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95 lines
5.5 KiB
Markdown
95 lines
5.5 KiB
Markdown
# On Heroku and 2012
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*January 2012*
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Alas, 2012 is quickly coming to a close.This has been an absolutely incredible year — easily the best of the mere twenty\-four I've experienced so far. I became a member of the Python Software Foundation, traveled all over the world, met several thousand inspiring software developers, and collaborated on dozens of incredible projects.
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It's important to reflect; perspective is everything.
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## Heroku
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I officially [joined Heroku](http://static.squarespace.com/static/533ad9bde4b098d084a846b1/533d64b0e4b05778b6aa60f8/533d65a3e4b05778b6aa74bb/1396532643996/joining-heroku.html?format=original) exactly one year ago today. It's amazing how time flies.
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Heroku is directly responsible for the majority of my satisfaction of the past year. I feel incredibly privileged to work with this fine group of individuals — the most talented, classy, supportive, attentive, and caring group of people I've ever had the pleasure to meet.
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Words can't serialize how much I recommend [working for Heroku](https://coderwall.com/team/heroku). If you are speaking at a conference, Heroku will fully fund your trip. If there's a natural disaster in your area (e.g. Super\-Storm Sandy), you will be contacted by a dedicated member of the Vibe team, ensuring your family's safety, accommodation, and well\-being.
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The strangest part of the Heroku environment is our unlimited vacation policy. My job consists primarily of two things: Making Heroku awesome for Python, and Making Python awesome for Heroku. I took a week off after a six\-week world tour last month, but kept finding myself doing what I love to do — my work.
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I'm looking forward to many more years with Heroku.
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## Accomplishments \& Goals
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For years, I dreamed of being a well known member of the open source community. I spent hundreds of nights obsessing over other's code and developing my own development style and philosophies.
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Much to my surprise, all of that work really paid off. Today, I'm the [\#1](https://github.com/search?q=followers%3A%220+..+80000%22&p=1&ref=searchbar&type=Users&l=Python) most followed Python GitHub user and the [\#17](https://github.com/search?l=&p=2&q=followers%3A%220+..+80000%22&ref=searchbar&type=Users) most followed GitHub user in total. Requests has been downloaded [1,500,000\+](https://crate.io/packages/requests/) times and is indirectly helping [change the world](http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/11/how-team-obamas-tech-efficiency-left-romney-it-in-dust/). OSX\-GCC\-Installer reached over 46 TB of downloads and [directly inspired](http://static.squarespace.com/static/533ad9bde4b098d084a846b1/533d64b0e4b05778b6aa60f8/533d65a4e4b05778b6aa74be/1396532644204/xcode-gcc-and-homebrew.html?format=original) Apple's Command\-Line Tools.
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It's humbling to look at those metrics, as vain as they are. Validating your work is important.
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## Traveling the World
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I've spent the majority of my time this year traveling. It's a bit daunting to think about, honestly:
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One year ago, I had given only **one talk** in my entire life ([PyCodeConf](http://py.codeconf.com/)) and didn't even own a passport.
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This year alone:
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* 139,669 miles traveled by air
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* 139 hotel nights.
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* 29 talks given.
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* 20 conferences attended.
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* 11 meetups attended.
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* 8 countries visited.
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I also rediscovered my deep love for Photography:
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(More over at [500px](http://500px.com/kennethreitz))
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And even got the chance to reconnect with friends from past lives:
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## Lessons Learned
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I spent most of my life moving around the country. Between 8th and 10th grade, I attended **seven** different schools. Being out of my element is my element. I've learned a lot during my travels. You have lots of time to reflect and get to know yourself.
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Considering being a developer evangelist?
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* You'll get lonely.
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* Personal time is essential. Relax and enjoy yourself.
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* Window seats are awesome. Anyone who disagrees has no soul.
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* Less is more. My travel kit has slowly shrunk to a single small backpack.
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* You'll meet more people than you can imagine. You won't remember names. Just ask.
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* Your influence and audience is much larger than you think. The majority of your users are unspoken. How often do you reach out to the author of a library you love?
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It's the best job on earth.
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## Personal Values
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In closing, I'll leave a short list of my personal values. They haven't changed much over the years. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.
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* Life's not a race, but there's no speed limit either.
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* Positivity. Negative atmospheres are toxic. Remove yourself from them.
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* Fallibilism \& Open Mindedness. There is only one thing I can be certain of in life: that I am prone to error. Nothing saddens me more than someone who is unwilling to listen.
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* Attention is your only currency. Allocate it sparingly. Don't spend a single moment in life doing something you don't want to do.
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Here's to 2013! Hopefully the Mayans based their calendar on the Twinkie.
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