Real Big Firm

I went away to Belize and Guatemala last week with intentions of never checking email once. But with free or cheap Internet access at every single hostel and guesthouse we went to, I did sneak on a few times.

Still, I kept it to mostly personal email, with a couple glances at NYTimes.com, and I tried to clear my mind of all work-related things. But a couple of times, conversations about online video were unavoidable.

Once, at a group dinner in a hostel on the shore of Lago de Atitlán, I met a Swedish traveler who beta-tested Joost. We were in our own little world, chatting merrily about international video access problems and the benefits and detriments of client downloads. The other time, I sat down to dinner with a group of backpackers in a remote village on a mountain above Antigua. This Canadian guy simply would not shut up about how we all needed to go to YouTube right that instant and search for “Bush + shoes.” Needless to say, it was worth it.

Thanks so much to Chris and all you readers for so ably taking care of the blog while I was traveling. My trip was wonderful, and happily, I also got engaged to my long-time boyfriend along the way. Here’s looking forward to the holidays and another exciting year of reinventing television. Oh, and happy (belated) 2nd birthday to NewTeeVee!