I really enjoy Halloween. In fact, I enjoy it more now than I did when my girls were at the trick-or-treating age. Then it seemed as though there was always the pressure of getting costumes put together (with the hope that the idea that sounded great last week will still be a hit two days before the big night), pumpkins carved, candy bought, class parties planned and pulled off . . . I was exhausted before it even got dark on the 31st! It didn’t take too many years before my husband and I were trading off which of us “got” to go on the rounds of the neighborhoods escorting our princesses, cowgirls or clowns. Our enthusiasm for such jaunts waned in direct proportion with our daughters’  increasing stamina in seeking out candy further and further abroad. It also didn’t help that, living here in the Northwest, Halloween was almost always soggy AND cold.

Once Jenny and Sarah grew out of that stage (as well as beyond the teenage “I wonder what they’re up to tonight” stage), I really got to enjoy the best part of the holiday: handing out candy to all ages of kids in all kinds of cute/imaginative/clever costumes.  Of course, the best in my opinion are the ones who are old enough to really relish the evening and love showing off their disguises–usually the four-to-eight year-old range. Younger kids often are too shy (or tired or confused) to do more than stare at you while their parents prod them to “Say ‘trick-or-treat’!” (and I often wonder if they aren’t just using the poor tykes to satisfy their own sweet tooths). Older kids seem mostly intent on getting to the most houses as quickly as possible to be able to brag about getting the biggest haul. At least most of those who are middle-school aged and younger still make a good attempt at costumes and make-up (certainly fueled by dress-up day at school). I admit to being a bit resentful of the big high school louts who show up at my door without an even cursory attempt at a costume, towering over me with often sullenly snarled “Trick or treat”s (and usually well after everyone else has gone home to count their piles of Baby Ruths and Butterfingers).

No, not even they can spoil my enjoyment in interacting with the Ninja turtles, lady bugs, Little Mermaids, monsters, pirates, dirt bikers and Darth Vaders that ring my doorbell. They glow with pleasure at my compliments and comments about their outfits, and they will often drop delightful little tidbits of information that leave me chuckling long after they’ve passed on to the neighbors’ houses. “My sister wore this last year, and she got sick in it, but my mom cleaned it and it doesn’t even smell!”  “I was an angel but my wings fell off so now I’m a bride.” “I’m Alicia and I am a monster and I have three eyes and my brother is . . .” That one is going to be a politician someday.

I hope you had a very Happy Halloween, and don’t get sick from all that leftover candy (anybody got a Three Musketeers bar you want to trade for a Mars bar?)!

Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

Happy Halloween! As you all know from my previous blogs, I am a huge Philadelphia Phillies fan. On Wednesday night at around 10 p.m., the Phillies became the 2008 World Series Champions! What you don’t know is that I was in attendance as the Phils broke the Curse of Billy Penn. It was truly an unbelievable sensation and experience and one I will certainly never ever forget.

Picture this - Monday night, working late. Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO, gets the chance to snag two tickets to that night’s game - what could be the final game in the series if the Phillies win. In a rush and flurry of red, we hop on 95, park, pick up our tickets and are nestled into our seventh row seats by 7:45 p.m. All the while, I am still in shock that I am even there.

And then, Mother Nature intervened and in a World Series first, play is suspended in the middle of the sixth due to rain. Some may argue the game should have been called sooner, but this is Philadelphia, and things don’t come easily here. On Tuesday, we were pounded with rain and snow and the remainder of the game was pushed back once again.

Wednesday night arrives. The game is on, the anticipation is high. After a delicious dinner at The Palm in Center City, we hop on the subway and head over to Citizen’s Bank Park. The crowded train erupts with shouts and cheers as soon as we pull up to our stop. In the bottom of the sixth, a lead-off double by the Phillies pinch hitter Geoff Jenkins helps us break the tie and regain a 3-2 lead. Top of the seventh, the Rays tie it up. In the bottom of the seventh, we push ahead once again. A scoreless eighth followed by Brad “Lights Out” Lidge. In an incredibly exciting three innings of baseball, the Phillies became champions. It was a moment beyond any words I could find to describe the night.

I can remember only two times in my life feeling a similar level of excitement as I did on Wednesday night. The first was when, during my freshman year at Syracuse University, our basketball team, led by Carmelo Anthony, became NCAA champs. The second moment was when I graduated from SU. In a reverse situation, we were on the playing field of the Carrier Dome surrounded by thousands upons thousands of friends and family cheering on the Class of 2006. These are moments of excitement, anticipation, hope, good cheer and so much more. Once-in-a-lifetime kinds of things. The stuff movies are made of!

After the game was over, the celebration was only just beginning. We hopped back on the subway to Broad Street, where wall-to-wall people were out in the streets, hanging from traffic lights. This city was on fire, and the celebration is continuing downtown today. For the first time in 25 years, a championship parade will fill the streets. Over two million are expected to turn out. You can watch it live on MLB’s Web site.

So, here’s to the Phillies, the city of Philadelphia and the fans. Oh, what a feeling!

-Kimberly Krol, circulation and PR executive, eFlyer editor

First, I’d like to say “Yay!” to the Phillies for winning the World Series for the first time since 1980! As GT’s world headquarters is based just outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I know some of my fellow colleagues were watching with loyalty.

On Tuesday, I attended a private party at Zenkichi, a modern Japanese restaurant on North 6th Street and Wythe in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Zenkichi was celebrating its two-year anniversary and the grand opening of their winter garden. As the venue is located only several blocks from my apartment, I persevered through the cold rain and wind to find Zenkichi’s unmarked door. From the outside, the restaurant can easily be missed, as it displays nothing but simple and chic wooden panels with a small opening to the passerby. Inside I found that, in spite of the inclement weather, Zenkichi was hosting a warm and intimate party with plenty of free sake flowing to warm up the guests!

Zenkichi is made up of three floors with tables to accommodate 100 guests, 70 inside and 30 in the winter garden. Paths of stones and pebbles with bamboo stalks lead to nooks and crannies of private booths. Each mahogany table is sectioned off with a curtain, allowing a very warm and intimate atmosphere for guests.

Each floor featured different hors d’oeuvres, including their signature dish, Maguro Carpaccio, medium tuna sashimi in green yuzu pepper sauce. With a menu that changes every five weeks, this restaurant is definitely a place worth frequenting. Zenkichi’s special Junmai (pure rice) all-natural premium sake was eminent throughout the entire party as just a taste of Zenkichi’s array of 50 assorted sake labels. Within the first 30 minutes of arriving, we had all forgotten about the cold rain blustering outside.

-Courtney Centeno, account executive

Several months ago, in one of my blogs, I suggested that business people should adopt nicknames to enhance their marketability and likeability. In my continuing quest to improve business, I have another suggestion - entrance music.

In the 1950s, pro wrestler Gorgeous George often used “Pomp and Circumstance” as he entered the ring. He is generally considered the first live performer to use entrance music.

In the 1970s, Chicago White Sox organist Nancy Faust started to play specific music for various players. For instance, during Oscar Gamble’s stay with the Sox, whenever he came to bat, Faust would play “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers.

Pro-wrestling brought entrance music to new levels by writing original tunes for each wrestler (thereby negating royalty payments). Then the songs would be packaged and sold as CDs. These songs were also periodically changed, thus creating new revenue streams from new sales.

Now, entrance music is commonplace in sports. In San Diego’s PETCO Park, the fans erupt when AC/DC’s “Hells Bells” signals the entrance of future Hall of Fame reliever Trevor Hoffman into the game.

If entrance music can be used in pro sports, why not use it in the business world? How cool would it be to have your own entrance music played when you entered the office each day? Or entered a big meeting?

I haven’t worked out all of the specifics yet, but I think offices with 15-50 people would be perfect. Much more and there would be music playing all day. Much less and it would be pretty pointless. There are other details, but we can work them out later.

I think it would do wonders for office morale. Imagine a bleary Monday morning. As you stumble through the office door, “Bad to the Bone” by George Thorogood starts to play. It has to put you in a mood to get stuff done.

I really am surprised that notable business people, like Donald Trump and Bill Gates, don’t have their own music. Maybe they are bigger than the music.

As for me, my music would have to be a Billy Joel tune. “Vienna” is my favorite, but perhaps a bit too melancholic for an office. I think I will go with “Big Man on Mulberry Street,” and I expect Fran Gallagher to cue it up the next time I enter one of his meetings.

-John Wroblewski, distribution specialist

I know many people in the workplace find email to be a help and an annoyance. It has allowed many people to rely on written messages as opposed to picking up the phone and talking to people the old-fashioned way. It has also made it more challenging, in some cases, for salespeople. Personally, I have found it easier for people to discard a question, or say “No” on an email than over the phone.

Outside the work place, I find more and more people relying on another form of email: the text message. The text message is a phenomenon that has finally reached the United States. For anyone not familiar with text messaging, it is a function on your mobile phone, similar to email, as it is a written message. It allows us to send quick, succinct messages to friends, family and colleagues. I do love texting in certain cases. For instance, when I’m running late, the ability to send a text and say “I’m running five minutes late” is often easier and more efficient than making a call. Or, if I’m in a meeting and have to get an urgent message out, a text is a great resource.

However, I see more and more friends relying on text messaging for communication, and this disturbs me. I see relationships started and ended over texts. I think it just loses so much meaning and leaves way too much time for people to start interpreting a message and analyzing what it means when nine times out of ten, the message was harmless and didn’t mean a thing!

I guess all I’m trying to say is next time you have something important to say and you lean towards sending a text, pick up the phone. It will make all parties involved much happier!

-Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher