Life Update, Appreciation Post, and Everything in Between

in Hive PHlast year

Hello everyone!

The past month had been a roller coaster of emotions and I don't know where to start to process them. While it's not entirely bad, I had a few low moments that really affected my posting habit. It's another record regarding the number of days of no posting here. They say that it pours when it rains (if that quote exists), and I felt that's exactly what's happening to me right now. It's ironic that I'm living off entirely of Hive, but it took more than a month to post something. I would say that the opportunity cost is huge, but I can't just upload anything knowing I've been going through something.

Since this is also an appreciation post, I'll always be thankful for my curation work in @ocd and @pinmapple. Without those two, I probably won't be active here anymore. To be honest, I don't know how to approach posting anymore. It became such a burden to me that I even dreaded editing the photos I had prepared. In the end, they're all stuck in Lightroom. Aside from my curation work, I'm also thankful for the people who believed in me. I'm talking about you @martibis! Thank you so much!

What I'm about to tell you is true, but it will always feel like I'm scamming people. It's a common story conjured by scammers that if someone would tell me this story, I also wouldn't believe in them. I'm just so thankful that I felt my reputation here in Hive precedes me. It meant people believed in me and my story or they just thought I have so much to lose if I will scam them. I don't know, but it's just funny to me even now as I recall the events that transpired the past month.

Before that story, I would like to apologize to everyone who tried to connect via comments. I'm always apologizing for my late replies, but I'll also be doing this here once and for all. As much as I replied to almost all of the comments and mentions, they always came late. I have been zoning out a lot lately that I forgot I haven't replied to the comments for one week. I know it's not a good engagement practice, but I hope you will understand.

Anyway, here goes the story:

My last post was on October 25. The last week of October and the first week of November were fine. I have been camping and hiking almost every weekend and I had a great time. Since I promised that I will have no more major travels until early next year, the last travel was to Manila last August. I chose to lie low after my birthday travel because I felt something big will happen in the coming months. I told @indayclara about this and for some reason, she believed me. That psychic friend is really into something. I chose to save and stop any big expenses. As a breadwinner of the family, I can't afford to be caught in a big financial dilemma as I know I can't rely on anyone in the family. I'm not exaggerating. I already proved this when I was in Davao last 2019. I won't tell you the details because I'll be going off track with this post. Anyway, just trust me on this.

I felt I have to increase my HBD savings because something big will happen. Take note that Hive is my only source of income except in some cases where I tutor students. But I prepared for all of some major crypto downward trends since 2020. I thought that I can still survive even if $HIVE will plunge to the $0.15-0.20 level. The collapse of $LUNA that triggered the bear market didn't bother me. I know that Hive is my safe harbor with $HBD savings. The collapse of FTX that triggered another downward spiral in crypto also didn't bother me. Or so I thought.

I followed all that spectacle on Twitter and know that the FTX collapse has nothing to do with crypto and decentralization in general, but humans are emotional beings that one act can trigger an avalanche of misinformed steps that they will surely regret later on. Even with all those debacles, my faith in Hive as my safe harbor never wavered. I felt I'll be safe here no matter what happens to those centralized exchanges.

Here comes the funny part: I received news that we only have until the end of this year to find a new place to stay. As a breadwinner, I panicked even if it was not entirely my responsibility. It was supposed to be the responsibility of my parents, but I felt responsible for all the decisions made at home. This should not come as a shock to us because we already knew from the start that we are building our house in a land that's not ours. They just allowed us to stay here.

I anticipated that this will happen to us, and that's why I'm paying monthly for a piece of land that we would be permanently building our house soon, but I didn't think it would be this drastic. The land that I was paying for is still in development and it will be available next year. The whole family decided to look for a temporary house for rent or find somewhere permanent. We found a fully furnished house, but it's too expensive for me at this point.

My parents found a small piece of land under the urban housing program by the government, but it will be for sale at around $4000. I decided to have that because I thought it's so much better option for me at this moment. I withdrew all my HBD savings and borrowed money from my friends, but the accumulated amount was still not enough.

Now imagine chatting with someone you haven't met yet on Discord and telling him that you needed money because you will be evicted from where you live soon. I don't know about you, but it's a generic story by scammers. Add salt to the injury that it happened during the FTX collapse. I heard about it before. I initially chatted @livinguktaiwan about it and ended up deleting the chat because I just find it so funny. It was a roller coaster of emotions for me. I was anxious of what might happen to us while being conscious of what might my friends here in Hive would think about me.

Good thing @martibis believed in me and my story that he let me borrow HBD to complete the needed amount. Actually, it was not the total $4000 that I was able to accumulate. I only gathered $2400, but it was good enough for the initial payment and processing of the papers. They will turn over the title once I'm able to pay the remaining balance, but we can now build the house on that land.

Now, I should probably post more to pay the remaining balance and my debts. I'm still anxious as the end of the year approaches, but my father assured me that we can build that house early next year. We might also appeal to the owners of the land our house is currently in to extend our stay until we can finish that new house we are about to build. Another option is to rent somewhere in the city for six months to one year. But I'm still anxious about my financial situation in the coming months.

The amounts might be small for you, but it's already a big deal here in the Philippines.

Going back to being a corporate slave and becoming miserable again is already back on the drawing table. That adds to my anxiety. But I'm hopeful for 2023 as I can feel it will be a good year (jinx!). I can sense that it will be a year of stability for me, so I decided to continue saving more while paying off the debts I currently have.

I think that's all for this post. I hope I can go back to the normal travel posts soon because my Palawan series is nearing its culmination. See you in my next post!
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But then again, the future is uncertain but I know this too shall pass.

Living off on Hive is definitely possible and you showed that to me but it was a challenging journey too. I'm just glad I also had you to share this difficult times with.

Cheers to our future! Whatever is in store for us. Exciting times ahead.

Laban ra gyud ta girl!

Man, I´m so sorry! If you read my "birthday rant" a few days ago (I guess you did cause you upvoted that post), you know that I´m in a similar situation, yet not as dramatic as yours. But yeah, my fiat savings are gone and living off Hive at these prices in this part of the world is near to impossible so having to find a regular job (after five years) will surely be on the table for me too, no matter how much I would hate to abandon my fulltime Hive lifestyle... But again, your situation is even more complicated and I wish you (and all of us here on Hive) that the next year will be much more favorable for crypto. It must be!

Stay strong buddy. Hugs and greetings all the way from the Czech Republic to the Philippines.

@tipu curate 2

I am really proud to live off of Hive, but things are always changing. I hope I can stay here in Hive for as long as I can, but I'm not closing doors on other opportunities.

Hopefully we will have a good year next year. Let's just hang on for now.

Don’t give up my friend @ybanezkim26 🤗 we believe in you! And you surely have proven to many of us you are not a scammer. It’s good you are sharing this. So we know what is happening in your life.
These things are just so hard when something like this happens and it looks like a spiral going down. So sorry to hear this. I can imagine the stress and anxiety 😟
Hope all works out and you find solutions… and you can soon start building the house. So your family has a new place to live.
Stay strong 💪🏻
You have all of us here you can talk too. Take care!
I wish you all the best 🍀🍀🍀🍀

Glad to have this platform where I can freely express everything. Thank you so much for the encouragement and kind words!

You are welcome @ybanezkim26 👋🏻😊 with pleasure.
We are lucky to have hive 🐝🤓
Take care!

Sorry to hear about it Kim, I can feel your burden, taking on the responsibility of caring for a family is no small task at all. I hope these hard times will eventually come to an end soon and your family will get a nice house soon. :)

Thank you, @trangbaby! I'm just happy that I can express everything here, including my burdens. Makes me feel a lot better especially knowing that there are people who are willing to help.

A fellow pH hiver here. I am new to the crypto world and even here in hive. I didn't know you can really have a living by staying active on this platform. Your journey here gave me strength to also strive to stay active no matter what.
Sometimes when we are so complacent with our lives like even if with our eyes closed we can still go by that's when God or the universe will try to test us just so we can assess on our strengths and weaknesses.
I know great and marvelous things are coming for you brother. We all have our levels of trials just keep the faith all will be well.
Your trials now will just be a story to tell, a memory...you'll see.

God bless your whole family.

It took me about 3 years before I made it full time. But with the current price of crypto, I might find another source of income. I don't have to worry much for now though. I can still sustain myself.

I am glad to hear that brother Kim. I believe that when a door closes in on you, somehow God opens a window to let in all the blessings that are ordained for you. Just keep the faith, all will be well. You'll see.
Everything is always working out for you and for all of us.
All is well.

I want to help with this situation, but like you, I don't have enough money for now. Praying for your family, and your financial status. There will someone who will help, that's for sure.

Thank you so much! I'm okay now though. Glad to know that there are people who are willing to help.

 last year  

Sorry to hear this, Kim. The weight of the responsibility really goes to us breadwinners. Though we don't have the same problem, I can understand the burden that you're feeling right now. Even me, I don't know how to survive in the next months and I have a lot of debt from my fellow hivers, too. But, fighting! I hope we can get through this. 😊

We can get through this! I'm okay now. I mean I still have responsibilities, but it's so good to know people are willing to help.

Your writing is quite moving, and I can relate to it.
I've been in a circumstance that is somewhat similar to yours. Hive was introduced by some pals. Despite several of my friends' suggestions that it was not the perfect time to join, I later learned about this blog.

Despite giving it some attention, I discovered something else in this neighborhood.
The friendship between nations is really valuable and gives me great satisfaction.

If I come off as patronizing to you, I apologize!🙏
Come on, friends, Wake up! We are Asians just like you.
During these decades, Asia has gained the respect of other continents. Let's show that we can get through these difficult times together.
Hello, my fellow Asians! 🤝

Thank you! I believe that this is the perfect time to join. You accumulate as many HIVE as you can so that you have a stack once the price goes up.

You are right, my friend.
May blessings always be with you and your family.

Changes like this can be hard to endure! But all this excitement will pass, and I believe that everything will work out well. Good luck!

I feel so much better knowing that people whom I've never met in person are willing to help. I believe that this is just temporary.

I saw your message, I was away then if I remember correctly. My first reaction was has he been hacked? The next day the message had disappeared and I figured you had found a solution which was what I would have recommended so I'm glad you got it sorted out in the end.

I guess this is the part where I give you lots of encouragement and best wishes, but you and I both know what you need now is for you to focus on the future. Shout if you need any more help in future, can't promise I can always help but two brains are always better than one

Thank you! I'll count on you for an extra brain to figure out things. 😂

Many Filipinos will definitely relate to your situation Kim, including me. I may not have concrete plans for my family prior to my new family with my wife but the burden is really there. It's brave for you to do that to your family and compelling on our side that we are not alone in this kind of situation. Let me give you some words of encouragement I usually apply to myself, 'we are burdened because we are blessed'.

Congrats on your new fam, Ger! Lahi ra jud ang father na.

Aww, your blog makes me cry. Akala ko ako lang tong may pinaka malaking problema pinagdaraanan ngayon. Keep fighting po, kaya mo yan. Proud na proud tlga ako sa mga breadwinner sa family. ❤️💖😇

Remember, God will bless you more, not now but soon. ☺️

We all have crosses to bear. I feel so much better knowing that there are people who will help without expecting anything in return. Just ask if you have problems and you will be led to the right people.

Sad to hear that @ybanezkim26. But don't forget that God is always good. He won't give you what you can't bear. Just unload all your burdens to Him. Let go and Let God.. Stay safe and God bless.

I'm okay now. Thank you! I guess this post is just me trying to process things.

My pleasure po. God is good all the time. He will never leave you. God bless.

Huhu I can relate in your story. We also don't live in our own house and paying rent monthly makes us always broke. I wished the next year will be a good year for us. I want to be financially free soon huhu

Soon! Rooting for you! Laban lang!

Life is not always fair. It's especially sad that this comes at a time when Hive's value is low man. We're all struggling financially at the moment I guess. I hope you can sort out your problems and all will be well for you.

Yeah. When it rains, it pours. I was able to sort out things because of the people here in Hive and I'm really grateful.

I am sorry to hear that you went through this, but I am glad to hear that you have found a new roof above your head. If you ever need help, don't be afraid to send me a message (but I'm also not so rich but willing to help where I can)

OMG! Thank you, Sascha! I'll count on this one! Not that I'll always ask for help, but I'm so happy to know this.

I know how hard it is to ask for help but you should know that I trust you with this stuff and it is not bad to sometimes ask for help.

True! I don't want to bother people, but thank you for the trust!

Scammers take advantage by coming up with situations that mimic real life - that's why they are assholes. Clearly you are going through the real life dilemma. Hopefully things will improve soon. Your reputation is safe here and there's many people who have your back.

True! Good thing I did maintain my reputation here even if there were a lot of temptations in the past.

Oh, those are some hard times for you @ybanezkim26

I am sorry to hear that you have to find a new place by the end of the year, it is around the corner already!! 😨
So difficult times you have and still will have to face in upcoming months! Although it is so difficult to look from the positive side when one is in the economic (or any other) problems, try to stay on your feet, strong. Without Hive it would be even more difficult. I hope you will be able to pay back the debts soon and the house will be built. I wish you all the luck, but moreover mental strength! :) With that, all the troubles can be solved somehow!

Feeling so much better now! Thank you so much for all of your encouragement!

 last year  

Whoa that's hard core life events. Keep your posts up Kim and don't give up.

Thank you! I should be posting more often.

Filipinos are resilient, Kim! Keep Fighting!

Aja! Walay choice. 😂

Bitaw jud sa? 😂

Pero, after that stage, ahh nindota sa feeling nga maovercome nimo imong problema.

Wala naman ko mafeel after. HAHA

Hahaha. naa sad diay in ana hahahah

I love reading these kinds of posts.

Seems that the TipU votes didn´t go through, let me try again...

@tipu curate 2

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