This year’s ARVO was my first time staying for the entire meeting, and my first time witnessing snow there. I arrived in Denver on Sunday for the first poster session and lunch with my ex-lab members Sook and Mini. I socialized at our department reception afterwards, and networked with RPB and Michigan folks thanks to our new chair. Day two kicked off with award lectures, lunch and meetings with Regeneron, and an unexpected run-in with my labmate Kevin who’s now in the rejuvenation industry. I felt underdressed, however, next to ophthalmology greats at the BrightFocus dinner at the Denver Art Museum. On Tuesday, I shared life advice at Breakfast with the Experts, then met with Cirrus, RegenXBio, Adverum, and Genentech teams before joining my trainees for lunch at James Beard awardee Rioja and ice-cream next door. My solo omakase experience at Sushi by Scratch was somewhat disappointing, unfortunately, due to aggressive flavoring that reminded me of its Californian roots. Despite multiple sleepless nights, I stayed up practicing my talk for Thursday, which went smoothly with minimal scrutiny. I could not finish the juicy but pricey ribeye steak over lunch at Guard & Grace with my classmate Brian, but at least stayed awake for a full afternoon of poster viewing and DFC’s lab dinner. I moderated one of last sessions on Thursday, chowed down on Jinya ramen, then booked it home to celebrate Mother’s Day with Korean BBQ and our 19th Anniversary with a surprise visit to Saison in SF. Despite losing its third Michelin star, Richard Lee’s “fire-forward” tasting menu provided well-executed flavors complete with teapot-served broths, chopper-hunted antelope, and custom steak knives, although the unnecessary uni toast and wagyu supplements, mandatory surcharges, and adding taxes atop these fees nearly doubled the final bill. My fine dining streak extended to Fort Lauderdale, where my abbreviated presence at the Retina World Congress was interspersed with lobster spaghetti from Del Mar, crab fried rice from Takato, and foie gras “nutter butter” at Maass that tasted like a Michelin-level PB&J. I got back in time to give my talk at our department’s Napa Eye meeting, savor escargot and onion soup from Bouchon Bistro, and catch up with Melody and Westley about their BTS concert in Stanford. With so many lofty expenditures this month, we’ll need to keep a closer eye on our wallet.

After spring break in Toronto, I had less than 24 hours to recover before flying out again to SoCal for the RIMR meeting. It had been 7 years since my last invitation to this exclusive think tank of AMD thought leaders. Over three intense days, my workgroup discussed critical challenges and potential strategies for effective gene therapies, which concluded with a dinner I organized at Fable & Spirit. Invigorated, I returned home to finish our taxes and tackle spring gardening. Weeding the lawn on my hands and knees, however, triggered a full-body rash that had me smearing Westley’s eczema steroid all over myself. At least I managed to avoid my wife and son’s cold symptoms, which included 10 days of recurring fever for Westley that led to a chest x-ray, pneumonia diagnosis, and newfound azithromycin allergy. We finally caught a break to celebrate Melody’s birthday weekend by redeeming our Shabu Shack coupon and watching Project Hail Mary on the big screen, followed by the Martian, both installations of Wicked, and more Harry Potter movies. I was also glad to escape Jury Duty, but ran in with the law with a traffic ticket for bike lane incursion. With Melody gone for a few days, I played Killer Bunnies with Westley, dined with industry friends and a visiting professor, and picked up a jade bonsai from the ABAS Spring Show. As ARVO approached, I was glad to have my folks back in town. We showed them our new noodle obsessions at Ten Seconds and Kajiken alongside new boba spots like Cane Corner and Tea Dojo, assembled a new deck box, played ping pong, and even checked out grazing goats and sheep on the greenbelt as the warm weather set in.

With spring break curtailed by a meeting, we decided to take a short trip to Toronto, having forgotten how East Coast winter linger into March. Arriving on a red-eye flight made for a rough start, but our spirits lifted when we spied Comic-Con cosplay at Union Station. After stashing our luggage, we visited St. Lawrence Market to share a peameal sandwich from Carousel Bakery, lobster roll from Buster’s Sea Cove, lox bagel from St. Urbain, oysters from Seafront, butter tart from Eve’s Temptations, and take-away cheese from Olympic Cheese Mart. Our harbourfront walk was cold and windy, so after grabbing President’s Choice cookies and watching sugar scoops from Sugar Beach, we sheltered at a Community Center for chess and nap time before checking into our high-rise AirBnb. We shopped for Muji goods at The Well and browsed the Wellington Market food hall on the way to shoot Decepticons at the Rec Room and ascend CN Tower for dinner at the rotating 360 Restaurant. Our pricey meal included access to the observation deck to reward us with panoramic city views. The Sunday morning drizzle shifted our plans indoor to the Art Gallery of Ontario, where we were captivated by David Blackwood’s printmaking, Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room, a ship model collection, and a free draw station. From there, we snacked our way through Chinatown and Kensington Market, hitting Mashion Bakery, Mother’s Dumplings, Wanda’s Pie in the Sky, Golden Patty, Pancho’s Bakery, Fresco’s Fish & Chips, and Rasta Pasta. I sipped a Canadian Maple Latte to stay awake at the Distillery District while shopping for a stuffed beaver and handmade mug, then relaxed to Studson Studio videos before dining on Raku udon. On Monday, we took the GO train to Niagara Falls, where our Wonder Pass included an uninformative Niagara Takes Flight ride, a frozen-over Journey Behind the Falls, and a Power Plant visit that featured a musical Tesla coil demo. We skipped the Butterfly Conservatory and most of the cheesy Clifton Hill attractions, but at least rode the SkyWheel for birds-eye views of the falls. Despite a lackluster welcome center lunch, we were wowed by the Indian fare at Desi Road which kept us warm while we waited for our bus and train ride back. We visited Toronto Zoo on Tuesday, where we got to watch gorilla surgery despite many exhibits being closed due to weather. From there, we shared creamy Hakata-style Ramen Raijin along the way to the Royal Ontario Museum and its amazing wildlife photography exhibit, then returned to Chinatown for Goubuli baos and old-school HK fare from Swatow Restaurant. For our final breakfast, we revisited Chinatown for rice noodles and congee at Yin Ji Chang Fen, then picked up pineapple buns from HK Island Bakery and banh mi from Nguyen Huong for later. Our self-guided tour of Casa Loma afterwards featured secret passages, military paraphernalia, antique cars, and a documentary of its financier. The gothic mansion apparently also doubled as a set for movies and escape room experiences. Unfortunately, our return flight was delayed, resulting in a longer layover and later arrival home. Our first Canadian vacation this year was short, cold, but delicious. We’ll see how Montreal fares later this summer.

This year’s Macula Society gave me a chance to reconnect with friends and colleagues over a one-night stay in sunny Coronado. I arrived early Thursday to catch the morning sessions, then grab lunch with a clinical trial sponsor before taking a ferry ride with friends across San Diego Bay, and reembarking on the same boat back to catch dinner with my UCD and Duke friends. My talk on day two was well received, and I opted for solo dining instead of the gala to make an earlier flight home. I was not immune to Melody’s cold, unfortunately, and my symptoms came down hard that weekend, forcing me to miss the Paul Hom Health Fair and binge my way through an exciting first season of the sci-fi show Paradise. By Monday I was back on my feet, which allowed me to power through an action-packed week recording a meeting debrief in a studio, petting pythons with Westley at his school’s STEM night, celebrating my student’s first-place win at UCD Poster Day, and cheering on our resident Christine at the ARC Orchestra concert. Last weekend, we drove down to Oakland to revisit the Mammoth Bonsai Auction at Lake Merritt, where we splurged on a striking corokia cotonester draped over a rock, and massive crape myrtle that barely fit in the backseat. We stayed on theme with dinner at Soba Ichi before returning home for tax season and spring gardening, which included planting a new “golden nugget” mandarin tree in our backyard. We celebrated Pi Day with three pies from Ikeda and dinner with my friend Parisa’s family over Indian curries. With cake and tarts they brought from Ettore’s and mochi donuts from Tomo using our new food-saving app, our spring is kicking off with plenty of calories that will hopefully burn off with our new Peloton subscription. 

This past weekend, we decided to extend Melody’s conference trip for a 3-day getaway in Seattle. Westley and I awoke at 4:20a for our morning flight to join her at her hotel until check-out. We trudged through the rain to MoPOP, where we learned to play drums and mix tracks at the music lab, fought monsters and solved puzzles at the indie games exhibit, and explored costumes and props at the sci-fi and fantasy galleries. We warmed up with noodle soups from Pho Viet Anh, checked into our AirBnb studio loft overlooking the Space Needle, then headed to Chihuly Garden & Glass to educate ourselves on glass blowing. I recovered from diarrhea and a nap for dinner reservations at Haidilao, only to overstuff myself again before bed. On Sunday, we went to Pike Place Market to sample treats from Le Panier, Piroshky Piroshky, Daily Dozen, The Crumpet Shop, and Aditi Chai. We then descended to the Seattle Aquarium to meet touchy anemones, a sleepy octopus, and hungry oystercatchers, before retracing our steps through the maze of shops for Pike Place Chowder and Market Grill fish sandwich. At the Seattle Art Museum, Westley practiced capturing artworks with my camera. Realizing that most museums were closed on Mondays, we powered through to the Pacific Science Center, where we flew Boeing-designed paper airplanes, danced like jumping spiders, and secured standby spots at the intimate planetarium show. Melody and Westley found souvenirs at the Seattle Glassblowing Studio before we headed to Mercer Island for dinner and game night with my friend Kathryn and her family. We slept in and awoke to French pastries from La Parisienne on Monday, then headed to the International District for another self-guided food tour that included crossing bridge noodles from Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle, pineapple bun and XO chang fun from A+ Hong Kong Kitchen, and fish congee and wonton noodle soup from Mike’s Noodle House. We snapped photos of Bruce Lee’s mural outside his favorite restaurant, then played through seven decades of pinball at the Seattle Pinball Museum. We concluded with Dough Zone dumplings and noodles, and picked up TP milk tea that we had to finish before airport security. Fortunately, the TSA precheck shutdown was reversed last minute, but our 2-hour flight delay made for a tiring trip home.

I spent the past weeks obsessing over house lights, swapping bulbs around to optimize lumens and color temperatures. I also installed picture lights over our Peruvian tapestry and hired expert help to put one over our fireplace canvas. But Westley was the one to truly light up our lives this year. Last week, he completed the 18 laps of freestyle necessary to pass level 10 and graduate from Swim America. He also performed his first orchestra concert after just a few months of violin lessons, completed COM level 3, and showed off his vocal skills at NewStar’s lunar new year gala. He even gained enough confident to compete in his first fencing tournament, where placing second-to-last in the Y12 mixed foil pool of 5 earned him a bronze medal. Melody celebrated my birthday with me at Omakase Por Favor, although I had more fun sampling Paris Banh Mi and Fluffy Fluffy at the Davis Collection. Westley spent his birthday posing his completed RG Gundam Sinanju, hanging his piranha wall art, and trying out the Murdle Jr. and Ghost of Yotei that we got him as presents. We otherwise continued our tradition of triple chocolate mousse cakes from Nugget, and spun the birthday wheel at Shabu Shack on Superbowl Sunday in between watching Winter Olympics events from Milano-Cortano. Although a person’s zodiac year typically brings bad luck, I’m thankful that my Year of the Horse has been off to an auspicious start.   

We took turns playing single parents with my wife and I attending our respective conferences this month. While Melody visited Amelia Island, Westley and I compared noodles from Sit Lo and Lollibowl, impressed the clerk at Akiba HQ with his gundam knowledge, and sailed through submarine titles like the Hunt for Red October and U571. I also checked out Vince Gilligan’s new series Pluribus, which had an intriguing premise but slow pacing. Listening to Planet Money episodes on board games inspired us to try Catan, but luck outweighed skill in our first playthrough, leaving Westley more frustrated than entertained. Melody and I swapped places on MLK weekend as I took off for Kona to attend Hawaiian Eye, with a nice upgrade thanks to my new platinum status on United. After checking in, I crashed my friend Lejla’s family dinner with RegenXBio at Canoe House, then returned to the hotel to practice my talk. On Monday, I joined the Adverum team for breakfast loco moco before taking the stage to present the year 2 LUNA trial results. I took a short nap and swam at the hotel pool afterwards, then dined at a food truck event over crispy pork belly and tofu from Ho Jah and a kiwi smoothie from Hi Bao while connecting my cousin Steve and old friend Janie over their Africa connection. I watched a movie, worked on manuscripts, and attended faculty meeting rather than sleep aboard my red-eye home, which made my morning of primate imaging harder. I hope to rest and recover before my birthday next week.

We awoke Wednesday to start our journey across the north side of the island past Rainbow Falls and ‘Akaka Falls. Grazing on soft mochi from Two Ladies Kitchen, crispy nachos from Birria Boss, and dense malasadas from Tex Drive-In’s, we made our way to the postcard view at Waipio lookout, then picked up takeout in Waimea and skipped the Pololou black sand beach for more turtle-gazing at Puako Bay and an earlier arrival at the Outrigger Kona Resort. We spent the evening enjoying hotel pool volleyball and cup noodles that had us slumbering through NYE. We kicked off next morning with our first snorkel at Kahalu’u, where Westley overcame pain from his foot scuffs to explore the shallow reefs and diverse marine life, followed by lunch and relaxation poolside, and foosball and 8-ball in the hotel game room. Our friend Melanie joined us for a sunset dinner at Papa Kona, then shared Gecko Girlz shave ice and ice-cream while watching public volleyball matches and checking out her new condo. She joined us again on Friday morning with Texaco musubis at Manini’owali beach, where the turbulent waters and white sands were better suited for wave jumping and castle building. We lunched afterwards on yummy Pau Hana poke, window-shopped with Gypsea gelato, then dined on a red dragon roll and corned beef from Food Truck Friday. Our bucket-list manta ray night snorkel unfortunately started with Westley scraping his knee on the parking lot pavement, but watching the gentle giants gliding across our bellies helped him overcome the pain. We returned to higher tide and more turbulent waters at Kahalu’u Saturday, but were rewarded with sightings of multiple sea turtles enjoying their breakfast before we enjoyed our own breakfast of Paradise Bakery malasadas. Afterwards, we supplemented Reel Aloha’s poke plate with fried apple and haupia pies from McDonald’s, then learned about Hawaiian culture at Pu’uhonua o Honaunau. Exhausted, we vegged out with Looney Tunes in our hotel room before heading out for Yelp’s 8th best burger at Island Ono Loa Grill and sending the Parks to the airport. Due to low enrollment, our Dolphin Discoveries snorkel tour to Captain Cook’s monument was “upgraded” to include Two Step Beach, doubling our snorkel time and Melody’s enjoyment. Without a hotel shower, we warmed up to TK noodles, snacked on shave ice, shopped for coffee beans, dined on Black Rock pizza, and lounged over more chocolate and MTG before our late flight home. We kept Monday’s schedule light to recover from the red-eye, as we look forward to more future travel with friends.

We had long considered a joint trip with Melody’s friend Lisa, and this holiday season gave us the opportunity to make it a reality. We drove to San Francisco a day before our Hawaii flight to explore Chinatown. After slurping noodles and wontons at Chong Qing Xiao Mian, we lined up for fluffy egg tarts and pineapple buns, then wandered Portsmouth Square and nearby shops. Parking was pricy at Fisherman’s Wharf, so we quickly learned about lockpicking at the ISS and eye surgery at the AAO Museum before checking into our hotel for a nap. We skipped the lines at the Nintendo Store and Pop Mart, then passed the Christmas tree at Union Square for R&G Lounge’s signature Peking duck and salt-n-pepper crab. Our evening concluded with Stephen Sondheim’s delightful Into the Woods at the SF Playhouse, where a cow-costumed actor stole much of the show. Our Sunday morning flight to Kona was smooth, leaving plenty of time to pick up our Hertz minivan, enjoy Umeke’s fresh fish and poke, sip Big Chocolate Island’s frozen hot chocolate over MTG, and shop for cookies and sunscreen at Costco before picking up Lisa’s family to check into our boho AirBnb. We enjoyed the beef stew and spam musubi at Pine Tree Cafe so much that we returned next morning for breakfast musubis to kick off our drive to Volcanoes National Park, with stops along the way at Ka Lae for the southernmost viewpoint of the U.S., Punalu’u Bake Shop for plate lunches and malasadas, and Punalu’u Black Sand Beach for tide pools and sea turtles. With nowhere to park for hiking, we checked in early to our B&B and split up for dinner at a nearby bar, where live cams of the recent Kilauea eruption inspired us to return to the park after dark to see the splurting lava in person. We were greeted next morning by a dense mist obscuring our caldera view, which eventually burned off after we crossed the Nahuku lava tube and hiked the Ha’akulamanu trail down to the otherworldly Kilauea Caldera. After lunch at Volcano House, we passed the Steam Vents to get Westley’s Junior Ranger badge at the Welcome Center, then ventured back through the Sulphur Banks to rejoin our group for dinner at Ken’s House of Pancakes in Hilo under pictures of The Rock. We introduced our friends to Fluxx in our B&B living room, then headed to bed as we prepare to complete our circumnavigation of the Big Island.

After another busy year of travel and with colder weather setting in, we opted to stay indoors for the holidays. We warmed up with hot pot over Thanksgiving, and bought ourselves a new wok, wok chuan, and wok station to add some wok hay to my beef chow fun and chao nian gao. With BG3 on pause, we shifted gears to coach Westley through the Outer Worlds 2. This second installment of Obsidian’s entertaining RPG was his first FPS on the PC, and I was amazed at how quickly he learned to free-look, invert Y, and strafe. Black Friday took us out for fried chicken at Bonchon and soul food at Sharky’s, but we shopped mostly online for a new coffee table and patio furniture, replacement reef glasses for Melody, and a smoothie blender, bluetooth speaker, and leather skin for my laptop. Westley’s room also got upgraded with another Billy bookcase, puck lights, track lights, and a ceiling fan. We even gathered fabric and supplies to frame our Peruvian tapestries, and mounted a Frame TV to showcase artwork in the loft. My patience was tested by slow network speeds at home and a database corruption at work, but we also got to dance and teach uterine anatomy at our department holiday party, and watch children and turkeys at yard duty for Chinese school. Otherwise, we began mapping out our spring and summer travel while trying to maximize the dizzying array of benefits from our now-pricier credit card. For Christmas, we baked a hojicha-persimmon cake with our niece and hauled our wok set to our in-laws’ for stir-fried gailan alongside rib roast and an Overcooked rematch. Westley barely had time to enjoy his RG Sinanju, HG Hyaku-Shiki, Clue Escape, and The Guy from Carbot Animations before we were packing again for our next trip. As we approach the year’s end, we look back at our accomplishments: my new R01, Melody’s new deanship, and Westley’s milestones in starting competitive fencing, violin lessons, reaching level 10 at SwimAmerica, and completing COM level 3. I can hardly wait to see what new chaos and adventures next year will bring.