Presenting the new website and the letter section

My web designer Changrui has become more of a business consultant. Write something to present the new website in the letter section, says he to me today, this way people know what the whole thing is about. Advice accepted.

The new website is a collective effort of Changrui (mostly) and I for months. Every couple of weeks we would discuss over two large Americano coffees at a Starbucks close to the Bercy station in Paris, where I tell him everything I envision the new website to be, and Changrui makes it happen. Every so often he would send a message to me in the middle of the night that says "Hey check the website out. You'll love it". And I always do. Web designers are an amazing breed, how they make things happen. It is like real alchemy, true magic, marvelous craftsmanship. I like to have the best people do what they are best at doing. Just imagine a company, a society where everyone does what he or she does best. How wonderful would that be.

What is also very satisfying about the website is that Changrui built everything from scratch, compared to Wordpress and the numerous plugins and costly third-party services that I had used for years. So on the long run it makes a lot of economical sense. The fact that we rely on minimum number of third-party platforms and services allow us much versitility and freedom to change what we want to change, and build on what is built on. I can't say enough good things about the new website.

I would also like to use this occasion to present the letter section, where I write to you, dear readers, and hopefully you to me. It is a portal, a window of communication. We could have called it the "Contact Us" page like most websites, but we want it to be more than just that. Writing letters is always fun, especially on paper. The action of putting ink on paper, the signature at the end, the excitement when you receive a letter, the eagerness for your interlocator to receive yours... it's all very ceremonial, the feeling timeless. Though it would be a nearly impossible quest to write you all physical letters, the Letter section on the now beautiful website is the closest approximation.

It is also useful to precise that what you write me in the Letter section goes straight to my inbox, not public on the website. I will read each letter with great interest and reply by the shortest delay. If you so wish, we can publish your letter in the section. Be it compliment or criticism, encouragement or condemnation. The quest for truth has always been a personal motto and the same goes for TeaTime, and the freedom of expression is a pivotal part of the quest.

So long.

Nathan
Midnight, July 1st, 2026