Car Registration

As complicated as it's made out to be online, car registration was relatively painless.

You need three things when you go to the tax office (I went to the one in Richardson, which was blissfully unbusy on a Friday afternoon):
1 - Inspection Certificate from your car inspection
2 - Car title or car registration from your former state
3 - A walletful of cash (I think my total came out to be $185 or so - they do accept checks, but only from local banks).

There are two forms to fill out which are relatively simple (name, address, car VIN, etc.) and that's about it.  I think I was in and out of there in less than 20 minutes.

New Resident Information
County Tax Office Locator

So I now have Texas license plates and two stickers on my car.

North Haven Gardens

I've really been keen on starting up my herb and flower garden again, and I'm really happy to say that I've found a very nice nursery that would help me do so.  Home Depot had no herbs to speak of when I stopped by there, and the very helpful associate in the Garden Center recommended I do research online to find out "what grows well in the fall in Texas".

To my delight, North Haven Gardens had most of the herbs I wanted and more (the only herbs they didn't have were Spring herbs like parsley and cilantro).  I walked out with two kinds of mint (spearmint and peppermint), a trailing rosemary, Provence lavender, a "hot 'n' spicy" oregano, English thyme, and Genovese basil.  I'm pretty sure Home Depot carry only have the thyme and possibly one of the mints when they have them in stock.

North Haven also has little bay leaf trees, one of which I'm currently plotting to acquire.

Did I mention how helpful and accommodating the staff was?  I think I must have had three or four people ask me if they could help me out, and when I had a question that one of them couldn't answer, she sent the garden specialist my way.

For those who are interested, they also have lots of organic soils, fertilizers, bug sprays, et. al.

Once I find my little point-and-shoot camera I'll post photos.  I can't wait until next Spring for strawberry plants!

North Haven Gardens
7700 Northhaven Rd.
Dallas, TX
(214) 363-5316

Apartment Woes

I must have pulled the short straw when I moved here, because it seems like every day has a new pain-in-the-butt issue for me to deal with.

My new washer and dryer arrived on Saturday evening, and they are really nice (GE Energy-Efficient top-loader washer and the matching electric dryer - the space was too shallow for front-loading machines).  I just wish they could have arrived during their delivery window.  I was told that my appliances would be delivered between 3PM and 7PM.  They must have been running on PDT, because I didn't see anyone until 9PM.  At least it wasn't the deliverymen's fault; apparently the scheduler had put two routes together that day.  But still, if I could write a review on Yelp, I think I would give the experience 3 stars, and 2 of those were with how nice and apologetic the deliverymen were.  To boot, the valve on the hot water tap is leaking, so until my apartment maintenance can fix it, I'm confined to cold water laundry only.  But the washer and dryer are nice and super quiet.

I've noticed a few creepy crawlies here, but nothing major.  Last night when I pulled down and inspected my bedding, I saw at least 5 or 6 little tiny bugs.  I don't know if they were bed bugs or carpet beetles, but let's say they were ugly things that left dark poo spots on my sheets.  So I pull everything off of the bed, wash it in cold water (remember, I can't wash it in warm or hot water yet), and dry it.  I vacuum the bed (but probably not well enough).  I didn't get to sleep until around 3AM this morning.  I've put in a maintenance request; they spray every week on Tuesdays, so hopefully someone will come around today.  But this really was the icing on the crap cake.  I'm ready for all the frustrating obstacles to stop.  It's not making me a stronger person, or a more tolerant person, or any of those other things that trials and tribulations are supposed to make people.  They're just making me angry.  And I don't think anyone wants to see me angry.  My hair turns into snakes and my eyes glow red.  It's not pretty.

Car Inspection

OK, today is a rough day (I'm having a lot of those lately).

I got my car inspected today, which seemed painless enough, except the place I went to had a really pushy mechanic who coerced me into buying a $100 car battery that I didn't need, then proceeded to try to convince me to get an oil change (I declined) and then a dude in the lobby tried to get me to buy windshield repair from him (for a barely visible chip in the windshield).  That whole experience left me drained and cranky.  But I have the paperwork for step 2, so I just have to make sure I don't misplace or lose any of that.  I'm also sporting a new sticker on the windshield.

Just so you all know, the place I went to was Kwik Kar (a Jiffy Lube kind of place) on Greenville Ave. just south of the 635.  Don't go there.

Go to this place instead (all this guy does is inspections, and it sounds like he won't try to rip you off either):
Quix State Inspection

Car Registration, Driver's License, et. al.

Getting your car registered and your new Texas driver's license, per Texas law (I believe it's 30 days to get your car registered, 90 days to get your driver's license) is really a pain in the butt.  Worse than finding an electricity provider.  Why it needs to be this complicated is beyond me.

This whole process can be done in 3 (or 4 steps, if you want to have tolls auto-deducted).  Here is an overview; I'll post updates as I go through the "process".

1. Get your car inspected.
2. Register and license your car.
3. Get your driver's license (at a totally different office!).
4. Get your Texas Tag set up.

Surreal is 99 Ranch Market in Plano

Have you ever been to 99 Ranch Market?  It's a Taiwanese chain of grocery stores that is the pinnacle of what Asian grocery shopping can be (unless you go really wild and actually head to Taiwan to buy your groceries from the street markets there).

Anyway, in Los Angeles (and Las Vegas), they are all filled with narrow aisles, lots of Asian people, fresh (as in, with the heads still on, and sometimes still swimming) fish in the back, and Mandopop music blaring on the P.A. system in between the daily specials announcements in both English, Mandarin, and sometimes Cantonese.  Did I mention the checkout lines are always at least 3 customers deep (the entire bank of them)?

This place was virtually empty on the Friday afternoon I stopped in to check the place out.  Combined with the Texas-wide aisles, it was downright weird!  But they do have a wide selection of the foodstuffs, food, and other things I would find in Los Angeles, for about the same price as I would expect to find for most items.  So I won't have to make strange substitutions to my favorite recipes, like Chow Mei Fun and Beef Noodles.

However, the strangest, most surreal thing I save for last.  Instead of Mandopop playing on the P.A. system, it was country music!  (Not Texas country music, which I've heard is its own genre)

99 Ranch Market
131 Spring Creek Parkway
Plano, TX 75023
972-943-8999

Detour Review: La Me

Dallas has bahn mi.  I think I might be OK here.  Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but eventually.

Bahn mi was one of those treats I would get for myself whenever I was out in Alhambra (which was rarely), and for whatever reason I always missed the Nom Nom truck whenever it was near my office during lunchtime.  But it was totally worth it.  BBQ pork, shredded carrots, sliced jalapenos, radish pickles and cilantro all wrapped up in a crispy french baguette made with rice & wheat flour.  Inexpensive deliciousness at its best.  The sort of thing I would crave for months before I would convince myself I really needed to drive an hour to have.

How lucky is it that I can have bahn mi whenever I want now that I'm in Dallas and have found a great little restaurant not too far from the new office?  Sweet!  Not to mention the people who work there are incredibly sweet and the bahn mi is delicious.  They even add cucumber in their bahn mi for an extra little crunch.

Delicious.  :)

La Me
9780 Walnut (keep going East on Walnut when the GPS tells you to stop)
Richardson, TX 75243
(972)-669-8515

Detour Review: The Pearl Cup

One of the things I enjoyed quite a bit when I was living in Los Angeles was a really good cup of coffee from an independent coffee shop.  So I was curious what Dallas had to offer and I'm happy to say that I found a great little cafe called The Pearl Cup on Henderson.  They had lots of fresh-baked goodies which I didn't try, but you can tell the biscotti are homemade by the way the chocolate is dolloped on one side.  I had their Signature Pearl Latte, which was most delicious.  If you order it to stay it will be served with latte art!  (I'm not sure what it would be like to go, but I can't imagine latte art in a paper cup)

The Henderson location is right next to a little gift shop called "We are 1976", which I can recommend perusing, if only to look at the funny designs on the children's bento boxes.

The Pearl Cup
1900 Henderson Ave.
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 824-9500

Texas Electricity Provider Decision

In Los Angeles, there was only one electricity provider (SoCal Edison), unless you had your own solar panels or wind turbines.

In Dallas, there are many, many electricity providers, and it's very intimidating to try and figure it all out.  Even people who live here seem confused and intimidated by it all.  The best answer I can get from most people I've asked is, "I don't know, I use Power Company X".  I'm moving into my apartment next week, and wanted to get the whole electricity thing figured out beforehand so that I would actually have electricity in my apartment when I moved in.

One nice thing about having so many companies to choose from is that you can pick a plan that is sourced from renewable energy sources, which I think is nice and modern.  I don't ever remember having that option with SoCal Edison when I was a customer of theirs. I ended up picking a 100% Green, 12-month fixed-rate plan through Bounce Energy.  They weren't the cheapest but had really good reviews on their customer service and rewards plan.

I was tempted to go with Veteran Energy, but their website had issues (in that I couldn't view any plans for my address).

There are quite a few sites out there which compare all the different electricity provider option, and two in particular helped me make my decision.  In the end it wasn't as stressful as it seemed originally.

Power to Choose
Texas Electricity Ratings

Driving in Dallas

Driving in Dallas (or all of Texas, for that matter) is truly an exercise in taking your life into your own hands.  I've dealt with so much road rage and inattentive drivers that I'm seriously considering just cycling or taking the bus or Dart (Dallas' Metro) everywhere.  OK, not *that* serious, but it's a tempting option.

Example 1: Along most of the freeway "feeder" roads around here there is usually a left-only turn lane, and a left-turn lane where you can also go straight (it usually takes you right onto the on ramp for the freeway as well).  One afternoon I was stopped at a light on the right-most left-turn lane (the one where you can still go straight on).  A huge SUV pulled up to the right of me (in a straight-only lane), and when the light turned green the guy honked at me to get out of his way because he wanted to make a left turn!

Example 2: I was turning right into a parking lot during rush hour.  There was a guy in the entrance/exit area of the parking lot, who was oriented to exit the parking lot.  Right before I turned he decided he wanted to make an inpromptu U-turn back into the parking lot.  I really want to know what his thought process on this was.

I really don't feel like I'm being selfish or arrogant when I drive, but stupid stunts like these cause accidents.  And I see stuff like this every time I drive somewhere.  Not to mention I get nervous driving around here with my California plates. . . I'm still working out all the details of how I'm supposed to get Texas plates and a Texas driver's license.  It's going to be a pain, that much I know.

Detour Review - Czech Stop

Before I moved to Texas, I asked all my Los Angeles friends if they had any recommendations of things and places I needed to do, see, or experience while I was there.  Someone highly recommended the kolaches at Czech Stop Bakery if I ever took a drive down to Waco.  I took an excursion down to Austin this weekend and Waco is on the way, so I stopped by Czech Stop for a much-needed break from driving and pastries.

It's a little hard to find if you're coming from the North and are not sure where to turn off.  Coming from the South you will see the building as you exit the freeway.

I lucked out and didn't have to wait too long in line, and scored a box of cheddar garlic biscuits, two bottles of water, and a baker's dozen of kolaches for under $20.  I've tried both the sweet kolaches and the savory; the savory ones really hit the spot if you need a quick snack (they taste almost homemade) and the sweet ones are perfect for coffee in the morning.  The biscuits were a big hit as well.

The ladies running the place were incredible polite and the whole operation is well run.  I'm not quite sure if this is really all that it was hyped up to be, but it's perfectly located between Austin and Dallas and the pastries were delicious enough.  I do recommend the sweet ones with cream cheese if you're looking for a sweet tooth fix.

Czech Stop & Little Czech Bakery
105 N College Ave
West, TX 76691
(254) 826-5316