good to read the posts. I don't know about the hose above the door for the trick or treaters, dad. I was thinking more along the lines of ferocious barking dog that will make them piss their pants if they come near the house. ebony is a tad territorial. hopefully no one will dress up as a mail man. the uniform has a bit of a berserker effect on her.
today we went for a hike in fairmount park and the colors are absolutely phenomenal. gavin took pics so maybe I could send some out. the park is great. the weirdest thing that will probably happen this weekend was this guy on a bike in the park, dressed up as a bee with elf ears and green around his eyes and mouth, with vampire fangs, and a little yellow bag with candy that he passed out. we got some too. nice. he looked like he was absolutely out of his mind. he road by ebony and leaned down and said "happy halloween, little rascal" and gavin said later that it's a miracle that ebony didn't jump up and tear him to shreds. she doesn't like people in weird costumes so much. happy halloween to that guy.
so yeah, no plethora of parties for me, unlike "mister popular," john paul. like I said, probably just some neighborhood party crashing.
really warm in philly today.
that's all.
with love,
H


- posted by H @ 10/30/2004 04:54:00 PM

 
Ahh, Halloween. the pagan festival. needless to say, dad's going all out, right dad??
I don't really know what I am doing for halloween. Being in a new city, I am not so in tune with what's happening. I am sure that there are parties at bars and stuff, which I know from the girls who work in the same research room with me in pain management. they're a hair on the valley girl side, but nice. always talking about nothing in great detail. I can't believe they get any work done ever. cell phones constantly ringing, salvaging leftover snacks from meetings in our department...
it's quite a life. hehe.
so no plans for halloween. maybe just drink and hand out candy to trick or treaters. hopefully we have some in the neighborhood. it's definitely nice enough to allow children walking around at night.
love to all,
H

- posted by H @ 10/28/2004 08:54:00 PM

 
I spent some of the morning and afternoon on Wall Street - it's related to the investigation we are involved with, where I was able to go onto the floor of the Stock Exchange a month ago. Maybe I'll go back - it was pretty cool, especially seeing the old school features - old building, paper on the floor and lots of vacuum tubes left over from whenever (filled with data wires now, I bet) - and the new school features - huge flat panel monitors, handheld computers for the traders, slick architectural stying in the newer wings.

What are you guys doing for Hallow-e'en? S is having a party at her restaurant and I'm going to be a vampire (she got a complete vampire outfit for herself - I'm kind of putting mine together). Not that original, but vampires are always cool. Maybe the only thing cooler is the combination vampire and werewolf (the 'Abomination') from that movie Underworld.

H: working for the #1 location in the business rocks - keep up the good work!
- posted by Christoph Roggenkamp @ 10/28/2004 03:22:00 PM

 
Wow. good posts everybody.they're fun to read. JP, j/k lmlyp, plmk, wtym, mwyphmp. that's all. i'm out.
C: CHOP stands for Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. CHOP is the oldest children's hospital in the USA, and was ranked as the #1 children's hosp in america by US news and world report. woooooooo. and by "child" magazine. they're really pumped up about it here (this is the second year in a row), so they've been giving out free stuff and food, etc. in fact, there's always free food around somewhere. it is a good hospital I guess. the only real patient-like contact that I have is on the neonatal intensive care unit, where I lurk around 1/2 of my days.
gotta go, time's a wastin.' dad, sorry to hear that Wu is still gone. hopefully she will just come back, after going on walkabout.
love to all,
H

- posted by H @ 10/28/2004 10:09:00 AM

 
JP - pretty soon we'll need a glossary to understand your posts, Bruder. Ha ha ha about the 'noise and the mess' comments - maybe I'm getting old.
H - does CHOP stand for Central Hospital of Philly or something like that? Awesome that your work is progressing so well. You'll be the top of your field in no time!
Dad - it is hard to say what is up with your computer without taking a look at it. If I rightly recall, you gave H the laptop right? Which means you are using the desktop... And, as I have said for years, GET A NEW COMPUTER! Then your problems will be solved.

Aah, got that off my chest again.

On October 27, 1904, the subway opened its doors for the first time in NYC. For the 100th anniversary, the MTA is running vintage cars on some tracks. This morning, I rode in a 1950s car from Times Square to Grand Central (the Shuttle line). It had no A/C, but it had fans. The seats were upholstered benches. All the advertising was from 1950 or so (ads for "Streetcar Named Desire" (1951), etc.). I understand that the 1/9 line is also running old cars, so I'll ride one of those trains home. Verdict: it's really cool!

- posted by Christoph Roggenkamp @ 10/27/2004 03:58:00 PM

 
hello all,
No mess and no noise! yeahh! C, you sound like a regular family guy, if you smell my meaning. haha. work is going really well, am kicking ass in the neonatal intensive care unit. in the last two days I have gotten 7 people to participate in the study. an unheard of record. I rule. we are now at 26 participants, or is it 27. at any rate, if I keep on going like this, we will be done with the study in january (done with the data collection that is), about 7 months ahead of schedule, and I will be able to develop my own study with the data. PLUS, my name is now on the study that I am working on in pain management. I am now officially on the scene.
very exciting stuff. right now I am trying to pick out a health club thingy to go to, since I get reduced rates (about 50% reduced) as a CHOP employee, at certain gyms, that is. sweet.
that's all.
Love,
H

- posted by H @ 10/26/2004 01:36:00 PM

 
Woah.

I haven't been posting as much as I should - haven't been on the computer as much on weekends.
I'm sorry to hear that Wu hit the road... I can't tell exactly how long ago this happened. When was it?
Not much new to report at my end. On Saturday, I went up to Scarsdale with S - it was her uncle's 72nd birthday and her cousin's little girl's 2nd birthday. 9 kids were there - we went to KB Toys and got them MagnaDoodles. These things are like sketch pads, except the pen is magnetic and you can erase easily. Best part - no noise or mess! I thought the kids would find them boring but all of them loved the things. There was a 5-yr-old autistic kid there who was good with numbers and letters, and he was writing and drawing the whole time. Even the 18-month-old boy was drawing away - and he knew how to erase the thing and start over.

7 days until the election and I can't wait until it is over - no matter who wins.
I've been following the Democratic campaign since January 2003, and I'm about tired of it all...

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas comes out today - I ordered it online so I'll have to wait a bit... I've been playing older games like Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank to tide me over. Just bought Prince of Persia - it's marked down from $50 to $20, so it's worth it.

Well, I'll try to post more often. I deleted the multiple post by JP.
Love you all!
C
- posted by Christoph Roggenkamp @ 10/26/2004 11:59:00 AM

 
Wow. looks like I am the only one who posts anything more than a few sentences. maybe what I'm posting is incredibly boring (sniff). oooooo, guilt trip everyone. boo yah.
had a good weekend in annapolis at the wedding reception for gavin's brother, reid and his new wife, inga. met lots of old jewish people, some of them more liquored up than others. I actually had a really good time and everyone I talked to was interesting and fun. was a bit of a social butterfly, you know me. we brought a ton of leftover food back, which is nice. meat and roots to last through winter.
that's all from me.
love,
H
PS. am holding a vote. how many of you think that if wu doesn't come back by thanksgiving, we should all go to the SPCA together when we're in hanover and pick out a new kitty, either older or younger. I vote yes. ming can handle new faces.

- posted by H @ 10/24/2004 09:08:00 PM

 
it was a dark and rainy night...
I have no idea why jp's post from a few days ago was posted two more times.
sorry to hear that wu is still missing, dad. I think about her often.
JP, just so you know, ween cancelled the rest of their tour, after doing your show. something about the "years of touring taking their toll" on one of the members. bummer, but at least you got to see them. the set list is up on boognish.com if you want to view it.
will give you more details on that matter when we can talk in private (hehe).
things are fine in philly. work is good, truckin along. this weekend gavin and I will be in annapolis for the wedding reception for his brother and new wife. I think I mentioned to you, dad, the idea of coming down, but gavin said it would be too hectic and you really woundn't get to spend time with us and his family, at least not the kind of time we would want to. next time...
not much to report otherwise.
love to all,
H

- posted by H @ 10/21/2004 10:06:00 PM

 
H:
Yanks lost 4 to 2. Disgusting. It's the first time in baseball history that any team (here, the Red Sox) has been down 3-0 and tied it at 3-3. Tonight will end it. Either the Red Sox make history and go onto the World Series (which they haven't won since 1918 and haven't appeared in since 1986 where they lost to the Mets), or the Yanks move on.
Of course, I favor the Yanks, but if the Sox win, I'll cheer for them in the World Series.
In any case, I hope the Astros beat the Cardinals tonight to get to the World Series... Clements, the Astros' best pitcher, pitched for many years for both the Red Sox and the Yankees, and it would be amazing to see him once again pitching against either Boston or New York (of course, I'd rather have him in Yankee Stadium!).
Regarding JP's 1999 post, I tried to change the date stamp on that to 2004, but it doesn't seem to be working - everyone, make sure you check that the time and date on your post is correct! [Update - JP's post is up, and is under October 19, 2004]
C

- posted by Christoph Roggenkamp @ 10/20/2004 03:04:00 PM

 
correction. addendum.
I found JP's extensive post under october, 1999.
nice going bro. way to whistle and skip down the path to clarity.
kidding.
love,
H

- posted by H @ 10/20/2004 09:05:00 AM

 
hey everyone,
something weird is going on here. when I logged on to the blog, it said that there were the same amount of messages as when I last posted on monday, but that the last post was from yesterday. I didn't post anything yesterday, I know JPizzle did. His message did not come up for me. I will just try again later I guess.
what happened with the yankees last night? I went to bed at around 11, so did not see the end of the game. last time I checked last night it was 4 to 1 for the sox. it's funny that all of us were watching the game. were you, dad? I usually don't watch baseball very muchl, but gavin played the game in his youth, along with about 100 other sports, so he likes to watch it. I trounced him in cards too, while we watched the game. a game called palaces. I rule!
I'm at work, about to embark upon a 2 hour training to learn how to use the online medical charts here at chop. it should be reeeeeeeeally boring.
that's all from me.
dad, any news on Wu kitty?
love to all,
H


- posted by H @ 10/20/2004 08:56:00 AM

 
good thing that my blues bros quote apparently totally sucked ass.
I am pretty flexible for thanksgiving. gavin's birthday is the 28th of november, and he is most likely going to his dad's house for thanksgiving because his family usually celebrates his birthday, thanksgiving and chanukah all in one go. so I will try to get some extra time off work for some thanksgiving fun with the family. I am really excited that you are coming, jp.
this my 3rd blog already guys. get crackin.
loev,
H

- posted by H @ 10/18/2004 07:21:00 PM

 
Sweet that you are posting to the blog, H!
You are experiencing the joys of old housing - at least you have heat!
I've been lucky - living in dorms or big apartment buildings, but I know what it's like. I spent a couple of hours yesterday helping my boss (and good friend) move the giant air-conditioner from his girlfriend's window to her basement. It was bulky more than heavy, but you did need 2 people for the job.

Regarding Thanksgiving, I'm not sure what I'll be doing. We are all invited to S's parents' house in Queens, UNLESS she has to work on Thanksgiving.
So we won't know until closer to the date. I think JP should fly into NYC, take the train to Philly and visit Dad before Thanksgiving. Then, either you and I, H, will go out there for dinner, or those two come to NYC, along with you!
We'll figure it out.

Sweet - now we just have to get Dad and JP to post on the blog again!

C

P.S. The movie is "Blues Brothers" - they have posters with that quote on them!
P.P.S. Yanks lost 6-4 in 12 innings - 5 hour game - but they'll win tonight!

- posted by Christoph Roggenkamp @ 10/18/2004 11:46:00 AM

 
hello all,
well, it's monday morning. it's dark, we've got a 1/2 a tank of gas, and we're wearing sunglasses. what movie?? anyone?
JP, hope the ween show went well. I presume that you were swept into the frenzy of ween, never to return, but I can't wait to hear about it.
XO, so you're spending thanksgiving with siobhan's family?
Dad, hope that wu comes home safely.
love,
H

- posted by H @ 10/18/2004 09:05:00 AM

 
hey everyone,
well, hopefully we can get this whole blog thing going again.
today is a beautiful day here in philly.
we have had some excitement surrounding the heat in the apartment. friday was a little cold (gavin reports, I was at work), so friday night all of a sudden they (the people who do maintenance for the building) decided to "turn the heat on a little."the heat in this building is free, meaning that the heating system is for the whole house, and not broken up by apartment. what this also means is that from what I can tell, there is no way to control the heat from our apartment. the next question would be, do any of the apartments in the house have control?? the apartment is in one of those older houses, with three stories, and I think three apartments. so friday night the heat was on so HIGH that it was almost impossible to be in the apartment without having all of the windows open and fans on. basically you had to walk around with shorts and a t shirt on, or else you were sweating. pretty crazy. the maintenance people came and adjusted things, so it's still kind of hot now, but a lot better than before. I guess we are kind of expecting things to be pretty volatile for at least a little while.
otherwise things are great in philly. work is going extremely well, I'm getting constant positive feedback from people I work with, both directly and indirectly. the work is just a lot of fun and I really enjoy it. I didn't think that I would like my job this much, but I really do.
gavin and I went to see 'team america: world police' last night. one of those trey parker, matt stone movies (the guys responsible for 'southpark,' dad). it was really really funny. the puppets are great. lots of profanity, puppet violence, and some romantic scenes. and of course, the obligatory trey parker soundtrack, which is amazing. I'm sure you guys have heard of this movie, jp and xo. if you haven't seen it, do so immediately.
JP is seeing ween for the first time tonight! good on ya.
that's all from me. we're taking ebony to a state park a little outside of philly for some romping.
love,
H

- posted by H @ 10/17/2004 09:50:00 AM

 
This blog is now officially re-activated!
Thanks, H, for suggesting we do this!
Go Yankees! Crushing the Red Sox tonight!


- posted by Christoph Roggenkamp @ 10/17/2004 01:20:00 AM