So here it is, made it just before the deadline! This is my first post in this community which I visit occasionally, whenever some members I follow post something that catches my attention.
I never thought I'd think of contributing here at all, until I saw that some people, fellow artists at that, were also posting here about their NFT experiences. Others were writing about the technologies that power our activities, and help us earn our favorite currencies.
Then came that post that invited new lions to come in, and share our thoughts, experiences, or expertise. Having experienced many things outside Hive in the previous year that I know will be beneficial to many here, I welcomed the opportunity and went in the door.
So, with this post, I start the more serious leg of my crypto journey, on the way to financial freedom.
It's been two months since I've aped into CUB and PolyCUB. Although I've been reading and upvoting the Leo posts of some members I follow in this community, it had never occured to me to investigate the early posts of what it was all about.
But all that noise created about PolyCUB finally made me curious enough to check things out when some of my friends here started posting their stats. And I was very much surprised upon finding out that we now have connections to Ethereum and two of the most popular EVM-compatible chains, Polygon and BSC.
I had spent the previous year getting more knowledgable about Ethereum and the various sidechains and L2 scaling solutions working on, or being developed for it. After trying them out, I have become a huge fan of Polygon and Immutable X. Both have become my favorite chains for minting my NFTs and DeFi activities.
So, knowing that CUB and PolyCUB were on BSC and Polygon, and having some WETH and MATIC to spend, I wasted no time learning the ropes. An ongoing experience with another DeFi platform (which I will write about in my next blog) also helped me a lot and gave me the confidence to get into these new ones.
Too bad though, that I had cashed out a more substantial amount of WETH, prior to deciding to get into things. But I was lucky to have some MATIC left to swap for PHBD and USDC and stake the pair in the farm. I will keep stacking on them when more funds become available.
The past two years of this pandemic have been the most difficult, not just in my career, but also of my life. Like all of us here, I faced many difficult challenges as our lives were forced to adapt to the sudden changes imposed on us by our respective governments.
Many people I know or were related to, succumbed to COVID, with the most impactful of all deaths being that of my bestfriend. He was someone I've known for 26 years. The pain of his passing took a toll on my emotional health and depression set in. It's almost a year now and the pain is all but gone. But it's time to move on, look forward to this nightmare's end, and write new chapters in my life.
Two months from now my employment contract will end and I have decided not to renew it. I've been working in the animation industry since 1998, and continuously since 2013 up to this point. I'm on the verge of burning out and need some time out to recharge and fully heal. I am only 52, and I still want to live long and reach my 80s, like my grandfather.
So, I will take a break for at least two years and spend it learning some new and advanced skills, and resuming my crypto journey, which will mostly revolve around my art creation, NFT activities, and writing about them.
And to support myself in that endeavour, I will need to become a regular contributor here and share all the useful knowledge I have acquired in my exploration of the crypto space.
Having a computer science background helps me a lot in understanding how the technology works. And since I am not that much comfortable, or adequately knowledgable to write about financial matters, I see that my best contribution here will focus more on the technical side of things.
Before I wrap up my first post here, I would like to invite the other Hive members to start posting here, and partake of all the good things being cooked up by Khal and co.
It's time to supercharge your regular, standard-issue Hive essence.
So, if you want to be on top of the food chain, activate your apex predator mode and go where the most exciting action is. That place is here on Leo Finance.
Now, that this is done, it's time to write the next one. It's about that DeFi platform I've been on since November of last year, and its fast and cheap Ethereum-to-Polygon, etc. bridge, that 
Thank you for reading, and have a nice weekend!
The images in this blog were created with GIMP from screenshots of my DeFi stats. The gold lion logo was created with Blender. No copyright infringement intended.
