With my grant submitted and my parents visiting for 2 weeks, I was planning to spend some quality time with the family. After showing them the new house and our new vacation album for Africa, we took them into the city for banh cuon in Little Saigon, snapper sandwiches at Fins, and shopping at Arden Fair. But by the time I got home, I was curled up in my fetal position with a fever of 104 degrees. This was probably the sickest I’ve been in a long time, so my wife and parents had to take turns nursing me over the remainder of the long weekend. I was conscious enough to watch the 40th anniversary special of SNL, but I ultimately succumbed to a doctor visit after five nights of shaking chills and night sweats. I was finally feeling better by Chinese New Year, so I was able to do our tea ceremony ritual, take family photos, and even help put together our new Joola table for a few rounds of ping pong. This past weekend, we took my parents to Roseville and Fair Oaks for some furniture shopping. Having met with our interior designer, we perused the designs at West Elm, Crate & Barrel, and Restoration Hardware, but ultimately ordered a Natuzzi couch from Furnitalia and some patio furniture from Macy’s. We also made sure our bellies were full with tonkotsu ramen, Cantonese seafood, and Russian buffet. My in-laws also came to visit, which gave us a good opportunity for hot pot with ingredients from 99 Ranch and Koreana Plaza. By the time my parents left, I was in high spirits, having recovered from my virus and returning to work, only to be shattered – literally – with a break-in at our house the next day. Melody had arrived home from work minutes before I did. Having noticed the glass in our rear door shattered and our alarm triggered, she walked out and immediately called the police. By then, the house was clear and the burglars had left with my wife’s jewelry and make-up collection. Surprisingly, our electronics were left untouched, and we wondered if the alarm had limited the potential loss. We spent the evening cleaning the broken glass, calling the insurance company, and looking for a door repair person. All in all, I was glad that my family was safe through this episode, but I went to bed reconsidering my opinion of human nature.

I had wished to spend my birthday quietly at home this year. But as fate would have it, it was my call week and I spent Friday night removing a piece of metal from the back of a patient’s eye. Fortunately, she did surprisingly well considering the injury, and I have been satisfied with the growth of my clinical practice. On the other hand, I had to put much of my lab work on hold this week while I tried desperately to submit my K08 grant on time. This was my first experience submitting an NIH grant, and I had not expected the paperwork to be so overwhelming. Aside from dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s, I had to coordinate a team of mentors, consultants, and referees to have their letters of reference submitted electronically in time. Even my own submission bounced back 3 different times from formatting errors before I was finally able to get it in today – one day before the due date. We celebrated over dim sum with Melody’s cousin, and look forward to my parents driving up from San Jose for their first visit to the area.