Moving On Up

to the Midwest. Back to the Midwest again. My life is a constant shift between the Midwest and the South.

Timeline: Michigan - S.C. - Kansas - Ga - Texas - Illinois

Yes, you heard it here first. We are headed to the Windy City. The suburbs, actually.

M will be starting his new gig, back to content management in the 150,000-strong Daily Herald, the 3rd largest Illinois paper after the sadly-Tribune-run Chicago Tribune and the Sun News group Sun-Times.

I will be staying in Lubbock to finish up a full year in my new gig, packing and cleaning house. I should be joining him in May.

Am I sad to leave Lubbock? Contrary to popular belief, heck yeah. We bought a house in July and love living out there. Now, we may not even afford to buy one for a few years in Chicagoland. Our getaway

There's also our employers (no, not Morris) - the publisher and the ad director. They may not garner too many fans but to Mand me, they are good, solid people. And you, my friends, know that I know good folks when I see them.

But like they said, there're always tradeoffs.

We're going to miss attending college football games, no matter how inconsistent Tech is. Northwestern football sucks! I'll be sure to wear my Michigan T-shirts on game days. But we'll have plenty of pro games to attend. Great, now I have to figure out baseball. Can never understand that game.

Housing: Much as I whined and complained about the exorbitant rental in Lubbock, it is not any better in Chicago.

Food: I'm starting to feel fat just thinking about it. Already, I spied a huge Asian supermarket, albeit mostly Japanese Asian markets; Mitsuwa. AND I get to pop into Chinatown in the city proper for dim sum anytime. There's even a Southeast restaurant there. Mmmm, Hainanese chicken rice, laksa, mee siam, popiah, rendang Penang Restaurant ...... And helloooo, spinach deep dish and all you ambiance-conscious restaurants.

Shopping: While not as ardent as I used to be, I still look forward to the variety when it comes to gift-giving time.

Culture: No stranger to Chicago's offerings, I no longer have to try to see everything in a short trip. But if you should come visit, you're on your own to the Art Museum if you insist on seeing the Impressionist paintings. I need to venture to the other wings. Oh, does Six Flags count for culture, too? I can't wait now that I'd gotten over my coaster fears.

Meet up with you later!

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Bob: I can see you can't wait to get out of texas! Happy packing!

Me: Regardless of what people think of Texas, or Lubbock, it does provide a good standard of living. The major inconvenience of Lubbock is its remoteness. Flying in and out of Lubbock can get costly in some instances. Mark and I love to travel and we are stoked by the idea of last-minute offerings from O'Hare. The other downside is its lack of good restaurants. I'm a Singaporean, for crying out loud. Eating is what we do.

Bob: and it shows too!!! ha ha ha ha

Patrick: Wow, you've lived in more places than most people in the military! That's so cool that you get to make the windy city your next destination. I have yet to hear a bad thing about that place. Congrats!

Dan: Hooray! Best of luck in Chicagoland. Just stay off the Ryan at all times. Evil, that thing is.

You'll also have to do The Taste during the summer. Hotter than Hades on a bad day, but good gracious all that food ...

So I now go from knowing 2 people in Lubbock to zero. Scratch that from my list of places to visit.

and you've passed me again on places lived. I figure I'll catch up eventually ... but not for a while. Me likes the beach too much.

Again, congrats!