Blockchain in the islands

Living in the middle of the South Pacific, one tends to live a very sheltered life from the happenings of the outside world. After all, when you have internet download speeds that vary between "typical care-free island time" of 512kbps to "lightening speed" of 2mbps (funnily enough it seems to reach those speeds when watching pornography - very sly local telco companies!) information is somewhat drip fed through the ether. A blessing in disguise probably.

I came across Bitcoin during various times in my tech career, first heard of it in 2010. Never really took notice of it. Last couple of years when ransomware was an issue at work which required payment in Bitcoin, I still didn't bother with the whole Bitcoin phenomena. I was too busy trying to change my own little world namely in the water industry (plus other personal events).

It was only last year around mid-October when a friend asked for my advice on the "blockchain" as an investment option, that I sat down and gave it some serious interest and thought. Mainly because I needed to provide an answer that was understandable, and two, I think very highly of myself as being the go-to tech guy for advice especially from close friends. I lie, I like to sound smart, but really. Anyways, I digress.

Low and behold, Bitcoin popped up. In addition to that, Bitcoin was making waves in mainstream media as there was more chatter than usual (remember, I live on an island - literally).

The next 2 months has been one sleepless night after the other. As I started to read up on blockchain technology and Bitcoin, I found myself becoming more fascinated with it. Quite frankly early November, I said to myself, where the f**k have I been hiding all this time (an island - hint hint). It was also during that time I took the plunge and decided to buy my first Bitcoin, 0.1 BTC to be exact (Thank Satoshi it wasn't that coin that claims to be the real Bitcoin!). The hurdles, hoops, loops just to get Bitcoin was a mission which I will not go in to detail as it warrants its own post.

Nevertheless, I managed to get in before Bitcoin went crazy upwards towards $20k. No, I am glad I didn't buy at that price! In my experience and journey so far in crypto, I have built a small portfolio of cryptocurrencies and have now mapped a roadmap of where I want to take this new found obsession over the next 12 months.

I have literally drunk the crypto Kool-Aid, trading and investing here and there, constantly checking my Blockfolio app every minute, just to see how much it has grown OR worse, how much of my BTC equivalent holdings have gone down, hourly refresh of Coinmarketcap website. Even getting involved between the whole Bitcoin vs Bcash (Bitcoin Cash) kerfuffle. I now am making more productive use of my Facebook, YouTube, Netflix, Twitter, Instagram time and reallocating it to researching & learning everything and anything relating to the blockchain.

I have a lot of catching up to do but for what it is worth, I'm glad to have jumped into the world of crypto. I lived through the dotcom era in my final years at university. As much as I wanted to participate in the growth of internet companies then, access to investing/participating was extremely limited. Now, it feels like I have a second chance to be part of what is being touted as a revolution enter every buzzword you can think of here especially with the whole "new economy" blah blah blah

Its an exciting time to be in - again! LOL. As I navigate through this so-called "wild wild west" of Crypto, I would probably share my experiences like many others before - the successes and the failures. Nothing like a good old rant on Steemit and short bursts of thoughts on Twitter to fuel my excitement. If there is one though that I like about this whole blockchain craze, its the fact that I can do it on a 512 kbps internet connection in the middle of the South Pacific. Better than a lambo or the moon I reckon! Working towards living the crypto lifestyle in paradise I say.

PS: If you have reached this far, thanks and appreciate you having the attention span to read my rant, hope you find it entertaining. I'm still working on what to do here on Steemit, last thing I want to get in to is be a crypto guru (which I'm not, we all have Google/Bing) or disclaimer, this is not financial advice blogger hahaha. There is a method to my madness though. Hope you enjoyed the picture of one of the most popular tourist spots on the island of Upolu (Samoa).

You can find me tweet rants on Twitter @ https://www.twitter.com/jmauli