Goodbye, Sweet Friend…

Gus

11/23/2012 – 9/24/2014

My first few weeks at the new job involved acquainting myself with all the administrative departments at UC Davis. First, I needed access – keys, photo IDs, OR lockers. Then, there was training – computer training, laboratory safety, patient privacy, and sexual harassment. There were also faculty development workshops on promotions and goal-setting. Most foreign to me, however, was publicity and outreach. This meant professional photos, a website profile, and faculty announcement flyers. Last week, I attended my first dinner meeting at the Alta California Ophthalmic Society. It was a good chance to become acquainted with the community docs in town, but it also opened my eyes to the political activism at the local chapters. Back home, we finally found LED fixtures with just the right color temperature and brightness to replace our canned lights. We also ventured out to Leslie’s Pool Supplies to kick start our backyard hot tub. The store clerk took pity on us when he saw our crate of chemicals and the big question marks on our faces, and showed us all we needed to know (and buy) to get the hot tub up and running. Considering the drought and rising cost of water, it was painful replacing all those gallons of water for something we may hardly use. It also didn’t help that we had to cut checks for the final completion of the wood flooring and stair carpeting. To take a break from the house, we drove into SF last weekend to meet with an old college/med school friend who was in town for a conference. After satisfying our wok hay and Asian bakery craves, we checked out Japanese minimalistic design at the SF Muji store, then bedazzled ourselves with the ultra-modern, ultra-pricey furniture at Arkitektura next door. For dinner, we shared ribs, mac n’ cheese, pork sliders, and a Tipsy burger at the Tipsy Pig. The meal was solid, but except for the company, probably not worth the 2 hour drive.

We had little time to unpack and unwind from our trip before our contractors were back in the house to start laying down our new floors. I was confined to the bathroom during the day, where I had my desktop PC set up to sort and edit our vacation photos. As the days passed, we realized that home ownership can really provide an endless supply of little projects. This also meant visiting Home Depot or Lowe’s at least one to two times a week. After drenching myself from replacing a bunch of broken sprinklers, I learned my lesson and left the landscape wiring to an electrician, who uncovered an underground short in the backyard that nearly ignited when we dug it from the mulching. Meanwhile, the prospect of starting work meant having to get a second car. With all the expenditures, I was glad that the Niello in Elk Grove had a pre-owned 328i with only 3000 miles for 10-grand below the MSRP. With the new ride, we drove out to Sac-town to try ramen at Akebono and rice porridge at Happy Corner Restaurant, which were both good but not mind-blowing. By Labor Day, the floors have been installed, the base boards painted, and our stair carpet selected. On Saturday, we went to Ikea for free crayfish and meatballs, but did not score any big ticket items. The rest of the long weekend was spent vacuuming, scrubbing, and wiping down the house. This allowed us to move our TV back into the family room so that we could start the new PS3 exclusive Beyond: Two Souls. The game explored paranormal activity and the world beyond in a cinematic style reminiscent of its predecessor, with less choice but more star power. Despite being exhausted from the weekend, I had trouble sleeping, as I prepare to start my new job.