A couple of people have asked me where I am currently, and although I have a pie chart waiting for you, I suppose I should write a little today....

_{Mislata, Valencia. Spain.}

---

On the 19th February I received confirmation that the United Nations wanted me back as a SharePoint Administrator over in Valencia. The recruitment consultant said I was a 'shoe-in', but the long gap and reasons for leaving made me not so sure. Anyway, they did want me back, and 10 days later I electronically signed a contract for a 6 month deal.

Five days later my bags were packed and I flew to Valencia, just a 40 minute trip over the Balearic Sea. That afternoon I met with a local called Nacho, who's AirBnb I'd reserved when I first entered the city 2.5 years ago. This time he was booked for this busy time in the city, Las Fallas (Fires) are a must see/hear, but perhaps only once or twice in close proximity or you'll end up with ears and lungs like the locals.

This photo was taken into direct sunlight on a cloudless afternoon just after 2 pm.

---

The morning following my arrival, I had got up early to make the most of the awesome weather, and to sort out some administration tasks, which included taxes, social security, doctors, etc. I'd just finished the first of the three, which if your Spanish is lousy is a total ball-ache, (Luckily, there's always one person at these places with decent English, and yes I know, I should be speaking in Spanish in Spain!) and I received a call from the UK, where the consultancy firm is based, telling me that my contract was on hold.

Well I'm here!

I said. He apologized, or swore, or both, but it was clear the news wasn't good. Three days later the update still wasn't good and so I decided to book a flight back to Mallorca, a week after arriving and at the end of my AirBnB stay. It's pretty weird being somewhere you know quite well, but you don't need to be, and knowing you are leaving soon. On a tight budget, e.g. it's all borrowed, this just adds more to the 'well this isn't much fun' feeling, and I think during that week I produced 9 pieces of content here - a record for me.

The day after I arrived 'home', I received an email stating that I'd made the right call to fly back and not wait around on the off-chance that the UN has found some cash down the sofa. The role, according to the recruiter and based on previous history, could well appear again in the next 3/4 months. I'm still interested, although people tell me otherwise, and that amount of time is potentially do-able, but there is an obvious chance that it could well be longer, or not at all.

Power a bit more down and ride it out? Is an option, but selling STEEM at 45 cents is not something I enjoy doing. A dollar could be a little more interesting though :) Then there are the possibilities of looking elsewhere, which so far have all ended up being in the UK. And because I'm not based there, and have an 18 month gap in employment, I guess I'm more of a risk than other potential candidates. Luckily my mum isn't on my case too much yet, but I do think i'm coming towards the end of my long welcome period - oh and I owe her some money :) (Thanks mum!)

So why the 'hope' graffiti?

Well it looks pretty cool I think, and on top of that, I get the chance to do something this weekend that I was due to miss with the new job in Valencia. It's not SteemFest 4, but it will give me some of those vibes again I think. You'll have to wait a day or two though to find out the details, or DYOR research. It'll be a reasonable consolation for things not turning out as planned in Valencia, and following the weekend I will start to seriously consider options again.

Or STEEM could do 100%, and take the pressure off a little :)

Cheers

Asher