Chip.Net

I really never meant to create a web site about me. It just kind of happened. Yes, it's almost all text. No, I don't expect that most people in the world will care about this, but that's OK. I'll start with who I am and eventually make an entire site with what I like, dislike, care about, could care less about, etc.

That all being said, here is where I launch into scaring anyone who reads this. Much of this was written without much editing and potentially may or may not reflect my current thoughts. (How is that for a wishy-washy statement?) After writing what follows, I've been told by friends to eliminate parts of it saying that it would scare anyone who would consider dating me. (Yes, this was the reason.). They were probably right at the time, but read on and see who I married. Anyone who can read this and not hate me/think I'm bonkers could probably stand me. :) Finally, if any of this is out of date, tough. I update various parts from time to time when I get around to it, but you can pretty safely assume that something is out of date.

Fine. I'm bonkers. Any other questions? Someone who sends me mail because of this is probably bonkers as well, but that is a good thing. Read on.

Age, etc.

Born: July 8, 1974 at 4:17 pm at Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio
Died: (note to estate executers: please complete this line as needed)
Physical details: 6', 190-200 pounds, depending on the day (so long at that day was 10 years ago when I wrote this! Not so much the case any more...), long brown hair, glasses until I get back to contacts. OK, fine, until I'm eligible for LASIK.
Beautiful (wonderful, charming, adorable, and many other superb things that make me the luckiest guy in the universe) wife: Jennifer (see how we met) We were married June 30, 2001. Honeymoon pictures are available.
Cat: Bubba. (I'm a dog person, really. But I caved. Plus, Bubba is pretty cute.) Bubba came to us from Bill and Adrienne, from whom we bought our condo, which is really now our old, old home since we lived in Waltham from late 2003 until late 2009, and Sudbury since then.
Current Dogs: Annie and Sylvia and Gracie. We adopted Annie on 11/6/2009. Her birthday is 5/31/2005. She's a black cocker spaniel and wiggles more than any dog I've ever seen. She's a total love. On 7/14/2012, we picked up Sylvia (also a black cocker); since she was a stray, we decided her 4th birthday was that day. Sylvia is a bundle of love all over. On 7/8/2016, Ms. Gracie, a 4 year old white and brown/gray cockapoo, came home. She's a little shy at first, but she has a huge heart. Plenty of pictures on Facebook.
Previous Dog (but still strong in my heart): Pearl. On June 27, 2003, we took home a black cocker spaniel from the MSPCA shelter. Her name is Pearl. The adoption was made official on July 24, 2003. She passed away on October 13, 2008 after a bout with an oral melanoma. For the record, we believe that baby carrots help stave off cancer--for a time. Go, look at the pictures. She was adorable.
Parents: Roger and Janet
Big sis and Brother-in-law and niece and nephew and nephew and nephew (enough already!)
Lil sis: Lela, 10 minutes my junior (yes, I believe in ESP with my twin; been there, done that) and...
- Brother-in-law Brian and step-niece (or is that niece-in-law? or evil-step-niece since Lela is an evil-step-monster) Brit and the amazingly quiet Bella
"Lil" brother: Chris, who isn't little and isn't really younger than I am by much

In-Laws! David, Barbara and sister-in-law Susan. We have other names for Susan around here, but I'll be polite. For now.
Education:
- "The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives." - Robert Maynard Hutchins (former President of the University of Chicago)
- Preschool and Kindergarden: Mercy Montessori, Cincinnati, OH. Montessori education is wonderful, and I'm not just saying that because my big sister is a Montessori principal/teacher!
- 1st grade: Doherty School (part of the Seven Hills School[s])
- 2nd-4th grade: Heathcote Elementary, Scarsdale, NY. What has five wings and doesn't fly? (Heathcote!)
- 5th-12th grade: Doherty School, Seven Hills Middle School, Seven Hills Upper School, Cincinnati, OH.
  - Despite the school, this is where I became me
- College: The College at The University of Chicago
  - My experience at the U of C could fill a site in and of itself. It is the Best place to grow a mind.
  - Academically, I concentrated in sociology and psychology
  - Work, I was a geek (computer labs)
  - Outside of those, I was an admissions office stoogie and loved it (PSAC) and did a ton of other things as well.
Employment: I now work in healthcare (well, geek side of healthcare) for a pretty neat company called athenahealth. Previously, I was a professional Internet geek. I was working for an ISP/CLEC, then I left because of stupid management, then I consulted for a bit, then worked for an ASP and ended back up an an ISP/CLEC that has more of a clue. Remember, that's "professional" geek to you. (On a serious note, I've been both a network, from DWDM though SONET through IP, to server, mostly Unix with a fair amount of perl expertise, geek. My resume is available upon request.)
Future: after making some money (so, if you want to request my resume above and offer me a lot of money to work for you, please do so), I'm going to law school, I hope. I have always loved the law, especially Constitutional law. I've also got a strange knack for Telecom law. Go figure.
Current Location: Waltham, Massachusetts (just outside Boston)
Maritial Status: Married as of June 30, 2001.

Basic Requirements, which were more appropriate when the above read "single," but preserved for postarity, in no particular order. Applicants no longer needed, but feel free to send me mail anyway. :) Read how I met/fell in love with/proposed to Jen.
Intelligent (if I can't carry on an intelligent conversation with someone, I'd go nuts)
Good hearted (doesn't have to be nice all the time on the outside, but niceness inside is what counts)
Innocent and not, probably borderline neurotic in some sense of the word "neurotic" but definately not psycho (I'm not even going to try to explain what I mean here. If you can nod and say, "oh, I know what he means," it's a good sign. Even if you don't know what I mean, read on.) Perhaps "a little wierd" might work here too.
Beautiful (to me)
Non-smoker (Oxygen. Good.)
News junkie: (not a requirement, but nice) NPR. NY Times. All good things in life.
Teddy Bears: Loves my teddy bears/cows/etc. as much as I do. (It's an indication of personality, but I adore my Pooh Bears!)
Trust: I regret adding this. While it is based, in some part, on my past experience, it occurred to me that while I may find someone who meets all of these criteria I'm tossing out, what if we are missing basic trust? It is, sadly, a real-life issue. Of course, one should always allow trust to develop; it can.
The kicker: able to put up with me
That feeling: Able to generate in me that unspecifiable feeling (you know, the one that makes the heart flutter and stuff)

Favorite Bear: WINNIE THE POOH (of course). Call it an obsession if you must... Yes, I'm 34 (note to self: write a script to update this number) and still sleep with stuffed animals and I'm damn proud of it. Well, they've mostly taken residence in their own spot in the bedroom. I've adopted a few more bears and assorted other aminals who are also pretty cute.
Favorite Movie and Possibly Favorite Book of All Time: Princess Bride "In the history of the Kiss, there have been 5 kisses ranked the most passionate, the most pure. The one surpassed them all." "Death cannot stop true love; it can only delay it a while."
Second Best Movie of All Time: When Harry Met Sally Two people, from the University of Chicago, eventually fall in love.
Computers: This section is scary. Currently on: my iLamp, er, Mac, an old linux box (depending on the day/power requirements for air conditioners), Jen's iBook, my Powerbook, sometimes my work Win2000 laptop. Normally off: NeXT and Sun IPC. This is down a lot since I moved in with Jen and got married and so forth. I'm a complete and total geek; life moves on. Of course all of them are on the net, mostly via wireless through the apartment. Yeah, that's G-E-E-K. :) Oh, yeah, and my Tivo now has wireless hanging off of it. And the other Tivo has an ethernet adapter too. Scary.
What I do with my time: I run a fair amount. See my marathon page. Well... I used to run a fair amount. I plan on running more soon!