It was September 10th, a Saturday. Before that was 9/9; it was a double-digit sales day for people in the Philippines and neighboring countries. I'm not going to explain how did double-digit sales start but gee, people rave over it ever since the idea became a trend!
It's the talk of the town whenever the date comes close - there was another shopping galore to look forward to. Others think it's a waste of money. It was a sign of another hectic week for me when I was still employed. But that's beside the main point. These days, I didn't mind them unless there was something important to order online.
Just like any other day, I couldn't care less.
But I was wrong.
The night moved slowly and I went about my usual routine: play web3 games, look around Discord and squeeze my brain out for ideas. When I had nothing else to juggle, I took a peek at Hive PH's Discord server and noticed that @/adamada was alone in the voice chat. I entered the chat to ask what was going on there. Perhaps it was just a butt dial or maybe he was talking to someone else.
We ended up catching up a bit and talking about various things. Honestly, I don't clearly remember how we reached the topic of creating art but we got there. Perhaps we talked about how easy could it be to enter the realm of creating digital art. I've always thought it was expensive and I had to ask for proof... How the heck was a drawing tablet easy to obtain?
After minutes of bantering with Adam and a couple of Hive PH members (Aku, Demo, and Ayane) I ended up staring at an XPPen Star G960S that was on sale for PHP 1799 (USD 32). Original price, PHP 2999 (USD 53).
Will it be worth it?
Half of me squealed in delight, "What a bargain! I didn't know getting a nice entry-level drawing tablet could be this affordable!"
The other half was throwing tomatoes, "It's not worth it! Don't bother getting back to a hobby you've let go of for a long time."
I casually drew during my early school years. There was a time I was fixated on the hobby and I ended up using my school allowance to buy how-to books and small art brochures of anime that I liked.
Just like every other hobby I took, my hand at it was... meh. I knew some, and I drew some, but I never worked my butt toward it. I remember showing interest in taking up arts for my college degree but the starving artist trope was used way too much so it was a no-go for me.
And so, I went to college to get a different degree. There would be occasions when I brought my sketchbook along but I eventually stopped and put the idea of drawing on the back burner.
Come adulthood, and the responsibilities attached to it, I barely touched my materials; but there were quiet times when I drew. Casually.
Do I miss it? Yes. Do I still get curious about creating art? Yes. Should I give it another spin? Ah...
Minutes of trying to shrug the teasing off. Minutes of weighing the pros and cons of buying a new gadget to play with. Time moved a notch slower and it felt agonizing. Why was it so hard to come up with a decision?
If I allowed myself to go for it, I could be giving myself a favor. If I let this slip, when will I ever get the chance to try?
Eh. Looks like I've already decided. So I guess it's time to take another leap of faith. Welp.
My order went into the cart and I transferred the needed amount to my app wallet. There's no turning back. Excitement and fear ran through me once I tapped on the 'checkout' button. Was this the way to go or I made another dumb spending decision?
There's only one way to figure it out.
So, we wait.
Arc likes to play games on and off the blockchain when she's not lurking around Hive/Wax.
She currently plays Valorant, 7 Days to Die, Rising Star, and Splinterlands among other games.
Do come over to her Twitch stream to chill or participate in occasional giveaways!
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