A bunch of jumbled-ass thoughts. Just felt like writing.

Hey folks, hope you're all having a great week! I realized I hadn't made a post in a few. Whew. It's absolutely amazing how quickly the weeks fly by nowadays. But it really has nothing to do with the state of Steem anything like that, quite the contrary actually. I've been quite busy finishing up a ton of Steem-based music projects, and trying to spend more time in the Discord communities as much as I can. To be quite honest, my brain is likely a similar consistency to scrambled eggs at the moment (mainly due to weird sleep schedules), so I figured why not just kind of run with it and post a bunch of mini-posts within a bigger post. Post-ception.

Thought #1: Steempeak is kind of damn awesome.

I'm actually currently posting from Steempeak for the first time. I've been using it more often for browsing and curation, because it does have a bunch of features I'm a huge fan of. For me, I'm 200% a creature of routine and habit. So I had nothing against it from the get-go, but it took me quite a while to warm up to it. I'm still warming up to it. But I have to say, some of the features (like the analytics, notifications, etc.) are absolutely brilliant, the interface is super clean, and I'm really enjoying myself thus far. The one thing I've kind of missed is a more compact mode for my feed (truthfully not a huge fan of the side-by-side card thing). Steemit can fit 8-10 posts on my monitor at any given time, and I love that. Maybe it's still me getting used to it, but that is one display option I'd love to see in the future. Anyways, maximum kudos to the #Steempeak team.

Thought #2: Perspective is everything.

I actually just finished watching a post made by @isaria and @swelker101 about the current state of Steem, and their advice against leaving the platform. I fully agree with everything they said and I'd highly recommend giving it a watch if you're feeling conflicted.

I was just talking with @meno last night about a rough patch I hit last year in early 2017. My job position at the time was eliminated, and I was scrounging financially, so hard that I really had to put Steemit aside for a while (Steem was around $1 back then, similar to now). When Steem shot up towards the end of 2017, I came back of course. My financial situation had improved slightly, and I mean, obviously the rewards were worth posting for. And sure I still had the same amount of Steem I left off with, but it was the relationships that had withered over time. In a lot of ways, I had to start over. Discord communities, contacts, even just people knowing my name; I was no one again. How many people had I missed joining in? How many noteable events? How many future dolphins and orcas in-the-making did I fail to befriend when they were looking for someone to guide them along in their early days. That person may have been me, but I wasn't there.

Not to say I was a big name here or anything, but Steemit is a place of tight-knit, passionate people. Unlike other social media platforms, you don't need thousands of people to follow your content to find success here. You just need a healthy relationship with a modest circle.

@coruscate made a post a couple weeks back too about people finding themselves confused and frustrated with the rewards system. She talked about the frustration folks find themselves in when seeing a cat photo earn $20, and a 2,000 word write-up earn $.30. This is that 'circle' at work. It's not all about the content, and if you treat Steemit like it is, you're going to have a bad time. Steemit is about the community, and while good content is obviously rewarded, you also need to have the community to back it up.

Relationships, and good content. One won't payout without the other.

History has a tendency to repeat itself, and with the insane things blockchain technology is capable of (things that I don't even begin to understand), I think it's safe to say it's not going anywhere. Stick it out. From many points of view, we're still doing just fine. Perspective is everything.

Thought #3: This community is awesome.

On that note, I just want to reiterate how grateful I am to the people of Steemit who I've had the pleasure of spending time with here. Last night I spent a good amount of time on MSP-radio with @meno on his Songwriter Shop Talk show, shootin' the shit and talking about music and other things. Then I ended up popping back in like an hour later with @clayboyn and @mfxae86 to talk more music, philosophy, and potential project ideas. It was much needed. I have a hard time putting into words how much these seemingly small gestures and interactions mean on my personal grand scale. Music can be an extremely difficult thing to pursue professionally. When you throw yourself head-first into self-employment, you lose a lot of friends, a lot of time, and a lot of energy to chase that dream. That said, the level of mutual respect, support, and understanding that I find here is absolutely invaluable. Bottom line is I had a great night; I think everyone walked away feeling a bit refreshed and positive. I really appreciate that and those good vibes are still carrying me through the day.

Thought #4: I'm happy to answer audio questions.

I have absolutely no issue answering any questions about audio setups that might alleviate some headaches for you guys! I know OBS, recording audio, DAW software, all that stuff can be such a pain in the ass. I spent years fumbling through my audio set up to get it to sound even relatively decent, so please never hesitate to hit me up on Discord if someone wants to improve their sound or has any random questions about setup. I've had a few questions here and there, or heard about folks having some trouble, and I'm always cool with helping out.

Thought #5: Can we host an 'Extra Life' gaming event on DLive? Is it doable?

An extra life marathon is something I've kind of wanted to participate in for a while. For those who don't know, Extra Life is a video game-based fundraising event, the proceeds of which go to branches of the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Folks will have video game streaming marathons in an effort to raise money for the cause. Now, when you host something like this, you have an Extra Life page, separate from whatever you're streaming on (I believe). I think it'd be awesome to do a gaming marathon on DLive and donate the proceeds. I just need to figure out if it's logistically possible. I'll simultaneously do a good deed and satisfy my gaming cravings in one fell swoop. I'd love to look into this!

Done for now.

Word-vomit seems to be my new blog form of choice as of late. Really, once I get a little more free time back, I'm looking forward to spending a little more time on-platform. Maybe some music tutorials, new music posts, hell, maybe even try to pick the vlogging back up. For now, although pretty much everything I'm working on is Steem-related, it's all taking place off-site as freelance work. But I look forward to working my post frequency back up.

If you've made it this far, congrats and I'm sorry. :D

Sleep tight all, until tomorrow.

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Listen to the Steem Monsters Original Soundtrack on Choon!

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You can join the 'Steemit Local Music Society' here:

Click here to join on Discord.

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You can follow me and my tunes on Steemit/Choon/Dsound:

@harrisonmir