Traveling to San Antonio during the pandemic was a calculated risk. Texas had banned vaccine and mask mandates, but the ASRS meeting gave me a chance to present a talk, moderate a session, and serve as panelist. To minimize COVID risk, I was determined to avoid large gatherings and free meals, and planned a 4-day quarantine post travel. I checked into the resort on Saturday in time to catch the first poster session, then found a quiet corner at the Genentech reception for some BBQ brisket, mac n’ cheese, and sweet tea with a colleague. I spent the next day meeting with industry partners, and ended with a dip in the pool followed by gator bites and lobster tchoupitolas at Smashin Crab. I attended more of the meeting Monday, but spent the afternoon exploring the city. My first stop was the Alamo – the Franciscan mission that became the site of the resistance for Texan independence from Mexico that ended with a siege and massacre in 1836. After my audio-guide tour of the cultural icon, I embarked on my own walking tour of the city, stopping by the Menger Hotel, Buckhorn Saloon & Museum, and Majestic Theater, before strolling briefly past the river walk to the San Fernando Cathedral and Bexar County Courthouse on the way to the Historic Market Square. El Mercado is the largest Mexican market in the U.S., and gave me a chance to taste strawberry tres leches cake from Mi Tierra Cafe. After dining solo on gougeres and Duroc pork chop at Maverick, I returned to the hotel for a late-night swim and Squid Game before calling it a night. I presented on my last day, then hung out with my friend Parisa before a delayed flight and tight connection that at least let me enjoy a Smash Burger on the way back. The rest of the week was clinically busy, leaving me only time for two instant noodles and two visits to Pho Saigon over my four nights at an Airbnb guest room. I barely saw my host during the few hours I spent in the unit, but the quarantine did give me a chance to catch up with emails and grant writing in my office. I finally drove home on Saturday for virtual fellowship interviews from my home office until I got my negative COVID results. The grueling week away from my family left me longing for the COVID vaccine approval for children.       

The emergence of the COVID delta variant had me concerned for my first work trip since the pandemic. So when the CDC authorized vaccine boosters for healthcare workers, I quickly went for my third Pfizer dose, despite having just gotten my flu shot the day prior and preparing to board my red-eye to NYC that night. Trying to sleep in a middle seat with an N95 mask was a challenge, but I was glad to be back in my hometown. After picking up some baked goods, we tried out cold nian pi, cumin lamb noodles, soup dumplings, and sweet soy milk from a nearby food court for lunch. By the time I was home, I was running a 102-degree fever and chills which had me conked out for the rest of the day. I felt better on Sunday, and shared take-out dim sum and a walk with my folks around the neighborhood. The Green-wood Cemetery provided a tranquil setting for the stroll that included a public art installation at the chapel. After a hot everything bagel with honey almond cream cheese, I reminisced with my friend Wei on his front porch before feasting on Peking duck and Nile perch with my folks and heading up to the Upper East Side to check into the Helmsley and catch up with my college roommate Ed at Hex & Co.. My 2-day itinerary at Weill Cornell was packed with deans and chairs, doctors and researchers, and a tour of the Dyson lab. Strolling through the Rockefeller University campus reminded me of my first lab experience as a high school student, and my research seminar there felt like homecoming. Dinner with faculty at Zero Otto Nove, and lunch with my parents at Japan Village in Industry City the next day also reminded me of the amazing culinary offerings of the city. On Wednesday, I took reprieve in a Minute Suite at LGA before my flight to Chicago. I stopped for mediocre ramen en route to my hotel and Retina Society conference in time for my presentation. The rest of the meeting reminded me of the energy of a live meeting, although attendance was tepid. The to-go bag lunches were delicious and appreciated, but the unmasked receptions and gala were cringe-worthy and just short of a super-spreader event. I did arrange for a dinner date with my colleague Christina at Michelin-starred Porto, where highlights included an uni toast, smoked octopus, and wood-oven turbot. On Saturday, I caught up with my cousin Steve and friend Nieraj over arancini and pistachio gelato from L’appetito before flying home. My first work travel since the pandemic gave me a chance to reconnect, but also brought unease about the callousness of meeting organizers. With more upcoming travel to higher-risk locations, I hope to plan more carefully.

The start of kindergarten for Westley meant new routines and new classmates. Our decision to move him into a Chinese-immersion class also meant a new language, which he thankfully adjusted to without much drama. One of the themes this month was the moon and moon cakes. Although our search for a nut-free version proved more difficult than expected, one of his classmate’s mom stepped in to show off her baking skills. On weekends, we underwent asymptomatic screening more regularly due to the rise of the COVID delta variant. We also took advantage of the final days of the Manor Pool to reinforce his swimming lessons. Having promised to get him a bigger bed if he stayed dry for a week, we kept our word and shopped for twin bookcase beds, despite his regressing after the 7-day streak. With our outdoor kitchen project finally commencing, we also spent time in our yards trimming maples, replacing plants, and adding more propagated kurapia. The extra trimmings weighed down our organics trash bin, and took off Melody’s toe nail as collateral damage. Westley also had his share of bumps and scrapes from kindergarten. While recovering, we explored the first few chapters of IO Interactive’s Hitman anthology. Its unique stealth assassination mechanism emphasized problem-solving and creativity in a refreshing way, but was slightly mature for our 5-year-old. He instead took up domino art as inspired by a recent documentary, and befriended our neighbor’s affection-seeking cat. As the only uninjured family member, I tackled home electronics upgrades with a new soundbar, 4K projector, and wifi extender. The setup let us watch the new Paw Patrol movie while backyard camping last week. Hopefully, the outdoor kitchen will be ready in time for the cooler fall weather.

We took advantage of Westley’s summer vacation week before kindergarten for a family trip to San Diego. Armed with a Go San Diego pass and theme park reservations, we braved our 6 AM flight in doubled masks and N95s, snagged our Corolla rental, then headed to Safari Park. On the way, we stopped by H-mart for snacks and a nap, got distracted by pho for breakfast, and grabbed banh mi for lunch later. Our day at Safari Park was long and hot, but we were buoyed by a balloon ride and seeing the crash of rhinos on the Africa tram. Exhausted, we abandoned our chance to see the only platypuses outside of Australia for seollungtang at Woomiok and rolled ice-cream at Bing Haus. We settled into our Airbnb, where our view of the airport and bay from our cuddle couch provided a relaxing setting for a night of intense planning for Legoland the next day. Our precisely-calculated itinerary helped us hit multiple attractions with minimal wait times, including rollercoasters (the Dragon, Coastersaurus), water rides (Pirate Reef, Splash Battle), and digital experiences (Ninjago, Emmett’s Flying Adventure). Melody loved the Deep Sea Adventure which we repeated, while Westley’s favorites were the Build-a-Boat and Build-and-Test stations – essentially, Lego building – although his failed Raptor climb led to a mini breakdown. Dinner at Campfire featured venison tartare, sea bass, and a whole lamb’s head, and we finished with an ice cream sampler from Handel’s that included our first taste of Blue Monster flavor. We awoke early Tuesday to get banh mi for the San Diego Zoo. Having missed the Outback area at Safari Park, we first tackled the sleeping wombat, slumbering Tazzy devil, and drowsy koalas before getting grossed out by urine-sipping giraffes. After lunch overlooking gazelles, we rode the Skyfari to surprisingly active tortoises, then ended our hippo walk with a Kangaroo bus ride back to the park entrance. Dinner at Harumama paired tonkotsu ramen with kawaii chicken, cow, and bunny buns that also provided leftovers for breakfast next morning. At Seaworld, we enjoyed a Sea Lion show, Dolphin Days, and an Orca Encounter while munching on mortadella and caprese sandwiches, then confirmed Westley’s rollercoaster affection with the Journey to Atlantis ride. We visited nearby Mission Beach afterwards, where a surprise soak from an errant wave led to a sandy naked car ride back for a shower before we could enjoy the fried seafood at Blue Water and Extraordinary Desserts. We spent the next morning among seahorses and touch pools at Birch Aquarium, followed by crab sandwich and salad at El Pescador. We played at La Jolla Shores all afternoon, building sand castles and boogie-boarding, then returned to Convoy for savory noodles at Shan Xi Magic Kitchen and a MNGO sundae. With luggage in our trunk, we spent our last day at Balboa Park to operate flight simulators at the Air and Space Museum and gawk at imaginative miniatures at the Model Railroad Museum. We relaxed at the 6th Avenue playground after a late lunch of ramen before returning to the airport for our late flight home. We recuperated over the weekend, with repeat COVID testing and a laid back gathering for my lab tech Brian’s departure. Hopefully, we’ll have a chance at international travel next year.

The Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics commenced last month amidst the controversy of the COVID19 pandemic and emerging Delta variant. Family and fans were not allowed to attend, while Simone Biles’ withdrawal from team finals raised mental health awareness. Our free Peacock subscription gave us access to replays of gymnastics, swimming, and track & field, as well as newer sports like skateboarding, rock climbing, and surfing. The games inspired Westley to advance to level 2 at Swim America, as we encouraged him to practice at Manor Pool. At home, I caulked the guest bathroom and added more LEDs to my desk for Cyberpunk playing. We also learned to propagate kurapia ourselves, which needs constant watering to survive the summer heat. We had to invest in a lawnmower also to control the growing sod, although installing bat-shields did not appear to be equally worthwhile. Our long-awaited Loom & Leaf memory foam mattress arrived at last, although memory foam pillows we got at the same time were too firm and exacerbated our backaches. The bedding change necessitated a revisit to the laundromat to wash our comforter, which gave me a chance to take Westley to the Dollar Tree and Fire Wings. Starved for social interactions, we invited Emmeline and Pam over for grilled pork summer rolls and playdates with Westley’s cousins, as well as Liam’s family for biking and Mr. Pickles’ sandwiches. We also tried soup dumplings at Tasty Dumpling and spicy hot pot at Happy Lamb, and were satisfied by both. With our upcoming family trip to San Diego, we hope to find even better Asian food to keep us fueled for our action-packed week. 

Despite easing of pandemic restrictions, the record-breaking summer heat kept us largely homebound over the past few weeks. We ordered kurapia plugs to fill in the bald patches of our backyard lawn, but found the auger bit I used to be both a blessing and a curse, as it damaged some of the irrigation lines that we had to fix. We also learned to use diluted white vinegar to unclog our showerheads, although the same DIY trick damaged the finished to our kitchen faucet. At least we knew better and hired professionals to replace our garage door springs, which appeared to have snapped while we were both at work, fortunately. At the same time, we had to coordinate both plumbing and drywall repairs after discovering a leak from our 2nd floor tub overflow which led to water damage to our 1st floor bathroom ceiling. Between all the home repairs, we treated ourselves to Localis at Home, where we enjoyed a 7-course tasting menu at the chef’s home in the Placer County Foothills as his restaurant underwent renovations. We had to wait until sunset to cool down and enjoy the outdoor patio, where we chatted with some friends we ran into until late evening. Over the July 4th weekend, we tried our hands at smoking some country-style ribs with Traeger pellets and a Brinkmann electric smoker that we got for free off Craigslist. Our new wireless thermometer worked well for monitoring the cook of the meat, but the rub recipe that we tried was too salty, requiring us to balance out with some stone fruit salad and smoothies made with our new Vitamix blender. In preparation for our outdoor kitchen remodel, we ordered a sink, faucet, access doors, trash bins, and refrigerator. We also drove to Rancho Cordova to browse countertop materials, settling on a handsome honed marble called Dorian Grey. Now, we just need to find a contractor to get the job done!

With masking mandates relaxed, attending our in-person resident-fellow graduation felt rather uneasy, although I was honored to receive the clinical teaching award this year. Unfortunately, we had to miss Westley’s PreK graduation thanks to a last-minute change from his school. With the statewide reopening and school out, we drove to SF on Thursday for a family getaway. We arrived at Japan Center in time for hakata-style ramen and matcha soft-serve, then headed for our timed entry to the California Academy of Sciences. Here we watched shark videos, ascended the Rainforest exhibit past butterflies and golden silk spiders, then wandered Steinhart Aquarium as Westley documented his observations in his field notebook. We had a good joggle at the Shake House before settling into our sunny rental apartment in Hayes Valley.  Dinner at Aziza was kefta, lamb shanks, and couscous that titillated both eyes and taste buds. On Friday, we squeezed past homeless folks for bun mam and bun bo hue at Mong Thu for breakfast, then brought leftover banh uot and nearby banh mi to our day at the SF Zoo.  Between the peeping peacocks, rummaging bears, pooping hippos, and scratchy rhinos, Westley still managed to have energy to roam the playground and line up for the Little Puffer. We finished the day with scrumptious biang-biang cumin lamb noodles and Shaanxi rolling cold noodles at Terra Cotta Warrior, followed by mango-coconut-black sticky rice and egglette at Sweet Mango. On Saturday, we strolled to the Painted Ladies and hung out with locals at the nearby playground before check out. Lunch was spent crammed in the back seat munching dumplings and soy milk from Dumpling Specialist before we picked up pineapple buns and CB2 tumblers on the way home. Father’s Day gave us a chance to recover as Westley restarted swim class, watched Totoro, played Yoshi, and tried instant noodles for the first time. I also caught up on the newest seasons of the Walking Dead and Shadow & Bone while planning our new outdoor kitchen, just in time for the next heat wave.

We planned a family trip to Monterey while Westley’s grandparents were in town, and were relieved to have secured aquarium tickets despite being 6789th in line when the reservation website opened. We headed out early Saturday for classy dim sum at the Mayflower in Dublin and pineapple buns and cakes at Kee Wah in Cupertino. Our 5-year old burned off some energy at the Dennis the Menace playground, which was packed with half-masked weekenders and their children, followed by a paddleboat ride in El Estero Park. We took a breezy stroll through crowded Fisherman’s Wharf and waited in vain for a table at Sandbar & Grill before giving it up for fried seafood, sandwiches, and disappointing chowder at Carmel’s Sea Harvest. Our last-minute AirBnb cabin was pricey but spacious, and worth the panoramic view overlooking Monterey Bay. On Sunday, we enjoyed a harbor-side lunch at the Fish Hopper and frozen hot chocolate from Ghirardelli before exploring the rest of Cannery Row on the way to the aquarium. My parents enjoyed watching Westley more than the aquatic life, as he pet bat rays, ignored active octopodes, and recruited other kids for a scream-and-hide game he created. We dined at Vivolo’s Chowder House over seafood pasta and more disappointing chowder, then stopped by a sea lion lookout on the way to our free parking spot in Pacific Grove (Ocean View Blvd near 3rd St). Back at the cabin, I stayed up late talking with my parents, which made for a lazy start on Monday morning watching deer graze in our backyard and playing Sorry! on the patio. After check-out, we headed out to wood-fired pizzas at La Bicyclette, hot chocolate from Carmel Belle, a kite from Thinker Toys, and the public bathroom line at Picadilly Park. The Bird Island Trail hike at Point Lobos was short and windy, but at least gave my superzoom lens a chance to capture pelicans in flight and cormorants nesting. The return trip traffic made the drive back painfully slow, but was at least broken up with a stop at Milpitas Square for sesame bread and pulled noodles at Darda Seafood and creamy boba milk tea at Ume Tea. With just a week left before my parents head to Vegas, we’ll need to take advantage of the extra childcare. 

After a long hiatus, my vaccinated parents finally braved the cross-country flight to visit us and help watch Westley for several weeks. Out of an abundance of caution, we had them mask up during their first weekend here until they tested negative for COVID. Even Westley got to try out the free COVID test thanks to a possible exposure at school, and was much better at spitting into the test vial than I was. We laid low and ordered in from Well Season, Burma Eat, and Stand Up Kabob, while I was busy partaking in ARVO festivities. This year’s virtual format made it much easier to browse posters and talks, but the availability of so much content at once was also overwhelming. Being co-chair of the programming committee also meant more obligations and face time. Fortunately, my parents quickly adapted to childcare duties again, giving Melody and me the chance to focus on work and alone time, including a last-minute dinner reservation at Allora followed by slices from Ettore’s for our anniversary. It had been a while since our last fine dining experience, and we left stuffed and a bit bedazzled. We celebrated Mother’s Day with soup dumplings and taiyaki, after returning a DOA Vitamix blender to Costco and building an instant ramen shelf for my pantry. Last weekend, we took Westley and my parents back to Sac Zoo to check out the new cheetah exhibit, then made the rest of the week Korean-themed with YD sul lung tang, AYCE Blue House BBQ, and home-made jajangmyeon. We also renacted our backyard camping experience, and planted a new ukigumo maple from Medocino and silver magic pittosporum from Green Acres. Despite our allergies intensifying to levels that even my Zyrtec–Zaditor–Flonase cocktail could hardly contain, they have not stopped us from enjoying the outdoors.

When Cyberpunk 2077 came out last holiday season, our months of anticipation was shattered by reports of bugs and glitches at launch that ultimately led us to wait until after emancipating Tsushima from Mongol invaders before finally diving into V’s adventure. It has been some time since I played a first-person shooter, and the mind-boggling array of cyberware, quickhacks, and braindances felt foreign and confusing. The garish and gritty world felt unnecessarily brutal at times, but Night City was like a living, breathing organism that beckoned exploration, with a well-built GPS system that made navigation a breeze. Despite the engaging characters and storylines, it took us some time to acclimate as my game time was limited by the multiple NEI grant reviews and ARVO presentations I had to prepare. Engrossing Blackpink music videos and Netflix’s new Shadow & Bone fantasy series helped ease my anxiety about Westley’s cardiology consult and dwindling applicant pool for lab personnel. With COVID restrictions easing and my in-laws vaccinated and able to help with childcare, we also took the opportunity to try pho and bun rieu at Pho Tasty, gyro and lamb tajine from Casablanca, banh mi at Fusion Boba, citrusy crab ramen at Kodaiko Ramen, spicy hot pot from Spicy Dragon, and biryani thalis at Kaveri Madras. For Melody’s birthday, we celebrated with Korean fare at YD Tofu House, followed by cake slices from KP International Market, and a massive chocolate cream pie from Ikeda’s. With my parents visiting soon, we are accruing a list of restaurants for us to enjoy some family outings together.