Hello everyone!
I'm not new to the HIVE-System, but usually only using it for Splinterlands-Content - writing about something different was always on my mind, especially the more I read here on other blogs and in the communities. If you have suggestions, please go ahead. Same goes for questions, or if you'd like to know more about something. This post is just a summary, and I'll at least try to keep it somewhat short - I tend to write a little too much.
Also, if I did a mistake in the tags, please don't punch me 😅 If you think I should rather post in a different section, just let me know. If I triggered some auto-votes that I shouldn't, also let me know, and I'll return the HP to the auto-voter or something like that.
About me
I'm 35 years old, grew up in northern Germany in a family of physical therapists that had their own business. Being self-employed is not fun in Germany nor elsewhere. The German word for self-employed is "selbstständig", which comes from "self" and "standing" - but "ständig" also means all the time, so "selbstständig" in that sense is more accurate - it's oneself and all the time. German humor, forgive me. But my parents did a great job and are happily retired now, with us two children standing strong on our own feet. I studied Environmental Sciences with focus on chemistry, and spent an exchange year in Ecuador, the country I live in now. After finishing my thesis, I went back directly - the typical story, I had fallen madly in love with a women.
12 years in Ecuador
While my university title was being registered here in Ecuador at the usualy pace ("Tranquilo!"), I was working as administrator and cook in a restaurant, called "Ananda" back in the days - it now turned into a Waldorf-School which my child is attending, a fact I still consider ironic.
Ecuador has not much of a Bread-Tradition - at least nothing close to what I was used to from Europe. So I started making my own bread. One day, a friend from Belgium came over and convinced me to start selling on the local Farmer's Market, which was only 5 people back then (we're now over 80 vendors). Another ironic twist of fate - the frontyard where we started the market is now my frontyard, I live in the house it belonged to.
With 3 pans and a house oven, it took me around 3 hours baking time to make 9 loaves of bread. Not very efficient (okay, another joke: How many Germans does it take to change a lightbulb? - Only one, they're very efficient and don't have a sense of humor. Sorry, had to do it). But I had struck gold in a way, and things escalated quickly - one year later, I had a big oven, a kneading machine and built a baking-room to the house I was living in back then.
I also started delivering bread by bike, with a little trailer I had had built for that. Sometimes people refer to that, saying things like "When I met you, you were delivering bread with that trailer on your bike - and now look at you!"
It was a hard road to get where I am, and it costs me a lot - myself and all the time. The hours and dedication were a strain on my marriage, as was my immaturity, so that broke to shambles. I moved out of the house and rented a space for the bakery, and started teaching my first co-worker.
Now, 10 years later (we just had our anniversary), the bakery is still going strong and allowing me and my co-workers a life that can be considered over-average here in Ecuador. For that anniversary, the whole crew got interviewed, and I was asked what I want our legacy to be. It took me quite a lot of thinking and reflecting, but in my speech at the party, I put the following:
"I would love the legacy of Pandala is to be a model for what a business can and should be: one that is deeply rooted in its community, contributing both economically and socially to the well-being of all its stakeholders and fostering growth on multiple levels. It’s about proving that a business can succeed not just financially, but by enriching the lives of everyone it touches and playing a meaningful role in building a stronger, more connected community."
We really do have strong connections within our community, and try to do as much social stuff as possible, supporting different organizations as well as by ourselves, like donating bread. During 2020, we did a lot of shopping for eldery, organized food packages for people in need, as well as meals for the local hospital and other civil servants. Ecuador was a mess in 2020, but our little town made it through alright, and a big part of that was thanks to the many expats that live here. It was one of the most amazing things to see them all come together and pull in the same direction for once.
The Motivation
I have a 6 year old child, which is basically the reason for me getting into stocks and investment, and from there arriving to Splinterlands and HIVE. I want her to have the option to study in Germany, and that is not cheap, especially when having to pay out of Ecuador with the standards here, so investing is kind of the only way. I hope to perform good enough on the market.
The little one lives with me now, finally, after 7 years of soap-opera - the stories I could tell... Another day. Let's just say I learned incredibly much about myself and humans and cultures, and I hope that I'm a better human now than I was before that all. I'm a very happy father, and in the position to dedicate a lot of time to my child, which is a huge luxury.
Hobbies and Interests
After a burn-out in early 2024, I got into philosophy and am still hooked on that. I have a very good friend in Serbia (who I'm trying to get on HIVE, too, since he's an amazing writer) which whom I exchange lots of voice messages about that topic, using different philosophical approaches on the Status Quo in the world. In recent months, we mostly discuss values, quite in depth I think - a real philosopher might laugh at us, though, but that's okay, we sometimes do, too 😅
Food - I'm also heavy into cooking and baking, obviously, but even more so with the little one. My child is a "lactosa-huevito-vegetarian, bueno, y pescado, pero un poquito nomás" (their words exactly), I'm vegan for over a decade, and that makes things interesting - but the little one loves everything I cook and are in great health and shape, which is the most important part. We live above a restaurant I used to own and sold to the former dish-washing-girl (seriously - she started out washing dishes, and worked her way up until she finally bought it off me), so the little one can eat whatever she feels like there, and I don't have to.
Also, creating new products is still a hobby of mine. Last year, I developed a line of dips based on lupin beans - super healthy, locally grown and just delicious. I love to experiment on those.
Languages - I love learning, and languages are like THE thing to learn, all the time. I started to learn Polish around 2 years ago, with the explicit restriction to only use Duolingo and not look into grammar. That is very hard.
Communication - Well, this one goes into Philosophy as well. I love to analyze communication and where we fail in it. Mostly, where I fail in it, and how I can improve my part of it in order to reduce miss-communication.
The End
Thank you for reading! It did get longer than expected in the end. Well, I hope it wasn't too boring.
All fotos are my own copyright, except for the first one - but I was allowed to use it as I see fit. The creator of that pic is in the watermark.
Thanks to @azircon and @bjangles for the suggestion to write a little more - don't know if you remember, it was a few weeks ago :-D
What a post!!
My fav:
They really don’t! lol
And only a German can make this joke! How ironic!
😂
It's my favorite all-time-joke :-D
Your post made me emotional! You made my day today. I have two daughters, 9 and 13. My 13 year old is reading your post.
Many thanks for writing it.
Interesting that he has chosen not to respond to many of the comments though. I'm quite disappointed about that.
We have to train him.
Give him a benefit of doubt, perhaps busy.
We will tell him that responding to comments is a good thing.
Yeah, I considered the busy aspect so won't pre-judge, but I'll keep an eye on it prior to any more support being offered.
Forgive me for interrupting this chat. I read that @azircon is a futures trader. I am interested in that!!! 🔥🔥
@galenkp It was a bit of incredibly busy, as well as confusion about how things work - I tried to mitigate that now. As mentioned, I only wrote about Splinterlands before, and that's basically the only community I engaged with, and try to actively read through and curate articles. I usually don't get many responses there.
Also, I wasn't expecting this many wonderful reactions to my post, and was bit overwhelmed by 60 notifications the next morning. @azircon slapped me around for the non-replying and yes, it was rude of me to let that pass, I'm sorry - I replied to everything now and will do in the future.
In general, I do have more time inner-week, when the little one is at school and if the bakery isn't blowing up for whatever reason. Weekends are reserved for family time as much as I can, so sometimes a post from Thursday or Friday might take until Monday to get responses. Not negotiable - a lesson I learned the hard way, but I learned 😅 I hope that's understandable!
Understandable.
So many people come along and don't work on building and nurturing relationships and it's those two things that contribute towards growing an account and building a reputation.
Keep up the good work.
No worries, this is as much our responsibility as yours.
We don't have a 'rule book', so we learn on the job. Knowing your from your post, that should come natural to you :)
Welcome along, I hope you find some enjoyment here, express yourself and find your own way to add value generally.
Enjoyment is the writing itself, that little daily therapy of deciding not to fulfill the self-set expectations, but hang back for a second and hammer on the keyboard like it was a good old hammond. And I hope, too, that it will add value :-) Thank you for your comment!
You'll do fine I think, just add personality, passion and effort and you'll be on the right track.
Thanks for sharing! - @azircon
This captures the spirit of my entrepreneurial pursuits here in Taiwan, as well. Great ambitions & a very cool mission :)
Well done - great story - and of course I remember!
Thanks for sharing, @beelzael
*Edit: I have just googled your business and will 100% be recommending it to my sister and her husband as they'll be in your neck of the woods here pretty soon :)
Right on!
A friend did a little documentary on Pandala due to the 10 year anniversary, which I will probably highlight in another post - but as a sneak preview:
He did a great job in capturing the essence :-)
And please have them shoot me a message when they arrive, would be so cool to make that connection!
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing, man.
And I've already passed along the info - they'll be moving to Quito here in the next few months. My sister has visited your town in the past and already had it on the list to return to in the not too distant future :)
Welcome to Hive brother!
Thank you very much for welcoming and reading :-) Let me know if you have questions - still figuring out what exactly might interest people.
you are an example of perseverance and dedication, and I look forward to hearing more about you on the platform.
Thank you very much for the encouraging words! I'll definitely write more, still trying to navigate what would fit best where :-)
Herzlich willkommen auf Hive!
Vielen Dank! Mal schauen, wohin es von hier aus geht :-)
This is a great read! You are an inspiration. I hope you continue writing about your life stories and insights about philosophies. I'm in awe while reading from the start 'til the end and kinda want to learn more about your life, is possible.
By the way, welcome to the blogging side of Hive!
Thank you so much! If you have any questions or would like to know about a certain topic I touched, please let me know! I would love to know what exactly interests people. And if not, I'll just randomly post things that I find interesting :-D
Your journey so far is very inspiring. You work hard so you deserve everything that comes to you. The dish washer girl also inspired me , working hard and smart pays off after all
Thank you for your kind words! And yes, Sisa is inspiring to me, too. We've had our ups and downs, as every real friendship, but she's always been there for me and I for her, and it's so wonderful to see how she grew and is still growing, taking her place in this world - and not to forget that she taught and is teaching me many lessons. An amazing woman she is.
That’s amazing !! Hope to read more inspiring stories from you friend
Wow, that is a varied life so far. I love the baking and how it has served you well. Those seedbomb sourdoughs look amazing!
Thank you! And yes, it has been SO varied :-D I've been knocked off my feet many times, and for good reasons. I'm glad I'm not the person I was anymore, though I wouldn't miss a second of that journey, either. And the bread - yeah, the seed bread is nice. But the real deal was when I first made the Pretzel-Bun aka "Laugenbrötchen". It was around 2 years after coming to Ecuador, and the taste of that one was just pure delight. A taste of home in a time when I was definitely not the person I am now.
The journey maketh the man as they say even though it may not be the most pleasant!
That's pretzel bun one sounds like a corker!
This is a best-case picture :-D But they are indeed really tasty, always.
Phwooar, if it's not a secret you have to let me in on that recipe. I am an avid baker myself!!
It's the alkaline solution you bathe it in. NaOH- or Sodiumhydroxide is the best to use, as you can use it in cold water. You can also use Sodium Bicarbonate/baking soda (not baking powder), but you have to heat that one up until boiling and then keep up the high temperature in at least 30seconds bathing each side, which accelerates the rising process of the yeast.
But that's basically all there is - the dough is just a regular white-bread-dough, maybe a little less hydration than a regular baguette. We use 300g Water on 500g flour, plus 10g of oil or fat of your choice - more or less, there's always some regulating thing that the main baker does when sensing the dough :-D
Oh yeah, that's what I do with bagels! Top notch 😃😃
Oh, be careful if you decide to use NaOH - it's very alkaline and can cause burns on the skin, so wear gloves or don't touch it :-D
Great post, bud! I'm glad I got to know more about you!
Thank you for taking the time to read through it - and thank you again for the bog. Since then, I seem to find really good deals - I have a max lvl Beta-Card working on the bog now, producing way more grain than I had hoped for :-D
You're very welcome! I'm hoping for your success through all your endeavors whether in game or in real life!
Your story is indeed unique.. I read and enjoyed every bit.
I'm glad you enjoyed it! There were many parts in my story that weren't to enjoy for me - teaching moments and such. But I came out quite well on the other side, and as always - the more one goes through, the lesser seems the turmoil ahead (that's usually phrased in inappropriate words).
Welcome to blogging on HIVE. I'm also a relative newbie here and loving it so far. You seem to have had a very interesting and varied life and I'm pleased to see how you've managed.
Thank you for your kind words! The "how" in relation to managing is indeed an interesting thing, I sometimes wonder myself about it, especially when it comes to the soap-opera around being able to be a father. There were some dark times there. If you have any questions, please let me know! Always great to know what interests people :-)
What a charismatic brother you are! I have a lot to learn from this post, you put together some amazing content, I'm glad to know that by recommendation you are writing some more. I hope to be infected with that creativity for my future posts!!!. 🔥🤘
Wow, those are very kind words, thank you! If you have any follow-up-questions or are interested in one topic specifically, please let me know - always good to focus on what people are interested :-)
Hey!! Wellcome!! Im new too and still dont know how It works. :~~ your post show me a bit how can i grow here. Thank you and nice to meet you :)
Thank you! I'm still figuring out many things, too - we'll get the hang of it eventually :-D
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for reading!
Nice post, I got to know a bit about you.
Thank you for taking the time to read through it!
Hehe, I try to learn Czeck on Duolingo. It is not easy!
Jest duzo trudny! And I don't even know if I wrote that correctly. I do have some polish clients and friends, though, and they're super excited that I'm trying to learn that "irrationally twisted and mind destroying language" - the words of one of them.
Welcome to the family! We are so happy to meet you! :)
Thank you! Likewise!
Welcome to Hive!☺️
Thank you!
Congratulations @beelzael! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain And have been rewarded with New badge(s)
Your next target is to reach 1500 comments.
Your next target is to reach 700 replies.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPCheck out our last posts:
Congratulations @beelzael!
You raised your level and are now a Minnow!
Check out our last posts:
!PIZZA
$PIZZA slices delivered:
(3/10) @danzocal tipped @beelzael
Now your comment section is looking good!
Thanks :-D