Cryptocurrency Invades the Family

I use “Cryptocurrencymania” as a slang term to describe what has descended on my significant other. His utter fall and decline into crypto currency mania has been the vehicle in which cryptocurrencies have invaded our family. It has become a daily part of life and has even made its way into my writing.

In June 2017, my family had no thoughts or ideas about cryptocurrencies. Sure, we had heard of Bitcoin but it was something that “computer people” had. The BEFORE was enjoyable. We spent time with the kids, had conversations about life; the future. Four daughters and a granddaughter between us at home most days, age ranging from two years to nineteen years old, and as you can imagine our days and nights were full of excitement, chaos and love.

The AFTER came some day in July 2017. My s/o came home from work hopped up like a kid on Pixy Stix! He was super excited; his eyes were bright and his smile was like that of a child on Christmas morning after Santa has come. He said he had read an article about Bitcoin and the increasing value. The article had been sent to him by his smart phone, it was about video cards. They were selling out and hard to find because of bitcoin miners. He did not know what a Bitcoin miner was and decided to investigate. Then he watched some videos and listened to podcasts. He was enthralled. He started talking about mining. My first thought was how do you mine something you cannot even see? Has he lost his marbles? Maybe he should concentrate on “mining” some new ones!

He decided to show me videos. The accents were cool, but I was lost. Maybe because it just did not interest me, but I smiled and nodded and was supportive. That night he downloaded some software and started “mining” with his computer. He has a new, nice computer with a great graphics card for gaming. Yes, he is a gamer. Believe it or not you can be a gamer, loving partner and parent, hold a good job and have time to be with your family. What can I say, as Gen X’ers it’s just kind of in our make-up.

So, he starts mining and starts making pennies a day. But hey those are FREE pennies! He makes 0.00000000something or other Bitcoin a month as this rate. It made him happy. The next day he came home from work reading more articles, watching more videos, making changes to his “mining”. He added his graphics card that was originally in his computer so he could mine with two cards. Now please know I am all about supporting his likes and hobbies. This man, however, went from zero to sixty in like 0.001 seconds.

Everything was about crypto currencies. All conversation led there, free time was about it, family time was about it. He started buying and ordering more graphics cards. “Everyone is selling out fast”, he told me, “This is the future!” I kept smiling and nodding and thinking of all the practical things we could spend that money on. Being MOM of the household I thought of all the upcoming expenses, the bills, and yes even food. I mean you have to feed them daily and our herd eats a large amount. Each graphic card started to take on the look of a meal.

He told the kids about Bitcoin and crypto currency. He talked to them about it daily. Next thing I know the seven and nine-year-old are reading articles, setting up “mining” on their own computer. They started talking about the crypto currencies. The kids would want to see the amount in his wallet, and being a banker became one of their new games. They were previously playing ‘Warrior Cats’ (in reference to the named series of books by Erin Hunter). So, our fearless felines became bad tempered bankers.

HE BECAME OBSESSED! The cryptomania swallowed him whole. It was like my little, fat Dachshund and anything the two-year-old grandbaby drops from her plate. Consumed whole, no chewing, no enjoying the flavor, just “Gulp and Gone”.

He has talked nonstop about crypto currencies at work. He has found at least one other person that is into the crypto currency craze. He is constantly making predictions about the activity of these currencies. I am sure his coworkers are ready to “mine” a gag for him.

So, I actually got to the point of zoning out during crypto conversations, as all of our adult time was talking about it. I was doing it unintentionally but it just did not hold my attention. I was not like a child in a candy store, I was like the kid at the dentist after being let loose in said candy store.

I have to be honest, his obsession and fall into the crypto currency world has been challenging. I have had my moments where I wanted to say “enough” and I finally did. Around the beginning of September talk of crypto currency started to fade a bit into the background. We were starting to have regular conversations with only some of them being about the rise and fall of the crypto currencies and others news. He even had said he was not going to buy anymore cards for mining, he was a bit in the dumps about it. I was relieved a bit.

The break from crypto currencies did not last long, however. Apparently, Bitcoin value had dropped severely and he had become a bit skeptical. It did not stay down for long and began climbing rapidly. He found a renewed vigor and since his birthday is in September he bought some more cards. He has six cards he is running now, not including his gaming computer. He has built computers to run his cards. Since the cards put off heat while mining, and it consumes energy to do so, he has joked that we will use them to heat the house this winter.

I am a writer, book junkie, and I also like crafts and gardening. I do play video games, in fact I started playing ESO by Bethesda and Zenimax, this year. My past game favorites include World of Warcraft by Blizzard, Dragon Age by Bioware and Fable by Lionhead Studios. He also likes to read, game and is great at drawing. The things we have in common and the things we do not; make us a nice rounded couple. We encourage and support one another.

We are now three months into his mining venture. I set out to write this article from my perspective. There has been humor, learning, acceptance, irritation, and compromise in this venture. We have come to a point where he is complacent (though honestly there is NEVER enough) with the equipment he has obtained and will keep mining with it. He is no longer making pennies a day but he is not making a fortune either. Maybe, one day he will have made back the monies invested. One can only hope!

As I said before, we encourage each other. It is so detrimental to a relationship. He knows my passion with writing. I normally write novels, this is my first foray into articles. He suggested Steemit to me. Why? Because you can earn STEEM DOLLARS and STEEM POWER, crypto currency! Yes, it is a hilarious contradiction to my earlier lack of interest in this currency form. I see the oxymoron of it, but I have been encouraged by my s/o to write articles. I am an avid Game of Thrones fan and my talk of theories can get almost as jabber jawed as his crypto conversations. He actually suggested GoT theories be my topic. Quite frankly, I think he is just tired of having to listen to them and knows 2019 is a long way away. I think he is pawning my theories off to other GoT addicts.

He told his coworkers I am writing an article about his obsession. They laughed and said they would read it. I think that says a lot. His Christmas list has commemorative, collectors Bit Coins on it. He has advised us on which retailers are taking Bitcoin as a form of currency. Every day, in someway, cryptocurrencies wiggle their way into life decisions. Since very recently making the decision to pursue writing on Steemit, I have researched the crypto currencies a bit. It is obviously going to be a big topic that is written about. I now have a very basic understanding of the crypto currency field, and will not feel so lost.

Life in our family has been changed. From Barbie to Bitcoin our family is diversified. Cryptocurrencies have invaded our home like an Alien attack on the fourth of July . It came fast and I never saw it coming. There has been some integration and these aliens now live among us.