The episodes of spring rain last month made for an impressive show of flora and fauna. Last weekend, we took Westley to UC Davis’ own Jepson Prairie Preserve for a Wildflowers & Critters docent tour through grasslands that featured “eggs & butter” wildflowers and vernal pools filled with fairy shrimps and frogs. Back home, we also took the opportunity to plant some tomato plants and herbs in our new planter, as well as the aloe plant that my lab technician Iris gave me. Unfortunately, the blooming flora also brought my allergies back in full force, which I had to battle with a daily regimen of Zyrtec, Flonase, and Patanol. The humidity also led to mosquito infestations returning to our front and rear porches, requiring more rounds of bifenthrin spraying. Melody’s new chicken pho recipe thankfully soothed our souls, and we were able to enjoy the warm noodles in our new backyard. For this 3-day weekend, we journeyed to Elk Grove for soup dumplings, scoped outdoor furniture at Scandinavian Designs and the RH outlet in Vacaville, and took Westley to our cousin Pamela’s place to get acquainted. Because we both have out-of-town conferences this week which overlapped by a day, and neither of our in-laws were available for childcare, we turned to our extended family for help. It took only a few slices of take-out pizza and the promise of watching the Cars movie to convince him to hang out with their family next weekend.

I began this month frantically rushing to submit an R21 grant for an RFA while also reviewing grants for study section. By the time I left for Bethesda, I was too tired to do any more work, and instead binge-watched the first season of the Haunting of Hill House aboard my flight while munching an egg pocket from SMF and a panini from ORD. The show’s immersive storytelling refreshingly focused more on love and family rather than cheap thrills, leaving a haunting impression even after the show was over. After heavy bistro fare for dinner, I awoke to a long day of lively grant discussions with a working lunch which fortunately concluded early to allow an earlier flight home. Meanwhile, Melody and I took advantage of free childcare from my parents to do our taxes, plan our summer trip to Croatia, and catch up on Oscar contenders like A Star is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Roma. We also finally used our Christmas gift card for Studio Movie Grill to check out Captain Marvel, where the strong female protagonist and 90’s throwback references made for an entertaining dinner show over fried coconut shrimp and buffalo wings. The following week, I returned to Irvine for a second visit to the Ryan’s Initiative, which gave me plenty of networking opportunities, and even included delicious fried chicken and milkshake courtesy of a colleague from Google. Before their departure, my parents joined us for Westley’s last dance class, followed by pizza, Six Flags and KFC. They did not get a chance to see the finishing touches for our landscape renovation. We had to scramble to correct a few last-minute glitches including blazing path lights that we swapped for dimmer ones, but were pleased with the final product as we wait for our new foliage to fill in. 

My parents flew in for their semi-annual visit in time to celebrate a belated Chinese New Year and Westley’s 3^rd birthday. We kept the festivities low-key, and Westley seemed quite content with his home-made chocolate cake, new jigsaw puzzles, and Nintendo Labo variety kit. The unique combination of origami-like cardboard assembly and interactive video gameplay was a hit, and it was satisfying watching our toddler’s spatial skills develop. Both Melody and I have been feeling burnt out lately, with many changes to her first-year med school course and my upcoming NIH study section and grant due. We were therefore relieved to have additional childcare coverage as we took turns attending conferences this month. The Macula Society annual meeting took place in Bonita Springs in Florida this year, and I had almost thought of skipping it if not for my receiving a research grant from them and committing to present work I did with Genentech. I didn’t venture far from the conference hotel, apart from dinner with Clearside people at an Italian-Sushi place and lunch with my cousin at the hotel restaurant. I did enjoy my return trip, catching a ride to the airport with the editor of Retina, and consuming solid creole fare from Landry’s Seafood during my IAH layover, thanks to Priority Pass’ new inclusion of restaurant offers. Back home, we continued to watch the slow progress of our landscape renovation as we laid down the kurapia, installed a new patio cover, and trimmed the overgrown oak trees in our backyard. Melody and I took the opportunity to dine out a little at Beast+Bounty, Tasty Pot, and Redrum Burger, although they were all too pricey for the quality. We also took my parents out to check out our recent food finds, including Ming Dynasty, Yum Buffet, Macau Café, and the newly opened ramen joint T-Kumi in Davis, which were better options. Between our mounting workload and our increasingly talkative and energetic 3-year-old, we’ll need to maintain a balance between wellness and stress to maintain our sanity.

I surprised my wife with a short getaway at Point Reyes Station to celebrate my 40th birthday this year. While my in-laws watched Westley, we headed out early Sunday morning to begin our West Marin food tour at Cowgirl Creamery. We began with lessons about the region’s history, sustainable agriculture, and MALT over baked treats from Bovine Bakery. After cooing at fuzzy Red Hawk cheese in their incubator like babies in a nursery, we consumed chai at Bovine and sourdough at Brickmaiden, taking a behind-the-scenes tour of the latter and whiff of their 16-year-old starter. Next, we shared avocado toast, salad, and grass-fed beef burgers at Due West while our crunchy tour guide proselytized on the importance of eating local and organic. At Heidrun Meadery, the only sparkling mead factory in the world, we sampled their bubblies, but left with some buckwheat and wildflower honey. We got a preview of our next day’s activity at Hog Island Oyster, where we shared raw and grilled oysters as we learned how the company grows and harvests their bivalves. We returned to Cowgirl to buy some cheese before checking into our AirBnB cabin. In the evening, we suited up for our bioluminescent night kayaking, which was only possible in January due to global warming. As we paddled across Tomales Bay, picking up sawgrass and spotting seals, we started streaming magical blue-green light in the wake of our kayak and swish of our oars. We refueled at Nick’s Cove, but unfortunately spent the night up with food poisoning. Nevertheless, we were determined to make our picnic table reservation at Hog Island on Monday. After a quick trip to Palace Market to pick up foil, butter, garlic, parsley, deli sides, cheese, sourdough, and water buffalo gelato, we got a shucking lesson at the Hog Island counter along with trays of oysters. We had to ask our neighbors how to start the grill with a chimney, but we successfully took down two dozen raw Kumamoto oysters, a dozen grilled Pacific oysters, and a pound of steamed mussels for a very satisfying lunch. We kept dinner light at Stellina to make room for more water buffalo gelato before returning for Scrabble game night. Having been told that my car tires were about to pop from wear, we investigated tire options as we stopped for lunch at Wild Goat Bistro in Petaluma. We managed to get a new set of run-flats installed before picking up Westley for my birthday dinner at Yue Huang. We stuffed ourselves on fish maw soup, abalone, conch, fish hot pot, and pea stems before returning home in time for cake, song, bath, and bed for Westley. Despite the short respite, I felt refreshed and ready to take on middle-age. 

We began the new year by kicking off our landscape remodel, as contractors began demolishing the existing foliage and pergolas, letting through sunlight that we did not know existed. It left our yard looking rather bare as we hosted our lab holiday hot pot party last week. We had initially planned for board games also, but the food preparation and logistics of running two pots on our kitchen island was more than enough to keep us occupied. Melody’s division holiday party was less hectic, although the mood was solemn due to a recent patient complication at work. My MLK weekend call was spent volunteering at Paul Hom and helping the TEAM Make-A-Thon. This year’s project was to design an eye drop assist device, and I got to serve as as client, mentor, and judge. Meanwhile, Westley appeared to have a newfound passion for jigsaw puzzles, but also seemed to have misplaced his potty skills. With him starting in the intermediates class at school, we hope that he will recover his bladder control soon.

With back-to-back 4-day weekends, we had activities all lined up for the holidays. Last Saturday, we took Westley to the Global Winter Wonderland. We had sent my parents there some years ago, but thanks to tickets from my post-doc, it was our turn to be dazzled by the gaudy lanterns, foamy faux snow, and Chinese acrobats. Westley was too little for the fairground rides and too confused by the tribal dance, so we left early for creative vegetarian fare at Mother before calling it a night. On Sunday, we stocked up on beef noodle soup ingredients from 99 Ranch and lunched at Yum Buffet, where Westley stuffed himself on sesame balls and taro buns. Having purchased season passes for Six Flags, we had planned to go after his half-school-day on Monday. But winter rain kept us indoors, and we spent the afternoon assembling his Christmas present, which helped to alleviate a grumpy wake-up from nap time. On Christmas day, my sister-in-law and niece joined us for waffles and omelettes while Westley showed off his holiday act, followed by a round of Settlers of Catan during naptime. After a short week taking down disappointing beef noodle soup from a new Instant Pot recipe, we successfully made the trip to Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo. Westley had clear preferences for certain amusement rides (like the train and safari jeeps), but the wildlife exhibits were mostly empty. Without our coats, we warmed up with overpriced smores at the theme park, followed by hearty kalbi tang, soondubu, and KFC at Hot Stone Korean Kitchen. We spent the next two days doing more grocery shopping and home vegging, with Westley binge-watching Pete the Cat and us checking out the most recent Avengers before the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve. We rang in New Year’s Day with a visit to the Sac Zoo. Thanks to a gift membership from a thoughtful colleague, we enjoyed the hyperactive meerkats and hyperacoustic gibbons, followed by HK-style lunch at Macau Cafe. In the evening, we gave Westley a nice haircut as we prepare for another exciting year ahead.

With our budget in the red this year, our department had to forgo the lavish holiday party for more modest celebration. We began the month with a hot chocolate hike with one of our big donors, although Westley preferred sipping the beverage from his stroller. Our lunch afterwards was cut short when our home alarm system was triggered. Our camera showed that the wind had pushed the front door open, but we still had to wait for the police to make their rounds before our house was cleared. The following week, my clinic staff and I planned our own holiday festivities with drinks at the Bank, followed by hot chocolate from a pop-up bar at the Punch Bowl Social. We spent the rest of the weekend at Kit’s holiday lunch and Melody’s department holiday party, where we saved ourselves a drive by squeezing into Jocylen’s minivan with Westley and Brianna. This past Sunday, we invited my friend Brenda and her family up to try our new waffle maker over brunch. Westley warmed up to their daughter Audrey quickly, and the two crafted their way through his Christmas gift. At work, my clinic has been running more smoothly with my new scribe who is quieter but much more efficient. I also took my lab out for a holiday lunch, although most of the students were already out of town. Back home, we learned not to let Westley put his own clothes into the laundry, when we found our last load covered with diaper gel beads that required lots of flicking in the backyard. Westley has been excited to join his classmates in transitioning from pull-ups to undies, although the occasional accidents still showed that he’s not fully potty-trained. Despite how fast he’s growing, we are reminded again that’s he’s just a 2-year-old.

Between work and Westley, we decided to take it easy for Thanksgiving and invited Melody’s parents for a hot pot lunch. We went to Roseville for Black Friday shopping, and spent most of our time comparing comforters and towels at Macy’s, but ultimately returning and rebuying everything for the 10% cash back. We also return our new 8-qt Instant Pot for a more manageable 6-qt size, and our new 2nd gen Echo Show for a cheaper version. The only thing we didn’t regret was the Mehfil buffet. We headed to Vacaville the next day, detouring through unexplored areas of Yolo County to avoid the freeway traffic, but ultimately left empty handed from HomeGoods and BBB. On Sunday, after dim sum brunch with colleagues at HK Islander, we went to Old Sac for Westley’s ride on the Polar Express. Our Railroad Museum membership allowed us to score first-class tickets for the French Quarter car, where we enjoyed hot chocolate, cookies, music, and dancing on our ride to the North Pole to see Santa and his elves, and a gift of a silver bell. We returned to Old Sac for soupless XLB and boring beef noodles at i-Shanghai Delight, just missing the Theater of Lights show before heading back. At home, we embarked on the new Assassin’s Creed Odyssey as Kassandra, the first female protagonist in the series. Aside from new features like fighting sharks and evading bounty hunters, we were content with the return to form with interesting narrative, stealthy sneaking, and satisfying drop-kills. With disappointing reviews for Fallout 76 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and my inept foray into Fortnite, we were glad to find a new game to keep us occupied on these cold winter nights.

We had planned to recycle last year’s monkey costume for Halloween this year, when Westley came home from Target with my parents sporting a new Spiderman outfit. Fortunately, the fall time change gave us an excuse to delay his bedtime, and I got out of clinic in time to take him trick-or-treating. We stopped by the Glassberg’s again, where Bri-Bri took him to their neighbor’s house to feed some fish. He didn’t take long to overcome his shyness and figure out the “trick-or-treat” and “thank you, bye” routine. By the time we returned home, grandpa was still on candy duty, but almost committed familicide with a Reese’s peanut butter cup. For the rest of the week, I dined out with Melody before she left for a meeting, and took my parents to try spicy dry pot and all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ before they left for NYC. By the time I returned to work last week, it was business as usual – grant applications, progress reports, lab lunch, and busy clinic. Our department had an efficiency consultant visit, but they missed my only clinic day. Fortunately, the Democrats managed to inch past Republicans to retake the House in yet another nail-biting midterm election. It would’ve been a perfect opportunity to take off for Veteran’s Day weekend, if not for my still-unfinished DoD grant, a mysterious fever with no other symptoms, and the deadliest fire in California’s history making the surrounding air nearly unbreathable with smoke. Aside from a brief outing for dim sum with in-laws, we spent most of the long weekend hunkered down with Westley’s Legos, books, and his very first board game as I hummed to the tune of “Smoke gets in your eyes.”

AAO takes place in Chicago biennially and this year, I was able to squeeze all my commitments into a short, two-night stay. Having filled on a breakfast burrito before my 7am flight, I avoided hangriness over catching an Uber to the wrong Hyatt before settling into my actual hotel. For dinner, I left early from an investigator meeting to join Zeiss management at two-Michelin-starred Smyth, where the unique tasting menu was superior to the dinner conversation. I made my way to the Cornea Society party afterwards, but again felt myself aging out of the event. On Saturday, I met with industry colleagues for research updates, then lunched with past UCD fellows at Burger Bar. I returned in time to give a booth talk and laser course before wrapping the evening at the Harvard reunion and an Allergan dinner. On Sunday, I trudged through rain at 6am for an early ad board, then returned to the conference center for my OCT course and poster presentation. I took advantage of happy hour pricing for ramen before joining my co-residents at my friend’s apartment for a baby gathering. I picked up a yogurt parfait for healthier sustenance for the return flight Sunday night. Despite keeping the trip short, I returned to work feeling exhausted, having gone for 3 weeks without a day off. Fortunately, I was able to hang onto Premier status with an Economy Plus upgrade, so I’ll at least be done with air travel for the remainder of the year.