Off to camp
Posted on August 16, 2008
Filed Under Kids, Life, Relocating | 1 Comment
Considering how infrequently I’ve been blogging lately, I feel a little silly posting a “going on vacation” blog.
We’re in a hotel now, completely moved out of our condo. Everything that’s not with us is in a nearby storage facility. This afternoon, we board a flight for Atlanta, GA. This is a vacation planned and paid for months ago, long before we even considered the possibility of moving. We’re going to relax around Atlanta for a few days, then we’re heading to Camp Yofi in Clayton, GA.
Camp Yofi is a 5 day family camp for Jewish families with a child with Autism. There are activities for the whole family of course, but they also have separate tracks for siblings and parents. It’s a wonderful way for us to have a “normal” experience while at the same time acknowledging that we, as a family with a child with special needs, have more difficulty doing just that.
We get back on Monday, August 25th. Then we’re driving from the airport in Philadelphia to my Mom’s house in New York. We’ll stay there overnight, then Eric and I head back to New Jersey early Tuesday morning to close on both the sale of the condo and the purchase of our new home. The girls will stay with my Mom until Labor Day weekend. I’ll take Wednesday and Thursday to get organized (furniture and appliance deliveries, register the girls for school, clean up) and then our stuff is coming back from storage on August 29. Emily starts school on September 3, and Laini starts on September 8. Whew! Gonna be a crazy week.
Obviously, I’m taking my computer with me. First because I don’t have a home to leave it in, and second because I’m very nervous about being away the week before closings. If anything needs to be done, I can do it as long as I have my MacBook Pro. I’m going to try really hard not to even glance at my work-related email for the week. I set vacation auto-responders on both accounts (C3 & WWD) and I disabled them from pushing to the iPhone. I can’t remember the last time, if ever, I made a serious attempt to disconnect from work. I just won’t think about the avalanche that will await me when I return until I return.
Finally, I received some good news the other day. After reviewing Laini’s records and having all the necessary conversations, the Child Study Team at the school district we’re moving to agrees that the private special needs school Laini attended last year on our dime is the appropriate placement for her. That means that they not only support the placement and will work with us on her IEP, but they will pick up the bill and provide a bus for her. This is such a relief on so many levels. Financially, of course. But also emotionally, knowing that in the end, I think we made the right choices.
Almost there
Posted on August 13, 2008
Filed Under Life | 3 Comments
Today:
August 26:
Media that feeds on itself
Posted on August 1, 2008
Filed Under Life | 5 Comments
Flipping through my Netvibes feeds this morning for the latest from CNN.com:
Anthrax, suicide, beheadings on buses, torture, bodies in freezers.
Our mood is at historic low.
Really?
We’re outta here
Posted on July 22, 2008
Filed Under Life | 1 Comment
I’ve been debating on how much I should blog about our move. Folks have been asking, so here’s a little update.
On June 21, I posted:
So, just 3 years nearly to the day after we moved here, we’re preparing to put our condo on the market and move closer to Laini’s school. Driving her 50 miles each way to school and back is killing us, $4/gallon of gas notwithstanding. It’s not a great time to sell and we’re going to take a large loss compared to the price we paid in 2005. Luckily we have plenty of equity and real estate is far more affordable where we’re going.
At that time, I was thinking that a “best case” scenario would be selling our townhouse sometime over the Fall and moving by the end of the calendar year.
Our plan was to repaint/recarpet the upstairs of the unit before selling. It’s the original 7 year-old paint and carpet and needs it. On Wednesday, June 25th we met with our broker (if you’re looking to buy/sell a home in New Jersey, I highly recommend) and learned that there was no other unit like ours on the market at that moment. Rather than wait until all the work was done, we made the strategic decision to put the home on the market ASAP and halt showings for the week the work was being done. Folks who made a fast offer could “pick their own colors.” We picked an aggressive price that we knew would give us enough in the bank to get the home we wanted in another part of the state.
The listing hit MLS on Friday, 6/27. Saturday the lock box went on the door with the intention of showings beginning on Monday. On Sunday, while in the car on the way to see a house we liked, the broker calls and says someone wants to see our home today (Sunday). Is it okay? Thank goodness I made everyone leave the house in spotless shape, so I say “sure!” That night, the folks who saw the place made an offer! A good, fair one.
On Monday, we go to the broker’s office and quickly work out a deal where we’ll give the buyers a credit so they can do their own paint/carpet. Sold! In the meantime, we place an offer on the house we saw the previous day and loved. A little back and forth, and they accept!
So in a heartbeat we go from “hopefully we’ll be out by the end of the year” to we’re moving by the end of the summer!
Things are moving along nicely towards closing on both places on August 26. So much to do, and we’re even going on vacation 8/16-8/25. We have plane tickets so our plans can’t change.
Goodbye condo, hello single-family home again. For just about the same amount that we’re selling our 2000 sq. ft. townhome near Princeton with single-car garage we’re buying a 3000 sq. ft. 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home with back yard, finished basement and 2 car garage. It even has a covered front porch!
We’re moving to a small town in the northern part of southwestern New Jersey, about 30 minutes east of Philadelphia. I’ve already met with someone at the new school district, and while nothing is in writing (can’t be until we close), it’s looking pretty good that they understand Laini’s needs and will do what is appropriate for her. Emily’s elementary and middle school are less than a 1/2 mile away, and the entire neighborhood looks like it came right out of a sitcom set. When Eric has to go to New York City for work, it’s a bit of a schlep. But we’ll make it work.
Twitter for Those Left Behind
Posted on May 30, 2008
Filed Under Internet & Technology, Life | 2 Comments
You either get Twitter or you don’t.
Those that don’t will typically post comments like this one I just caught on FriendFeed:
Do people even really use twitter? I guess I mean in the sense that you actually accomplish some goal, or connect with people you physically know or work with?
Yes, Twitter is a lot of noise and useless crap. But it can be very, very useful. Here’s my story:
We found out last Thursday afternoon that Eric had to go to Bogota, Colombia on Monday for a 2-day work assignment. Now I’m sure there are a lot of really nice people in Colombia, but until this week all I cared to know about the South American country was that Americans shouldn’t travel there.
From an active US Government travel advisory.
The incidence of kidnapping in Colombia has diminished significantly from its peak at the beginning of this decade. Nevertheless, terrorist groups such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN) and other criminal organizations continue to kidnap and hold civilians for ransom or as political bargaining chips. No one is immune from kidnapping on the basis of occupation, nationality, or other factors. The FARC continue to hold three U.S. government contractors, having captured them when their plane crashed in a remote region of the country in February 2003. In January 2008, the FARC kidnapped six Colombian tourists from a beach on the Pacific coast in Chocó Department. Although the U.S. government places the highest priority on the safe recovery of kidnapped Americans, it is U.S. policy not to make concessions to or strike deals with kidnappers. Consequently, the U.S. government’s ability to assist kidnapping victims is limited.
Gee, have a nice trip dear.
Eric was assured he’d have a driver and that he’d be in “safe” areas other times. Still, I was very nervous about this trip.
Eric started using Twitter a few weeks ago. Remembering the story of the man who was saved from an Egyptian jail thanks to Twitter, I asked Eric to be sure to tweet as often as he could. Armed with m.twitter.com and a Twitter client on his laptop, that’s exactly what he did. Throughout the few days he was gone, in between some short phone calls, I was able to check his Twitter page and be assured he was okay. I’m sure tweets like, “Waiting in hotel lobby for colleagues before heading to office” weren’t very exciting to his other 54 followers, but it meant a whole lot to me.
In fact, he didn’t have to call and wake the kids at 5:30 am yesterday when his plane landed at JFK. I was already up and saw it on Twitter.
