better than this:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNgMtK1ska8

Why do Dallas and Houston hate each other so much? I personally love Dallas and would rather live here than anywhere else, but it's probably cause I was raised here. I HATE Houston though. It's so hot and is just huge and boring to me If I had to live anywhere besides Dallas, I would probably choose Austin.

[Robyn]

Jul 30, 2014 5:54:18 GMT -8 Hero said:

Jul 30, 2014 5:10:49 GMT -8 Robyn said:

Considering where I lived most of my Mission, Katy/Klein/Spring/Tomball/Magnolia area is a lot nicer. If I had to live in the Houston area, I'd chose that just because of the memories I have in that area. It's the most country/peaceful place in all of the Houston county line. I lived in both Tomball (2920 and 249) and Houston (290 and the beltway). Country and ghetto. But then again, I only did Missionary work, so I was in member's home most of the day, teaching them and didn't get much of a chance to experience the culture and other non-religious related things.

Yes I do agree, the traffic is terrible. That's how we got to every place we needed to go. We were given a car my full two years and I must tell you, i45 = avoid it. HOV lane = cherish it despite it's imperfections. Beltway 8 = cherish it when there aren't crashes. NASA was cool but did show signs of aging. It had an angry birds exhibit, which was odd. I've driving from Galveston to Windrose before on i45 =D

We hit up San Antonio on the way to Utah. It was nice, I suppose. We visited the Alamo. It was good, but way too locked up for me. I like exploring everything with no restrictions.

You been to places like Riverside or Willis? Have you hitup the bluebell factory? Hmmmm delicious!

Katy might be one of the most country/peaceful area in Houston, but it used to literally be "the country". When my family moved there in '99, most of it was either rice fields or ranches. Those have long been replaced by endless strip malls and subdivisions. At the rate Katy is growing, it's only a matter of time until the country aspect is gone and you'll need to travel to Brookshire or Sealy (which is definitely not even in Houston) to get that peace and quiet. I'm not sure what part of Katy you lived in, but I'll assume you drove on Fry Road at least once. It used to be 2 lanes, it's now 4, and there's parts of it that could be probably even be 6 because they're so congested at certain parts of the day (5pm, I'm talking to you).

I definitely agree with the Alamo being a disappointment, if you ask any Texan it's the history behind it that makes it cool, not the site itself (I've been there twice and I think both times I spent more time walking the River Walk and checking out the Guinness World Record's and Ripley's Believe it or Not museum's directly across the street).

Bluebell is heaven in a bucket, I would never pass it up. Best ice cream in the world (that's a fact, not an opinion). The factory in Brenham is definitely one of Texas' best kept secrets.

Riverside doesn't sound familiar, but Google tells me it's a small town and those are all over the place in Texas. I've definitely camped out around Willis though, the Sam Houston National Forest and Huntsville state park are pretty popular campsites for scouts.

I barely drove on 45 because it was kind of out of the way, but I would constantly drive on The Widest Freeway in the World, so I guess I had that going for me.

290 also has one of my favorite billboards.

Yeah I know the city has influenced it to become more commercial. I've been on Fry Road, yes. The problem is, a lot of people are trying to live in a small county. We were in Tomball, but had people who lived in Katy. It's still very peaceful and a nice break for myself who spent most of my time in the ghetto and more busy residential area of klein and spring.

The history behind it is fantastic, but the public display is just a tourist trap. We were just passing by to get out of Texas to the West, so it was stop and go place.

I await the day where I can go to the stores and buy Bluebell without having to go to a Texas Road House and ordering ice cream dessert. It is a very well kept secret and I'm happy we found it because the ice cream they gave out for free was amazing.


Yeah, we went up there to visit members but Riverside/ton is waaaay up north on i45 a little ways. 7 Front St, Huntsville, TX 77320 this is the area we went to, in the cemetery and trailer park. A heard of hearing man lived there and we had a few minutes to kill so we checked out the cemetery and looked at the lake.

HAHAHA yes that brings back many memories!


Gotta love the traffic! One time, while on i10 going East, traffic went from 60 to a dead stop. We waited and waited. 7 minute or so later people started getting out of the cars and trying to figure out why the huge stop. Then we could hear a wave of car engines starting and going into drive. I could see break lights coming back on and we all slowly started moving again. It's scary when you are stuck in the middle of traffic and cannot move even if you wanted to.

Have you seen the true Texas who, when close to an off ramp or just after one, get impatient in the traffic and "create" their own?

Jul 30, 2014 8:25:53 GMT -8 Vampire Zen said:

By you being in Houston, chances are we may have walked by each other.

Possibly... what do you look like?

[The Dark Knight]

Hi Robert why are you still ignoring me. I am hurt.

[Hero]

What was your opinion on Whataburger?

[Robyn]

Jul 17, 2014 20:43:52 GMT -8 The Dark Knight said:

Hi Robert. How much did you miss me.

Enough to not notice your post Woops!

Aug 5, 2014 19:54:35 GMT -8 The Dark Knight said:

Hi Robert why are you still ignoring me. I am hurt.

You want a band-aid?

Aug 6, 2014 4:29:26 GMT -8 Hero said:

What was your opinion on Whataburger?

First visit: Not impressed, it's like someone tried to put every food group between two slices of buns. But it was a bad day when I got it.

Second visit: A lot better, I didn't get a burger but a chicken sandwhich I think. Not a fan of fancy burgers (except for Mels, that's VERY good! Never tried the challenge though)