What happened with me last year?

Since August 2024, I’ve been back in my hometown, Ocotlán de Morelos, in the state of Oaxaca. The main reason was that job opportunities had practically disappeared. On top of that, my girlfriend asked me to spend more time with her, and I thought it was a good moment to reconnect with my roots, my family, and everything I had left behind.

However, due to the poor infrastructure in the area — especially the low-quality internet service — the lack of hardware and tools for working with electronics, and most importantly, not having enough time, I haven’t been able to continue developing microcontroller projects. Even so, I’m still working — very hard, in fact — because my grandmother needs my help with her farm.

If you want a summary of these past months, keep reading.

Last year, in July, I managed to buy a vehicle. I had been saving money for a while to afford one. Once I got the car, I returned to Oaxaca from Monterrey — a long journey of over 1,500 km, crossing almost three-quarters of the country. After that trip, I arrived at my parents’ home and spent some time with them and my girlfriend.

Working with plants.

Back in my old home, I tried to continue with the projects on this blog. However, the rainy season had just started, and after years of working without a proper mental break, I decided to step away from programming and technology for a while. I took the opportunity to experiment with crops — both in a small grove my dad owns and on my grandma’s farm.

Results

The corn, chickpeas, and pumpkins on my grandma’s land turned out really well. I arrived just in time to help her and my cousin, from seeding all the way to harvest. I was so happy doing it, and my mind finally got the break it needed. I also spent more time with my girlfriend and reconnected with the experience of living through manual, hard work on the farm.

However, in Oaxaca, those products don’t have much real market value. And unfortunately, my family is hesitant to invest a proper amount of money to improve production or adopt better technology. That was frustrating because the results were good, and I saw real potential.

In a future update, I’ll share some pictures from the farm — if I remember. I know this blog is about technology, microcontrollers, electronics, and programming… not farming or things like that.

Well, I started studying the Rust programming language and continued with C. It was really hard for me — not because of the technical complexity, but because of the slow internet, my girlfriend asking for more time, and my mom constantly calling me to help her. I missed my own apartment… and being alone, haha.

After the storm comes the calm.

Anyway, I returned to Monterrey last week. Now I need to find a job and get back to my electronics projects. I’m currently adapting OpenBLT for a Bluepill board, aiming to build a strong project by applying the skills and tools I’ve developed throughout my journey in embedded systems.

To be honest, I’m a bit worried.

My savings are starting to run out, I still owe money on my car, and now that I’m living with my girlfriend, my expenses have increased. I’ve even considered looking for a job outside the embedded systems field. The companies that usually post relevant positions are publishing fewer openings, and when they do, I see at least fifty other applicants besides me.