My folks arrived just days before my trip to Beverly Hills for this year’s Macula Society meeting. After groceries, dim sum, and a quick orientation for our new childcare routine, we celebrated the Year of the Dog with an attempt at a tea ceremony and a hearty “gung hay fat choy” from Westley. I arrived in LAX Wednesday morning and headed directly to Tsujita LA Artisan Noodles. Not knowing the difference with their annex across the street, I did a quick web search and opted for the heartier tsukemen at the annex. But the salty broth was overpowering and I made the mistake (again) of paying an extra buck for the large size that left me uncomfortably stuffed on the way to the hotel. The poolside reception after the first conference session included the usual suspects from the retina world, and I went to bed rehearsing my talk. The next day, I left the meeting early and enjoyed springy noodles and a rich, nutty broth at Tentenyu Ramen. I tried to let it digest during the new member reception before having dinner with my friend Raj at Gwen. The overpriced Blackstone Wagyu flat iron steak at this manly restaurant/butcher shop however left me reminiscing about Matsusaka marbling. On Friday, the meeting ran later than expected, and I once again braved the agonizing LA traffic for french bistro fare at Ludo Lefebvre’s Petit Trois. The soft, cuddly omelette and scrumptious escargot were to die for, although the onion soup felt a bit undersalted and underflavored, but enough to keep me satisfied until our gala banquet. I was coming down with a cough by the last day of the meeting, but managed to get through my talk and met my friend Jeff for lunch over bacon-wrapped dates and a delicious Spanish fried chicken and cornmeal waffle at A.O.C.. I was ecstatic to see Melody bring Westley and my parents to pick me up from the airport, and we indulged in a lavish meal of fresh abalone, peking duck, and conch before returning home. With Melody leaving again soon for her conference, we took advantage of some Mondavi Center tickets from a colleague to enjoy a little alone time without the baby on Sunday.

Turning 39 wasn’t really something I felt like celebrating, so I took up an offer for an advisory board in Phoenix just 2 days before my birthday. We spent Sunday at the Norcal Home & Landscape Expo to scout landscape designers, then dined on hearty HK cuisine to ease our cold symptoms. My lab made a bigger deal of my birthday when I got back with a beautiful red velvet cake, and my clinic staff extended the celebration further on Wednesday. The following weekend got swept away by a day-long faculty retreat that began with a cult-themed Escape Room experience, followed by grueling but unproductive discussions about education, research, and clinics at a country club. For Westley’s birthday, we delayed the celebration until Sunday for a dim sum party at Yue Huang, followed by unpacking of presents, whacking of balloons, eating of cake, assembly of Duplo pieces, and jumping on an inflatable trampoline that got him bouncing in and out like a ninja warrior. His new-found assertiveness led to some roughhousing at school, leaving him disfigured as he transitioned to the Beginner’s 2 class. For us, his growing energy also meant forgoing any hope for vegging out to watch the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, and instead filling our weekends with playground visits and outings to keep the little guy busy. Surprisingly, he handled his first dental cleaning with flying colors last week. And since he still maintains a 7pm bedtime, we were able to finish up Dishonored 2 and prepare for our next guilty gaming pleasure. With impending tariffs on clean energy, we are also beginning to invite solar salesmen to our house to torture us with their infomercial sales pitch. With my parents coming in just one week, we hope to maintain our sanity just a bit longer before reinforcements arrive.