Although it’s been less than a month since leaving Boston, I was already on my way back – this time to attend the 3rd annual Vitrectomy Course back at my home institution. The all-star cast of faculties, combined with high-yield lectures, wet labs, and dry labs, made for an intellectually stimulating weekend. I was also excited to meet up with all the other first-year fellows whom I had interviewed with and learn where they all ended up. A friend from residency was actually in the midst of moving next door to the hospital for fellowship, so I took the opportunity to crash with her and caught up over dinner in Chinatown. The two-day course ended with a lavish dinner at the Taj rooftop, followed by drinks and mingling at the Liberty and Alibi. The late night out left me exhausted, but made for an easy flight back to Durham with my co-fellow. Back at my new home, I’ve had several chances to try out the facilities in my complex, including the swimming pool and the billiard room. I’ve also been able to catch portions of the London Olympic games while trying to hone my pool skills. I was inspired to exercise more, but I wonder how long it’ll actually last.

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.

As luck would have it, I was left to cover senior call on the last day of residency. So by the time I bid farewell to my friends at work on Friday, I had little time to recover before Melody’s movers arrived the next morning. The three husky men emptied our home in under 3 hours, giving us just enough time to clean the place before embarking on our road trip. We had HK Eatery for lunch, but our epic last meal left me in a food coma. I had to stop by a roadside Dunkin Donuts for a large iced coffee, which kept me wired for the remainder of the trip, even after Melody took over the wheel. We entered Virginia late in the evening, where thunderstorms had knocked out the electrical grid, making the drive to our friend’s house rather challenging. We were so exhausted that we crashed in their basement for the night with their toddler and golden retriever. On Sunday, we awoke to a leisurely brunch with them before resuming our drive down. Upon arrival in Durham, we picked up keys from my co-fellow, tossed our luggage into my new pad, then headed back out to buy some essentials at Target and Li Ming’s – the sole Asian market in the area. We spent the next few days settling in – getting the internet hooked up, setting up the new mattress, getting my Duke ID & parking, and even passing the written exam for my NC driver’s license. We also got some shopping done, including nearby Tanger Outlets, Ross, and Dollar Tree, where I could actually afford some household goods given my meager fellowship salary. The moving pod arrived a day before July 4th, giving us time to unload our stuff and unpack. The sizzling heat wave had us working up a sweat, relieved only with some cold Southern sweet tea. We spent Independence Day recovering, meeting some friends over Sichuanese food and froyo. We heard fireworks ignite outside as we fought our final battle aboard the Normandy, defeating Cerberus and the Illusive Man, and saving humanity once again from the Reapers. Although the game is over, I realized that my real adventure in North Carolina was just about to begin.

Our final week in Boston was a whirlwind of trying to divide our worldly possessions in preparation for moving to opposite ends of the country. Having lived in Boston for 12 years, we had packed our tiny apartment to the brink, yielding more than 100 boxes at final count. Fortunately, the sturdy, foldable boxes used in the operating suites at work were the perfect size, although it was exhausting smuggling these babies home each day aboard the shuttle bus. Perhaps the most important accomplishment this week, however, was coordinating the final closing for our home loan refinance, ending a 6 month struggle amidst countless administrative red tape and paperwork snafus with both Wells Fargo and Washington Trust. We got the lawyer to meet us at Melody’s office in the middle of clinic Friday afternoon a week before we left. Yesterday, my moving pod was delivered, and between me, my wife, and a few good friends, we loaded all my stuff into an 8ft x 7ft x 6ft box. We celebrated the accomplishment at Zaftig’s, where we dined on grilled reuben and beef tongue sandwiches with a quart of cold beet borscht. Despite the mental and physical drain of moving, we still managed to finish yet another of Drake’s cinematic adventures, and begin embarking on the final chapter of the Mass Effect trilogy. Playing as a female Shepard this time, we found ourselves trying harder to prove ourselves, choosing harsher dialogue options and making tougher decisions. The superior voice-acting was refreshing, not to mention getting to kindle a lesbian relationship aboard the Normandy. As we prepare for the reaper invasion and impending departure from Boston in 2 days, we wave goodbye to old friends and prepare for the storm ahead.

My final vacation week of residency, probably my last vacation for the next 2 years, was spent at home as a “staycation.” Although intended initially to tackle the pile of errands I had accumulated while traveling in India, much of my time ended up being devoted to creating the senior skit – which I once again was suckered into doing. Compared with our junior skit 2 years ago, the endeavor was more challenging this time as most of my co-residents were out of town. But alas, my compulsive personality trumped my better judgment, and I spent yet another 50+ hours editing the video to split-second perfection. Our theme this year was an instructional video for senior rotations like the Togus VA and India blocks. Fortunately, my week off gave me plenty of time to have the video ready for graduation on Friday. Although it was somewhat anti-climactic to have commencement 4 weeks before the actual end of residency, it was nice to have my wife and parents by my side to enjoy our video masterpiece, meet my attendings, and dine in style at the Fairmont Copley. Despite the busy week, I did manage to unload a bunch of stuff in the apartment on Ebay and Craigslist, as well as finally finding some tenants for our apartment. Having already mentally checked-out of work, I plan to spend the rest of the month playing Uncharted 3 and, more importantly, preparing for our big move from Boston.

Memorial Days are notorious for weddings, and this year was no exception. We awoke Saturday at 5am to beat the holiday traffic down to NYC for a friend’s wedding at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens just minutes away from my childhood home. My parents were out of town, so we had to get the keys from my aunt before settling in. The Persian wedding was elegant and well-organized, but was detracted slightly by the harsh afternoon sun beating down our necks. Overwhelmed by fatigue after the lunch reception, I could barely keep my eyes open even after the DJ started spinning the dance mix. We left early and enjoyed a nice afternoon nap before dinner at WD-50. Arriving late for our reservation, we were seated at a bar by the window, which actually gave us some natural light for a better view of the food. We opted for a 5-course prix fixe menu “from the vault,” which features chef Wylie Dufresne’s greatest hits, including his scrambled egg raviolis, pickled beef tongue with fried mayo, and lamb loin with black garlic romesco, although we were sad to miss the pho gras offered in the pricier 10-course tasting menu. After collapsing at home, we awoke early again on Sunday to drive up to the Lake George area for my classmate’s wedding at the Sagamore Resort. We got there late, and had to change in the car, but just in time to join the groom ride his white horse to the mandap by the water. We held out under the bright sun again for the ceremony, then took a nap back at our motel. The lavish evening reception was complete with professional dancers and an ice sculpture reminiscent of an E! celebrity wedding. As always, Indian people know how to party, and the excellent DJ provided an excellent mix for us to dance the night away.

What better way to celebrate our 5-year anniversary than with the two things we enjoy the most – food and video games? We began the celebration with an afternoon matinee showing of the Hunger Games, which Melody made sure I had finished reading during our India trip. The movie was well-made, but did little to convey all the hidden thoughts and emotions that made the book so captivating. After the show, we were left starving and ready for chef Ken Oringer’s tasting menu at Clio, which featured among other hits a mesmerizing cassolette of sea urchin and lobster. We noted to the waiter that one of the soups was a bit on the salty side, and they comped us a foie gras laquee which was another highlight. It has been a long time since our last movie-and-dinner date, and it made for an awesome Saturday night out. Even more importantly, we finally managed to complete our adventures in Skyrim this weekend. After more than 220 hours of game play, surpassing even our old record of 200 hours playing the last game in the Elder Scroll series, we managed to defeat Alduin and his army of crazy dragons, and help the empire quell the Stormcloak rebellion. Once again, Bethesda managed to produce an immersive fantasy role-playing experience that is unmatched by any other games in the genre, with memorable story lines, exciting dragon battles, and breathtaking landscapes that had us taking screenshots like Asian tourists. We were glad that we managed to complete the game before moving, and already have our next few games lined up for the summer. Next week, we will be joining Nathan Drake, this time through the Arabian Desert in Uncharted 3.

Just one week after my India trip, I was back on the road again – this time returning to sunny Fort Lauderdale for ARVO 2012. After arriving Saturday, I hussled over to the Ritz-Carlton on foot to attend the “Reality Retina” conference, which being pharma-sponsored, featured delicious hors d’oeuvres and open bar by the beach under the bright perigee moonlight. The next morning, my roommate and I lounged by our hotel’s private beach for some leisure reading before enjoying some crsipy portobello flatbreads and eclectic dessert miniatures for lunch. As expected, Craig Venter’s keynote speech prominently featured himself and his various momentus projects, although it was funny watching him gross out the audience by revealing the amount of rodent DNA in NYC air. In the evening, we hung out at the MEEI reception at the Hilton until the wee hours of the night, which combined with my hacking cough, made for a late start the next day. Aside from presenting my poster, I even managed to catch up with the UC Davis folks (where my wife will be going) at a Thai buffet, and with my research supervisor over delicious Cuban fare. On Tuesday, I took an early morning flight to Durham to spend the day there checking out potential housing options and catching up with the current Duke retina fellows over burgers at Bull City. It wasn’t until the next day, however, that I finally decided on the Clairmont at Hillandale to be my hood for the next 2 years. Sadly, their 1-bedroom options were not available until September, so I will have to stay in a 2-bedroom apartment for the first 3 months. Sick and exhausted, I returned home, thankful that I had a few remaining days off to catch up on errands before returning to work next week.

The moment we hit the road in Fort Cochin, the British Colonial atmosphere was discernable. We arrived at our hotel hoping for some rest, but after finding no AC and a giant cockroach in our room, we switched to another room which turned out to be infested with more than 60 mosquitoes that we had to kill, one-by-one over 2 hours. The next morning put us in a better mood, particularly since a cyclone overnight left the city much cooler for our tour of the Chinese Fishing Nets and seafood market. Cochin’s many European influences were apparent in our tour: a Portuguese church, a Dutch palace, and even a synagogue. We stopped briefly to watch a Tamil movie being filmed before lunch over hearty North Keralan biryani. We were awakened from our post-lunch nap by a deluge of rain. Undaunted, we swam across the street to the fish market to buy some fresh snapper and shrimps which we took to a nearby street stand to grill for dinner. Our driver took us to Alleppey the next morning for our houseboat cruise. Floating quietly with our private crew of three, including a chef who prepared delicious South Indian seafood, we took part in the tranquil life of the Keralan backwater for the day. After we disembarked the following morning, we stopped for some local shopping then boarded our flight to Mumbai. Our last day in India was as busy as Bombay itself, led by a spiritual if talkative tour guide. We spent most of the morning at the Elephanta Caves with its Hindu carvings, then the rest of the day catching glimpses of daily life in the lively city – military exercises at the Gateway of India, cricket in the Oval Maidan, topiary at the Hanging Gardens, bustling traffic around Victoria Terminus, peaceful silence at the Ghandi Museum, and manic laundry at Dhobi Ghat. The highlight was lunch, where we finally got to enjoy Indian street food like panipuri in a safe hygenic restaurant. Our flight home that night was marred by a missed connection in Newark, forcing us to spend the next hours moving from standby to standby. We finally collapsed at home in Boston, exhausted from our whirlwind trip. What we did is not for the faint of heart, but with endurance and stamina, our visit to India was an exhilirating and indelible experience.

We ascended Amber Fort in style aboard our colorful elephant on Friday morning, where we were wowwed by the Hall of Mirrors, but not so much by the block-printing fabrics well-known to the region. We did reveal our geekness with our unsuppressed excitement at the Jantar Mantar observatory, where dozens of stark geometric instruments were used to measure time and location to pinpoint accuracy. After an unsuccessful souvenier hunt and consolation with a sweet lassi from the real Lassiwala, we dined under the stars at our hotel courtyard, where the owners graciously offered to let us stay and shower prior to our overnight train to Udaipur. The 2AC sleeper car was quite an experience, although we had little time to appreciate the surroundings before we fell into slumber. By the time we arrived for breakfast at Jagat Niwas, we were thankful to relax to the beautiful view overlooking the iconic Taj Lake Palace and free WiFi. Our morning walking tour included the Jagdish Temple and City Palace, although the highlight of the day was kicking back at the hotel room on the cushioned window seat with some good books. After a quiet sunset boat ride around the lake, we returned to Jagdish to join the mesmerizing chants of the evening prayers, then dined by the lake at the hotel rooftop restaurant. The next morning, we set out with our driver on the bumpy highway to Jodhpur, stopping along the way for an exhaustive climb up Kumbhalgarh Fort and a tour of picturesque Ranakpur Temple. The excitement of highway driving, which involved a lot of honking and dodging incoming traffic, finally ended in Jodhpur, where we ate on the patio at the renowned On The Rocks restaurant before boarding another sleeper car to Jaisalmer. The 3AC car we shared with a nice Indian family was quite chilly, making it a struggle to sleep without blankets. Jaisalmer welcomed us with sizzling desert heat, as we explored the dirty, narrow alleys of the golden sandstone fort – now occupied by not just people, but the most entitled cows in India. In the evening, we rode camels through the Thar Desert to a camp among the dunes. There we enjoyed a night of singing and dancing despite the torrential rainstorms and lackluster meal. Back at our hotel, we emptied our shoes of desert sand then maneuvered our sore butts to bed. We departed Jaissalmer by train aboard a much more luxurious 1AC car, arriving too late in Jodhpur to experience the heritage hotel. With only the morning to experience the blue city, we breezed through the royal family’s cenotaph and Mehrangargh Fort, then after a kulfi break, boarded our flight for sweltering Cochin.