My birthday flew by with the blink of an eye after a busy week at work and inclement weather that knocked out our electricity and internet for several days. We recovered with all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ accompanied by a giant scoop of ice-cream that was too much for our bellies to handle. The following week, we celebrated Westley’s birthday over Zoom with my parents, in-laws, and a home-baked chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and sprinkles. We upgraded him to a 16″ bike from Craigslist for his birthday present, but he was too anxious to ride it. Instead, he was more preoccupied with the games on his new camera from my parents, and an extra Lego race car set from last Christmas which we broke out when he asked for his gift from his other grandparents.  For school, we got him party favors from Daiso, but forgot to bring his Dollar Tree valentine favors.  We made up for it by celebrating our lunar calendar birthday with a dinner outing that ended with a Macaron Madness Honey Toast sundae that was nearly the size of his head. We tried to burn off the calories with the Ring Fit Adventure, but found ourselves more sore from yard work, as we spent our past weekends planting gardenias and hydrangeas, potting ferns, spraying weed killers, removing kurapia stems, and fertilizing the trees and shrubs. We took a break from cooking by trying out several Davis restaurants including Burma Eat, Hotdogger, and Hunan Bar & Restaurant. Our local digs did not compare to the exotic fare from Netflix’s Street Foods Asia, but the show did get us excited about future vacations abroad and inspired to start planning our next family trip. 

2021 is looking up to be a better year as I finally received official notice for my first R01 research grant from the NEI! I spent the new year zenning out by pruning my bonsai, composing Ghosts of Tsushima haikus, and making my own tonkotsu ramen. The Serious Eats’ version seemed too serious, so I opted instead for recipes from Glebe Kitchen & Ramen-Lord. We liked the 11-hour sous vide char siu, but the 12-hour pork bone broth was not as satisfying as the Ippudo kit delivered from Sun Noodles. At home, we updated our decor with new floating shelves for the loft, and a flamingo lamp and hex pedestal for the guest room. We also took advantage of our Netflix premium upgrade with Queen’s Gambit and the Haunting of Bly Manor. With both of us getting our Pfizer COVID vaccines and our local stay-at-home orders lifted, we ventured out again for crepes, donuts, and curry. We’re not sure if Indian buffets will be back anytime soon, but we did enjoy exploring the nearby playground at the Ironworks. We hope that the new year will be a mark of new beginnings 

Between the holiday season and pandemic lockdown, our work productivity ground to a halt as we limped our way to the end of 2020. We took turns between clinic to spend time with Westley over his two-week winter break, with visits to the allergist, playgrounds, and grocery stores. But mostly, Westley preferred to stay at home to indulge in tablet playing, paper crafting, and Lego building. We continued to feed his Lego crave on Christmas with a new Ninjago Firestone Mech and Creator 3-in-1 Pirate Ship, Fire Dragon, and Underwater Robot sets. Our friends and family also contributed educational STEM kits and origami paper, while I added 10 rolls of Scotch tape to keep him stocked. We spent our break mostly hunkering down at home over Taiwanese beef noodles and Mongolian hot pot, and even made time to prepare the “best-damn-meyer-lemon cake” for our neighbors. We finished up second seasons of the Mandalorian and His Dark Materials, as well as Modern Warfare and the Spider-Man expansion packs, in time to embark on the Ghost of Tsushima. Set in feudal Japan, the open-world samurai adventure combines the immersive storytelling of the Witcher, the stealthiness of Assassin’s Creed, the acrobatics of Tomb Raider, and the sword play of Dark Souls. Between bamboo strikes, composing haikus, and Mongol standoffs, I did manage to repair Westley’s bicycle kick stand and mud guard, as well as my Nikon 35mm prime lens, which required some intricate soldering action. On New Year’s Eve, I watched the ball drop alone while Melody and Westley slept, and reflected on this very tough year. In 2020, Melody battled insomnia while I discovered back pain. But this year also marked new beginnings for Westley, from learning to bicycle to basic math and reading. With the two of us finally receiving our first doses of the COVID vaccine, we look forward to a better year ahead.

Our house has been long overdue for a window cleaning. And with ashes from recent wildfires hindering our solar production, we hired professionals to clean our windows and solar panels ahead of the holidays. The month-long Black Friday sales gave us a chance to replace our defunct dishwasher with a newer model that featured a nifty third rack, and upgrade our TV for 70% more surface area, double the refresh rate, and quadruple the resolution. At work, I took advantage of my allocation accrual to upgrade to the new SQ2 model of the Surface Pro X, which sports an ARM-based processor that prioritizes speed and energy efficiency over software compatibility. I was very pleased with the lack of fan noise and ease of being always on, although I needed a dbrand skin to hide the fingerprint magnet coating. We spent November revisiting our sci-fi craves, uncovering the fate of the Federation in Star Trek Discovery, the name of baby Yoda in the Mandalorian, and the identity of the explorer in His Dark Materials. We also tried out new cuisines nearby, including Hainanese chicken at Chicken Hawkers, lamb kabobs at Stand Up Kabob, crawfish boil at Cajun Feast, and chicken kabuli at House of Shah. We spent our Thanksgiving warming up with slipper socks and hot pot while staying mostly indoors to set up our Christmas tree, holiday lights, and the new TV. With Westley still tentative about watching movies, we introduced him instead to MasterChef Junior, with the hope of instilling a shared interest in the culinary arts … or at least a shared love of food. 

With COVID cases on the rise, we decided to spend our family trip this week in a secluded AirBnb retreat in Jenner. On Saturday after a second round of virtual fellowship interviews, we booked it to Bodega Bay for dinner over grilled oysters, fried fish, and hearty clam chowder at The Boat House. A majestic view of the incoming fog and Pacific sunset off Highway 1 welcomed us to the Sonoma Coast as we arrived at our cabin. We awoke the next morning to the sounds of nature, and explored the nearby trails and redwood groves on the property. Knowing that there were few dining options nearby, we had brought along ingredients and supplies for hot pot, but forgot the hot pot itself, forcing us to jerry-rig the cabin’s Crockpot. The new mala broth mix was also too oily and spicy for our taste, which made for a subpar lunch. We spent the afternoon lounging in the cabin while Westley assembled a Lego submarine from grandma and grandpa. In the evening, we made a supply run to the nearby Fort Ross Store for overpriced chicken broth and skewers to make s’mores to go with our frozen dumpling dinner. We slept in Monday morning, and after a diluted spicy hot pot lunch, headed for Salt Point State Park. Here, we spent the afternoon seal spotting and hiking the Tafoni sandstone, whose honeycomb erosions provided exciting tidepool encounters, including the frenzied disassembly of a stripes shore crab carcass by a gang of hermit crabs. Back at the cabin, Westley quickly discovered the cabin’s own Lego stash, with a mix of pirate, space, and medieval-themed bricks that took his attention from my attempt to teach him Scrabble. We spent Election Day hiking Stillwater Cove’s switchback trails, dry creek, and pebbled beach. Our dinner of mac n’ cheese with peas put Melody to bed early, although my staying up put me no closer to election results. We spent our last morning at Goat Rock Beach, where masses of ducks, geese, seagulls, and the occasional harbor seal congregated at the confluence of the Russian River and Pacific Ocean. We wrapped up with crab rolls and chowder at Spud Point Crab Company, which were definitely worth the socially-distanced wait in line. Although we spent the rest of our vacation week catching up on work, our short getaway to the Sonoma Coast gave us a chance to get out of the house and connect with nature.

Between the upcoming election, RBG’s passing, and a mounting third wave of coronavirus, the past month weighed heavily on us. At work, anxiety surrounding centralized funds flow, lab space allocation, and lab personnel departures converged with my second R01 score, grant/paper rejections, and multiple deadlines, even as I was busy reviewing grants for NIH study section. Melody’s unusually busy call also hinted at her darkening white cloud, as she continued to combat insomnia with melatonin and blue light-blocking glasses. A couple of weeks ago, we fired up our grill for some lemongrass pork shoulder, only to face a sudden flare up and grease fire that necessitated a frantic discharge from our extinguisher and an exhausting afternoon of clean up. The ensuing fumes was a good test of our new air quality monitor, but not for our dishwasher, which suffered a recirculation pump failure that same day. Fortunately, Westley helped us maintain a routine on weekends, with Saturday bike trips to the nearby playground to hang out with local kids, and Sunday visits to SwimAmerica for family swim and play. We also continued our home improvement projects with a new coat of paint for the garage, slatwall panels, and a mango wood sideboard that we bee-waxed for our back patio. Last weekend, the cooler weather finally gave us a chance to enjoy our new digs in the backyard over a Billie Eilish livestream concert. With Melody on her Kindle, Westley on his tablet, and me on my laptop, it was a moment that felt right, even when everything else was going wrong. Today, we got Dollar Tree supplies to dress Westley up as Shy Guy, as we plan to spend Halloween and Election Day on the Sonoma Coast to escape these scary times.

With wildfire smoke persisting into this month, we’ve upgraded to MERV 13 filters and invested in an air purifier for Westley while staying indoors. The orange skyline provided a fittingly apocalyptic backdrop for embarking on the Last of Us Part 2, where we took on the gritty role of Ellie on her path for revenge as we infiltrated the overgrown streets of Seattle. Meanwhile, we also helped Westley pass the time with a  Snap Circuits STEM kit, although his burgeoning skills were not up to dealing with the variety of repairs we had to face including a defective graphics card in Melody’s PC, a failed capacitor in our HVAC system, and a coolant leak in my car. Hoping to tidy our garage, we added new storage cabinets, a new epoxy floor, and a fresh coat of paint, but color mismatches between cabinet doors, ceiling lights, and the wall paint gave us more headaches than relief. Our household stress levels rose further when Westley had to be quarantined while his classmate was being tested for COVID. Fortunately, the notice turned out to be a false alarm and the smoke also began to clear out, letting us breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy some fresh air. Last week, we made another run to Green Acres to replace some dead lavendar bushes and other casualties of Bermuda grass extermination, then power washed the ashes off our front porch, side fences, and new patio furniture. Melody’s BTS obsession inspired a few Korean food outings, while Westley enjoyed a shipment of origami paper and Mario Kart RC cars from my parents. With fingers crossed, we hope that next month will be less exhausting.

Desperate for some time away, we had planned for a weekend of hiking and biking in Santa Cruz when sweeping wildfires closed down I-80, necessitating a last minute change to an Airbnb further north in Fairfax to escape the smoke. We delayed our departure Saturday to clear out some rejuvenated bermuda grass, but arrived in time to enjoy Creole fare at the Hummingbird including beignets, gumbo, chicken n’ waffles, and shrimp n’ grits, followed by a scoop from Fairfax Scoop. Unfortunately, the smoke had penetrated into our area by afternoon, which kept us indoors and baking in our moutainside rental. We delighted in the eclectic interior which sported old family photos and equine decor to reflect the hosts’ farrier service, but Westley’s favorite were the toy chest, bunk bed, and loft bed in the master bedroom. Feeling too lazy to venture out, we shared leftovers and instant noodles for dinner before calling it a night. On Sunday, we awoke early to hike Cascade Falls by Canyon Road before enjoying curry, thali, and biryani at Cafe Lotus. We spent another afternoon lounging in the cabin to work on Westley’s new Lego race truck while watching a squirrel steal from the bird feeder. A brief reprieve in air quality gave us a chance to enjoy izakaya dinner take-out from Village Sake on the balcony, but was cut short when Melody got stung by a yellow jacket. We left Monday morning, stopping briefly in San Rafael to hike the Turtleback Point Loop, then hurried home through the smoke to get our 4-year-old home to use the bathroom.  I agreed with Westley that our trip was too short, but we were thankful for the chance to get away for a weekend.

August has been a grueling month. My colleague finally followed through on his long threat to retire, which landed me 3 weeks of retina call. My cell phone also died suddenly at the start of my call week, necessitating a frantic visit to the Verizon store to revive my old Galaxy S5 while I waited for a replacement.  I had suspected bad mojo when our house cleaner had to cancel twice this month due to car and childcare issues. To eradicate our front yard bermuda grass infestation, we’ve also had to wake up early each weekend to shovel lava rocks and tear up weed fabric to exterminate each metastatic tentacle. The manual labor left our arms and quads wobbly, with little energy to spend with Westley to promote his new biking skills or enjoy the newly renovated playground across the street. Our couch rest did give us a chance to finish watching the visually-stunning first season of His Dark Materials and a strangely-entertaining second season of the Umbrella Academy. Unfortunately, the bizarre dry lightening storms and ensuing wildfires this week led to suffocating smoke and ashen dust to befall upon us. We were glad that we had at least completed the weeding and even enjoyed some outdoor Korean BBQ before the air quality downturn.  Today, I scrambled to finish clinic early to pick up my new Google Pixel 4a from Best Buy ahead of our weekend trip. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get away for some fresh air (literally) amidst the heatwave, wildfires, and pandemic.

What better time to tinker with instant noodles than during quarantine? Since watching Parasite, I’ve longed for ramdon. Paired with a well-marbled ribeye from KP, the Neoguri-Chapagetti fusion definitely did not disappoint. I also drew inspiration from a Korean Youtuber for Shin Ramyun hacks with milk or as fried noodles, and from Serious Eats for cup noodle fried rice.  Nissin’s curry-flavored cup noodles was a particularly good option, but the unexpected peanut powder might have contributed to our toddler’s mild wheezing at bedtime. My post-doc Sook brought us authentic Shin ramyun from Korea, although my comparison taste test with the American version found the difference to be more subtle than previously reported. On weekends, we continue our quest to entertain Westley at home. He was very excited with the Labo VR blaster, but the gadget didn’t quite fit his proportions. He also liked swallowing shy guys and shooting piranha plants in Yoshi’s Crafted World, although he’s still working on his eye-hand coordination. Fortunately for us, he liked Todo Math enough for us to pay the subscription fee, so at least we could sneak in some education between his alphabet work books from Dollar Tree. The tablet also keeps him entertained during times when my wife and I were both occupied with Zoom meetings. Last weekend, I attended the virtual ASRS meeting, and the experience was less than satisfactory without the usual fanfare and networking of in-person meetings, as I alluded to in my op-ed piece. I hope to find better ways to adapt to this new normal.