What a great opportunity for a new person here at Tripod to let you all get to know me.

In reviewing the "Letters from Tripod" archive, it appears as if the letters are almost like excerpts from personal journals. My wife Chris writes in her journal almost every day. She writes about what my son Thomas (now three years old, soon to be four) and my daughter Sarah (five years old) have been up to. She writes about what is going on with her family back in Michigan, and what is going on in our life.

If I were to keep a journal, I'd probably keep track of similar things: What Sarah and Thomas are up to, and what funny or interesting things they had done that day. Three and five are very fun ages. Sarah had a notable remark the other day: Given our recent 30-day stretch without rainfall, she said, "I remember when it used to rain." She sounded like an old-timer musing, "I remember when a bottle of Coca-Cola cost a nickel." Thomas's latest and greatest activity is making up his own words and language. "Stunky" is a real favorite these days. I think it is a multi-purpose term, but he mostly uses it as a name for different people. It's actually kind of catchy. Might make a good Web site: Stunky.com.

My new job here at Tripod would also be a source of material for my journal. It has been very exciting and fun to join a new organization after four years at my previous job. Since leaving school, I have moved from a privately-owned bank, to a machine vision company, to a top-10 Web site. The process of learning about a new industry, new people, a new business model, and the opportunities for the Human Resources group, is a lot of fun. The office here in Williamstown, Massachusetts is very unique. The atmosphere and work "culture" is casual and engaging, yet at the same time hard-working and fast-paced. It presents some very interesting challenges and opportunities, from an H.R. perspective.

Another thing I'd write about in my journal would certainly be my relocation to Williamstown. I think it's an Irish disease to not be able to move more than a half-hour away from your mom. But when I joined Tripod, Chris and I made the decision to move a whole two-and-a-half hours away from our friends and family. I can still hardly believe it. What a great move it is turning out to be! In my mind, the school systems, theatres, museums, and other cultural activities are only bested by the amazing choice of nearby fly-fishing waters. Last year, I managed to get out fly fishing only a half-dozen times, which was no small feat. So far, after being in Williamstown for a little more than six weeks, I have probably already doubled that number. With so many good streams nearby, it is possible to sneak in a half-hour of fishing at the end of the day. I think we are going to like it out here. The setting in the Northern Berkshires is ideal — it seems like the kind of place that could inspire me to start keeping a journal.

— Drew