only in chicago..

it was so chilly in chicago last thursday that despite 65 degree forecasts, the wind made it seem like it was in the 40's. and of course i couldn't wait to sport my summer clothes so needless to say i was not dressed for the occasion. i ended up stopping in at ol' gravy, as my friend T and i affectionately call it, to buy a sweater, sweatshirt, denim jacket... something! but i realized that a hundred other chicagoans had the same bright idea because the store clerk at ol' gravy said they sold more jackets that day than most winter days! *nodding my head*.. only in chicago.

but wait! there's good news.. it's a whopping 85 degrees out today! and the past weekend was just marvelous. c and i took our respective reading materials to the lake and lay out for a couple of hours to soak up some much needed sun.. thereby restoring my faith in the beauty of chicago summers.

i'm itching to buy a place.. a condo, town house, whatever. personally i'd hate to buy a condo in a highrise. i've had my fair share of high rise apartments and now that we live in a 6-flat, there's just no going back. and buying a house in the city of chicago is no joke.. especially if you want your own private back yard. you're looking at about 300-400K easy. but with interest rates so low, how can i still keep paying rent which to me is like money being thrown away? i'm meeting a real estate agent/friend tomorrow to see what my options are. i'm borderline excited but reminding myself that it may not happen because there's only so much i can afford by way of monthly payments, and i'm not quite ready to sacrifice my entire lifestyle just to be a homeowner. besides, i'm not planning to stay in chicago too much longer. we shall see..

which brings me to another issue.. do i really want to make an investment in real estate if in the near future i want to leave chicago? i've been having dreams lately of getting a job in the caribbean.. any island.. pick one.. just to get away from it all. wouldn't it be lovely to live on an island? to swim in the ocean during my lunch breaks or early in the morning? aah.. the sheer thought of it makes me drool.. it's my new goal in life (short-term, of course).. and i'm trying to talk c into it! shouldn't be too hard, one would think..hehe.

the irony of all this is that i've spent the last several years of my life working towards getting a green card to provide a base of stability for myself.. and now i'm not really sure i even want to live in this country much longer!

sigh.. so much to do/see.. so little time..