Amid the usual new house endeavors, Melody and I got a chance to relax and get involved with the community. Melody was excited to take me to the Sacramento Ballet’s offering of The Great Gatsby, which featured beautiful choreography and live music well deserving of our donations. The short production ended before our Teleme More grilled cheese and Summer Truffle Mac from the Rind could put us in a food coma. We didn’t get a chance to try their extensive cheese collection, but we’ll be back to feed Melody’s fascination with noisome washed rind cheeses. Melody and I also took turns volunteering for the Paul Hom Asian Clinic, and met up with friends to taste some of Sac town’s BBQ. Halloween 2014 featured our first time ever distributing candy to Elsa and Ninja Turtle tots and teenagers with pillow cases. We thought we’d be popular with our premium candy, but apparently our one-piece-apiece policy earned several pouts. Still, we may keep the porch light on next year instead of reverting to our previous tradition of cowering in the dark.

The AAO annual meeting is rarely attended by first-year faculty, as junior recruits usually cover call. Thanks to my fellows, however, I was glad to make it to Chicago this year. I flew in Thursday night, and ran into my retina friend Larry on the subway. It turned out we were staying at the same place, so we grabbed late night grub in Chinatown before walking through the shady South Side neighborhood to our hotel. On Friday, after a morning of subspecialty day talks, I joined my cousin Paula for lunch at Blackbird, where the impressive bouillabaisse was deserving of Paul Kahan’s James Beard award and the restaurant’s Michelin star. In the evening, I updated the Michels Foundation members on my progress at work, then joined Special K at the DJ booth at Nikki for the Cornea Society party. On Saturday, Francisco and I waited for a lunch table at the Purple Pig, and was rewarded with yummy pig’s ear with crispy kale & fried egg, tender milk-braised pork shoulder on mashed potatoes, and an incredible octopus with green beans & salsa verde. With my stomach full, I made my way down Michigan Ave to check out architectural sights that were open for the Open House Chicago event. The drizzle did not stop the lines from forming at the Tribune Tower and Jeweler’s Building. I decided to forgo the hour-long wait, and instead checked out the stage view from the Prizker Pavilion and the impressive ceiling at the Chicago Cultural Center. In the evening, I caught up with colleagues at the Duke and MEEI receptions before calling it a night. I woke up next morning to present at an OCT course, then met Lucy for Acadia’s famed burger. I spent the afternoon resuming my architectural tour, checking out a vacant floor in the Inland Steel Building, the council chambers at City Hall, and the Sky Chapel atop the Chicago Temple Building. After a quick nap, I joined my UCD colleagues for our department reception, then headed to the YO party for another night of debauchery. Exhausted, I barely made it to my poster presentation Monday morning, although I had several productive meetings with industry reps. Before catching my flight home, I grabbed a prime rib sandwich and hazelnut gelato from Eataly for the road. I made it back in time to meet up with wife’s friends for Korean BBQ, but it hardly compared with my culinary tour of the Windy City.

It has only been a little over a month since I started, and it’s already fellowship interview season again. It was interesting being on the other side of the process, as I reflect on the qualities that make a good fellow. I found it tough to reconcile candidates who are aggressive “go-getters” and more likely to be leaders, from those who are pleasantly “down-to-earth,” but may be less likely to achieve academically. The venue for the interview lunch was the same restaurant we went to when I interviewed here 3 years ago. Being a creature of habit, I opted for the same uninspiring french dip sandwich. Fortunately, there were other dining opportunities awaiting in Sacramento. Last weekend, we invited visiting professor Anita Agarwal for upscale Vietnamese at Lemon Grass restaurant. The second Alta Society dinner brought me down to touristy Old Sac later that week for steak at the Firehouse. Although I did not meet many people there, my development officer made up for it with an invitation to a retirement community in Fairfield to give an oral presentation about the eye center. Hopefully, the outreach activities will help garner more patients to our practice. Back home, our unpacking process revealed a number of extra items that were duplicated from having two separate households. So if you are in the market for a washer, dryer, camera, or cleaver, check out Ebay and Craigslist for all your shopping needs!