It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns

How's it going my gumdrops? Yes, I know it has been months, since I last published a blog on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. However, that does not mean I have been sitting idle.

In fact, I have been decorating the Guestbook and Horror/Thriller pages. Before I forget, make sure you sign up to my TinyLetter newsletter, if you haven't already.

In case you haven't noticed over the last few months, I had someone from Webs install the TinyLetter newsletter on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns.

Then, I published a blog about it on OMG, Anna! What's Going On?!

Get On My TinyLetter, STAT! (2020)

Because Webs' engineers still have yet to fix the e-mail notifications, having a newsletter works better than Webs' barely functioning e-mail blasts and other notifications alerts.

Aside from the latest changes that were made to It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns, have you ever created your own vision board?

It has been more than 2 decades, since I last created my own. The last time I made a vision board was for Speech class my high school freshman year. Like I already said, it has been YEARS.

Lately, I have been thinking about creating a brand new vision board for the 21st Century because there is still more that I have yet to accomplish. By 20, I already accomplished my dream of becoming a Radio DJ/Hostess.

My BA may not be in Japanese and I never became a Japanese Consecutive Translator, never had the chance to marry the man I fell really hard for, or had any kids, but I DO have:

* My BA in Asian Studies and Creative Writing Minor

* Some poems and short stories already bound at Carthage College but unpublished

* Learned how to self-build my own website

* Had the wonderful opportunity to interview White Zombie's former bassist and co-founder, Sean Yseult

* Interacted with authors, musicians, voice actors, etc. in person and in cyber space

Basically, I gained more (depending on the way you look at it) and lost some.

To be innovative, I created my own online vision board.

It was somewhat difficult trying to organize my goals in the order I wanted them to be in because I had some problems with the alignment. Therefore, I listed them in order. So, bear with me.

Anna's Online Vision Board:

1] New Job- Trying to find a permanent job for the last 16 years has been the biggest struggle of my life. Dealing with so-called "gate keepers" for employers does not help anyone, especially not me. A new, high paying job will make it easier to pay off my student loans.

2] Money- Finding a new job which pays well goes hand in hand with each other like peanut butter and jelly. Considering that I am ~$75K + in student loan debt, I need a lot of money to break this curse of forever being in poverty.

Lately, I have thought about getting a job doing voiceovers for commercials. It's not like I don't have work experience behind a microphone. Also, I have experience as a PA Announcer from 7th-12th grade.

Every March we had Foreign Language Week, I read our student announcements in foreign languages (mostly Japanese); For 6 years, I mostly read announcements in Japanese.

Even though I am not fluent in foreign languages, I CAN read in both German and Japanese like someone, who is fluent in them. Advertisers can give me a script in either German, or Japanese and I will simply read it. I can most definitely wing it reading German WITH a German accent!

3] Published Author- Since the time I was a teenager, this has been another dream of mine. I want my stories to be traditionally published rather than self-published.

Years ago, self-publishing my book seemed like a great idea for having control of my stories and royalties. Self-publishing requires a lot of time and money, which I don't have. I don't have time, money, and skills to pay for everything and to do everything. Therefore, it is better to be traditionally published.

4] Bookshelves- Traditionally published books have a much greater chance of being sold on bookshelves at stores than a self-published book. If books are self-published, the author or publisher is forced to spend more money trying to sell his/her book. I want my work sold on the shelves at bookstores.

5] Audiobooks- I especially want my book released on audiobook. Finding the perfect male voice actors/narrators to collaborate with on my stories is definitely a must. In addition, I want my stories to be released in English, German, and Japanese.

I am confident that I can do some of the narrating/voice acting, especially when it comes to female protagonists. Casting the right male voice actors and narrators has been the biggest challenge. 

Throughout last year, I spent most of my time contacting certain male voice actors. Some auditioned for "The Horrors Of Womahood."

Most of my time was spent finding the right voice actor/narrator for that story because I want Dr. Woody Johnson to sound frightening to my audience.

6] Awards- Since childhood, my teachers gave me academic awards. Because my grades were mostly terrible, I never had any awards from middle school. It wasn't until high school, that I started getting academic awards, again.

I DID clean up on Achievers Awards mostly for Japanese from 9th to 12th grade. Usually, I got 3 awards a year. Therefore, you do the math on that.

Now, I strive for awards outside of academics. Winning an award for Best Horror Author, for example would be a major accomplishment.

I always wanted to have my own trophy. Certificates and pendants are nice but I would love to have my own trophy to set on my dresser or shelf.

7] Fans- Since the time I was a Radio DJ/Hostess at UW-Parkside's 101.7 WIPZ, my audience was always niche because I mostly played Metal.

My listeners were mostly white male. Very few females listened to my show and they were usually my co-workers. Even though I no longer work in radio, my audience still is niche.

Workshopping my poems and short stories in Creative Writing was about the same as when I was a DJ. My female classmates could not understand my work and typically disliked it, whereas my male classmates and professors loved it.

With that being said, I would really LOVE to have diversity in fans male, female, different races, religions, cultures, sexual orientations, etc. I don't want or need sycophants for fans, although I do want them to like and respect me as a person, author, and my work.

8] Eternal Love- Chances of this ever coming to fruition is definitely slim to none. I have a much greater chance of winning the lottery than having a husband, who loves, respects, and resonates with me.

As of April 6th this year, it has officially been 14 years since the time of dumping my womanizing, crooked cop ex and going on dating retirement.

From time to time, I have thought about dating again but a lot has changed over the last 14 years. I may look eternally youthful, but I don't want some man-child playing games on his cell phone in the middle of a date, or taking pictures of himself and his whereabouts all over social media.

I purposely added that gif of Gomez and Morticia Addams because I will always be that kook with a dark sense of humor. I want my own Gomez Addams!

Horror and a dark humor go hand in hand with each other, as well. Like it was said on Drawn Together years ago, "You can't spell slaughter without laughter."

People today in this politically correct era are highly lacking in having a dark sense of humor. It's a special kind of humor for some of us.

I want and need a husband of my own, who is handsome, strong, intelligent, talented, devoted, supportive, loyal, has a dark sense of humor, creative, and KNOWS HOW TO DRESS!

It sounds like I'm asking for too much but these men really DO exist! I just haven't had that much luck because they're always with another woman OR man.

Considering that I am almost 40, the chances of me being able to have my own son and daughter will probably never happen. I can still dream, right?

So, how do you like my cyber version of a vision board? Let me know what you think!