Gerald of Rivia returns this week for CD Projekt’s highly-anticipated third installment of the Witcher series. With all the hype, including a three-part video preview and a 10/10 rating from Gamespot, we eagerly downloaded the game on the date of release. Sure enough, the game did not disappoint, with beautiful artwork, stunning graphics, and immersive lore that kept us entertained over Memorial Day weekend. We did take a break on Saturday to check out dishwashers and gas grills, after getting the scoop from Consumer Reports, but ultimately purchased an upholstered bed from Thomasville. While in Roseville, we made use of our Entertainment book coupons and gorged on calamari and pasta at Bucca di Beppo. On Sunday, we revisited Melody’s hometown for her mentee’s wedding at the Stockton Golf & Country Club. The dancing made us feel old, so we turned in early to join her parents for dim sum the next morning. Afterwards, we caught up with her high school buddy for a boat ride around the California Delta and Stockton Marina. We were left with little time for monster-slaying, but we look forward to many more hours of adventuring in the months ahead.

Our department’s annual symposium takes place in Napa, which gave me an excuse to bring my wife along for the weekend to indulge in the culinary mecca. With clinic canceled, I drove up on Friday in time to share tender seared scallops & cumin-y lamb meatballs at Redd for lunch. After dropping some cash for macarons at Bouchon Bakery, I quickly changed in the car and arrived at the hotel just in time to catch the first session. For dinner, we went to Oenotri for speedy, efficient service and delicious Southern Italian fare including a salumi plate, a fava bean pizza, and mushroom tagliatelle. I awoke early Saturday for my morning presentation, but ducked out early for lunch at Morimoto Napa, where the dense bone marrow appetizer and heavy sea urchin carbonara was offset by a chirashi rice bowl that was a feast for both our eyes and taste buds. In the afternoon, we were overwhelmed by the tradesmen and exhibitors at the Napa Home & Garden Show, and decided instead to unwind with a matinee showing of Pitch Perfect 2 before heading to the faculty dinner at Bottega. We drove back home on Sunday to check out a few friends’ houses with recent renovations, before firming up our design plans with our designer for our upcoming kitchen and bathroom remodels. With our new outdoor patio set, and a mid-century modern dining set from Bryght and Overstock, we finally feel our home starting to come together.

The ARVO meeting this year was very different from my first experience attending the event in 2010. Fort Lauderdale had been a long-time host, so casual shirts and shorts were the typical attire. And as residents, we paid more attention to the beach and nightlife than the actual research posters and lectures. But this year, as a new faculty attending the meeting in Denver, the experience was much more formal … and stressful. Between trying to attend both clinical and basic science talks, I was also arranging meetings with collaborators, mentors, and industry reps – not to mention catching up with old friends whom I rarely see. On Saturday, after bumming a ride with my fellow and almost forgetting to bring my poster, we made it to the airport in time to grab a burger at the gate before a restless flight sitting next to his two toddlers. Dinner with my roommate at Panzano included calamari and polenta sticks followed by a hearty “Carbonara alla Panzano” that was made with homemade pasta cooked to al dente perfection. Sunday was packed with meetings, and the blue bear figurine near the entrance made for an easy landmark to coordinate. For dinner, I met up with my Duke co-fellows at Rioja to reminisce, then walked to the Harvard reception which I’ve found to be bigger and less familiar each year. I dressed more formally on Monday to meet with some industry reps, and was glad that the suit survived both tacos at Los Chingones for lunch and eclectic street foods at Linger with MEEI residents for dinner. I presented my poster on the morning of Cinco de Mayo, then braved the torrential rain for more tacos with my UCD colleagues at Tamayo, and splurged on dinner with a friend at Mizuna with foie gras and Chilean sea bass. My energy was winding down by Wednesday after back-to-back morning meetings. So I just got a burger at nearby Stout Street Social before catching an Uber ride to the airport for my flight home. Despite the busy schedule and being mildly depressed by the successes of other clinician-scientists, I was well-fed on my first visit to the Mile High city and look forward to future meetings.