Alright! Today the Global Homestead Collective proudly presents a special post all about...
@simplymike!
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1.) Would you consider yourself more of a hunter or a gatherer?
Definitely a gatherer. Animals are my weakness. I would never be able to kill an animal on purpose. I love to eat meat, but if I would have to kill animals myself to be able to eat meat, I would become a vegetarian instantly. I realize it’s kind of hypocrite. After all, for me to be able to eat meat, an animal has got to die.
When my girlfriend wanted chickens earlier this year, I agreed. But she had to promise me that when hey would die, we would not eat them. Instead, I will be giving them a proper burial.
2.) Crayola just added you to the crayon box, what color are you?
I would probably be a rainbow crayon. I have a pretty colorful character, and I like change and variation. I woud probably get bored pretty fast by being only one color.
3.) What has inspired you the most to live a self-reliant life?
Just to be clear, I do not live a self-reliant life all year long. I do grow my own food during late spring and summer, but our Belgian climate doesn’t allow me to do so during winter. The only things my garden can provide me with these days are Jerusalem and Chinese Artichokes. I also have some common corn salad and some mustard leaves growing, but that’s not enough to say I live a self-reliant life.
4.) You've been given an elephant. You can't give it away or sell it. What would you do with the elephant?
Hahaha, that’s defintiely a question I didn’t expect. I did give it some serious thought, and I must admit I don’t have a clue. I would probably take it for a walk around the village. I like to do things that are out of the ordinary and transfix people, so that would be a perfect way to achieve that.
Other than that, I really don’t know. My garden is not big enough to give an elephant the room it needs, so it would be really sad to keep it.
5.) If you were to walk outside right now and find 1 million dollars what would you do with it?
I would probably invest part of it in crypto. Also, I would pay off my girlfriend’s mortgage. I’d help some friends to get out of the financial troubles they are in. But I wouldn’t make any drastic changes to the way I live now. It would be a dream come through, because it would mean I would never have to go back to work anymore. I’m a teacher by profession, and I love teaching, but I hate having to follow the ‘rules’ society expects me to follow. So if I would get a chance to avoid having to integrate into society again, I would be very happy to take it.
6.) What's your ideal climate and terrain?
I love Belgium, and there’s no way i want to leave here, but it must be great to live ina country where year-round gardening is possible. It doesn’t have to be on the other side of the world (too hot in summer), but I’d settle for the South of Spain, Portugal, Italy or Greece.
A small piece of land would be perfect. Just big enough to have enough space to do what I like most: experiment with all kinds of out-of-the-ordinary fruits and veggies.
7.) What was the last gift you gave someone?
I assume you’re refrerring to material gifts. In that case, my girlfriend is a big fan of the series Orange Is The New Black, so I got her the book ‘Out of Orange’ by Cleary Wolters, wich tells the story the series is based on.
8.) How long would you say you've considered yourself to be self-reliant?
As I explained before, I don’t consider myself to be self-reliant. Gardening is more of a hobby than a necessity to me. It all started with nothing more than a single square foot garden bed 4 or 5 years ago. Ever since, it has grown out of proportion. After claiming almost the entire backyard, I started using the front yard too last season.
My love for experimenting with fruits and veggies I don’t know isn’t really beneficial when it comes to living a self-reliant life during summer. Every year, I waste quite some time and space growing food of which I’m not 100% sure if it will actually thrive in our climate, nor if we will like the taste of it.
Some of those experiments are a huge success – this year we have more than enough Chinese Artichokes and Yacon roots to last us through winter – but that is not always the case. Two seasons ago, we gave away our entire harvest of tomatillos, because we both thought they were disgusting.
Becoming self-reliant is not my goal, because that would require proper planning and organization, while my garden is my stress-free zone, the only place in the world I manage to be spontaneous and love to experiment with new things, without being held back by the fear that something might fail.
In order to be self-reliant, you need to know what you’re doing and when to do it. You don’t have the luxury to make mistakes and risk losing an entire harvest.
In my case, half of the time I don’t have a clue what I’m doing, because I’m growing things only a handful of other people grow here. Most of the time, I just follow my intuition. Sometimes that turns out great, sometimes it doesn’t. I’m at peace with that.
9.) How long have you been on Steemit?
I created my first SteemIt account in July 2017, but never used it until a couple of months later. I think it was only by the end of October 2017 that I started using my account. Initially, I had signed up with an impossible username, and after mistyping it myself for the 100th time, I decided to create a new account with a new, easy to remember username. That’s why my current account was only created in January 2018.
But I was already here during the crypto bull run in December 2017, when Steem reached it’s ATH.
10.) How did you hear about Steemit?
My story is a little different than everyone else’s. After spending 15 years in internet marketing, I got really tired of it. A couple of months before, I inherited some money and since I don’t trust banks that much, I was looking for an opportunity to invest some of it. I was about to invest in gold when someone told me about Bitcoin.
Back then, the price of Bitcoin was still a lot lower than it is now, and after informing myself a bit more, I decided to go ahead and invest. That’s how I was introduced to the world of crypto. Since I had quit my marketing biz, I spent all the free time I had trying to learn how everything worked.
When the price of bitcoin started to go up, I used my profits to diversify my portfolio.
At one point, I was on the lookout for promising, low-cost coins, and I stumbled upon Steem. I decided to buy some. It wasn’t until I wanted to move the Steem I bought out of the exchange and into a wallet, that I found out about SteemIt.
11.) With price of Steem being so low, what keeps you coming back?
That’s an easy one :0)
First, I believe in blockchain technology. All the possibilities make mass adoption inevitable. It’s going to take some time and effort, but I’m convinced blockchain tech is the future. Maybe the Steem blockchain is not one of the ones to survive, but I do think it stands a fair chance.
But the main reason I’m still here, and not on any other blockchain, is – surprise, surprise – the community. 2018 has been a pretty rough year for me, and often SteemIt was the only ray of light in my life.
If you would have told me 2 years ago I would feel such an emotional attachment to people living on the other side of the world, and even consider many of them to be my frends – even though I never met them -, I would have laughed and walked away.
Still, that’s exactly what happened.
I’ve met so many people here - all with a completely different background - and every single one of them has had an impact on me and my life in one way or the other. I’ve shared things with people here that I haven’t shared with anyone before. During these 14 months, I laughed, I cried, I cursed, I ranted… and always there was someone there for me.
A community like the one here on SteemIt is unique. I’ve been on many platforms, but I have never experienced anything that comes even close to what it’s like to be a part of this community. I’m not such a community-minded person in real life, mainly because I don’t like expectations and obligations, but SteemIt has thought me that a community can rise above those things.
12.) Who has been the most inspirational for you on this platform?
Everyone I’ve come across has been an inspiration to me. I still meet new people who are an inspiration to me every day.
I’m doing others injustice by naming only one, but I assume it won’t be a surprise to anyone that if I have to name one, it’s @davemccoy. During my first months here, I was flying solo, and I was completely lost. If Dave hadn’t picked me up and invited me to join the @newbieresteemday initiative he and @mudcat36 just started, I probably wouldn’t be here anymore. He was the one who showed me that small things can make a huge difference and that anything is possible if you believe in yourself.
Up until today, Dave is still my anchor. Whenever I’m lost, or I need advice or just someoe to talk to, he’s always there.
I wouldn’t be who I am today i fit weren’t for him.
13.) Can we find your work on any other platforms?
I cross-post to a lot of other platforms, but SteemIt takes up all my time.
14.) Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck, or 100 duck-sized horses?
Lol, I’m really curious who came up with this question, and why. I don’t think I would want to fight either. I’m not the fighting type. I think I’ll just turn around and take a different route.
15.) If the GHSC were a physical location, full everything homestead and self-reliant, where would you find yourself the most?
In the greenhouse,no doubt about that.
16.) If you could interview anyone within the self-reliant community, on Steemit or otherwise, who would it be?
I must admit I don’t know a whole lot of members of the community. I simply don’t have the time to be an active member. It’s such a shame @headchange isn’t around anymore – I’d love to interview her. I was going through the list of members, and saw quite a few intersting names on there.
If I had to choose one, it would be @frejafri. I think I met her through one of my gardening challenges. She was living a nomad life in an amazing looking van. Later, she moved to Denmark and had big plans with a piece of lans she bought.
I actually haven’t been in touch with her for a while, but I’m really curious to know more about her adventures.
17.) If you were in charge of the GHSC mess hall for a day, what would you feed us all?
French fries and steak. If you’re not Belgian, you don’t know how real French fries are supposed to taste. (I actually don’t know why they are called French fries, since their typically Belgian)
That’s probably not the answer you were looking for or expecting, lol
18.) Which animal would make the best type of president if the animal kingdom ever rises up and takes over?
A dog, maybe. Dogs are loyal and honest. It would be nice, for a change.
19.) Has there been one thing in particular you've learned about yourself this past year?
I’ve learned loads of things, and I’m learning new things every day. I can’t even start to list everything I’ve learned.
I consider life as one big, neverending learning process and I try to become a better version of myself every day.
20.) If you could meet any one person in the GHSC community who would it be?
@goldendawne, for sure. :0)
She’s like the guru of gadening for me, lol.
Another great interview! I was really impressed by how long and thoughtful some of the answers were! Thank you @simplymike for letting us in a little bit and seeing more your world!
If you enjoyed this interview and saw questions you liked or know of any you would like to see, please let me know in the comments!
Like always, the Global Homestead Collective is here to Unite, Educate and Encourage! Please join us on discord, and be apart of this amazing community! We couldn't do it any of this without you!
Much love,
Stacie D @freedomtowrite
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