Around the Desk: Early 2026

Busy, Busy Bee!

I'm not too sure what exactly happened from 2025 to 2026 to get me to take on this many independent projects, but here I am, semi-drowning, but loving it?

Who are you and what have you done to my Amanda??

It began with finally, finally streaming on Twitch again after over a year away in December. With lots of encouragement from friends and gaming acquaintances I booted up my stream and showed off everything me and my fellow server mates had been making on EasyBoarder's Valheim Server.

Since then I've streamed several more times, and have been uploading the full VODs to my YouTube channel which has been collecting dust for some time.

UPDATE 2/10/2026: As of writing this article I was invited into the Twitch Affiliate Program!!

While diving back into content creation, I've also dived head first into learning video editing. So far I've made one edited clip from one of my funnier streams. You can see the results below. xD

And why, you may ask, am I trying to learn editing? Well I'm attempting to re-create the "treasure hunting saga" I did on the previously stated Valheim server in video form! I'm aiming to strike cinematic storytelling entwined with some good old gamer humor. So far, I've written a script and been collecting clips from old streams. Wish me luck!

Apart from participating in the Valheim community ( and promoting myself while I do it to boot ) I've also been job hunting. I've come to realize that while I am an anxiety ridden black sheep disguised as an ADHD baby millennial, I still like having my fingers dipped in multiple pies; Twitch, Vocal, my poems, my novels...and now ThingsBook?

ThingsBook is a new and up and coming social network where you share your everyday thoughts all organized into personally curated collections! Think of it like Instagram meets Vocal, where instead of filling your page with just pictures, you write down your thoughts with said picture, thing, place, ect. and organize it into a themed collection like: "My Favorite Places I've Been!" or for bibliophiles, "All the Books NOT on My TBR Pile!"

I was invited into their creator program ( which pays a flat fee for every post you make up to a limit ) and I can say it's been interesting learning a whole new system from a very young and promising company.

Their CEO is against AI and seems pretty passionate about pushing back against it with providing spaces for human creators. Thought it would be good to add this for those who are nervous to try a new app!

I really love their collection system, as it makes it easy to find what category you want to add to on your page, or what category you want to read on someone else's. And the UI for sharing books, film and TV is really cool! You flip through the posts like turning the page of a book!

As a heads up, this is only available through the ThingsBook app on mobile. They have yet to integrate post creation on a PC supported site. This is a Beta test after all!

You can still join in on the creator program! If you click this link here, and enter in my e-mail: [email protected] as your referral, that would be awesome! Maybe I might find some of you out there in the wild west of ThingsBook? :'o ( And yes, I do get paid a small bonus if you fill out the form, are onboarded into the program, and submit your first set to be approved for payment. )

And this post is already 600 words long...jeez, tell her to stop yapping!

There's also been movement in my writing sphere. This past holiday season, I encountered someone on discord asking about my previous work on a fan-fiction site.

I was shocked, mind you, cause no reader had ever attempted to hunt me down beyond the website to ask about the missing chapters. ( To be fair the discord link is right there on the front page so it's not like this person had to do a ton of work xD ) but I got probably one of the most rewarding responses from a reader EVER.

To add brief context: I had to transfer all my work from one site to another, and in the process some of my chapters got corrupted, and it's been missing from the new site since then. D :

She told me that she was wanting to re-read her favorite fan-fiction from when she was young for the holidays, and told me CURSE was one she remembered reading as a child! SHE'S A GROWN ADULT NOW, PEOPLE!

This put into perspective just how much something made with passion can affect other people's lives. Getting some huge book deal could never top this feeling. Gah, it still makes me tear up just talking about it.

Since that encounter, I've had a small group of my friends from those fan-fiction days come together to re-type all the missing chapters. I still have my part to do ( cause I'm always busy or dealing with THINGS these days...) but it's been a great boost in morale to keep me going on my current draft.

Oh, yeah, I guess I turned 30 and am finally joining my first DnD campaign?? That's cool, right?

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Author's Note:

As you can tell, I've been working on this post for a bit ( about two weeks ) and that's because during this time, my sister had multiple seizures and ended up in the ER, where she was treated for whooping cough and gut inflammation.

Then not too soon after, I found my left shoulder was in immense pain to the point I could not move it. Turns out my usual sore shoulder from spending so much time at my computer turned into tendonitis!

I had no idea tendonitis was so painful and debilitating. My heart goes out to anyone whose had this cause wow, it sucks.

Because of this, I haven't been able to dress myself, let alone write!! It's been extremely frustrating. Even now, almost six days out from the start of my recovery, my bicep is starting to burn as I type this.

Don't worry, I got a whole afternoon of ice and pain killers to reward myself with, haha!

So the stories I had planned for Vocal are going to be slow to trickle out to start the new year while my shoulder heals and I learn how to better support myself while sitting ( or standing ) at my desk.

Much love to all of you. You guys have been writing some awesome stuff while I've been away. For those curious, my current reading roster on Vocal the last month or so has been these wonderful folks:

If you miss my writing, I highly recommend these Vocal creators, as they also write in the same communities as me and are simply too good to be passed up. Do me a favor and give them a like, a comment, and a follow on their recent works for me!

For now, I must ban myself from the computer once more, before my shoulder starts screaming at me, haha. Until next time! <3