A lot happens over a month.

It’s been just about thirty days since I started my new job as a night cops/breaking news reporter at The Cape Cod Times, a mid-size daily in Massachusetts that reaches about 51,000 or so.

Boy, has it been eventful. There have been two tragedies so far: a plane crash and a car accident that killed an 18-year-old. There have also been some lighter moments like a former NBA player/addict turned motivational speaker and a young entrepreneur with a giving heart.

Of course, there has also been some downright bizarre  stories too.

So it goes though, and a month into my job, I’m absolutely loving it. It was everything I was looking for while jobseeking. It’s varied enough to keep me on my toes and focused on a daily routine, and there is enough time to let me do my own thing as well.

Before I started, I had a vague notion, probably more of a lofty idea, of what local journalism was and why it mattered, but now after some real hands-on experience – I get it.

Everything I do at my job matters. It matters to me. It matters to my bosses. But most importantly, it matters to the people that read the paper, and I kid you not, there are still a lot of people that read this paper.

The nice thing about Cape Cod is that it’s a seasonal place. During the dark and fairly depressing winters, there aren’t many people on Cape. Hyannis, the largest town, has about 50,000 people. Yet when the summer kicks in, that rockets up  to about 125,000. The Cape itself turns into a small city, full of activity (so I’m told).

This is great not just as far as me living here, but for the job too. It gives me a good bit of time to get settled, find some stories and really get to know the area.

Hopefully over the next few weeks I can share a little more about what I’ve been up to and offer some practical tips. While it does go by quick, a month is still a pretty short amount of time and there’s still a lot to get done as far as settling into the job goes.

So here’s to another month! And shouldn’t I get a new name now? Mods? Old hack overlords?