Hello, gentle readers, and welcome to a much-deserved post from ValenciaAtLast.com. Yes, I know, it’s been a couple of years since I last posted, but there are reasons for such a gap. Of course, work was one of those reasons. While I had high hopes for maintaining my blog when I returned to the US, I found that I couldn’t. I was traveling, just not to places that cried out for my writing attention. Being a “road warrior” has some benefits, to be sure, but I always felt that I was always running to catch up. It’s a strange phenomenon, to be caught in a cycle of always hurrying to the next place but never quite catching up!
In 2016, I traveled on 56 trips, visited 80 cities, 5 countries, and was gone from home 166 days. In 2017, there were 28 trips, 51 cities, 5 countries, and 115 days away from home. And in late 2017, something happened: I changed jobs. I’m still with the same company, but my role is very different, and I am really enjoying the work that I do. I feel very lucky to have found this role, and I work with some awesome people!
School is another reason for the silence. I was finishing my Ph.D. program, and if you have ever had the joy of completing one of those, you know that there are strange bumps in the road that can either derail you entirely or strengthen your resolve to finish. I chose the latter, and graduated this past January in Tampa. After many years of working toward that goal, it was really great to finally reach it.
Clearly, there was plenty to keep me busy!
At this point, gentle reader, you may ask, “Will you ever go back to Spain?” The answer is most definitely yes. In fact, I have been back to Spain twice to visit family and friends, and there will be more trips in the future. I just returned from three almost-idyllic weeks in Valencia and Madrid. Stay tuned… I’ll be blogging about my experiences in the next few weeks.
Congratulations Dr Wells!
Thanks, Jean! I am really happy to have reached that goal! 🙂
Dr. Wells – Yes, congratulations on the Ph.D. and the new job. Glad to read you have traveled to Spain. I hope to see photos of meals and recipes soon. Deb
More blog posts are in development now. It only took a few days for me to appreciate the food and lifestyle all over again!
Are you in Valencia now?
I am – would be great to have a chat.
No, unfortunately, I am back in the US. However, send me an email and we can definitely speak over the phone sometime soon!
Best,
Christopher
Congrats Doc on a job well done. Hard work pays off.
I totally agree! Thanks!
Chris, wonderful to hear from you again. Congratulations on earning your doctorate. My sister-in-law Sheila Hansen, just got her time in and retired. I think she may do something next year with the school system, but I’m not really sure. I enjoy hearing about your travels. It’s lets me live a little vicariously.
Hey, Sharon! Thanks, and congrats to Sheila – I know that she will enjoy being retired! I’m hoping to keep working with the blog as a hobby for a while… maybe add a few more adventures to the blog as well! Best, Christopher
Sooo happy to hear from you again, Chris! Congrats on the PHD! Wow! What an accomplishment! Looking forward to receiving your blogs again.
Take care,
Sandra
Hi, Sandra, and thanks! The blog posts will be coming for a while yet… I have a few things / travels I would like to share. 🙂
Best,
Christopher
Gracias por pensar en nosotros cada vez que visitas València. Thanks for thinking about us every time you visit València.
We love you and miss you too
Patricia, give my best to Juan and I hope we will see each other again soon! Muchos besos y abrazos!