I first heard of Bitcoin back in earlyI April 2013. My open-source-obsessed partner, what I didn't really appreciate being a Windows fool for most part of my life, was walking around the house, swearing and mumbling F*&^%! I shouldn't have been going to work!!!!!. He was very frustrated as he had initially learnt about bitcoin in early 2011, but being busy with the hard grind, had no time to research it further and simply forgot about it. He started observing it again in January 2013 when the price was at ~$15. I obviously wanted to know what that fuss was about and what that bloody bitcoin was. When he first explained it to me, he blinded me with science, I was like Mrs Einstein asked of her familiarity with her husband’s work on relativity - I understood the words, but not the sentences.
For another 2 weeks I was beating my brains out, putting the pieces of information together to get any sense out of it. I was reading everything about this crypto-currency, watching videos, asking questions, researching and basically living bitcoin 24/7. At some point I came across Max Keiser http://www.maxkeiser.com/tag/bitcoin/ and Jeffrey Tucker http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AJEaWvGiOpY who simply convinced me to bitcoin and explained how genius this latest invention is. We were also mining for some time then, which wouldn't have happened without my second half – I'm not that tech savvy. I actually found our custom-made miner very useful to dry laundry and we even stared designing a 'server dried tomatoes' case to harness the heat.
Then there was another frustration, by the time we made a decision to invest some money, the price had risen to $70. When we registered with the exchange and transferred the money it was already at $100, and when we finally got the funds, we bought at $140. How pleased we were watching the price go up to $260 within 3 days, only to see its dramatic fall to $50 within another 3 days. I was struck dumb and my eyes were on stalks. I really didn't know what to do but decided not to sell until it would reach at least the price we bought for. That was the anxious time when Jeffrey and Max held my hand. I listened to them and watched them with dedication for some 6 months. I was constantly researching and once I thought I understood everything, I had even more question and realised that 'no, I don't understand' and was back to reading and learning.
Meanwhile, I was educating myself in two subjects that once had bored me to death: economics and politics. I realised that, first – like most, I had no clue how money is created, second - how corrupted and manipulative banks, governments and media are. Bitcoin, unlike banking systems, is available for anyone, anywhere with a smartphone and Internet access, regardless of geographical, political or social position. What else, how complicated is the whole financial system, bitcoin is a piece of cake to understand next to it.
Later Snowden's revelations came to light – a huge eye opener - at which point I already strongly believed in bitcoin and knew that it is a game changer. I understood that bitcoin is like a game of musical chairs, the last person with fiat on their hands, loses and it's just a matter of time. Its monetary value is just the first feature in the whole range of possibilities unknown to us yet. The bitcoin obsession started!
Finally, I got that confidence and started explaining bitcoin to my family and girlfriends … each time it was just a disaster! I was banging my head against a brick wall, they didn't want to listen, understand, even the principles of the current financial systems, especially women – no offense. It was really frustrating, so I was looking on-line for some guidance. And then ALLELUJAH!
The Bitcoin Wife thebitcoinwife.com and her inspiring presentation about women in bitcoin encourages women to use their whatever talents they have to STD. NO! Not sexually transmit diseases but Share, Talk, Do. This really lit the fire in me, I decided to use my teaching, bilingual and creative skills to write a blog www.bitkoinmama.wordpress.com. Ok, my family didn't want to listen to me but I was sure I would find another nutter like me...... be careful what you wish for, within only a month so many things started happening that I was gobsmacked with the impact of networking. I'm really glad that I jumped on that bitcoin TGV when I did. I just need to hold on tight as it is going in the speed of light and I know the moon is just a stop, not a destination.
BitkoinMama
