<center>https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/ybanezkim26/EqfHuDxvCFv75kJPVTUAzxbMsNkNLNJ5yLEZJTpMbRJhndb6Wti7uQHmBwrNZsiGs47.jpg</center>

<div class="text-justify">
Hello everyone!
</div>
<br>
<div class="text-justify">
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.
</div>
<br>
<div class="text-justify">
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!
</div>
<br>
<div class="text-justify">
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.
</div>
<br>
<div class="text-justify">
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.
</div>
<br>
<div class="text-justify">
Anyway, here goes the story:
</div>
<br>
<div class="text-justify">
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.
</div>
<br>
<div class="text-justify">
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.
</div>
<br>
<div class="text-justify">
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.
</div>
<br>
<div class="text-justify">
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.
</div>
<br>
<div class="text-justify">
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.
</div>
<br>
<div class="text-justify">
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.
</div>
<br>
<div class="text-justify">
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.
</div>
<br>
<div class="text-justify">
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.
</div>
<br>
<div class="text-justify">
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.
</div>
<br>
<div class="text-justify">
The amounts might be small for you, but it's already a big deal here in the Philippines.
</div>
<br>
<div class="text-justify">
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.
</div>
<br>
<div class="text-justify">
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!
</div>