http://remixsorry.blogspot.com/

When you take a break from something you love, you really do learn a lot of things about yourself and all. I used to love web design and Photoshop and everything. I used to mess with it all day, and I liked designing sites, but I would scrap two or three designs before I came up with something I liked.

And then college came, and I didn’t do so much design. After I graduated, I came to the realization that I sucked at designing stuff. However, in the process of finding other things to do, I got a blogging internship and started my own, and I think that helps take up that spot in my life.

I was a bit rambly, but the bottom line is that sometimes we need breaks from things to find out more about ourselves and grow, like you said.

If you both were more stable in work and stuff and getting married like Jess, I see no problem with getting a house, but if it doesn’t feel right to you, then for the love of G-d don’t do it. Good job for sticking up for yourself. Renting will be cheaper and let you concentrate on loan payments more anyway.

Renting a place is a way to learn the ins and outs of paying utility/personal bills, taking care of maintenance and repair, and team management. This is better in a rental situation because 1) while the bills are important, the bills are WAY more important and expensive with house living, 2) there is less to maintain and a lot can be done by your landlord instead of yourself, and 3) there is less stuff for a couple to manage and the stakes in taking care of everything isn’t as high as with homeownership.

I am SO SO happy I lived in an apartment before I moved in with Matt. I learned a lot by having that independence. Your father is taking out the human element in his argument—but without the human element, the investment is completely worthless. But I’m a sentimentalist—I don’t look at house or apartment and see dollar signs. I see a HOME. I think having shelter is more important than owning a place just to say it’s an investment. (That’s what IRAs, 401Ks, pensions, etc are for.)

Okay, that’s my abbreviated opinion. I have a lot of thoughts on this type of stuff, but I’m supposed to be working, so… >_>

I hope whatever is bothering your mom, Jaimie, it gets better soon.

btw, I really liked this sentence: “Like they say in the movie “Psycho”, we all go a little mad sometimes, and true there are people out there far above the mean, but for the most part even though most of us could be easily diagnosed with a disorder, were more than likely just going through something.” How true!