Hello 2006...

first post of the new year - woo hoo!

ringing in '06 was nice, went to a party at angela & diana's - a festive time was had by all.

been keeping busy with a variety of appointments - trips to the doc or therapist, checking out some real estate, blah blah blah...

so i got my half of mom's life insurance policy, which is what is enabling me to look at real estate - big decisions to make in the near future - do i wanna go back downtown, or stay here on the southside? i know that owning a home isn't for me, so do i get an apartment, or go condo? joe everhart's listing some condos in the renaissance tower building - one unit's too small for me, but buying two units and combining them is too expensive for what i want. i have a good vibe about the place though - we'll see what happens.

the check engine and coolant lights are coming on in my car - saturn wants $800 to fix the issue, tho they say it's still safe to drive - is this a sign i need to go car shopping as well and get new wheels? and do i buy or lease? i know suze orman says leasing is stupid, that it's for people that want to drive cars that are more expensive than they can afford - but mom could've easily afforded to buy the saturn she drove and leased it instead - my situation with a car is similar to the real estate issue, i guess...i could now afford it, but do i want to make that sort of commitment?

i guess mom's death has made it clear to me how silly most personal possessions are - in the grand scheme of things, they're so totally unimportant. i don't have any major desire to own a home, and it's not like i'm gonna have any offspring to pass things along to, so why buy? when it comes down to it, we're all mortal and it's all rental while you're on this planet anyhoo...