The whole idea of an introduction post feels a bit off to me. Ever since parents started getting Facebook accounts, as far as I was concerned it was no longer safe or appropriate to share personal stuff. And while I do more than lurk, I like the impersonal nature of reddit. But, I'm pretty sure my parents aren't here, and when in Hive, do as the... Hivians?
Apologies for image quality, selfies are not my thing.
Anyways, my life story is full of ups and downs, about every 2-3 years it starts hurtling down some totally disconnected path, so it can be hard to describe myself both simply and accurately- jack of all trades (except the ones people usually mean when they say that) and master of none gets pretty close.
3 years ago I quit my job I hated, and drove to the office where I signed papers to close on my house. I started this piece of my life fresh as an entrepreneur, and 10 days after leaving my job left the tech startup where I was Chief Marketing Officer (which was painful but the right call, it was always more hopes and dreams than actually going anywhere). I was renting out the other rooms in my house on Facebook marketplace, and trying to find families to host foreign exchange students, which was straight commission and a total bust. I started doing Rover dog sitting to get some supplemental cash, and over time I grew a full business out of it. Not really something I'd ever envisioned myself doing, but I love running my own business, my clients love me, and it enables me to pursue other passions while paying the bills.
...which is how I discovered the crypto rabbit hole not quite a year ago, and I wouldn't rather be anywhere else. I'm fortunate enough to live near the first Brick & Mortar Crypto Store which I found about 6 months back, and their community meetups each week are much higher quality than I would have suspected, it's been a tremendous resource. Among other things, I got introduced to a couple Hivians who got me here. I'm currently working on a (7 part?) series of 750ish word guides to introduce people to crypto who have no exposure called "what is crypto, and why should I care?" Assuming the quality is sufficient, is that something that would be welcomed somewhere on hive? And does it matter if it's a native post or an outside link? Also looking to start my foray into mining with some Helium nodes, if you know anything about that I'm sure to find it valuable.
As you can see in the background of my pics, I have a substantial manga collection, 1638 volumes if you trust my count (I wouldn't too much). Would love to see some anime/manga communities grow here. As you can tell from my handle I'm a Starcraft fan, I also played substantial amounts of LoL and Heroes of the Storm, back in the day I reached Diamond 1 and and #4 on their respective leaderboards.
I've cooked in a sort of "good enough to survive on" way since I was 5, but over the last year or so I've upped my game substantially, and gone to a sort of whole foods, vegan-ish diet. When I'm with people I'll pretty much eat whatever they're eating, when I'm by myself I make vegan food. I find it very practical: economic, good for my health, and tastier. Gamechangers is the documentary to push me that way, and Rainbow Plant Life is my main resource, there's just no match for Indian food. Pictured is Tofu Tikka Masala, I'd say Chana Masala is my best dish, and I make a mean Dal Tadka.
I also do some creative writing, including a book of 40 poems I published two years ago. I made a post with one of the poems, and am happy to share more if they're welcome. Working on a cynical-snarky tragic comedy novella that I've toyed with the idea of releasing one chapter at a time online, who knows?
I'm also passionate about my Christianity, and it would be cool to have people to talk theology with. Major influences would be C.S. Lewis, Tim Keller, and the American Gospel series. I'm working on getting certified as an ACBC Biblical Counselor, it's sort of like a church therapist.
As the Muppets said, "Much more to say, foolish to try." I do want to finish though with a canvas my "adopted" mother made me. She's the poster-elder for being technologically challenged, but she loves to make this sort of thing and asked me recently about finding commissions, so if you're interested let me know. She specializes in listening to people's stories (she will try every time, and she's good at it, to start conversations with telemarketers, people walking by in the parking lot while she's waiting, or anyone else she can) and adding a lot of heart to a piece when she's making it. She's also got a font for LOTR (Elven) script, so she can make names or other desired text in her custom font.
