Random Bits and Pieces

Lately, I have not has as much time as usual to keep up with my writing and blogging.

In a general sort of sense, this is tied to the simple need to "make a living," which requires me to put in the hours at doing thing elsewhere. Car repairs and other unforeseen expenses are unwelcome guests at the best of times, but particularly so for the self-employed, whose income is often measured not in terms of a "regular paycheck" but in terms of effort and hours expended.

Meanwhile, I also have an "outside event" coming up with my artwork, which means a lot of preparation... even though I have not felt terribly creative, as of late.

I get to set up my vendor space on Thursday afternoon, and then the actual open-to-the-public bit starts Thursday evening, and goes on Friday and Saturday.

I hope it goes well, of course... but it's a fairly small and local event, so my expectations are not that high. Whatever "they" might be saying about the state of the economy, I know from firsthand experience that most of the people around me are struggling to make ends meet.

On the whole, I'm not fond of "events" because they are typically more "peopley" than I care for, but it's pretty much the only way I can sell my art. Online just doesn't work...

The more I age, the more I lean towards solitude. There are maybe just a handful of people on the planet with whom I truly vibe, and they mostly live half a world away... so it's not like we get to hang out and share a bottle of wine.

It's an energy thing, really. I have to ask myself whether I feel energized or drained as a result of spending time with someone. Most of the time, I just feel drained. And that has nothing to do with stuff like social anxiety or with being in the company of bad people.

It does have something to do with being highly empathic, though. I think much of the world can subconsciously sense someone empathic and then they latch onto you because they feel (psychologically, emotionally, spiritually) safe in your company.

Most of the world doesn't really understand the idea of people being "energetically exhausting." And yet? They do... because you've probably experienced meeting someone and feeling like you're getting a "bad vibe" from them.

Now, multiple that sensation by ten and think how that would feel if it occurred with every single person you encounter. It does get tiring.

I'm not writing this as a complaint or lament; it's simply a fact in my existence, and a large part of why I tend to choose my own company over that of others... except for aforementioned "handful of people" whose company feels more like an oasis than a drain.

Not at All Related: I am told — by someone who knows a bit about such things and keeps his eye on the ball — that the sudden steep slump in the price of Steem is related to the group of Korean investors on the Upbit exchange (the one that causes sudden unpredictable upspikes in the price) who hold millions of Steem tokens only on the exchange gradually divesting themselves of a significant percentage of their holdings.

I won't label it as "good" or "bad," it simply is although the resulting outcome might well be that these sudden spikes will become less frequent and less pronounced, given that they will have smaller holdings to play with.

Whether that makes this a good time to buy more Steem or not... that I don't know, and I am not about to give investment advice!

But I did think it was an interesting tidbit of information, and perhaps a plausible explanation for why Steem has fallen rather more sharply than most other altcoins, over this past week.

And, on that light note, I'm going to head off to bed... another very long day ahead.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week ahead!

How about you? Do you end up feeling emotionally drained around certain people? Conversely, do you have someone(s) whose company feels more like an emotional oasis? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — Not posted elsewhere!)

Created at 2024.06.18 00:40 PDT
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