Weekly Update:10-20-15 Scarier than a Pumpkin Latte Shortage

October is disappearing faster than the pumpkin lattes at Starbucks. A slight knot of worry grows in my stomach. So much work ahead of me. Will I be able to accomplish all I set out to do? And if not, what do I sacrifice?

Maybe drinking a latte will help me decide.

By next year, I hope to get started on my teaching credential. That means finishing the bulk of the application this year. Last week, I sat down and sorted out what needed to be done. The list was two pages long and included fun things like:

• Filling out 3 separate applications
• Writing 2 different essays
• Passing the 5-hour English CSET exam
• Taking a CPR class
• Hand-delivering my sealed transcripts, CBEST test scores, fingerprint results, and TB test 
• Taking 4 prerequisite college courses, including 45 hours of observation
• Getting teacher recommendations
• Paying over $500 in test and application fees

No problem, right?

My family and friends seem to calmly assume that I'll pass it just fine. I'm far less certain, because all those things take time, and I seem to be having trouble finding it.

Ironically, this year I seem to be getting far more substituting jobs than I normally do. That's great for my bank account, which will soon sorely need the extra dough, but it gives me less time to play around with application stuff. It also cuts into my writing time. I'd wanted to get my fairy tale middle grade novel, Three Floating Coffins out to Beta Readers by now, but that isn't happening.

And Nanowrimo looms.

That feeling of impending death is just the prospect of writing 50,000 words in 30 days.

I'm doing fine with brainstorming and plotting my novel. What frightens me is leading a group. Can I step up and inspire other people to reach their writing goals? And if they fail, does that mean I've failed?

And then, of course, there's family and holiday.

I don't want to think about Thanksgiving and cleaning the house and making pumpkin pies. I definitely don't want to think of Christmas and hand-crafting 25 cards and doing last-minute shopping. Right now, my biggest concern is visiting my brother who is coming to California for 2 weeks in the beginning of November before being shipped off to North Korea for a year. I'd like to get the cousins together and maybe throw him a beach party. But will the weather behave? Can I gather everyone together? What supplies do I need?

My head is spinning.

Something will have to go. And be warned, gentle reader, that this blog is high on the list of sacrificed activities. So if you notice a lack of posts, that may be why. I'll try to finish up October. I make no promises for November.