My parents came into town for Thanksgiving to check out our recent renovations and Melody’s baby bump. With the chilly weather resulting from El Nino, we decided to stay indoors to decorate our Christmas tree and celebrate Thanksgiving and my dad’s birthday over Chinese-style hot pot. Having defeated the Wild Hunt with Geralt and Ciri, we also set out for new adventures with the Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone expansion. On Black Friday, we went to Vacaville to shop for wall hangings, fake plants, and other home decor, including a nice armchair from the Restoration Hardware outlet. We stopped by Dixon on the way home to try out a new Korean restaurant which was pretty solid. Back home, while my parents played with their new Surface tablet, I spent the weekend tackling electrical wiring projects, including ceiling fans, bathroom fixtures, and bathroom ceiling lights that required some serious Twister action in the attic. While I did sustain a few shocks and bruises, I managed to avoid dying by getting our contractors to hang the new chandelier from our 20-foot foyer ceiling. We also took advantage of Cyber Monday deals to get baby stuff including a car seat, crib, and dresser that doubles as a changing table. Now that the word is out, we’re also getting an influx of hand-me-downs, from toys and clothes to carriers and strollers. As we began discussing possible names and the reality of parenthood start to set in, we can’t help feeling both excitement and anxiety for the times ahead.

It has been 15 years since my last visit to Vegas, and this year’s AAO meeting was a mix of familiar and new experiences. Despite ignoring all the slot machines, blackjack tables, and burlesque shows, I could not escape the massive, disorienting layout of the casinos, with over-the-top decor and prices that dazzle and horrify at the same time. I dropped Melody off at the airport for her own meeting on Veteran’s Day, and after some last minute meetings on Thursday, I was on my way to Sin City. After checking into my hotel, I made my way to the Tao to mingle at an industry event before turning in. Friday was spent mostly at Subspecialty Day, with an investigator luncheon for a clinical trial, and dinner afterwards with my old co-fellows. The evening continued with another epic Cornea Society party, and an afterparty with the fellows that lasted until 5 in the morning. Fortunately, I got to sleep in on Saturday before attending the afternoon session, followed by alumni receptions for Duke and MEEI. I was better rested on Sunday, and slipped out for brunch with a friend at Mon Ami Gabi before my OCT course presentation. With my obligations out of the way, I was able to relax at Madame Tussaud’s for a Zeiss presentation, then party away at the YO party at 1 Oak. I spent Monday catching up with friends over lunch at Sushi Roku and another chaotic CAOS dinner, where I volunteered manual labor for hearty Chinese seafood. Most people were gone by Tuesday, so I dined stag on stone crabs at Joe’s and a pricey prix fixe dinner at L’Atelier. Vegas is certainly fun but ultimately exhausting, and I’m more relieved than sad to go back home.

Our kitchen and bathroom remodel returned to full swing the moment we stepped back into our house. With most of the tiling completed, we turned our focus to paint colors and lighting. We were pleased with the built-in LED bookshelf lighting, but the bath lights had a greenish tinge, making us realize how sensitive we were to color temperatures. Luckily, we found out in time to return the fixtures, and went back last weekend to Lumens, Lamps Plus, and Ikea to look for other options, including chandeliers and ceiling fans. For paint colors, we went to Sherwin-Williams and Kelly Moore for paint samples, which resulted in a dizzying kaleidoscope of paint swatches on our walls to compare. There were also a number of finishing touches – towel bar locations, window caulking, glass shower handles, pull-out drawer height, spice rack dimensions, appliance installation – that kept me occupied for the last 2 weeks. Fortunately, things finally came together and we were able to get our cleaners in for a deep clean on Monday. Meanwhile at work, I had several grants due this month, one of which resulted in more headache to withdraw than to submit due to intellectual property issues that were mostly above my head. Fellowship interviews this year overlapped with Halloween, which did not seem to affect our applicant numbers, but did ruin two consecutive Saturday mornings. On the home front, we settled on Merryhill for our future daycare due to its proximity, lower cost, and importantly, a 6:30am drop-off time. We also went out for dim sum with my in-laws to celebrate both Melody’s pregnancy and my K08 grant. With these two major projects on the way, 2016 is looking like it’ll be a busy year.