Puntos Suspensivos 2007 - 2025

Ya están en camino tres volúmenes con casi mil páginas en total con las entradas de este blog del 2007 al 2025. Todo mucho más rápido de lo que me pensaba. 

2025: A year in review

 

Now that the holidays are almost over, it is a good time to write about 2025 before the normal routine starts. All in all, 2025 was a pretty good year. Holidays again played a big role, and similar to 2024 this was mainly because of sharing them with family. We spent a few days in Easter and in October to enjoy the sun in Spain, enjoyed a busy Summer road trip to Belgium and Netherlands with one of my nieces and, again, but not quite the same, I took on the challenge of the Camino de Santiago, this time with my brother. Difficult to say what was the highlight of the year with so many good breaks. Following on what hopefully by now is a tradition, I wrote a couple of booklets with my travel notes, both or the Camino and the business trip to India.

If I thought I did well in 2024 regarding keeping physically active, 2025 was in a league of its own. I lost more than 10 kilos in six months through a combination of running, exercise and better nutrition, focusing on creating habits rather than quick returns. I started again the C25K programe and ended up running 10 km several times through the year, not to forget the multiple times I have been to Teufelsberg on 20+ km treks training for the Camino. No surprise then that the 165 km in early September including a 50 km final day was more fun than pain.

Work wise, another very busy and successful year thanks to the great team, which keeps changing and evolving and never stops to amaze me with their skill and dedication. 2026 will be again a busy year in which I am making my best to see challenges as opportunities while still trying to have fun and enjoy what we are building.

2024: A year in review

The winter solstice is always a good time to reflect on what has happened during the last year. Also a good time to express gratitude for all the good things that have happened. I appreciate this is not the case for everyone and, in fact, the Xmas period can be stressful or downright sad, particularly if you are missing loved ones. Maybe because of this, an extra reason to be thankful.

Holidays played a major role this year, not because we visited distant places such as we did in 2023, but rather because we shared them. First with my parents in our little tour of Extremadura and Andalucía, then with one my nephews in a Summer road trip including five countries in Europe and, last but definitely not least, the Camino de Santiago with my sister, the highlight of the year. So much so that I wrote a 70-page booklet with my travel notes similar to what I did last year with the trip to Japan. Finally, we also stayed overnight in El Toboso, something we had not done for many years.

One thing I did better this year than last was keeping physically active. I did follow through the C25K programe, which was a good enough training to make through the 140km of el Camino. Who knows, maybe next year there will an opportunity to do other parts of el Camino. With so many trips, it was not difficult to take the one or the other nice picture, almost completely with my phone, which I have come to accept as my main camera now. And talking about photos, this year I have (almost) completed something I had been thinking about for a long time, a desktop app to make collages. It turns out it was a lot easier than expected thanks to a great framework I discovered through my brother.

Work wise, another very busy year, although I managed to control the amount of overtime despite (or maybe because of?) a surge in office days compared to previous years. The team managed a couple of major breakthroughs in the product we are developing and, of course, there is no shortage of challenges. Tremendously proud of my team and everything we have achieved. It's now seven years that I am in this position, the longest I have ever been in the same place in the soon to be twenty five years working at Rolls-Royce. Time flies when you are having fun.

Same post rewritten with AI (Gemini)

The Winter Solstice always marks a time for reflection – a moment to acknowledge the journey of the past year. Gratitude fills my heart as I consider the blessings I've received. I understand this sentiment may not resonate with everyone, and the holiday season can be a challenging time, especially for those grieving the absence of loved ones. Perhaps this shared understanding makes gratitude even more meaningful.

Holidays played a significant role this year, not through far-flung travels like 2023, but through cherished moments shared with loved ones. A road trip through Extremadura and Andalucía with my parents, a summer adventure across five European countries with my nephew, and the unforgettable Camino de Santiago with my sister – these experiences stand out as highlights. The Camino, in particular, inspired me to document our journey in a 70-page travelogue, much like I did after my trip to Japan last year. And finally, a long-awaited visit to El Toboso brought joy and a sense of homecoming.

This year, I made a conscious effort to prioritize physical well-being. Completing the C25K program proved invaluable, providing the necessary foundation for the 140km Camino trek. Perhaps future opportunities will allow me to explore other sections of this remarkable path. With so much travel, capturing memories through photography became a natural extension of these experiences. My phone has become my primary camera, and I've embraced its capabilities. Speaking of photography, I finally achieved a long-held dream: developing a desktop app for creating photo collages. Thanks to a fantastic framework discovered through my brother, the process turned out to be far easier than anticipated.

Professionally, this year has been another whirlwind of activity. Despite a significant increase in office days compared to previous years, I successfully managed my workload and limited overtime. The team achieved several remarkable breakthroughs in our product development, though challenges undoubtedly remain. I am immensely proud of my team and their accomplishments. Seven years in this role marks the longest tenure I've held in my 25-year career at Rolls-Royce. Time truly flies when you're passionate about your work.

Moor Lane

 

I just happened to be in Derby this week for a few meetings, 25 years to the day I did my interview there back in 1999. At the time I was a research assistant at Cranfield University and had applied for a position in RR's Graduate Training programme. A senior colleague had to drive to Derby a day before for a meeting in Moor Lane and I used the opportunity for a free ride.

While living in Derby I got to be based in this building twice, so I have fond memories of it. Obviously a lot of things have changed. Others, not so much.

2023: A year in review

As the year draws to a close I look back and realise there is a lot to be thankful for in 2023. Initially I thought, where did the time go? Did I do anything this year at all? After a while memories started to flow and, well, it turns out 2023 was another busy year full of events worth being remembered. Indeed, having a look at my agenda, there is a lot to remember in 2023.

For one, I visited a lot of places, old and new. Undoubtedly the highlight was our trip to Japan with a last-minute ticket. Such an unforgettable experience! So much so that I wrote a 60-page booklet with the travel diary. However there is much more to it than Japan as we had a great day in Segovia, enjoyed Gandía and Valencia, left Lisbon and New Delhi wishing we had had more time to explore and, last but not least, revisited Madrid, El Toboso and Alhama de Aragón to name a few places. All this traveling left a tally of nice photos, mostly taken with my mobile, some with my Canon 400D and very few on a yet to be developed film roll with my first SLR, a Canon EOS300.

And related to photos, this year I spent some time developing my own script to create collages, a project which is permanently work-in-progress and for which I never seem to find enough time. Although it is also fair to say that it already covers about 90% of my use cases, ie an easy way to create a matrix out of several photos to publish it in my blog. It is difficult to tell what is my best (public) photo of the year with so many contending nice ones. Oddly enough considering the marvelous photos in Japan, maybe the best one is the photo I snapped of a lone jogging woman in Berlin?

This also reminds me that this year I wanted to do more sport, which I didn't. If it counts, I played a lot of table tennis with my son during Summer. Good that soon is the time for New Year resolutions again :-) And while sport may not have been my forte this year, one thing I did reasonably well was to keep a curious attitude while learning new stuff both at work and at home through books and online courses. Growth mindset is not a one off effort.

Work wise, I ended up working way more hours than I intended to in my new role as Chief Product Owner Digital Business Solutions. Mostly fun but one to watch out in 2024. The trips to Derby and Stuttgart were a blast, showing the world what we are doing and getting incredibly encouraging feedback. People just love our product and receiving the RR internal Trusted to Deliver Excellence award was the icing on the cake.

Not everything was great, of course, but as Michael Ende said, that is another story and shall be told another time.

ETSIA

Hace veinticinco años ya de esto. Ese curso finalizamos los estudios 25 alumnas y 116 alumnos.

Valorando lo que tienes

Esta foto que hice hace unas semanas mientras iba con prisas a un sitio me hace valorar lo que tenemos. He mirado las fotos de hace 25 años, diez días intensos a principios de diciembre de 1998 en los que volví de Cranfield, asistí a la  ceremonia de graduación y me fui a Armilla a empezar la mili. Hoy en día seguramente tendría muchas fotos y vídeos de recuerdo.

Reminiscing

Twenty five years ago today my housemates and other friends in Cranfield threw an unexpected farewell party for me. I was leaving the following day back to Spain since a few days later I was meant to join the Air Force training for my military service (conscription was still a thing). I was in my room getting ready, someone asked me to come down and all of a sudden the house was full of people. Unforgettable.

It´s easy to have nice memories when you are surrounded by great people.

Reminiscing about Moscow

Hoy hace 25 años (que se dice pronto) de mi vuelta a España después de pasar seis semanas en Moscú haciendo unas prácticas de verano en el Moscow Aviation Institute a través de IAESTE. Aunque el rendimiento académico de esas semanas fue más bien escueto, guardo muy buen recuerdo por todo lo demás, en particular el grupo de gente de varios países que nos juntamos. Muchos años más tarde una chica griega de ese grupito vino a Berlín a casa de visita y todavía hoy seguimos en contacto, y yo estuve en las bodas de otras dos, una chica rusa en Madrid y otra suiza en St Gallen. 

Aunque hice unas cuantas fotos, ni por asomo todas las que habría hecho hoy. Y de la calidad de la cámara y de las fotos, mejor hablamos otro día. Que pena no haber tenido un smartphone entonces para también hacer un par de videos, como cuando los payasos nos sacaron a un chico egipcio y a mí a la pista para ser el blanco de sus bromas. Pero por entonces no tenía ni siquiera teléfono :-)

Por cierto, en inglés hay una palabra que significa disfrutar de un recuerdo agradable de eventos pasados (reminiscing, indulge in enjoyable recollection of past events).