Jay Garces

👻SnapChat: jay.garces📸Instagram: jay.garces

[jaygarces]

Wife went to gym...can't find any breakfast food...found this pie from @pipelinebakeshop in the fridge...crisis averted👍🏽 (at Pipeline Bakeshop & Creamery)

[jaygarces]

Adventures in Crypto Coin Collecting

I got this e-mail. It looked like any other spammy marketing e-mail and I was about trash it but I guess I was tired and my curiosity got the best of me and I started reading it.  It was about the current “boom” in crypto currencies and a free course on learning how to get in before the gold rush passed you buy.

So I signed up.  It had a full 1yr money back guaranty.  It’s been 2 weeks and I haven’t seen squat.  I’m not going to out the person who is selling this course yet.  I’ll wait to see what they deliver before I make any judgements.

But what did happen next was actually good.  Exciting even.

I contacted a friend who I hadn’t seen in a long time but had seen some of his twitter posts about bitcoin.  After chatting with him a bit, I got more curious, found another friend who was buying crypto currency, and after several youtube videos and blogs, I’m in the game...not all in...just in.

In this post, I just wanted to document how high the PITA factor is for getting a seat at the table.  

First, I live in Hawaii.  A few months before this writing the government decided to place some restrictions on reserves that exchanges must have.  This ruling ended up kicking out one of the easier exchanges to deal with, Coinbase.  With coinbase you could do a direct ACH transfer from your checking account to your exchange account.  You could even use your debit or credit card, which isn’t smart, but it was an option.

So searched around and with the help of some friends found Kraken.  In order to transfer fiat currency into the exchange, you needed a certain tier of access.  Each tier of a access required more and more detailed information.  Tier 0 - an email address.  Tier 3 (for fiat transferring) you needed all kinds of stuff, including a picture of yourself holding your id with a handwritten note with the date on it.  I felt like a kidnap victim sending a ransom note.  

That took a couple of days to approve.

Then I had to fund my account.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), Kraken only takes wire transfers.  If you’ve ever done a wire transfer, then you know it’s a special kind of hell.  You have to set up the receiving end of the transfer (with a code to help guide the money into your exchange account), walk down to the bank, fill in a hand written form which then then re-type into their system to generate the transfer order.  If you’re lucky, the transfer happens that day.  If you’re not, you get to wait a few days.

Eventually, your money ends up in the exchange and it’s sitting there waiting to be used to purchase crypto coins.  

Keep in mind that when it comes to exchanges people give 2 pieces of advice:

1) Don’t leave your coins on the exchange.

2) Don’t leave your cash (fiat) on the exchange.

Crap.  So now I feel like there’s a clock ticking and I need to make a decision to get this cash into coins.  And then after I get the coins I need to get them off the exchange before some 12 yr old kid in Russia decides to attack the Kraken exchange...

In short, the crypto currency game isn’t for everyone.  It’s definitely not like signing into ameritrade and buying the S&P 500.  

It’s a little scary.  It’s definitely uncertain.  But if you’re willing to put all of that aside and grind through the PITA factor, you too can get a seat at the table.

...keep in mind, it’s still only a seat.  You still need to sit down at the table....

I’ll cover my experience of buying my first crypto in the next post.

[jaygarces]

Turning Point

Anytime something important completes, I’ve always tried to look back at what the “first motivator” was.  Often the completion of a “journey” happens long after that “first motivator”, and my recollection of it is vague at best (or even downright incorrect).

So I’ve decided to document this next journey.  

First, the journey. One of my friends at church asked me if I had ever heard of or listened to Dave Ramsey.  Candidly, I did look him up, even loaded his app and listened to a podcast or two, but lost interest.

Then I bought his book “The Total Money Makeover”.  Great book, but I still wasn’t hooked.  I was a little more interested, but not quite ready to buy in.

Then I bought his course “Financial Peace University” or FPU.  I got a little more excited, watched some of the videos, but the kit sat for 3-4  months unused after that.

Then I started listening to the radio show, hearing all the people who were debt free and something about hearing all these ordinary people getting it done really opened my eyes.  I was hooked.

So I dove into the kit, watched the videos, and started listening to the radio show.  I downloaded the “Every Dollar” budgeting app.  I was ready to go.

But there was one problem.  My wife didn’t buy in yet.  She didn’t have the benefit of the past 4-5 months of thinking about this stuff.  My biggest mistake was telling her about it after I was hooked, and expecting her to be just as excited.

So you can imagine how excited she was when I dropped the bomb on her about how we were going to budget every single dollar going forward.  After 10 years of marriage, where I abdicated the role of managing the family finances and dumped it on her, I was now jumping in scrutinizing all the spending, criticizing how we were paying off the credit cards.  In retrospect, my mistake wasn’t the budget, my mistake happened 10 years ago, when I dumped it all on my wife to handle, without even seeing how she felt about it.

Baby step #1 was fairly straight forward.  Get $1000 and put it in an emergency fund.  Done.

Baby step #2 wasn’t so straight forward...the budget.  From the introduction of the budget to the hashing through the numbers, it was rough.  There was a lot of yelling, accusations were thrown back and forth, and at some point we realized we were both trying to do the same thing, but this was the first time we had ever talked about it.  

We’re still working on the budget.  It is a continual work in progress.  I don’t even think we’re budgeting yet...just trying to get in the habit of following the money to see where we’re bleeding.  It’s tough.

It’s like noticing the boat you’re in is half submerged in the ocean, and you’re no where close to land.  So you identify the big holes, and in the process of looking closely at those big holes you notice all these little ones that are worse than the big ones because there are so many. 

For instance, in December we (or I) spent more than $150 of iTunes.  Movies, TV shows, games.  I was paying $52/month for Adobe software. And other subscriptions that I had signed up for over the years.  $5 here and $10 there.  We were bleeding $200/month on crap that we didn’t need.  It was crazy.

So that brings us to today.  

After 1 week of baby step #2, we’re still married.  In fact, it feels like our marriage is actually a little healthier.  We’ve still got a long way to go, but at least we’re walking in the same direction now.

[jaygarces]

Some days you get the perfect mix of haze and high level clouds to produce surreal sunrises. This morning, the haze on the horizon was just thick enough to make the sun's silloutte visible, while still lighting up the sky above. I was drawn to this spot by the deep green of the seaweed and it almost cost me my gear. A rogue wave hammered the rock just to camera right, and even though I was able to put my body between the wave and a direct hit, the water had been projected straight up in the air, and it felt like a bathtub full of water crashing down on me and my gear. My camera was covered in salt water, and I was soaked. When I got back to my car, my a7ii slowly started to die. Eventually it wouldn't recognize the memory card and I thought it was destroyed. When I got home that night, I decided to try turning it on one more time...and by what I can only call a miracle, that a7ii came back to life. I'm not sure how long it will last, but every shot from here on with this camera will be considered a bonus! Gear: Salt Water Soaked a7ii with equally soaked 28mm f2.0, Nisi filters Location: Sandy Beach, Hawaii on the island of Oahu (at Sandy Beach Park)

[jaygarces]

Caption/Abstract: Days like this one are really just pure blessing vs skill and planning. I had lined up the shot hoping to get the reflection of the clouds, and "hoped" the sun would rise within my frame. Fortunately for me, it popped up right in the center of my frame. Gear: Sony a7ii, Sony 28mm f2, Nisi .9 ND Soft Edge Grad Filter, Nisi Cir. Polarizer Location: Oahu, Hawaii (Halona Blowhole) (at Hālona Blowhole)

[jaygarces]

I had been on Maui for about 7 days and the sunset had been a little elusive. One day there could be lower level clouds that hid the sun just as it started to make its final dive for the horizon, and then there were days where there were absolutely no clouds, which were just as challenging to shoot.⠀ ⠀ In this shot I found two trees that sort of framed the setting sun in the distance. Much like life, the sunset/sunrise is a lot more interesting when there are clouds. ⠀ ⠀ This is isn't my best composition, but I hope it makes you feel a little warmer if you're trapped inside by colder weather.⠀ ⠀ Location: Olowalu, Maui (at Olowalu, Hawaii)

[jaygarces]

After a few days of not getting any good sunset shots on Maui, it was good to be back on Oahu to catch the first sunrise for 2017. The beach was packed with photographers, families, and people who didn't party too hard the night before.⠀ ⠀ Location: Sandy Beach, Oahu⠀ ⠀ Gear: Sony a7ii, Sony 28mm f2, Nisi .9 ND soft edge gradient filter (at Oahu, Hawaii)

[jaygarces]

My final final post for 2016... This picture taking stuff is only a hobby for me (ie. No 💰 made) which means someone had to pay... That's usually my wife and daughter who tolerate me disappearing before the sun rises, or running out in the middle out the night. I owe a huge debt to them for letting me do this. And one final shout out - thank you Jesus for all the great sunrises 🌝, sunsets 🌞, clouds⛅️, but mostly for my friends and my family - who eclipse all the natural wonders of this world. It was an awesome year...👍 (at Planet Earth)

[jaygarces]

One last shot for 2016! As the last rays of sunlight fade in the distance, I found this wall of rocks that someone had created. It created a nice into and out of the shot. Location: Olowalu, Maui (at Olowalu, Hawaii)

[jaygarces]

Sunrise finally⠀ ⠀ I love Maui - but there are definitely better months for photography than December.⠀ ⠀ When it comes to sunrises, the actual sunrise is really only visible if you're out past Ke'anae or up on Haleakala.⠀ ⠀ I got lucky on this shot when the clouds set up just right to catch the first red-pink rays of the sun as it started to rise above the horizon. The second stroke of good fortune came when I found this awesome piece of driftwood that had settled on the beach.⠀ ⠀ Location: Waiehu Beach near the golf course (at Wailuku, Hawaii)

[jaygarces]

Caption/Abstract: House of the Sun It sounds counter intuitive, but I think almost every landscape photographer dreads "clear blue skies". Most of the day was clear and sunny, and then this large cloud mass formed on the slopes of Haleakala just as the sun was setting. It lit the clouds up with amazing hues of orange...but I'm pretty sure the people in the bottom left of the shot were more concerned about the downpour of rain that was sweeping across the side of the volcano. Location: Taken from Waiehu, Maui towards the Makawao side of Haleakala. (at Waiehu Beach Park)

[jaygarces]

Back on Maui to spend some time with family this Christmas. When I landed this am I thought I could just kick back...but I saw the clouds...and the ocean...and it was just too hard to not go out and capture an image.⠀ ⠀ Where: Near Olowalu on the South side of Maui. Between the Pali and Lahaina there are long stretches of beaches and trees. Pull in anywhere along there and just wait for the sunset.⠀ ⠀ DM me if you have any suggestions for shooting locations here on Maui or if you want more info on where I'm shooting!⠀ ⠀ Sony a7ii with 28mm f2, Nisi circle polarizer, .9ND soft Edge gradient filter⠀ ⠀ #hubs_united, #ig_shotz, #sunset_vision, #gottolove_this, #allbeauty_addiction, #long_exposure, #ig_shotz_le, #usaprimeshot, #shotzdelight, #eclectic_shotz, #ig_color, #fatal.frames, #way2ill_, #heatercentral, #artofvisuals⠀ , #moodygrams, #agameoftones, #theimaged, #longexpoelite⠀ , #ig_oahu, #longexposure_shots, #hawaiinewsnow, #sky_brilliance,#sonyimages ,#allbeauty_addiction (at Maui Island Hawaii)

[jaygarces]

Back on Maui to spend some time with family this Christmas. When I landed this am I thought I could just kick back...but I saw the clouds...and the ocean...and it was just too hard to not go out and capture an image.⠀ ⠀ Where: Near Olowalu on the South side of Maui. Between the Pali and Lahaina there are long stretches of beaches and trees. Pull in anywhere along there and just wait for the sunset.⠀ ⠀ DM me if you have any suggestions for shooting locations here on Maui or if you want more info on where I'm shooting!⠀ ⠀ Sony a7ii with 28mm f2, Nisi circle polarizer, .9ND soft Edge gradient filter⠀ ⠀ #hubs_united, #ig_shotz, #sunset_vision, #gottolove_this, #allbeauty_addiction, #long_exposure, #ig_shotz_le, #usaprimeshot, #shotzdelight, #eclectic_shotz, #ig_color, #fatal.frames, #way2ill_, #heatercentral, #artofvisuals⠀ , #moodygrams, #agameoftones, #theimaged, #longexpoelite⠀ , #ig_oahu, #longexposure_shots, #hawaiinewsnow, #sky_brilliance,#sonyimages, #mauilife (at Maui, Hawai'i)

[jaygarces]

When the surf kicks up, that can be either a great opportunity to capture motion, or a great opportunity to get soaked by a wave. Fortunately, this time around I caught an image without giving my camera a salt water bath.⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ Location: Halona Blowhole, Oahu .⠀⠀ .⠀⠀ .⠀⠀ .⠀⠀ .⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ Gear: Sony a7ii with Sony 28mm f2, Nisi Circ polarizer, Nisi .9 ND soft edge⠀⠀ .⠀⠀ .⠀⠀ .⠀⠀ .⠀⠀ .⠀⠀ .⠀⠀ #hubs_united, #ig_shotz, #sunset_vision, #gottolove_this, #allbeauty_addiction, #long_exposure, #ig_shotz_le, #usaprimeshot, #shotzdelight, #eclectic_shotz, #ig_color, #fatal.frames, #way2ill_, #heatercentral, #artofvisuals⠀⠀ , #moodygrams, #agameoftones, #theimaged, #longexpoelite⠀⠀ , #ig_oahu, #longexposure_shots, #hawaiinewsnow, #sky_brilliance⠀⠀ (at Oahu, HI)

[jaygarces]

Sunrise on the east side of Oahu, HI.⠀ ⠀ The best sunrises always come right before and right after a major weather system rolls through Hawaii. Looks like we're in for a change in the weather...⠀ ⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ ⠀ #hubs_united, #ig_shotz, #sunset_vision, #gottolove_this, #allbeauty_addiction, #long_exposure, #ig_shotz_le, #usaprimeshot, #shotzdelight, #eclectic_shotz, #ig_color, #fatal.frames, #way2ill_, #heatercentral, #artofvisuals⠀ , #moodygrams, #agameoftones, #theimaged, #longexpoelite⠀ , #ig_oahu, #longexposure_shots, #hawaiinewsnow (at Oahu, HI)

[jaygarces]

"Welcome Back"⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ For the past week the sunrise has been hidden by clouds and rain, which is unusual for our part of the world. Today the sunrise made a "triumphant" return, and from the number of photographers I counted on the beach and rocks, everyone was happy to see the sunrise return.⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ Gear: Sony a7ii, Sony 28mm f2, Nisi .9 soft edge ND⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ #hubs_united, #ig_shotz, #sunset_vision, #gottolove_this, #allbeauty_addiction, #long_exposure, #ig_shotz_le, #usaprimeshot, #shotzdelight, #eclectic_shotz, #ig_color, #fatal.frames, #way2ill_, #heatercentral, #artofvisuals⠀⠀ , #moodygrams, #agameoftones, #theimaged, #longexpoelite⠀⠀ , #ig_oahu, #longexposure_shots, #hawaiinewsnow (at Oahu, HI)

[jaygarces]

"Soaked"⠀ ⠀ That's what it took to get this shot - protecting my gear while trying to keep the composition.⠀ ⠀ Gear: Sony a7ii, Sony 28mm f2, Nisi Circular Polarizer, 3 stop ND filter⠀ ⠀ Location: Near the Halona Blow Hole, Oahu, Hawaii⠀ ⠀ #hubs_united, #ig_shotz, #sunset_vision, #gottolove_this, #allbeauty_addiction, #long_exposure, #ig_shotz_le, #usaprimeshot, #shotzdelight, #eclectic_shotz, #ig_color, #fatal.frames, #way2ill_, #heatercentral, #artofvisuals⠀ , #moodygrams, #agameoftones, #theimaged, #longexpoelite⠀ , #ig_oahu, #longexposure_shots, #hawaiinewsnow, #sonyimages (at Honolulu, Hawaii)