Taking a break from my KMD2004 cramming to post this cautionary note from an IBM evangelist (see, they do exist):

Being an evangelist has it benefits, but you soon get
tired of the frequent flyer miles; the anonymous hotels; the
loneliness; the adulation of knowing the right thing at the right
time. I can't tell you if now is a good time to jump, or not, what I
can tell you about mistakes, they're the only thing that you can truly
call your own.

This is something to keep in mind. I'm excited about living on my own,
but someday I might tire of it. I'm looking forward to going on all
sorts of speaking tours, but someday I might get tired of going up on
stage or being “on” all the time. Someday I might get tired of always
being in a different timezone from the people I love. Someday I might
hate missing birthdays or casual get-togethers.

But while I'm young and unattached and eager to learn, I might as well
sacrifice that comfort for learning. I want to learn how to listen,
how to connect, how to sell. I know how to converse with a hundred
people. I want to learn how to converse with thousands. I want to
learn how to speak geek and speak suit. =)

(Thinking of it, though: If I'm going to be travelling a lot, it
won't be fair to uproot my cat from sunny Philippines where she gets
fed regularly and where she can hang out with our other cat… I miss her!)

Random Emacs symbol: recompile – Command: Re-compile the program including the current buffer.

… Oh my goodness, a Distinguished Engineer blogged about me… Gwee!