It was a treat to see my wife a third weekend in a row when she came to Durham for a final visit. I arranged for the management office to let her in since I was at work when she landed Thursday morning. By the time I got home, we were all ready for dinner reservations at Watt’s Grocery to savor their mind-blowing mac n’cheese one last time. On Friday, I finished morning clinic in time to introduce her to my favorite hand-pulled noodles in Durham before returning to the Eye Center for my exit interview with the fellowship director. The umami bomb knocked us out until dinner time at Four Square. The next day, we sneaked into Resident-Fellow Research Day for Melody to watch me present my research, then ditched the remainder of the talks to relax back home. By relax, of course, I meant sneaking through post-apocalyptic Boston and blasting zombies in last year’s critically-acclaimed Last of Us. Just as we were getting the hang of our PS3 controllers again, we were off to my graduation dinner. After receiving my certificate, I learned that I was also runner-up for the best research presentation, which must’ve been because I had already won too many awards this year. The after-party at Alley 26 saw the return of DJs Master P and Special K, and gave my wife and me the chance to dance till our bodies gave out. We could hardly climb out of bed this morning for brunch at the Waffle House followed by lemonade and snacks at my fellowship director’s house. We left early so that I could send my wife and PS3 back across the country in anticipation of my arrival. Just 2 more weeks to go!

With oral boards out of the way and the closing date of my future home back on schedule, my mind was much more at ease when I flew into Milwaukee this weekend to attend my classmate Yao’s wedding. Melody and I both connected through O’Hare, where we enjoyed some Chili’s burgers before sharing a flight into the land of Cheeseheads. With our hands on the wheel of a Dodge Charger from Thrifty, we drove into town, where our second experience with an Airbnb studio was much improved. We noted an apothecary of herbal powders in the kitchen, natural body products in the bathroom, and an aromatherapy humidifier in the living room, which along with the smut and suggestive figurines on the bookshelves, conveyed a very different type of host than the Noogler in San Francisco. In the evening, we joined the wedding couple for their rehearsal dinner atop the Pfister Hotel, and got to chat with some future glaucoma colleagues. The wedding itself took place the next morning at the Villa Terrace museum. The afternoon sun bathed the outdoor patio, which made the Asian-style parasols a hit, but the post-lunch dancing much more awkward. No trip to Wisconsin would have been complete without a visit to the local cheese mart, so we headed there after the wedding to pick up an assortment. Afterwards, we sampled more cheeses from a charcuterie plate at Wolf Peach for dinner before relaxing to a movie in bed. We awoke late for Sunday brunch. Having forgotten it was Father’s Day, we found no seats at Mader’s, and instead settled for over-spiced currywurst and Spam-like sausage loaf at the Old German Beer Hall. Here, the decor and barmaid uniforms were over-the-top, but it was a good spot for World Cup watching. After some frozen custard at Kopp’s, we arrived at the airport to learn that United had decided to make our lives miserable again by canceling our flights. We ended up scrambling for a bus ride to Chicago in time to make our connections home. It’s no wonder that air travel ranks among the most stressful activities in life.

With several upcoming expenditures – including a hefty downpayment, a new car, and summer vacation – I traveled to SFO on a budget for my oral board exam this weekend. We booked our first AirBnB stay in a small Nob Hill studio which was conveniently located just a few blocks from the hotel where the exam was held, and an even shorter walk to Chinatown. So even though it was nearly midnight by the time we converged in San Francisco, we were still able to enjoy sizzling wok hay at Yuet Lee that night. The apartment itself was peppered with Android paraphernalia and a Noogler beanie, which hinted at the owner’s occupation, but was detracted by a strange stench, the source of which we could not localize despite Melody’s valiant efforts. We awoke on Saturday to pricey dim sum at Yank Sing with my friend Yao, who passed me more study material that I desperately craved. Having forgotten to bring black shoes for the exam, we went shoe-shopping afterwards in Union Square, followed by a study break at Starbucks before pre-registering for the exam. Hoping to stave off food poisoning, we passed on ghetto Kam Po Kitchen for fancier HK-style seafood at Great Eastern for dinner. The exam itself was not far from expectations, and it felt good walking back after the 3-hour pimp session. We munched on egg tarts while packing our luggage, then joined my high school friend Brenda in Japantown for ramen and unagi. In the afternoon, we immersed in myriad interactive exhibits at the Exploratorium followed by dinner at swanky SPQR, where our favorites included a sea urchin panna cotta and a squid ink pasta with more urchin. We rested our feet with a dessert sampler at Candybar before my red-eye back home. It was much easier saying goodbye this time, knowing that I’ll be seeing my wife again next week.