My week of call started with a bad omen. I was driving to work on Monday morning when I noticed a rhythmic rattle to the wheels turning. The sound turned out to be coming from a large metal screw embedded in my tire. With good enough sense not to pull it out, and thankful that it was my research day, I took my car to a nearby tire shop to have it fixed. Having been perpetually sleep-deprived, I napped in the waiting room for the next 2 hours, with daytime soap operas playing in the background, before I brought the car home. Fortunately, the rest of the week was relatively quiet, and I even got to do my first cataract surgery since residency. I celebrated the end of the call week with a trip to the NC State Fair. After attending a mandatory grand rounds on Saturday morning, I drove to a local park and ride for the bus to Raleigh. This turned out to be a good idea, as parking at the fair grounds was near impossible. This was my first time attending a state fair, and the agricultural theme was completely foreign to me, having grown up in HK and NYC. That day, I joined thousands of North Carolinians as they peruse antique farm equipment, inspect oversized blue-ribbon produce, and watch judges pick out the dairy cattle champion. Among the highlights were some impressive aerial BMX stunts at the King Action Sports Stunt Show and nail-biting barnyard animal races at Circle C Pig Racing. Despite the alluring giant turkey legs, donut burgers, and all things deep-fried, for which the state fair is known for, I found the turkey leg too dry and salty, and the deep-fried pecan pie tasting mostly like fried dough with a few crumbs of pecan. Nevertheless, being at the state fair and watching children and families enjoy the carnival games, the street performers, and the food – no matter how bad it turned out to be – was an experience that I’m glad to have had.

As I started to settle into my new apartment, I decided to look for some furniture this weekend. With the budget of a fellow’s salary, that meant looking on Craigslist and going yard sale hunting. To my surprise, a web search for yard sales in Durham alone yielded more than 30 hits! After mapping out the sites and plotting my plan of attack, I set out bright and early Saturday morning. What started as a furniture hunt, however, became an eclectic tour of the city’s diverse neighborhoods. As I pawed through the knick-knacks and paraphernalia from the spectrum of affluent to indigent households, I feel as if I were taking a voyeuristic peek into the lives of these families. Along the way, I also visited a few consignment shops and a store selling unfinished wood furniture, for which Durham is known for. In the end, I scored a few wall shelves, lamp shades, and a wooden futon, which I managed to convinced the short, stocky Hispanic father of 3 teenagers to help deliver to my home with his pick-up truck. For lunch, I stopped at the original Q Shack, where the sub-$10 pulled pork shoulder sandwich complete with a side of mac n’ cheese, hush puppies, and sweet tea made for a satisfying end to the day. On Sunday, I continued to populate my home with more household goods and groceries. My full-day shopping circuit included trips to Target, Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond, Home Depot, Ross, Dollar Tree, Kroger, and Li Ming. Needless to say, it was a very unproductive weekend in terms of work. But step by step, I was beginning to turn my new pad into a home.

This weekend was Melody’s first time back to visit me since leaving for Cali, and also my second time moving in the past 3 months. When I first arrived from Boston, there were no availability for a 1-bedroom apartment, so I stayed in a 2-bedroom unit which vastly exceeded my needs – I used one of the bedrooms as a storage closet and kept the extra bathroom closed to avoid paying for its AC. On Friday night, I stayed up packing and awoke late the next morning with barely enough time to see all my post-op patients before rushing to the airport to pick up my wife. It was a bit early for lunch so we took a romantic stroll around the nearby parking lot and gas station until Pho 9N9 opened for us to fill up with warm, beefy nourishment. My sleep deprivation and Melody’s red-eye flight left us passed out for much of the afternoon until my co-fellow’s mid-autumn festival dinner party. Most of the moon cakes at Li Ming’s were gone, so we were left with only one option for the single-yolk lotus seed variety. Unsurprisingly, the cakes were dry and unflavorful, but the burgers, hot dogs, and good company made for a pleasant evening. On Sunday, we met up with my senior fellows for brunch at Foster’s Market for omelette, grits, and a $15 jar of tupelo honey to take home. Afterwards, we finished packing my worldly possessions into about 35 boxes, while taking turns freeing much of Constantinople from Templar influence in Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. The beautiful architecture and scenery reminded us of our Turkey vacation, although playing together made us feel like we’re back home in Boston again. Dinner at Watts Grocery introduced us to a heavenly macaroni and farmer’s cheese gratin, which for being such a perfect but rich blend of creaminess and cheesiness, could hardly be considered an appetizer. By the time our movers arrived on Monday, we were all ready to go. Despite a few last-minute panics, including the threat of having to cover an add-on case and my neglecting to change the address for renter’s insurance ahead of time, we ultimately completed the move in just under 2 hours. We celebrated by stuffing ourselves at China Buffet before I dropped her off at the airport. Before this weekend, I had deliberated on hiring movers. I was glad that I did. The whirlwind of a weekend gave me time well-spent with my wife before I returned to the hustle and bustle of work.

Labor day this year was truly a weekend of labor for me. Between covering trauma call and retina call, I was stuck at work for more than 10 hours each day – repairing retinal detachments in the operating room, performing tap & injects for endophthalmitis, or rounding on inpatient consults with the residents. I was reminded once again that this fellowship is meant only for those who truly love their job. Fortunately, all that busy work also meant more surgeries for me, although I had little time left to prepare for our research presentation on Tuesday . After 2 hours of discussion, I was still left struggling to find a clear direction and good mentor for my research here. Outside of work, I’ve been trying to unwind by picking up some cooking again, regaining skills that had begun to dwindle while living with my wife. I’ve also explored the Durham dining scene some more with my co-fellows over Indian buffet at Sitar, and brunch at Guglhupf. My otherwise introverted life here has kept expenditures low as I prepare for my move to a smaller apartment at the end of the month.

It hasn’t been easy getting a proper home-cooked meal since moving down here to North Carolina. That is, unless you fly your folks down from NYC for 2 weeks to recreate all your favorite dishes from childhood. Granted, these are not things that I can’t manage to cook myself. But it’s quite a luxury to have food waiting for me on the dinner table after a long work day. This was necessary intervention, as the grueling flow of clinic and OR has left me no time for lunch during most of the work week. It was also nice having my parents around, even though there was little in this part of the country that really piqued their interest. Fortunately for them, I was able to pick up a free TV from a friend just before they got here – even though lugging an old 27″ CRT up the stairs to my apartment was more than I had bargained for. Beside shopping around and taking me on a Costco run, my parents also made friends with the owners of a local Chinese restaurant. Otherwise, they spent most of their time at the apartment watching Korean soap operas, editing vacation photos, and enjoying the swimming pool that I barely have time to use myself. Even after returning home, they left me almost another week’s worth of food which kept me well fed. Fortunately, my first weekend of retina call was quiet, and gave me a chance to check out the cow parade round-up, as well as to bask in the pool and enjoy the last of the summer weather.

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.