Good Ol' Boy State Part 2...

[Guest guest]

Hey there ,

Sorry about the interruption of my post.

Karin makes a good point in her reply as you should go back to the

Group website and 'cut and paste' my previous message and this one

and print them both out in Word so that the detailed steps I was

trying to post last night don't get you more confused.

I had to quickly end my last post as there really was a squall line

of thunderstorms in my area that was bearing down on Corpus. I did

not 'set-up' my reply for any reason to make a point.

We did have two confirmed 'touchdowns' (of tornados) over near

Mathis, TX, which is about a 30 minute drive north from Corpus up I-

37 which is the highway to San from Corpus. A cow or two

might have been thrown around, but that was about it.

Tornados are high pressure systems, and since the city of Corpus

Christi is close enough to warm salt water such as Corpus Christi

Bay and just a few miles to our east, the Gulf of Mexico,

GENERALLY/THEORITCALLY/HOPEFULLY, the warm low pressure front that

always exists for those of us who live close to the water should

ALWAYS counteract the high pressure fronts that would cause a

tornoado to actually form and 'touchdown' near the coast and hit

Corpus Christi.

Last night we actually just had a 'small' weather event here at my

house. The only problem it caused me personally was that after I

shut down and unplugged my computer, the cable went out and I missed

the last minute of overtime in the Spurs/Sacremento game. I got no

rain here. But, one of the thunderstorm cells dropped about three

inches of rain down near Kingsville, which is where I am going to

commute to A & M Colege of Pharmacy every day for three more years.

So to continue, :

6. Welcome back to Texas and perhaps you really will realize how

important is is to get a name or extention number for EVERYONE that

you talk to in Austin. The example that I was going to give you of

why this is important before I had to shut down my computer last

night is that one time when I was on the phone with the TSBP with a

somewhat important question, the person who I was talking to, with

all good intentions, somehow transfered me to the office of Carole

Keeton Strayhorn who is the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

The question that I was asking had nothing to do with economics or

state taxes. Somehow, most likely because the person I was talking

to transfered me to the 'REALLY WRONG EXTENSION', I reached a point

where I had to stop my journey through the Texas state government

phone system and start again at 1-512-305-8000.

7. Tornados, Hurricanes, the Capitol Phone System that exists in a

different realm than I don't care to try to explain other than is is

within the realm of possibilities that by mistake you could call

with a question to renew your Texas auto license plates, and with a

mistake by the person you were talikg to, you just might get the

personal extension of the Governor!?. In Texas, anything is

possible! But you must keep trying, and you must keep track of where

you have been already. If you 'get' anything from these two posts, I

hope you 'get' the fact that persistence is necessary sometimes and

I hope that you don't just try 1-512-305-8000 once, get stuck

somewhere, and give up out of frustration. Remember, other Texas

state bureaucracies are much, much worse than TSBP.

8. Now that the storm has passed, and you finally get transfered to

the 'right' person in Austin, tell him or her your personal

situation. If they tell you to go to the TSBP website, tell them

that you already have and you would really rather deal with a person

that a website.

9. Ask your question (hopefully for the LAST time but at least you

got to talk to Rick even if it was to tell the Governor of

Texas that somehow you have the 'wrong number'!) about state Law.

10. Remember that whether you (might have...???..ANYTHING IS

POSSIBLE) got to this person the FIRST time you called, or there

were 'TEXAS TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES ' someone finally will give you

the answer to the questions that you have. You will know who this is

when he/she either does transfer you to someone else or tell you to

go to a website. Write down everything they tell you to do, and

repeat what you have written back to them. You now have the

information that you need!

11. It might take time, but eventually you will find someone at TSBP

who will help you whether you are living in another state and want

to find out what you need to do to become registered in Texas or you

just are interested in any question that has to do with pharmacy in

Texas in general. There is no 'Pharmacists Phone Number' in Austin.

Pharmacists in Texas start at the same point you will: 1-512-305-

8000.

12. I'm sorry if I could not completely answer your question, but I

hope I answered part of it. Texas is a wonderful place to live and

work. Generally, the people here are friendly, hard workers. Texas

gets 'blasted' in the PRESS too much for problems like race

relations, high teenage pregnancy rates, JASPER (the truck incident

in east TX several years ago), and often we are portrayed/perceived

as 'boot and cowboy hat wearing wild folks' who carry rifles on our

horses' saddles as we gallop up the highway on our way to work.

Texas often gets made fun of or outright criticized by the PRESS in

New York and California which is where most people get their NEWS

from.

13. Personally, I drive a P.T. Cruiser and carry a Glock .45 in the

golve box ONLY when I am traveling out of town, or or as my 'hip

sidearm' in a holster ONLY when I hunt. I have a Texas Concealed

Carry Permit which (although it may be popular U.S. opinion) is not

easy to obtain.

, Texas is a vast place where you will be welcomed no

matter which kind of lifestyle you wish to lead. We have three of

the top ten largest cities in the United States, the 5th largest

port in the WORLD (Port of Corpus Christi, not Houston as down here

we have water deep enough for 'super-tankers'), the second largest

National Park in the continental U.S. (Big Bend out west 'close' to

El Paso), and we also have the smallest town in America, an actual

incorporated city of only 17 citizens complete with its own post

office and fire department.

I hope that you would like to explore the possibilities of Texas,

and find your place here.

You already have at least one friend here if you need help. Feel

free to E-Mail me with any other questions.

Best Wishes,

Christian B. Oliver RCPhT (TX)