Wandering Gnomad: Stuff I Did When I Wasn't Here

I leave in less than a week! The reason I have not written in awhile, is that I have been doing a lot to get ready. This week when I wasn't here I . . .

had my last day of school with my second graders (gonna miss this group)
cleaned out the classroom
Figuring out VISA stuff.
went to my last meeting with my writer's group (shout out to Monica, Katrina, Claire, Ashley, and Jon)
went hiking/camping on the North Shore (See Gnomeo pictures below)
Spoke on a writing panel about writing YA at Barnes and Noble's B-Fest (one person came)
Wondering what the non-mosquito, itchy, red bumps on my body are from
Tried not to itch the red bumps
Tried to convince my mom that it is scabies (#teacherproblems) Mom: See I have them too, so I don't think it is scabies. Me: That just probably means I gave you scabies.
Cancelled Century Link "Person" on the phone who was probably a robot: I'm sorry to hear that you are cancelling your services. Have you considered bundling your account to save money? Me: I'm moving out of the country Robot: Oh. Well let's cancel your account then.
Dentist appointment
Packed all my stuff while listening to Hamilton
Goodwill donation trips
Moved out of my apartment in Minneapolis
Listened to Hamilton some more
Watching Hamilton perform at the Tony Awards
Tried to convince my parents how amazing Lin-Manuel Miranda is Mom:You mean he wrote the music, book, and stars in Hamilton? Me: Yup. I know, right?!!
Talking to MNSure for an hour to cancel. MNsure person: I'm going to ask you some personal questions. Did you come to Minnesota from North Dakota for senior housing?
Bought some stuff at Target
Ate tater tot hotdish

Needless to say, it has been a little busy and there is still a long list of things I need to get done before I leave. One thing that I have done very much at all is writing. I wrote a young adult book and am currently in the process of revising the second draft. A first draft is getting the words out and telling yourself the story. The second draft is shaping the story when it feels like this huge, amorphous, blobby thing. It's really hard and there is seemingly less gratification than seeing the word count grow as you write the first draft. With the revision it feels like, I worked on this chapter and it maybe got better?! These past couple of weeks it has been a lot of I could revise or I could binge watch Netflix. Or I could revise or I could take this BuzzFeed quiz to see which Scooby-Doo character I am (Daphne, but I question the validity of this quiz. I am so obviously a Velma). I could read the Or I could write a blog post. (Unlike revising, blogging has instant gratification. It is quick to write, publish, and there is almost immediate feedback in Facebook likes and view statistics). Even though revising feels like a slog right now, I know that eventually there will be a pay out with it getting better. I have hired a friend who is a manuscript consultant to read it and give feedback. I told her I would send it to her before I leave. So in addition to all the other things that I still need to do, I'm hoping that my next list of stuff I did when I wasn't here will include sending out my manuscript.

Here are some pictures of Gnomeo at the North Shore.