Hello my dear Hivean friends!
In this post, a few months ago, I told you about our move to our new (and much cheaper) home, and the new friends we've made here, even though we haven't left Playa del Carmen.
In a way, we have left because this place is just so much more quiet and much different from most other areas in the city. I guess that's what I like about the place.

I promised I'd talk about my work soon, so let's get right into that.

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When the going gets tough...

And tough it was. So tough, that I had to do something I hadn't really done a lot before, which was stop delegating to some projects here on Hive, and Power Down. Not once but twice.
I have the bare minimum left.
I had 7,500 Hive Power in my wallet when we came to Mexico so that hurts. Big time.
But needs must and there was no other choice than to bite the bullet and do it.
I haven't had a stable income of more than US$ 150 or so per week since last autumn, and even that was only temporary. The months between Christmas and March it was more like US$ 50...
I seriously don't have a clue how people here manage to live, and some have even less!

I knew that coming to Mexico would change things but I figured I could make things work when I was still working for Indeed (the job website), and then when I ended up having to quit that job, I was 100% sure I would make it work either way. That something better was on the horizon.
And even though I am sure that the 'Better thing on the horizon' is still coming my way, it didn't happen in those last few months.

Job after job application got rejected. Then I had a few projects I worked on where I never got paid for the work. This happened more than once too.
The money wasn't a big deal but it was time spent on the job that I really could have spent differently.

In February, I started working for a real estate company here in Playa.
It's 100% commission so I knew it would be hard work and dedication to get something out of it.
One has to work up a client base for anything to happen really.
However, I am still positive that it will all work out with it and I feel grateful for the experience. I learned a lot in these last months. I know there is still a lot that I don't have a clue about but I think I know quite a bit about how the real estate business here in the Riviera Maya works now.
It's an amazing opportunity because I truly believe that this place is up and coming, and there's no way to stop the great growth we'll go through here in the years to come.

The Riviera Maya is the place to be, baby!

Just a little picture of a beach scene in Cozumel as a reminder of that...

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Tried, tested, failed

I've never been a person to just do one thing. I need to be able to do a few things or it just isn't me. I get bored with doing just one job. Although recently I would have scrubbed toilets for a living full-time if it would have gotten us out of the shit we were in.
Pun intended.

So when a friend told me about this tour guide job, I was all in.
I needed to seriously start making some money because our lives depend on it. Literally.
The manager interviewed me and I think that went really well.
I was supposed to do 5 training days, and then 1 day of evaluation.
All went well during the training. Every day was different and the guide training me was different every day too.
On day 5, my colleague was this really cool German guy.
He was different than the others and did things with those people no one else had done during my earlier training days.
If you'd see his reviews on Tripadvisor, you'd see that he is one of the most popular guides.
Anyway, he told me that being able to speak German was a big plus because there'd be more chance to get bookings.
Good to know!

The work was amazing! I'd get picked up by the driver anywhere between 5 am to 7 am, and then we'd be on our way to pick up the guests, which could be any number between 4 to 12 people.
People are on a holiday, so usually they're all in a good mood.
The day trips consisted of snorkeling in Akumal or Tulum but either place has turtles...
SO cool!
Then there would usually be a visit to the Mayan ruins in Tulum, and a visit to an underground cenote. One out of three and all equally beautiful.

I could really see myself do this. The money wasn't the best but much better than other wages here, and yeah, there were long hours...But whenever I stuck my head in the water and saw a turtle, or an eagle ray would glide just under me, I'd forget about all the troubles and problems. These animals didn't care about what my hair looked like either! So win/win.
I could finally be myself.
And you know those people who post pictures of their laptops with the ocean in the background, saying: 'Welcome to my office.'??? Well, here I was, the ocean was my office!
That was one better, I tell ya.
But unfortunately, being myself wasn't good enough, and sure enough, my dream of snorkeling, having a free workout every day and getting into shape, and making money while doing it, had crumbled before it had even begun.
I wasn't 'extrovert' enough. Whatever that means. I told the manager that I knew I could do the job but being evaluated while doing the job is a whole different ballgame.
Anyway, I cut my losses, and in the end, I think it was what's best for me and my kids.
Because I would have been gone for 10 to 12 hours each day I worked.
Later I realized that there was a possibility that the guy who did the evaluation just didn't want the competition...But ok, it's done. I just wished I had used my GoPro while I was out there during my training...

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Fast forward to where we are now...

I've been all over the place. With myself. My mind. Everything.
When my brother passed away in January, it was a little as if time stood still.
The funeral has been recorded and I still haven't brought myself to watch it. I don't know if I ever will. Why should I? It's not going to bring him back. Some would say I'd get some closure but would that really happen? I don't know...
Anyway, my brother left my sister and myself a small sum of money.
It couldn't have come at a better time. A time when I was down and out and broker than I'd ever been before. And there it is. The feeling of guilt for needing that money while my brother is dead.
Yeah, yeah, I know. It's not my fault he died or whatever but still.
It almost feels like he had to die for me to get my life back together somehow...
My big brother was taking care of me even when he wasn't with us anymore. Brotherly love. Forever.

Right now, I'm doing a few things at the same time. I've always done this, as long as I can remember so it's not a big deal.
I'm teaching English at a small private school here and it's lots of fun but the hours just aren't enough just yet. When I got hired, they promised me things they're not keeping right now so I'm having a chat with them soon. I do like it though so I'm hoping I will get more hours.

I'm doing the odd freelance jobs on the side. This has been a life-saver to be honest.
It's giving me the means to climb back out of my hell hole.

And then...and then...when I least expected it (isn't that how it always goes?) a friend of a friend called me. If we could meet. I will tell you more about all of that another time but what it comes down to is that he needs someone to work with him, and he's offered me 45% of his business in return...
It's hard to explain right now but I will...in another post.

Either way. I see huge potential for this business so, yeah, I am taking that deal.

Then there are a few other little things I dabble with here and there. But that's another story.
Let's say I'm slowly but surely crawling back into my old, familiar crypto space as well.
After having zero in crypto except for a few Hive...I now mean business.