SocialistMD,
Now I feel even more guilty that I didn't even answer your question! So here it goes:
The Galleria area is the place to shop, eat, see, and be seen. Excellent but slightly pricy restaurants include: Americas, Ruggles Grill, La Strada, Canyon Cafe, Brennan's, and Churascos, Clive's.
The Rice Village is a nice place to wander the streets, as long as you don't cross Kirby or Sunset Blvd. You will then be in the medical center, which is dangerous after dark, but quite safe during the day time, due to busy streets and traffic. College students most heavily populate this area.
The FM 1960 Area is also a good place to go to for cheaper but roughly the same quality restaurants and shopping.
Interesting things to see: The waterwall, The butterfly museum, NASA, Old Towne Spring (Old German town).
Clubs and weekend hangouts: The Richmond strip and through Westheimer: Spy and The Roxy.
Sadly, that about covers it for sights, but nice weekend trips are close by. San Antonio is about a 2 hour drive away and is beautiful, and my personal favorite is New Orleans, about a 5 hour drive.
Hope that helps. Take care.