---

It seems like it was only yesterday when I was at home thinking about how 2022 was going to go. And now here we are, it’s January 1, 2023. The sun is out. There’s a cool breeze going through my window. It’s a holiday today and tomorrow. I get to be at home and reflect on how my life has gone and where it’s going.

2022 was something; it was the year where I left my long time job. The job that kept me busy throughout the pandemic and eventually taught me the lifestyle of working from home. It was the year where I also found a new job and is now the current bane of my existence. I’m just being melodramatic. If there’s one thing the pandemic has taught me is that I hate working. Or at least I hate working in the traditional sense. But existing is expensive and we live in a world where we need money to survive. So here I am.

Writing wise, I kept chugging along.

I wrote about 96,000 words in a total of 9 commissions. Which is a step up from last year because I had 9 commissions then as well, but only wrote about 85,000 words.

The biggest commission I wrote this year (and of all time thus far) was over 20,000 words--which is also the highest payday I got from a commission.

Unfortunately, I did not write a single original and personal story this year. The last story that fit the criteria was written back in 2021 which was “Knightly Duties”. It’s a bit of a shame really. Writing commissions are great because I get to earn money from it but it sucks because I’m not the main creative force behind it. I should really push myself to write more original content for my own sake. I still hanker for the idea of writing a sequel to KD, or at least a story set in the same universe as it. I have ideas I want to explore and just more world building I genuinely find amusing to share. Perhaps when I get through my list of commissions I should do so.

Speaking of which, commissions! I’m entering the year of 2023 with six people thus far on the plate. The work never ends it seems. I hope I can get through them easily so I can work on my own stuff. I think after I’m done with this batch of people I’m going to go on hiatus again from writing commissions so I can focus on my own stuff.

Other than writing, I’ve been streaming too. It hasn’t really found much success compared to my writing career but it’s there. I set myself a rubric when it came to streaming. The simple 100 metric: 100 followers, 100 subscriptions, or $100 in total earned from donations. If I ever hit any of those 100s, I’d consider my streaming career to be successful. So far, I’m halfway through the follower mark so I guess I’m doing good? Then again, the majority of those are from random people passing by here and there and some were just good friends who left a following so I’m not even sure if it counts.

Regardless, I enjoy streaming so I do it for the fun of it.

Maybe things would look up coming into this new year.

So where do I go now? I’m just here I guess. I’m still working my day job; I have work this coming Tuesday. These commissions aren’t going to finish themselves. Life goes on for the most part. In regards to better prospects: I’m still looking for possible jobs that would give me the life abroad I want. In the meantime, I’ll still be here on my hot, tropical island.

I don’t know what 2023 has in store for me, and for everyone else for that matter.

The pessimist in me hopes, begs even, that COVID comes back with a vengeance and we get stuck in the hyperbolic lockdown time chamber that was 2020.

The optimist in me wishes that I would finally get the “W” I so desperately want. The big break I need to feel like my life is moving forward once more.

The realist in me just wants things to work out. It doesn’t have to be today, or tomorrow, or the end of the week, or the end of the month. I just want a sign that I can look to and know in my heart that everything will be alright; that I will get through the year and achieve the objectives I set out to do and get the things I so desperately desire.

Here’s to hoping for an amazing new year.

Here’s to making a better tomorrow.

---