Motivation is always to keep going on the positive side. The power up day is based on UTC timezone... so it starts around 1PM in New Zealand timezone of the first day of the month.
You will need a minimum of 10 Hive powered up to participate on my giveaway (monthly) but feel free to join the conversation there anytime.
Also, given you have a very old account, some of these things might be kind of "not new" to you I would imagine, but always feel free to ask anything.
RE: What is This! Power Up Day.