Every year on my birthday, I post an “interview” with myself. As today is my 41st birthday, it’s time to celebrate the renewal for Season 41. 

Interviewer: ¡Hola! It’s been a while, but we did want to congratulate you on your 41st season!

Setmeravelles: Thank you, gracias, gràcies, graças, eskerrik asko, obrigado.

Interviewer: I know you’re busy, so I’ll keep this short. Congrats again on making it to 41 seasons!

Setmeravelles: Thanks again.

Interviewer: We know one of your favourite pastimes is travel, and this year took you to a lot of cool places. The Badlands, Wall Drug, Sioux Falls, Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in Utah, Fargo, the Twin Cities and Winona Minnesota, back “home” to Spain to do the Caminos Aragonés and del Invierno, Croatia, and Duluth Minnesota. Which was your favourite?

Setmeravelles: Being back in Spain, obviously. Being able to take part on the Camino once again and spending time in a rincón of Spain I didn’t know so well (Galicia). I wish every day could be a Camino day. I also loved exploring Minnesota, a state I hadn’t been to since 1989 when I was just 7 years old. 

Interviewer: I hear Croatia was a disappointment?

Setmeravelles: Unfortunately–too touristy, I have zero interest in Games of Thrones, and I couldn’t get a real feel for the culture as everything was geared toward tourists. 

Interviewer: That’s a shame. In your personal life you left a Ph.D program. Care to expand on that?

Setmeravelles: Yeah, it wasn’t a good fit. Two of the professors were retiring only to be replaced with a Russian professor, the uni (not my department) gaslit everyone about Covid while condoning white supremacy, and the location was just not my cup of tea. I have no clue what I’m going to do now. Can’t I just walk the Camino and get paid?

Interviewer: If only! Maybe you’ll luck out and you’ll become a famous writer who can live off of that!

Setmeravelles: If only! I’m hoping to get back into writing–still have to write about the Camino, plus a lot of fiction rolling around in my head. Just been dealing with depression and haven’t been able to break out of this mode to write…or job hunt.

Interviewer: We wish you the best of luck with that. Any spoilers for the 41st season?

Setmeravelles: Other than a job hunt and writing, the only travel I have planned is a trip to Niagara between Christmas and New Years, and a possible trip to Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia this summer. It depends how Covid and the job hunt goes. I haven’t had Covid (knock on wood), am vaccinated and boosted and still masking and taking precautions, but seeing how no one else is…*sigh*

Interviewer: I know, right?

Setmeravelles: another sigh

Interviewer: Any last words?

Setmeravelles: Vote Blue no matter who! Also if you know anyone needing a Spanish-English or Catalan-English translator…

Interviewer: We’ll keep that in mind. Have a fantastic 41st season!