Why we need a community

Over the last few years my wife belongs to a running club. It started for my wife during Covid, during that first summer of of the Pandemic, when we finally understood that it is not going to be over in a few weeks. I think many changes started for many people during those two years. I wife loved to work at the office. The daily interaction with the friends and simply be outside in a common space, going to lunch with co-workers, going for a drinks after work.........all these were dear to her heart. However, all that suddenly stopped on March 15, 2020 for her (and for many of us in Houston). Her company slowly decided that they will permanently go towards work-from-home model. Although there are many advantages to that model both from a corporation side and from an employee side; there are certain disadvantages as well. It is especially difficult for an energetic extrovert like my wife to work from home all the time. To a large extent if we are forced to stay at home it becomes fundamentally difficult. The main thing for her was the lack of a community and the urge to 'belong' to something.

Content credentials: Generated with AI ∙ July 26, 2024 at 11:01 AM

During that summer, one day my wife just couldn't take the walls of the house anymore, and went to a facebook group who encourages new people to run. Mind you lockdown was absolutely minimal in Houston where we live. We could do almost everything normally (just wearing mask), but offices were closed. So one summer even she went to this small local pub near our home where the running group gathers and runs short to long distances as per the ability of the group. Then they come back to the same pub and have a beer or two. In fact, the pub owner provided a round of free beer for anyone that runs!

That is how it started, and 4 years running, she rarely misses the Thrusday evening run. I don't run. However, I personally know many of that running club folks. They have come to our come, we have gone for drinks and social hour together. If there is some special cooking at someones home or BBQ; we get invitation and left overs. I count on safety and companionship of those friends of my wife, when I am travelling around the world for work and need support. In short, although I don't run, I don't know what would I do without those running group people! This group started with about 6-7 people I think during pandemic days, and now they are 450 or so strong and dynamic, meaning, some people have moved to different cities or even countries and they still keep in touch. That is the need of a community.

A community that is hive

I have been part of hive from Jan 2018. Sometimes I forget how long it has been. Sometimes I also forget what extraordinary things we have been through together. I have a fairly demanding job and also a relatively young family compared to my age (my wife and I have kids much later than average couples). When I consider that, I have spend disproportionate amount of time on this platform compared to anything else in the last 6 years. I often ask myself .......Why?

Content credentials: Generated with AI ∙ July 26, 2024 at 11:03 AM

It may have started with crypto investment for me, but certainly it is not that anymore. Not only many crypto projects far outpaced hive, but also, I personally am not much interested in crypto as an investment myself. I know investment landscape of the world very well, and I am financially free; so I don't really need any money from crypto or any other kinds of investment anymore. I have multiple houses to live in multiple countries. My kids education is paid for. Yet I still do a dayjob, which is finding new hydrocarbon, and I enjoy it very much. The job continues to pay extremely well. So at 48, when I ask myself why I spend so much time at hive. I think the answer I get, is I like it here. It gives me a sense of belonging. I have made great friends here, who genuinely care for my well being.

My surgery

Yesterday on a public comment I mentioned that I will be going through a major surgery soon. It was a comment hidden inside a long series of comment activity during a day of intense typing and lot of noise. Yet numerous people picked up on it and reached out to me in public and on DM. I am touched! I am thankful that you care for me. I must say lately it is Splinterlands community where I spent most of my time, and I am grateful for the care you have shown me. It is both the hive and splinterlands community, they are one and the same, because, often we forget that Splinterlands is built on hive and POWERED BY HIVE.

So I feel it is only appropriate that I let people know what is happening to me on July 31.

I have developed a condition called OPLL. Ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament. You can google it, just follow the link I provided if you are interested. What it does that it calcifies the ligament that holds the spine into bone, thereby narrowing the cervical canal pinching all the terminal nerves going to my arms. So basically my arms are slowly going numb. I can't feel my fingers as I type (apologies for the typos, I won't be fixing them!).

Treatment is a procedure called Laminectomy and fusion of C3-C6 cervical vertebrae. It translates to they will open the back of my spine, cut out 4 vertebral laminae, so that there is more room inside my spinal canal. Then they will drill 10 holes (5 on each side of the spine) and put 10 screws and bolts and attach two titanium alloy rods. That’s basically it. I am told it is about a 2 hour procedured, and if everything goes well they will keep me at the hospital for 1 night.

Now What?

Now what is one of my favorite phrases. I have loss of motor functions on my fingers, but it is nothing serious and after the surgery I am expecting to get it back immediately. I will continue to work towards the governance activity that I do for the Hive and Splinterlands community all the way into the surgery date. Over the last couple of weeks my typing on discord was extreme! Most of that is non-productive, but that is often the way it goes in exploration. Most of the wells we drill doesn't provide hydrocarbons, but the ones that do, pays for it all and then some! That is the life lessons I have learned and applied all my life.

Afterall, I am an oilman!

Soon to be a bionic oilman! :)

Maybe even part bot, part human! Watch out Splinterlands players; soon you have to deal with my enhanced skill sets, and there is nothing you can do about it! Deal with it :)