I kicked off October with a visit to the Bay Area to give grand rounds at UCSF. To avoid rush hour traffic, I asked them to put me up at a hotel, which was conveniently located at the Japan Center and gave me a chance for some Daiso shopping and noodle slurping at Kui Shin Bo and Hinodeya, in addition to the hosts’ dinner. I spent the rest of the weekend with family, trying out Fish’s Wild Island Grill, petting farm animals at Grandpa’s Barn, and introducing Westley to his first movie – My Neighbor Totoro. Despite occasional scares from the makkurokurosuke and big totoro, he was glued to the screen. With my parents in town for a 3-week visit, I kept myself busy with grant applications, fellowship interviews, and Paul Hom, while Melody attended several meetings. I finally succeeded in changing our fellowship lunch location, but the back-to-back weekend commitments left me little time to spend with my folks, with only a few opportunities to dine out for hot pot, poke, and pozole. Fortunately, Westley has become much more verbal now, and is keeping them plenty entertained.