After returning from Paris, I had just enough time for a school music orientation, lab lunch, and half-day clinic, before flying out again for the Retina Society meeting in Chicago. It is rare for Melody’s and my conferences to coincide in space and time, so we took advantage of the occasion to share room and board. After landing on Wednesday, I rendezvoused with her for arancini and octopus at The Purple Pig, then debriefed about her interview on the way to the hotel. I awoke early next morning to give my talk and moderate the first session, then returned to the hotel for a swim and meeting before sharing high-end korean steakhouse / BBQ at Perilla. Melody departed on Friday, while I stuck around for an extra night to tear up the dance floor at our gala. The last morning of my meeting concluded with a stop for Shaw’s chowder and signature seafood salad before my return flight. Back home, I completed my Seth Rogan Apple TV marathon of The Studio and Platonic, as well as our epic Wukong journey to embark on Split Fiction – a co-op adventure about two writers trapped inside simulations of their unfinished stories. The sci-fi and fantasy worlds provided a mix of game designs and platforms – a homage to video games – as we took turns teaming up in split screen action. Melody and I also took advantage of our remaining free childcare for a date night in SF for Le Sserafim’s Easy Crazy Hot tour. We started with an impressive Korean-inspired tasting menu at Ssal to stay on theme, then headed to the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium for our first concert in nearly a decade. The K-pop sensation did not disappoint, as we broke out our fimbong light sticks and joined other FEARNOTs to dance and sing along to the quintet’s bold, dynamic setlist. The concert made me fall in love with the group and download all their new tracks for my next trip.