Nearly, but not quite.

I've got lazy of late in my blogging, maybe I'd be more keen if someone was paying me. Or, maybe not. Anyway, yesterday we had the pleasure of a Q&A with Alex Thompson, who did two things: firstly, he reminded me that a good deal of journalism is confidence. And secondly, he made me feel guilty for my lack of ambition.

On the confidence front, while he seems to be able to naturally control an interview, for me it's something that comes and goes depending on what kind of mood I'm in, how hungry I am and what the weather's like. Maybe it's something AT has worked on, but I suspect not. Perhaps that's what separates the great from the good. He seems to have natural confidence all the time, whereas mine is as predictable as a heavily pregnant woman.

I feel I should also say that AT weakened the theory I've heard that the people at the top are there through thinking they're good rather than being good. He clearly understands the industry and his audience far more than most journalists. Incidentally, Alex Thompson will be marking my work later in the year, so being a sycophant is my duty and joy.

As regards ambition, I found myself slumping down and hiding in my chair with embaressment as he began to talk about finding your focus and going for it. I think he envisaged us all going for his job, or something similar.

My current ambition is to find a nice job at a nice radio station in a nice part of the country with nice people. Once I get bored of that I plan to slide into production, or a press office or something similar and live as normal a life as I can manage in journalism.

Alex Thompson made me lust for a working week where I interview a hard-assed cabinet minister on Monday, dodge bullets in Basra on Tuesday and then trek across Uzbekistan for four days to get a story for the weekend. But then reality returned and I realised I don't much like London and I don't really want to be shot at.

So my plans haven't changed yet, but Alex Thompson's rousing speech was the closest thing yet to making me change my mind and set my ambitions on being Editor of Newsnight, rather than being a reporter at BBC Somewhere.