Ken Tangen is an amazing teacher whose site What’s it Like showcases interviews with people in various occupations as a way to help his students to choose a career. I was fortunate enough to have the chance to spend an hour with Ken and make a small contribution to his fantastic project.

Adventure is the exploration of unknown territory —Me Ra Koh (Evo ’11)

Since joining Automattic in January, I’ve had the chance to travel three times, once to Austin for SXSW, once to Minneapolis for Confab, and most recently to Amsterdam with team Polldaddy for my first team meetup.

Last week was full of many firsts for me; first time meeting John, Eoin, and Donncha; first time on a 777; and my first trip to Europe.

Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.

—Seneca

Superlatives fail to describe how much I enjoyed the city. Experiencing a city with such rich history was inspirational. I saw buildings with numbers on them like 1605 and 1659 and those numbers weren’t the addresses.

Seeing Dutch people pedaling around on old two-wheeled bicycles was fascinating. Old people, young people, men and women in business wear riding with umbrellas, young women dressed up for the disco in boots with three-inch heels, parents with small children in barrows and carriers—everyone rides bicycles. Baskets and saddle bags loaded with provisions, they boldly navigated crowded streets and absent-minded pedestrians with only quick reflexes and bicycle bells.

I saw boats cruise down the canals that formed the median to many a street. I ate delicious Indian, Thai, Indonesian, Argentinian, and Italian food. I sampled Amstel, Heineken, Kingfisher, Singha, Hoegaarden, and Bintang. I saw original Vincent van Gogh paintings at the Van Gogh Museum, standing only inches from the famous Boats at Saintes-Marie, a reproduction of which has hung in our cottage since we built it fifteen years ago.

Getting the chance to see how other people move around in their cities, the kinds of buildings they live in, where they shop, and where they go to meet others makes me reconsider my own city; how we’ve failed to preserve old buildings, pleading time and expense over history and story.

As we walked the narrow bricked streets, lined with well kept three-story buildings, and endless black, two-wheeled bicycles, I couldn’t help but wonder about the people who had lived in these places over the years, about the lives they had lead, about the work they had done, about their individual stories, that taken together, formed centuries-old narratives.

Two years ago this past weekend, we adopted this little guy from Winnipeg Humane Society, and gave him a forever home. Such a great dog. Don’t know what possessed the people who gave him up at eight months old for chewing things like puppies do. Best dog ever.

Princess Diana was alive the last time I changed jobs. Bill Clinton was President of the United States. Hong Kong was part of the Commonwealth. The iPod was four years away.

I’ve worked for Boeing for over 13 years–well over a quarter of my life. Back in 2001, a director asked me to make a website to showcase our division’s capabilities. Knowing nothing, I went online. There, I fell in love with the web, and a community that gave of their knowledge freely, that taught one another, that shared their discoveries so that others might take those ideas, build on them, and set them free.

I wanted to give back to a community that gave so much to me. While I couldn’t contribute code, I knew that as a writer and editor, I could give back by helping to clarify ideas and bring them to a larger community. I volunteered at Digital Web Magazine, first as acquisitions editor, then managing editor, and eventually as the editor in chief. A few years later, I joined the staff at A List Apart, first as acquisitions editor, then as an editor, and now as editor in chief–a labour of love I continue today.

On Monday, January 31st, I get to make my internet labour of love my full-time job: I’m fortunate to be joining Automattic, a company you already know and love.

The community that gave so much to me, continues to give to me today. Can’t wait to get started giving back, full time.