With all the traveling I’ve endured over the past few months, I was relieved to learn that I’ve at least earned silver medallion status on Delta. So with my free upgrades, I was able to fly back to NYC in first-class comfort to spend Thanksgiving with my family and friends. I avoided holiday travel anguish with an early morning flight on Thursday which landed in time for a dim sum brunch with my parents. A visit to my aunt gave me the chance to catch up with her family and alleviate some anxiety about her upcoming cataract surgery. After an afternoon nap, we feasted on a dinner of shark fin soup, conch with scallops, salty-spicy lobster, steamed fish, and pea pod stems to celebrate dad’s 70th birthday. I spent most of Friday catching up on sleep, awaking briefly for some homemade comfort food. This energized me for a full day hanging out with my college friends and their swarm of children buzzing around at the Museum of Natural History, followed by a stroll through East Village with my high school friend. Here, the crowds at Ippudo diverted us to the less busy Ramen Setagaya, where the gyolo ramen’s broad, flat springy noodles helped carry the savory, if a bit garlicky broth. At ChikaLicious, the prix fixe menu of amuse bouche, petite fours, and a main dessert of toasted almond cake complemented the meal nicely, but barely justified the $16 price tag. Fortunately, I filled up that evening on banquet-style Chinese seafood with a bunch of old family friends from some 25 years ago. The meal sent me straight into a food coma on my morning flight back and much of Sunday afternoon. Overall, the trip was relaxing, but unfortunately did not reset my sleep schedule as I had hoped.