Fellowship orientation was a 3-day marathon of learning about benefits, salary, safety, call, coding, and compliance. Each long day of lectures was followed by an evening of filling and scanning paperwork at home. Most of the faculty had kept clinic less busy for our first week, although it was still frustrating trying to learn the new EMR system, the idiosyncrasies of the OR, and the logistics of clinic flow here. While I have gained little knowledge in retina, I did manage to conclude that vacation is only a mirage in fellowship, and that I have essentially been condemned to two years of indentured servitude. Meanwhile, I’ve been trying to spend what little time I had left with Melody exploring the local dining scene. From chicken and waffles at Dame’s, to cold fried chicken at Crook’s Corner, to the two-piece combo at Bojangles, I have learned to embrace these crispy feathered friends. Sadly, our search for Asian cuisines has been underwhelming. So far, we’ve only come across tolerable dim sum at nearby Hong Kong, overpriced bun rieu at Pho Far East, distant soondubu at Vit Goal, and Cantonese fare served by Mandarin speakers at Dim Sum House. We also tried to get started on Ezio and Altair’s final adventure, although we had little time to spend on it as Melody prepared to move on to her new life in Cali. It was tough dropping my wife off at the airport – it was nearly 10 years ago since we were last truly long-distance. On one hand, I won’t have the guilt of not spending time with her through the busy fellowship. But on the other, it breaks my heart to have my other half so far away.