My $WHALE Journey
Anyone else feel this way when diving into the crypto space for the first time?
No… just me??
Hey, I’m Nickie ~ I identify as a not-so-techy, young GenX-er who would rather be playing outside than sitting in front of a computer screen.
I remember quite well, several years ago… not too long after starting our business in Homer, Alaska, my husband approached me about investing in Bitcoin. This was when the cost of a coin was right around $500. We worked SO hard starting our business, and it was still in its infancy, so we managed to talk ourselves right out of that grand idea. We continued working away ~ harder than ever, and only looked back once.
That was a few years later, while we were living in Sitka, Alaska. Living on an island in Southeast Alaska means ~ if you have a serious or specialized doctor’s appointment, you’re flying to Seattle. Well, Seattle has lots of cool spots that we just didn’t have up north, like used electronics stores! In one of our visits, we went hunting for a scanner… which we found. But we also found a machine for mining crypto. It was obviously burnt up, you could tell by looking at it, but possibly repairable. So we brought it home, and chatted about BTC again…
Sitka is powered by an amazing hydroelectric setup ~ you may have seen its dams in random TV episodes showing just the craziness that is Alaskan engineering. But hey, it’s renewable energy. This got us to thinking of the issue with “unsustainable crypto mining” issues that more populated places on the traditional grid were facing. No coal-powered grid here!
Then, we both had some horrible, life-threatening medical nonsense go down. And POOF ~ my entry to crypto was foiled again. Bigger fish to fry, and some cancer to beat & other fun stuff too.
But here we are, chugging right along…
Fast forward to early 2021, we are down in the land of the lower 48, and that same husband of mine is telling me about his NBA Top Shot moments… “what the heck is a TopShot Moment?”, I ask.
Our current business is literally ALL about sports cards & comics, so I understand collectibility.
But digital moments? How does that work?
And what about our bazillion cards sitting at PSA waiting to be graded?
Well, it only took watching him do 1 pack opening on NBA TopShots for me to get on board ~ but I wanted to learn more. So, down the internet rabbit holes….
I think I caught the first “ladies night” on TopShot’s YouTube Channel, and was like ~ “ok, I’m in”.
After watching that first video, Rudem00se had me googling CryptoKitties… and down another rabbit hole I went. I had a few dollars thown into a Coinbase wallet…but never did anything with it, & I was just scratching the surface of learning what an NFT even was.
Well, I spent my pennies on my first kitty…& had a quick lesson on what ETH Gas Fees are! HAHA
but…
I love my kitties.
And THEN… we’re playing marbles?…ok!
Wait, for $WHALE?
What’s $WHALE??
Admittedly, I had spent too much of my brain’s bandwidth trying to consume years of blockchain data, understanding NFTs, and kicking myself for not being a $BTC millionaire, to really dig into the $WHALE community right away.
But once I did… holy buckets! 🎉
It felt like I found my people! 💖
With all the rabbit holes I dove down recently, I’ve hopped into some other crypto communities that could almost be considered “hostile territory”. Just bad vibes all around. Not a place you want to spend any time in.
The $WHALE Community has been just the opposite. It feels like a ray of sunshine. You’re not afraid to ask questions & participate, because there’s not a group of trolls waiting to attack. Seriously, a breath of fresh air!
I never pictured myself in a space like this. In fact, I didn’t really even know anything like it existed. “You don’t know what you don’t know”, right?! But I’m so glad my convoluted path led me here.
Not only am I learning about the aforementioned list of subjects… I’m creating things like twitch accounts, and learning how to navigate discord. This is so far out of my wheelhouse ~ it seems like learning multiple foreign languages at the same time.
As of today, I still haven’t yet claimed the role of Dolphin… but I’m getting there. Slowly saving my pennies ~ and sorry $BTC ~ my money is going to be all in on $WHALE!
~ Maybe I shouldn’t have spent all my ETH on Kitties & Gas Fees, HAHA! JK ~ no regrets! ;)
I love the $WHALE Community!
As each week passes, I’m getting involved with more and more community events. Listening to Fireside Chats, hearing from Artists in the platform, digging into the YouTube Channel, joining in Livestreams, checking out the TopShot Swyysh League… and my forever favorite ~ Playing MARBLES with RudeM00se!
There’s a LOT going on, and it can be a bit overwhelming. But I’m thankful to be able to jump into the deep end and have some Whale blowing bubbles under me, making sure I float!
I love that I’m learning something new with each day, and each event I join.
The $WHALE Community feels like my safe harbor in a sea of internet noise.
Somedays I feel more like the Krill of the ocean, rather than a Whale ~ and I may be little late to the party ~ but I’m so happy I arrived!
And I can’t wait to see all the amazing things we create together!
