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.