Hey.
Well, after being largely absent from any posting or commenting for the better part of a month and a half, spending most of that time working, trying to be with my grandkids a little more while helping to plan the move that now has them across the country, I'm back from the trip and finding myself, along with my wife, thrust into a new chapter of life.
Behind the Uhaul, where I spent most of my time from July 16-22.
I mentioned a while ago that my younger son procured a job teaching Spanish for a high school in South Carolina. That single event touched off a series of others that eventually culminated in a six-day, over 3,200 mile journey, which covered 11 states all told, including Oregon, our starting point, and the aforementioned South Caroliina, our endpoint.
I have pictures, plenty of memories, and at some point, hopefully, this week, intend to get into some of the details of the trip. I've decided instead of making what could be a seven part travelogue, that I will rather break it down into subject matter, which will hopefully make it more interesting for those who care to read, and also allow those who aren't interested in any particular topic to simply skip it, rather than muddle through the happenings of any particular day.
Still In A Funk
That said, I find myself, rather than looking forward to going back through the pictures and the paperwork, thinking of all the work it's going to be, and wondering at it's ultimate worth.
While a considerable amount of my current absence can be attributed to the aforementioned reasons, there is something else affecting me. In short, I'm back at a point where I was sometime in 2018 (since most of 2019 I was motivated to post, comment and curate), where I wondered about the point of it all.
Summer, traditionally, has taken a toll on curation, at least as far as my posts are concerned. It definitely happened on STEEM in 2018, and again, seems to be happening now. This along with all the turnover that has happened between the two chains for whatever reasons.
Back in 2018, my lack of motivation was centrally tied to earnings. As most newbies, I wasn't making much, was wondering how in the world I was ever going to be a minnow, let alone a dolphin and beyond that. Then, somewhere around the end of 2018, things started to click, mostly in my attitude, which coincidentally, serendipitously, or just plain directly, led to an uptick in rewards.
However, there still needs to be people curating, and for whatever reasons, be it me or something else, things just fell off the cliff in May, and then I started to shutdown the end of June.
I'm still largely shutdown. It's amazing what you can find to occupy your time after dedicating nearly all of any spare time to STEEM/HIVE.
Now It's In The Code
I know I'm the one feeling the effects, but it's certainly not all about me.
In this current iteration of HIVE, where everything seems to be moving to communities (something I believe to be a good thing for content discovery), it's heavily dependent on upper HP accounts and/or curation trails getting around to those communities.
Some might say, it's always been dependent on that, and to an extent, I agree. But since the EIP, which was meant to bring back the then high SP (now HP) accounts to curation and away from some other means of earning ROI, the system is specifically designed around theirs, and everyone else's, participation in order to make it work, whereas before, it wasn't specifically written into code.
Maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm the one to blame. Maybe I'm not writing about topics that interest anyone anymore. I think I am. Same topics that people have upvoted, maybe even read, and commented on, in the past.
I find that frustrating because after over 2.5 years between STEEM and HIVE, I'm constantly feeling like I'm starting over. I'm at a point in my life, with what's happening in it, that I don't want to constantly start over. I want to build up and build out, not go back to the foundation.
So, there's that.
But There Needs To Me More, Much More
Then, there's the idea that blogging isn't ultimately where it's at if HIVE is going to do anymore than tread water like it's sister blockchain has for well over a year and a half. Lots of development is currently going on, some of it very needful for the future of HIVE's stability, scalability, performance, etc. But at some point, and relatively soon, there needs to be more than social media types of apps sitting on it, more than game or gambling sites attached to it.
There needs to be ways to earn and spend HIVE that don't require a knowledge of code development and then taking those earnings (HIVE/HBD) and converting them into fiat.
Between COVID-19, the varied but still similar approaches to curbing it and the economic impacts of those approaches, along with the protesting, and general social unrest among all of us because of it, coupled with the ongoing failures of the current systems to do anything meaningful other than line the pockets of those in power with more power and wealth, cryptocurrencies and I believe HIVE in particular, are uniquely suited and positioned to be the fall back position for all kinds of people, entities, organizations, funds, etc., when all of these systems ultimately come crashing down.
Instead of experiencing the Great Depression 2.0 (only bigger and badder than ever before), there's a chance, and it's not as assured or as a good as it really should be, that those who have invested in cryptocurrency can survive what's coming and help lift up as many others as possible out of the ruins.
As far as HIVE goes, though, that doesn't happen concentrating on blogging, or short form posts, or memes, or any of that. It happens through people being able to use HIVE for the every day things they need to sustain life, and that of their family. In other words, tap into the currency side of crypto, rather than just the speculative, get rich quick part of it that still permeates.
It would be great if all of us could build our wealth that way. However, that's not reality as I see it. Reality is most of us will have to work and build our futures through sweat equity and daily toil. Especially if the current systems fall. Fiat will go to the wayside. Cryptocurrency would seem to be that thing to step into the void.
But I feel like we're running out of time.
So, yeah, there's that, too.
Grandpa Gotta Pity Party
There's probably more lurking around in my psyche. The one I haven't delved into much yet, that I know is contributing, is the simple fact that I no longer have two-thirds of my grandchildren nearby.
I've been contemplating a post about that, too. The pros and cons of having adult children and grandchildren living with you. At the moment, I'm inclined to believe that the cons far outweigh the pros, unless the pros have more weight than any individual con.
In my head, I've been wrestling with that.
My granddaughter was a little over two months old when she moved here with her parents. My second grandson was born here. He's now 15 months old. Having both of them here has been a blessing. Watching them grow, progress, take on their own personalities, start showing some of their unique abilities—I want to say I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
Ultimately, I think I will say that.
Right now, I find myself thinking about the fact that when I go into the house after posting this, I will be alone for the first time since August of 2017. My wife is at work. My son, his wife and their children are in South Carolina.
Funny thing is, this is what I've wanted all along. And I do look forward to aspects of this new chapter. There are definite positive dynamics to each family having their own place. I still believe that. But grandchildren tend to change things, and while yes, there's the ability to FaceTime (and that's been happening quite a bit since Saturday), it's not the same. There's not the same presence as if you were in the same room.
Mostly, there's no way to be one on one with them, since, at least for now, their needs to be an intermediary, principally a parent with a smartphone, allowing the interaction.
I don't know when I will get to see them in person again. I used up all the vacation time I earned (plus a couple of days I won't get paid for), just getting their stuff to South Carolina. And not all of their stuff, mind you, since there appears to be at least one roomful of it still here.
My wife will probably go see them in September, since she has time off and the reason why she took it (to go to Mexico to visit family there) is currently unavailable thanks to the restrictions in place because of COVID-19.
The earliest for me will be mid-June of next year, when I'm supposed to have two weeks of potential time off, rather than just one. That's if I'm still working for the company I'm currently at, something I've been seriously thinking I need to transition away from, simply because I'm not yet back to full-time, and the way things are going here in Oregon, it could take a while to get to full-time again, if I'm not back to being laid off because the governor decided to shutdown bars and restaurants again.
In the title, I promised a jumble of thoughts. I think I delivered.
Onward and upward.
I think they call it empty home syndrome, I am not sure people ever get over it, but I would not know since I never had kids.
On Hive if you missed it there I guess a few people are excited at the ability to sell their digital Art, I am sure you'll run into post about I sold Blah Blah for ??? Hive. So a little new case use for Hive other than the games and gambling. So things are moving along past blogging and those two options.
Communities still growing, and some improving and coming up with curation ideas, to help spread the wealth and value of Hive to more people.
Glad the trip went smoothly and safely, looking forward to some of the stories and pictures along the way.
Hey, @bashadow.
re: empty home syndrome
Well, whatever it is, I don't recommend it. I think it would be different now if they had all had their own place to begin with, but having the grandkids here for three years and then move far makes it feel worse.
Problem is, I can't blame my son for going where the job offer was, nor my daughter-in-law for wanting to be considerably closer to her parents, even if it's still over seven hours away. So, we'll see how much the other grandparents get to see the grandkids, and we'll see how often my wife and I get over there.
re: digital art
I think I may have heard something about that, or the possibility of it, a while back. Glad to see more use cases, even if it's still in the digital world. At some point, though, we'll need some physical use cases. And plenty of them.
re: Communities
Just saw that C-Squared is shutting down their curation efforts. I don't know how much they actually curated, but I do know they would hit mine from time to time.
The thing about these curation trails is, though, you still have a relatively few number of manual curators who then have another set of eyes look at what they think qualifies as a good post. While it's better than nothing, we're still all very dependent on those few people actually seeing our stuff. And while I don't know for sure, my guess is, there's some pretty good turnover in those curation efforts simply because they can't possibly pay or compensate all that well, if any, and it takes quite a bit of time and effort to sift through all of the stuff that shows up on HIVE.
If the communities themselves can solve the issue, so be it. I guess it's too much to ask that everyone do some amount of manual curation.
re: trip
Thank you. It's nice to know that there's at least one interested party. It's good to be back. Since we mainly drove with little time for sightseeing, it didn't feel like much of a vacation, but it did give me some ideas what a cross country trip could consist of if my wife can ever manage to take a month or so to do it. :)
You did indeed deliver, nice to have you back.
I hear somewhere around 25% of Americans default mortgage payments last month, that is extraordinary if true, and very worrying. It's certainly no banker, but crypto could help whoever has any through what sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
Hmm yes, this is a big change and will take some adapting too. I hope you still get to see them a fair bit, even if it's only virtually at times.
Best wishes for the autumn :)
Hey, @abh12345.
It's good to be back. Home, and for the time being, at least, on HIVE.
re: defaults
I haven't read the statistic, but I'm not surprised. Some states are preventing people from losing their homes through some kind of executive order. Oregon is one of them. I don't know how they can truly keep a landlord or bank from foreclosing on homeowners or evicting tenants who can't pay, but regardless, it's passing the buck along to those who I suppose the world believes can take the hits. And maybe some of them can and should. It's just not a very good business practice to loan or rent to folks who can't pay, for whatever reasons, and it just seems wrong that the same government that's imposing restrictions that affect people's livelihoods in the first place to continue to cause pain with their "remedies."
re: grandchildren
I do get misty eyed and miss them, but it's happened more frequently with my wife, which then makes me feel more sad than I would on my own.
It's okay. I'm now concerned that something will happen similar to what happened with his last job and he will find himself unemployed before even the school year begins because of budget cuts. The elective courses, particularly languages, seem to be the first to go, and with him being a new hire, he's at the bottom of the pile on all fronts.
We'll just hope for the best. Worst comes to worst, I could be moving them again. :)
Good, I wouldn't want you heading over to https://blurtwallet.com/, unless it's to cash out :)
Well, I hope the jobs stick, for you both. I am trying to learn some more Spanish in the hope of making it over to Spain again at some point.
Meanwhile, work here and the Hive grind look the only option for now.
Ah. So blurt is up and running? I've heard about it, but couldn't find it when I went looking for it. So, this is just the wallet, then. Are the credentials for login different than that for HIVE? Did we all get some sort of airdrop, or something similar to HIVE? This is based on whatever was on STEEM at the time of the snapshot, right?
re: jobs
I'm more worried for him than I am for me. While it's okay for the time being (primarily since I don't have anything better to go to, that I know of), I'm looking to transition to something else, anyway. With him, he's spent several years of schooling, interning, working in other capacities, to get there. Plus, he really likes working with high school students. He's got a lot invested, educationally and emotionally.
He also has a young family, which can make it more difficult to pivot—same opportunities, just more to consider than if you're on your own.
re: Spanish
I wish you well. Fortunately, I had a two year church mission, then got married to a woman from Mexico, to help my Spanish along. :)
re: work here and the HIVE grind
Oh, so your vacation is over already? That was fast. :)
Alive yes, and the credentials will be the Steem ones at the time of the snapshot.
I'm taking mine out, ionomy lists BLURT, but the market is quite thin:
Ahh, so you could teach Spanish also? :)
I hope he gets a bit of luck and the virus doesn't spoil things.
Yes, vacation over and back to work, already planning the next one - between covid-19 spikes..
Quite the jumble :)
Great to see you posting. Enjoy each phase. It's so easy to see the downside of changes, without giving the upside a chance to slowly reveal itself.
It can feel like a hamster wheel, absolutely. Then I remember the years I spent on Facebook.
Hey, @mattclarke.
It's good to be seen, in all cases.
re: phases
What's interesting about all of this is, we did have a period of empty nest for about six or seven months when both of our boys were out of the house. Then, one came back, went to college, and the other came home, then went back. Then they both got married while at college and I think we had another six to eight month period of time where it was just the two of us.
However, that was before the grandchildren were born. Makes a big difference. :)
There are plenty of things I know I'm looking forward to with them gone (there's a post a-brewing about that), it's just I won't see them over for dinner at least once a week, or pop in on them by surprise and go play with the grandkids for a bit.
re: hamster wheel
I think you're referring to the STEEM/HIVE user revolving door if I'm not mistaken. For what it's worth, I actually liked most of my experiences on Facebook. I was mostly posting for likeminded folks, however, which doesn't generally cause a lot of stress. It can create an echo chamber, though.
Still, your information is not private, and you post for Facebook's profit and not your own. Plus a hundred other things that are wrong.
I think I'm looking to get some balance in my life, and so it doesn't help that I'm dealing with the future as if it were the present and experiencing the inevitable conflicts such a state of mind brings.