Finally the Weekend!

Glad this week is over.

Today was the day that I finally got my Amazon gift certificate from QuantiaMD.  Unpacking all the books from the move with more to come still when the storage unit is emptied and also with having gotten rid of quite a few books prior to moving, the lightbulb finally went off:  I have more books than the average person and they take up a lot of space and they are damn heavy to haul around.

So before lunch I checked my email, found that the gift certificate had finally been processed and off to Amazon I went to buy a Kindle.  Unfortunately, Kindles are on back order and the shipping date for today's orders is September 10.  I am excited to have something that can have a stack of books queued and waiting to be read, though the  whole delayed gratification stinks.  Having just finished Leslie Chang's Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China, I am picturing what will become my Kindle being assembled and tested in a generic electronics factory in a city like Dongguan by some young woman who may have left her home at a very young age to go to work, live in a factory dormitory and who is constantly looking to move on to the next, better job.  I just hope she's not daydreaming as she assembles mine because I did not purchase the extended warranty.

Meanwhile the kids finished the week at Princeton Friends' Camp.  It was Greek Gods week, so the camp held an Olympic games.  Thea's team (Team Hera) was ahead on Wednesday when I picked them up, but today at dinner she said that Team Hera lost.  One more week at camp, and then the countdown starts for the school year. . . .

Thea will be in second grade at Wicoff Elementary School just down the road from home, teacher is yet to be named (and subsequently Googled). There will be five second grade classes this year.  Micah will be in the integrated preschool also at Wicoff.   The four-year olds attend the afternoon preschool session; the district has half day programs preschool and kindergarten, which is just perfect for a family with working parents (not).  So whereas last year Micah logged an hour on the road, but spent a full day at Summit and then an hour to home, he will now go to Beth Chaim's preschool in the morning, get picked up by the school but there and transported to Wicoff and then at 2:50 he will ride the bus back to Beth Chaim for aftercare.  Yes, the West Windsor-Plainsboro school district does not have aftercare available to preschoolers.  One more reason to further expand my burgeoning dislike for the district.

What this means for Micah is that in terms of distance he will be within a much smaller geographical area, but Micah will likely spend just as much time on the road as last year.

And once more I am beginning to wonder why the hell did we move?