After my last shift as a junior resident, I browsed through my records and estimated having seen between 1200-1300 patients last year in the Emergency Room alone. That’s 2500 eyes in 365 days! Yet, all that experience did little to prepare me for my new rotation at Children’s Hospital. After trying to examine a crying 11-month-old and an indomitable 3-year-old on my first day, I was already missing the days when patients actually followed directions, or at least not trying to kick me in the nuts. Second year also introduced me to the notion of “home call.”As a junior resident, we stayed in house overnight, so the threshold was low to see everyone who was referred to the infirmary. But deciding whether to drive into work when consulted from the comfort of my own bed is a whole other issue. Luckily, working closer to home means more time for fun and relaxation. Despite being on call, we enjoyed a morning brunch and afternoon barbeque with work colleagues over July 4th weekend. And after reaching the unexpected yet satisfying conclusion to Heavy Rain, we are now embarking on the second installation of the Assassin’s Creed series. This time, we take to the rooftops of Florence and Tuscany and continue investigating the mysterious plot of the Templars, all with the help of nifty poison daggers, dual hidden blades, scantily-clad courtesans, Leonardo da Vinci, and an uncle Mario, whom we believe was so named for the sole purpose of his unforgettable entrance with the line “it’s a-me! Mario!”

Traditionally, commencement celebrates the graduating residents and fellows who are completing their training in ophthalmology. However, tradition at Mass Eye & Ear also stipulates an important role for the first-year residents – the junior skit. Over the course of two weeks, my classmates and I collaborated in a momentous effort to gather attending physicians from every department (including our chairperson) to make a fool of themselves in front of a camera. More important than my hacking cough or my grand rounds presentation, the video editing consumed my waking hours. The result was a creative masterpiece in the style of “24” to parody events at the infirmary in the course of a day. Commencement festivities concluded on Thursday with dinner at the downtown Harvard Club overlooking the Boston skyline. Friday was our departmental annual meeting, with a series of research talks that concluded with yet another lavish dinner at Loeb House. To celebrate with the graduating seniors, we set out for drinks at Om followed by dancing at the Royale. Some smart talking and fast money handling (not by me) finagled a discounted cover charge before we hit the dance floor to the beat of hip hop, techno, and pop. It was my first night out in a long while, and it reminded me of how fun it used to be.

As I approach the end of my year as a junior resident, I was slammed with two nearly back-to-back weeks of ED night float. Having barely survived the ordeal, I emerged only to face a new nightmare – my desktop computer wiped out by a virus. Fortunately, this gave me a chance to re-format my workhorse computer and finally upgrade the 10-year-old operating system to the new Windows 7. This meant not only having to back up my important files onto various external drives, which took several days; but also having to upgrade most of my collection of software programs to newer versions. With new 64-bit support and my 6 GB of RAM, the new setup is running quite nicely. This time, I took care to cover my behind with three security programs and switched to Firefox for safer browsing of unsafe sites. So far, I’m liking the new interface – even though it takes a bit of getting used to. My favorite features include the slimmer and more efficient taskbar, as well as the ability to dock windows to fill just half the screen. Aside from the frantic installations and customizations, I also spent some time this weekend catching up with med school friends over homemade ribs, steak, and shrimp at their homes – an auspicious start to my upcoming 3-week stretch without a day off.

When I submitted an abstract last fall to the ARVO annual meeting in Fort Lauderdale, I was looking forward to my first exposure to vision research and to meeting future colleagues in ophthalmology. Little did I know that ARVO was in fact more popularly called the “American Resident Vacation Organization” by those who have experienced the festivities before. Unfortunately, my so-called “vacation” began with an 11-hour layover in Atlanta, having missed my connection flight due to inclement weather. I think it was my personal record for being stuck at an airport, and I ultimately relegated to eating both lunch AND dinner at Popeyes (which cured my fried chicken craving, but bodes poorly for my arteries). Luckily, day two brought a mixture of warm sun by the pool, and stimulating lectures and poster sessions. The evening concluded with 2 pounds of fresh, chunky jumbo Florida stone crabs at Catfish Dewey’s followed by some mingling time at a local dive bar. On Wednesday, we took full advantage of the beach – basking in the sun, playing catch with a coconut we found in the water, and watching pelicans dive for the schools of fish swimming in the shallow waters at our feet. Dinner was Caribbean seafood fare at Calypso, with conch chowder, conch fritters, conch salad, sweet barbequed shrimps, broiled stuffed dolphin fillet, and of course, a refreshing slice of homemade key lime pie. I was still feeling stuffed when I awoke to present my research poster yesterday morning. Yet, even as the conference was winding down, our adventure was only beginning. Believe it or not, my return flight was also held back by poor weather, causing me to miss my connection and spend … you got it … another 11 hours in Atlanta – this time overnight. Since the airport Popeyes was already closed, we convinced our shuttle bus driver for a drive-through stop at Church’s before dropping us off at our temp hotel. The adventure left me exhausted by the time we got back this afternoon, when I rolled into work with all my luggage and went straight to the operating room. I was sad – not just because the trip was over or that I’m starting nightfloat week, but because I will not have a break until my next vacation in September.

With the OKAP exam finally out of the way, my life has finally been restored to at least some level of normalcy. With “normal” being a relative term, of course, I was soon back to the daily grind of ER shifts and OR cases. With little time to celebrate or recover. Being on-call for oculoplastics also meant having to round on our inpatient service, which despite its small size, brought back traumatic recollections of internship life. Nevertheless, having spent countless hours learning the vast body of clinical minutia and esoteric pearls, the exam was like a lead weight that was finally lifted off my chest. I was glad to play my part as husband again – cleaning the apartment, helping with laundry, and even made an Ikea run for household items. We also checked out Tim Burton’s re-imaginaton of Alice in Wonderland in 3D, then returned to Ferelden with our party of four to slay the archdemon dragon. Having saved the world once again, we will next embark on Heavy Rain – the highly-anticipated PS3 exclusive that is better described as interactive storytelling than videogaming. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.

When we decided to celebrate Melody’s birthday at Per Se, I did not expect one of NYC’s finest restaurant to be located in a mall. But one look at the signature blue doors from the French Laundry, and we knew we were in for a treat. Without an advanced reservation, we went with the more affordable salon menu. Yet, even the bar area where we sat was imbued with an air of elegance with a sunny view overlooking Central Park. It certainly felt more suited to their Upper West Side patrons than the two of us there. The meal opened with a number of amuses – warm gruyere gougeres, salmon cornets, and carrot veloutes. The cornet is a Thomas Keller signature dish, with a black sesame tuile shaped into a cone, filled with red onion crème fraîche, and topped with salmon tartare (he got the idea while eating an ice-cream cone at Baskin Robbins). Both the warm cheese puffs and salmon cornets were instant hits, though the soup was too heavy and foamy. My appetizer was a terrine of Hudson Valley moulard duck foie gras, meticulously assembled with poached field rhubarb, peas, sunchoke mousse, and mint leaves served with warm toasted brioche – an excellent balance of different flavors, textures, and temperatures. Melody had a hearty mascarpone-enriched yukon gold potato agnolotti with wilted dandelion greens, split peas, and parmesan cream with black winter truffle. The main courses included a Nova Scotia lobster “gratin” with black trumpet mushrooms, potatoes, wilted ramps, and fava beans with “Glaçage de Homard”, and a Calotte de Boeuf with asparagus, radishes, and caramelized spring onions with Tellicherry pepper sauce. Apparently, the “calotte” is the cap of the rib eye that butchers usually discard (say wha?). This divine slab of meat came close to our Matsusaka beef steak from Japan, and we figured out why – Snake River Farms is a supplier of domestic Wagyu cattle. To finish off, we shared a “Banoffee” (Devil’s food cake, chocolate “Marguise” and malt “Crémeux” with banana-crème fraîche sherbet), a dessert created by the British pastry chef to recreate something marketed in England by that name as a “classic” American treat. We were sent off our merry way with a mix of sweets and a bag of shortbread cookies to go. Despite our whopping bill, our experience left us wondering what the 9-course tasting menu would be like, and how we can save up the cash to eat it. And eat it we will.

Recent events revolving around my father’s ailment have resulted in several visits back home this month. The most recent trip was a late night drive along dark interstate highways and a rest stop at an eerily quiet McDonald’s with a cabal of suspicious-looking truckers. The shadow of the rain clouds followed us home on Sunday, leaving us exhausted and drenched. After the drive, we warmed up at La Morra, where notables from the Restaurant Week menu included chicken livers with a light and creamy fried polenta, an oyster mushroom risotto with an al dente texture, a meaty but delicate monkfish entree, and a refreshing maple panna cotta. A second attempt to drown my troubles with food was unsuccessful. At Beacon Hill Bistro, my vegetarian selections included an under-salted, over-sweetened butternut squash veloute and what I deemed “the $33 onion” – a red onion stuffed with carrot cumin puree over kimchee and wild rice, a dish that left me thinking WTF? My DC (“dining companion” in Chowhound lingo) was better satisfied with a cockles and mussels appetizer, roasted skate wing entree, and delicious chocolate cake with chai spice and chai-poached pear. Sadly, the current deluge has even eaten through our condo roof, as we watched the rain water seep through the cracked ceiling paint. I await the storm clouds to dissipate, and look forward to brighter days ahead.

It’s not every year we get to celebrate Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day together over Presidents’ Day weekend. On Friday, we invited my co-residents over to wrap some home-made dumplings and watch the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics. The show turned out to be a long, drawn-out hodgepodge of cultural and environmental themes which really only piqued our interest when the flame-lighting mechanism in the finale malfunctioned. Over the weekend, we returned to NYC to play with the many babies that my married friends have been popping out, and also to ring in the year of the tiger at home with the traditional tea ceremony, red envelopes, and our favorite coconut-milk nian gao. Back in Boston, the continuous coverage of the Vancouver games have kept us hooked like junkies. Somehow, the folks at NBC have managed to infuse enough drama and suspense to make even a game like luge addictive to watch, assuring our lack of productivity for the two weeks to come.

When we chose the Crescent City for vacation this year, we did not realize that it would coincide with the biggest football game of the year – especially when the Saints would win its first Super Bowl ever. Restaurants closed, parades were planned, and even the elephants got in on the excitement. On Saturday, we explored the Insectarium near our hotel, then chased it with crabmeat maison & shrimp remoulade, seafood gumbo, trout amandine, and shrimp etouffee at Galatoire’s, the classic NOLA establishment where the menu never changes and the waiters have served for decades. Chicory coffee and beignets from Café du Monde dusted our coats and wrapped up the night. On Superbowl Sunday, we awoke early for a quiet walking tour of the Garden District, and even managed a last minute reservation for the Sunday Jazz Brunch at Commander’s Palace. A detour to visit the furry inhabitants of the Audubon Zoo, however, left us stranded without a cab. We walked for nearly an hour before sharing a cab with a flock of LSU Saints fans, arriving 30 minutes late for our reservation but just in time for the last seating. The gumbo Ya Ya, turtle soup, and pecan-crusted gulf fish were yummy, but the Eggs Cochon de Lait and creole bread pudding soufflé with whiskey cream sauce stole the show. After some lightning-fast service and a restaurant tour by the waiter, we were rushed out the door for the staff to make the kickoff. At dinner, our lone waiter kept deserting us for the TV in the kitchen. The Saints won moments after we left the restaurant, and we were swept along to Bourbon Street to participate in the celebration. We spent Monday touring the Honey Island Swamp, where we spotted one round nutria but no ‘gators. A po’boy from Mother’s kept our hunger at bay as we perused this year’s floats at Mardi Gras World before dinner. At Mr. B’s Bistro, their tender Mississippi rabbit was no match for the barbequed shrimp, easily the best shrimp dish I have ever experienced. On Tuesday, we toured the French Quarter and feasted on fried chicken at Willie Mae’s Scotch House – supposedly the best in the world, but not worth the adrenaline rush of traveling through that dangerous neighborhood when we attempted to walk to Parkway Bakery for their award-winning po’boys (and we found them closed!). An afternoon visit to the Aquarium and a snack of sweet Louisiana oysters kept us busy until dinner at August, John Besh’s flagship and New Orleans’ finest restaurant. With a view of the parade from our table, we enjoyed excellent crabmeat gnocchi with black truffle and another decadent cochon de lait, despite a disappointing tasting menu. Our flight home was thwarted by snowy weather, leaving us stranded with a “distressed passenger” stay at a nearby Holiday Inn overnight. Like our trip to Montreal, our journey through Creole cuisine in New Orleans reminded us that French gastronomic influence simply opens doors to foodie heaven.

January has been a packed month. The drudgery of daily glaucoma clinic and an unhealthy overdose of ED shifts were interspersed only by moments of reprieve with the department holiday party at Hotel Marlowe and the fellow lectures and dinner at the Taj. Last weekend, we returned to Flushing for Taiwanese pulled noodles and to Brooklyn for dim sum with my parents. We even got to check out the Tim Burton exhibit at the MOMA. The small but packed gallery featured an eye-popping collection of sketches, models, and concept designs from the artist’s darkly humorous imagination. For my birthday weekend extravaganza, we had our usual seafood feast with friends in Chinatown, and also a higher-end Italian dinner at Mama Maria. The hearty meal was marred only by the lofty price tag, including a $20 cake-cutting fee and perhaps even part of our cake, as our friend pointed out that none of our 8 slices came close to a 45 degree angle. Now who ever said that high school geometry was useless?