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From Mike Marcella, Membership Assistant:

I have been informed that it is my turn to write a Letter from Tripod. The task of writing this letter seems more difficult to me than reading the massive amounts of e-mail within the Membership Department. I sat in bed all night thinking about what I could write about. Something funny? Something serious? Something sad? I'm not sure, but "something" will work.

I came to Tripod in May of '98 as a Membership Assistant. I spend most of my day changing passwords, looking at HTML, and getting rid of the "gremlins" on our site. I break up my day with visits to our receptionist, Jenny, and can usually get her to laugh about something or someone. Then I play a game of darts with our Senior Taxonomy Editor, Michael. We duke it out on the Halex electronic dart board, and sometimes he beats me. Actually, he beats me most of the time, and then I cry. (Sorry, I had to say that because I lost a bet with him.)

When I'm not at work, I'm hanging in a hot tub outside on our deck with my housemates or friends. I once tried something Bo told me at a party. He said to get in the hot tub for about 10 minutes, and then jump out and make a snow angel. After this was accomplished, get back in the hot tub, and feel the "invigorating sensation." Well, I gave it a try, and you know what? It was, by far, the stupidest thing I could have done. I got stuck in the snow, and I thought my whole body was going to freeze to the ground. My housemates asked me who had told me to do it, but I just told them I had read it somewhere.

When I'm not exposing my body to extreme temperatures, I'm collecting more CDs and movies. I have spent many hours watching Hong Kong action flicks, and listening to Johnny Cash. Weird combination, I know, but I think it builds character. At least that's what my friend Barak would probably say. He too enjoys any movie starring Chow-Yun Fat or Crispin Glover.

When I'm not watching ultra-violent movies, I'm chilling with my folks back in Dalton, MA. I usually spend Sunday afternoon watching TV with my brother-in-law, Dwayne, and listening to my father rant and rave. My father is so Italian, it's scary. He's straight out of a Scorsese film, and has the stucco to prove it. One time he knocked out a bee. And when he was a kid, he sank a boat by jumping off a bridge after two kids who were taunting him. He's a nice guy though.

When I'm not being sworn at in Italian, I'm back at work. I'm trying to improve my reputation in our chat communities as "Mikey2xs." (Sorry people, just doing my job. Rules are rules.) At other times I'm explaining to members the difference between a "hacker" and a "social engineer." The life of a Membership Assistant is never boring.

— Mike Marcella

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Read more "Letters from Tripod" in the archive.

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