It was definitely a lot cooler this morning, when I took Daisy the dog outside. The leaves on our maples are increasingly looking "tired" and it will not be long before they actually fall.
When I think back across this most recent quarter, I have to admit that I didn't focus a lot on the Cryptosphere, and perhaps I even focused less on Hive than I have, in a while.
It's difficult to keep the growing turbulence and unrest in the world at bay. Seems like every day something is "caving in," for lack of a better world. The stock markets are pervasively weak, the crypto markets are not much better, inflation seems to be solidly in place and not getting better, the process of making a living seems to get a little harder, day by day.
I suppose my sentiments is that I am not exactly freaking out over anything, but it seems harder and harder to find much enthusiasm for life and planning forward. More and more, the daily routine feels more like... living day to day.
Some might say "Oh, that sounds like depression speaking," but I'd submit that it sounds more like current reality speaking, to me.
So what's going to happen in the 4th quarter? Will things get better? Stay about the same? Deteriorate further?
Unfortunately, my crystal ball is broken.
Revisiting my Hive Goals
My ambition at the beginning of the year was to reach 15,000HP by the end of 2022. I've made it to just over 14,400, so that still looks within the realm of possibility.
I was also hoping to reach 2,000 top level posts by the end of the year, and that one looks a little dodgier, given my current low inspiration level on the curve of blogging. And I say that, having zero interest in spamming posts just in service of "making a number."
Regardless, I just hope the general slowdown in all things economic doesn't mean we'll end up having to power down just so we can live.
Revisiting my Work Goals
Well, that's a somewhat dark patch in my life, these days. Without beating about the bush, my self-employment income — from being an editor, from eBay, from my artwork, from writing — is down about 30% from 2021, and 2021 was not good.
It's one of those tricky scenarios in which "working more" or "working harder" wouldn't make a substantial difference because people are simply "keeping their hands in their pockets," which means it doesn't matter what is on offer — short of free — interest is down.
I see this happening not so much just by the direct decline in sales, but by observing the decline in page views on goods/services offered for sale. People aren't even reading as much as they used to.
I guess we're all out trying to make a dime! In the meantime, the cost of living is climbing alarmingly.
Meanwhile...
There are lots of projects to be done around the house and yard... and I am not getting any younger, and my health isn't getting any better.
Our whole house heater is still broken, and winter is coming, and we don't have the money for a replacement... our son-in-law (who's a HVAC contractor) looked at it and said a simple repair ($1,400) was a longshot, a more thorough repair ($3,500) might work, but a replacement ($7,000-$8,000) seemed most likely to be in our future.
Meanwhile, our water heater has a sporadic leak from the top, and that replacement would be another $1,500 or so... which we don't have.
Ah well, the "joyful" life of being "FREE" and being piss-poor as the "reward" for that choice!
There are Always Answers... Aren't There?
Indeed, there are always answers. Before starting to writing, I was printing and filling out paperwork for a "low income subsidy" from our local electric company.
Ironic to be applying for "public assistance" in order to make ends meet, when we are also trying to be free of the whole "government thing."
I was also looking at some of their rebate programs for putting in energy efficient heating systems, and energy efficient heaters. If course, the irony of that is that the new low energy units that qualify are also much more expensive to put in than the old fashioned kind. Except, of course, you have to have the money up-front, and then wait for a rebate to be mailed back to you.
Meanwhile, we'll be trying to sell some of the antiques from my parents' house; they have some value, it's just a matter of finding buyers.
"Just For the Record..."
This post isn't really intended as a "public lament," more as a quarterly "bookmark" put here for my own benefit... something to look back towards from down the road.
That's one of the cool things about the largely permanent nature of blockchain publishing.
I shall return to "normal" content, tomorrow.
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!
How about YOU? How did the 3rd quarter turn out for YOU? How do you think the rest of the year will turn out, for you, and for the greater world? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
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Created at 20220930 22:10 PDT
0659/1905
The whole world is painful to live in right now. Even if you have money, you can't get what you need. It feels better, but, somehow it isn't always.
I understand what you mean though.
Funny you should use the HVAC system. I just had one installed, no, make that two and I could have bought a house in some parts of this country with what it cost. I lamented for months! And months! Even thought about selling the house because who pays that kind of money to have an HVAC put in? When did they go up so much? It is just as you say. Put one in or put an efficient one in? BTW, I wouldn't sell the house with the unit working, but, needed to be changed out, that is just wrong!
Everything you write is an update, but, sadly true. I am not where I thought I would be with writing. I thought I would be more thoughtful, more something. But, that has nothing to do with time. ;)
This too shall pass. We can only hope. Just hope it gets better when it passes. Good luck with the assistance! You need that heater!
Thanks for your kind words @dswigle, as well as for your generous gift!
Sometimes I pause and ponder the fact that I sound more and more like my parents "I just don't understand how everything got so expensive!" It's sort of funny and sad, at the same time.
We have a number of house projects that "must" be done... like the heater, a new water heater, and we also want to oull out all the carpet and put in bamboo flooring instead. Which, of course, will make the house so nice that we won't actually want to leave! Catch-22!
All we can do in the meantime is take one step at a time and see where that leads us.
The bamboo is nice. I have wood on the main level and upper floor. But put bamboo on the lower level. You wont want to move. I can say it snaps on easy. If you come to my house, i have extra bamboo flooring getting ready to go to Habitat for Humanity.
My house was built for me. 9
It has been difficult here, too, and being a Pollyanna about it doesn't help. Honesty about hard times isn't depression, but we have a society that can't really handle honest problems. Superficial happiness is the norm, and no one asks, "how are you doing?" expecting an honest response. I am concerned it's only the beginning of a along-overdue correction, and it's a good thing you're at least in the mindset of seeking opportunity, even if those opportunities are likely to be in flux.
Yes, you're definitely right about a society that can't (or doesn't WANT to) handle honest problems. In so many cases, it seems like people's egos get in the way.
It seems likely that this is part of a longer term correction of sorts... the products and services of the world seem to have grown disconnected from their actual value.
Value is always subjective, but the market has been severely distorted by central bank policy for over a century, and we never had a real recovery from the 2007/2008 recession, just "quantitative easing" to inflate new bubbles with high housing prices and stock market numbers again. Stagflation now looms, exacerbated by COVID policy consequences.
Thanks for the support @ewkaw, I appreciate it!
Sounds like you're pretty set @baah, that's cool. I've been looking at the mini splits... how do you like yours, after going through a summer? We have a conventional heat pump (that's the one that needs replacing) but we're considering ditching it altogether.
This winter will be the final expansion of our growing space; the end of what was lawn when we bought the property; it'll become space for onions and potatoes, instead.