Our goal for this weekend was to relax and spend quality time with my folks back in NYC. After lunch in Chinatown, we went home and learned how to make lo mai chi (coconut-coated sweet rice balls stuffed with crushed peanuts – often called “snowballs” because of their appearance). On Sunday, we ventured out to Edgewater, NJ, where we revisited ramen heaven Santouka at the Mitsuwa marketplace. The springy noodles, fragrant broth, and tender pork cheeks were a hit as always, and we even left with a broiled eel for the road. These whirlwind weekends back home always feel too short, and the traveling seem too long … but they are still well worth the trip.

After hearing all the hype, we finally got our hands on The Beatles Rock Band this weekend. The game did not disappoint, with its psychedelic and beautiful display of the band’s historical rise to fame and musical genius. Between jamming to the tunes of the Fab Four, we also caught up with several old friends from out of town – which of course meant lots and lots of eating. This included pasta from La Morra, noodles from Ken Ramen, porridge from HK Eatery, and dim sum at Winsor Cafe. The highlight, however, was taking a morning trip to Clear Flour Bread for their sublime pain au chocolat, so fresh out of the oven that the chocolate chips were still warm and melty when we bit into them. After all the meals and expenditures, we’ll need to cut back on spending. Fortunately, Hulu’s free streaming has kept us entertained with a TV series we’ve discovered called Firefly. The space Western, which seems like a terrible idea at first, was surprisingly entertaining and refreshingly different. It reminded us of Cowboy Bebop with its exciting adventures and witty dialogues. Sadly, the show survived only 14 episodes before the geniuses at Fox decided to nix the show. It amazes me how shows like this get cut, while Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? is in its 3rd season.

Labor Day weekend involved plenty of labor for me this year, as I spent most of it working in the ED at the infirmary. It was especially tough since I had just finished another exhaustive week of night float last week. Fortunately, my new rotation has offered me plenty of opportunities in the OR – including two pterygium surgeries which I got to perform. Despite the dearth of time, we enjoyed the beautiful fall weather after my ED shift yesterday with a stroll around the neighborhood. We browsed used books at the local bookstore, solved the daily puzzle at the game store, then chowed on a nutella canoli crepe at the creperie. Today, we awoke early to drive down to Wrentham for some outlet shopping. The crowds were much tamer than the Black Friday bunch, but so were the sales. To console ourselves for the limited finds, we dined on Melody’s rendition of kalbi jim for dinner. The sweet, tender short ribs got us both singing (to the tune of the old Batman TV series) “na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na SHORT RIBS!”