It’s been nearly 25 years since I last visited Toronto, and this year’s ASRS meeting gave me a chance to return to the bustling Canadian metropolis. Getting there was no piece of cake, however, as our frugality required us to fly into Buffalo first, followed by a 2 hour car ride across the border. The Five Guys burger from the airport did not hold me over adequately, leaving me hungry and exhausted by the time I arrived at the hotel at 3 am. On Saturday morning, I walked to North America’s largest Chinatown for toasty pineapple buns and a bowl of pho bo kho before returning to the meeting. The conference itself turned out to be one of those events where one spends more time socializing than actually attending the talks. By the time I made it through the sea of my retina colleagues, the day was nearly adjourned. We walked to the dinner reception at Canada’s well-loved Hockey Hall of Fame, and snacked on small plates while mingling beside the Stanley Cup. The food certainly did not compare to the fancy culinary spread atop the CN Tower sponsored by Genentech on Sunday evening. With 360 degree views of the Toronto skyline as the backdrop, we stuffed ourselves with Caribbean jerk chicken, Indian biryani, Chinese dim sum, and Italian lasagna. The night ended with a Mexican party at a bar called the Bier Markt, which aside from the absurdity of the concept, left us memorable photos that will no doubt make their way online some day. On Monday, we joined Regeneron reps to lunch at Canoe, considered one of Toronto’s finest restaurant with impressive city views. I returned to the meeting to present my poster, then joined other fellows for the Vit Buckle Society dinner at swanky Brassaii sponsored by Synergetics. With my growing list of financial disclosures, I decided on Tuesday to sneak off by myself for lunch at Momofuku Noodle Bar. Here, my bar seat gave me a front row view to the creation of David Chang’s acclaimed pork buns (too fatty) and Momofuku ramen (good but overrated). Despite all the gastronomic adventures, the meeting itself was one of my busiest, with 3 case presentations, 2 interviews, and a research poster. The fear of international roaming costs also kept me tied to the hotel lobby, which added to the exhaustion. I shared the car ride back to Buffalo with my co-fellow and attending, stopping briefly for pictures at Niagara Falls and wings at the Buffalo airport before our flight back. After three consecutive weekends out of town, I was ready to finally unpack my bags.

There are many perks to becoming a second-year retina fellow. Having slaved away as first years to cover our seniors during interviews and meetings, we are now finally reaping the benefits of seniority. This weekend’s AVTT meeting in Chicago was an all-expense-paid educational experience for fellows. Beyond learning just new surgical technologies and techniques, there were also talks about contract negotiations, practice design, reimbursement changes, and the future of healthcare reform. The eye-opening discussion was not all doom and gloom, as it gave us a chance to network with the experts and mingle with old friends. The central location of our hotel also gave us opportunities to sample dining and nightlife in downtown Chicago. Despite our late arrival on Thursday, Eric and I scored 10pm reservations at Girl and the Goat, where Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard’s creative menu wowed us with plates like pig face and a goat belly confit. Unfortunately, the Friday night wait for Rick Bayless’ flagship restaurant was more than 2 hours, so we went next door to his more casual counterpart for some mediocre tortas and churros. The wait at Giordano’s on Saturday night was no better, and even Chicago’s famous deep-dish pizza did not impress me enough to consider a return visit. After dinner, I met up with some friends for drinks at Crimson Lounge, then bribed our way into the Roof lounge – considered one of the top 3 rooftop lounges in the world by Travel & Leisure – for house music and people watching. By the time I got home, there was little need to unpack, since I will be heading out again for ASRS in just a few short days.

I returned to Sacramento this past weekend, not only to visit Melody, but also for my first job interview at Retinal Consultants. Although it took time away from my wife, my plane tickets were covered, and the prospect of landing a position in Sacramento was well worth the sacrifice. I spent Friday observing the practice in both their clinic and OR, concluding with a lavish dinner with the partners at Ella. The harrowing day-long experience showed me how efficiently private practices are run, and how some doctors manage to see more than a hundred clinic patients or do more than 10 VR surgeries in a day. The group continued their welcome on Saturday over dim sum for lunch, followed by a barbeque with spouses and children at the managing partner’s house in Arden Park. Overall, I was impressed by the partners’ collegiality and the extent to which they enjoyed family life, not to mention the potential for big bucks. On Sunday, after filling on banh cuon, we spent the lazy afternoon hanging with the rats, munching on macarons, watching Game of Thrones, and feeding spiders to the praying mantis in the backyard. In the evening, we celebrated my sister-in-law’s birthday over HK seafood, followed by late night sweets at Rick’s Dessert Diner. Once again, the weekend trip felt way too short. But with two more weekend trips ahead, I won’t have to worry about feeling lonely.

Even as we welcomed the new fellows over dinner and a night out, I could feel the hustle and bustle of my first year of fellowship wearing away at me – literally, when I noticed the heel of my shoe crumbling away in clinic last week. Fortunately, my parents had decided to spend two weeks in town to provide me home-cooked sustenance to save me from my bachelor-like lifestyle. Together, we made many of my childhood favorites: pan-seared kingfish, beef stew, fried butterfish, winter melon soup, sesame paste, and lo mai chi. In return, I treated them to local Southern fare like fried chicken and NC-style barbeque. I also bought them a copy of the Entertainment book for discounts at the bowling alley and science museum. Last weekend, after trying our hands at the local driving range, we spent a day at Southpoint mall and Ross to score some bargain new shoes, shirts, and ties, just in time for interview season. We also shared our recent photos, with them showing off their new Android tablets, which inspired me to update my Nook with a new Cyanogen Mod build with Jellybean and the v6 Supercharger script. Our last weekend was spent mostly relaxing, with a brief tour of Raleigh after satisfying Korean food. Before taking off, they left behind enough leftovers for the entire week, not to mention groceries for another two. Nothing soothes the soul like proper home cooking, and my parents’ two week visit helped prepare me for the busy fall ahead.