Fuck! I can’t believe it’s 2020. Not only a new year, but a new decade!

I came to realise a few things as the decade came to an end, and this is a look back at the last decade. It’s not mean to be morose, although it may come off that way.

First, in December I realised it had been 30 years since I’d left school. We have had 7 years of primary school and then 5 years of high school forever and a day, although many schools are now changing that. But I realised it had been 30 years since I’d left at the end of year 10 and for some reason, went in search of my old school on Facebook.

I saw people on there that, of course, I remembered well. Many I was surprised at the change in them, others looked pretty much the same. But one thing I realised is that I would never go to a high school reunion.

Sure, it might be great to see what everyone looks like, how they’ve done, what they’ve done, etc, but at the end of the day, some of them bitches were just that. BITCHES! The stories I could tell you about high school would make your head shake and your hair curl.

I have no need to join that Facebook page. What would be the point? I refuse to subject myself to the bullshit I endured 30 years ago by the same people who are on that page. I have no interest in that whatsoever. If we were enemies in real life, we ain’t gonna be friends in fake life!

Second, as the year, and the decade, came to a close, I looked back on everything I had done and everything that had and hadn’t happened.

I started the decade one year into my author blog with two novels already written, and a jewellery business at the beginning of its life. I had no idea what the hell I was doing, or where I wanted to go, but I knew I wanted to do something.

As the years progressed, I wrote more novels under my author name, which I matured and adultified, blogged weekly, set up a website for my jewellery business, bought multiple domains, trade marks and copyrights, and had legal issues. I then started writing under my name and progressed to a third author name. Not only did my own health suffer greatly this decade, but my mother became so sick and crippled I had to put my jewellery business on permanent holiday just so I could focus on my writing. And then I lost my writing inspiration, Jackie Collins.

I continued writing so much that I not only set up multiple websites to cover all of my names, but decided to set up a publishing house to publish all of my books. I bought my own ISBNs, bought everything that I would need, such as pictures, and gave my cover designer mock-ups of what I wanted for my books.

I’ve dealt with shit, literally, that no one should have to deal with. I resent myself, the universe, and my enemy, for what has happened in my life and have no real idea how to get out of it. My life is not where I thought it would be, nor where I want it to be. And how that will evolve over the next ten years I don’t know. I cringe at the thought that I’ll still be here, in this exact place, in ten years. Living the same life, dealing with the same shit. Because sometimes, it just ain’t that easy to pack up and leave. But that’s for another time.

And yes, all of this is a weight I’ve borne by my own hand.

As I ended the year, and decade, I looked back at all the crushes I’d had, the love I didn’t experience, the children I didn’t have, the things I did, and saw nothing but insignificant achievements that meant, quite frankly, not a fucking lot. Although, setting up a publishing house and releasing a whole bunch of books IS a lot, it just didn’t feel like it.

I ended the decade with two rooms full of clothing and accessories, books, collections, and knick knacks that I loved and wanted, but had no place to properly display or store it. I also ended the decade with 7 more novels, 4 novellas, 11 non-fiction, and 42 short stories under my name and two others, all published under my own publishing house, plus a thousand more pieces of jewellery than what I started it with and more kaftans and kimonos than I ever dreamed of having. I have multiple websites, domains and businesses, more business debt than I’ve ever had in my life (but can thankfully pay off each month), yet own nothing except what I have in these two rooms.

While I ended the year, and the decade, with a whole lot more than what I went into it with, regardless of what I had actually done and achieved, it seemed like I’d done nothing at all.

 

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After typing up and scheduling this post, I remembered something about 10,000 hours or ten years, and went through old posts. On JDS’s 7th birthday I posted about what had been happening and whether or not I’d continue. I wasn’t sure then, but as each year moved on, I stayed. You can see that blog post here. I mentioned the 10,000 hours or ten year limit and equated each thing.

In July 2006 I wrote my first novel. In May 2016, I started writing the Porn Star Brothers series. Ten years since I started writing books. Time’s been and gone and I’m still going.

In February 2008 I wrote my second book and in Aug I started the legal side of my jewellery business and made my first collection in Oct. In 2018 it was ten years. That was two years ago. My writing had continued, my jewellery business was on a deserted island somewhere.

On Jan 1st 2009 I started my author blog then this blog on July 22, and then went live with the first Jewel Divas store in Sep. In 2019 it was ten years old. Now it’s moving on for eleven.

I had thought December 31st 2019 might be the last time I blogged or even posted on social media. But, I continue every year and have more years to match up to ten, such as my fourth novel 2013/2023, my non-fictions 2014/2024, when I started writing children’s books 2015/2025, Porn Stars 2016/2026. Not sure I can keep blogging until 2026, but that is only six years away and who knows what will happen in the next six years.

At the time I was going to either give it three and a half more years until 2019, when I was 45 and a half and it was ten years for this blog, or wait until 2024 when I’m 50 and keep it at a nice round figure. I’ll definitely be done by 50. But that’s now four and a bit more years away and who knows what will happen by the time I’m 50.

I have exerted more energy in the last ten years writing, making and trying to run a business than I probably exerted in all my previous years. Except maybe for when I was line dancing because that was a lot of energy. But then I didn’t have the health issues, the business, the blogs, or a crippled mother to look after way back then.

What it came down to was that I kept on movin’ on because I had to.

So what 2020, and the next decade, has in store for me, I have absolutely no freakin’ idea. But the idea of it already exhausts me!