October 28, 2018

Dear everyone,

I could have written last week, but I had just finished my Japan trip blog, and I thought you would be sick of this voice.  I do want to add about our return - - it does take about a week to get over the jet lag (I hardly felt any in Japan, perhaps because of the novelty, and also that I was not doing any critical work).  There were a few times coming home from work (early morning in Japan) were I was clearly a danger on the road.

 

Cindy and I just got back from Idomeneo, Owen’s least favorite Mozart opera, if I recall correctly from his Japan trip journal.  I certainly found the 1^st and 2^nd acts less interesting than the 3^rd, both in singling, and dramatic action.  The set was really superb, a recreation of Jean Pierre Ponnelle’s 1972 production (you should check out his wiki entry just to see the manner of his death).  It was a very anachronistic set - - crumbling Greco-Roman columns, with thin cloth backdrops of antique Italian scenes. Behind the drapes was a giant, open-mouthed and blank-eyed head of an Olympian, presumably Neptune.  The singers were all dressed in 17^th century dress.  I suppose this makes sense if you were trying to somehow recapitulate how Mozart may have staged the show.  Still, I think I would have been interested in seeing everyone in Cretan dress, with a reconstructed Knossos as a background, or alternatively, in modern day Tokyo (so you could flash pictures of Godzilla as the sea monster).

Maybe instead of the head of an angry Greek god, we could use one of the Cheeto-in Chief.  I really liked his statement today about yesterday’s Pittsburgh synagogue shooting (it was, in fact, the same day as CMU homecoming, of which several events were immediately cancelled), in that things would have been different if there had been armed guards inside.  This is the America we live in now.  I think he appeared more upset about the failure of the Saudi cover-up about the Khashoggi murder than about the act in itself.  The election is in ten days, so this is my reminder to vote early (Cindy and I plan to go tomorrow), and vote often.  It’s the Chicago way.

Meeko seemed fine when we got back from the show today (we were more than 2 hours past her 4 pm dinner time), but she was howling yesterday evening when Cindy and I got home after a dinner out.  Her hearing only registers high frequency sounds, and she is definitely developing cataracts. However, she is still good-tempered, and excited to get up and eat every day. She has gotten a bit worried about climbing up and down stairs, though.

This sounds like a good description of the older generation.  Cindy and I did go out to see Mom and Dad last weekend, to watch the second half of a Bear’s loss to the Patriots. The Patriots did not have an easy time of it, but they were clearly the more consistent team.  The Bears did win today against the weak NY Jets.  So, the Bears’ record is 4-3 which may be sufficient to pull them to the top of the weak NFC Central division.  Everyone at 1261, including Robbie, seemed to be fine.  We walked with Mom and the dog up to the bridge.  Robbie can’t walk very fast, but then, neither can Barbara.

The big extra effort at work is some months-long snafu caused by Roche. Roche is a big pharma firm that manufactures one of our automated slide making machines that we use for ‘immunostains’.  Immunostains are specific antibodies made to bind to specific proteins on cells on microscope slides (the antibodies used on fresh tissue could be different).  We use this technology a lot to help diagnose specific cell types, but also to get therapeutic information, like does a breast cancer express the estrogen receptor protein (in which case that patient would respond to hormonal therapy). Anyway, about 10 months ago the machine was misaligned, and apparently we have thousands of stains that were called ‘negative’ when signed out that may actually be positive.  This has caused large spread sheets of potential cases to be generated, review of old cases pulled to check results, in some cases re-application of the test protocol on a new slide, and, I suspect in some cases, a change in diagnosis.  I had to go over a few hundred of cases to check that everything was correct.  Luckily, I did not find any errors.

What else?  Last night we saw Won’t You Be My Neighbor, an interesting documentary about Fred Rogers, who was pretty much exactly the man you thought he’d be from his eponymous television show.  I think he would be pretty disappointed with the current state of world affairs.

 Last weekend we also went to the Advocate Christ annual gala.  There were two empty slots at the table my partnership buys, so Cindy and I decided to go at the last minute, joined by Jami and Carolyn Wallach, Roland and Julie Marshall, Joe and Kim Pyle, and Barbara Krueger and her friend Mike.  Jami, Carolyn, Cindy and I joined up at Barbara’s house, and we took a speedy limo downtown to the Conrad Hilton for a swanky do. At the time I was obsessed with winning the 1.6 billion mega millions, and after a few drinks I was telling everyone in the car what I would do for them if I won the money. 

The band. Of course, too loud

Cindy bought a 'new' dress.  I wore a bolo.

Love, H