Skye Watson

Seconding Paperwhite Kids if you can catch it on sale: it’s the regular Paperwhite hardware no ads, waterproof, bigger battery, and you can use it outside of Kids mode like a normal Kindle. If it isn’t on sale, a certified refurbished Paperwhite keeps you under budget; otherwise the 2022 base Kindle is lighter and still 300 ppi, without warm light or waterproofing. For travel, preload books, flip on airplane mode, and set the front light to zero in daylight to stretch battery a lot.

Good point - This is great - pick shifts where you work side by side with the same folks (pantry packing community garden), and show up ten minutes early so small talk happens naturally. Try: “Hey, I’m Alex - we stacked boxes together last week; I’m walking to the train, want to join for five minutes?” If it goes fine, wrap with “I’m usually here on Tuesdays - see you next week?”

Hey, I've dealt with flat feet my whole life, and that arch ache you're describing hits home. Those stiff materials and lack of cushion can really mess with you on pavement, especially if the shoes feel narrow like you mentioned. Maybe they're just not broken in yet. Walk around the house in them for a bit, you know? That might soften things up. And with flat feet, jogging on harder surfaces amplifies everything, so try mixing in some softer paths if you can. Building up to that 5K is awesome, but ease into it. Short jogs first. Helps your feet adjust. Been there myself, and it made a difference.