Several extra days in Sacramento with my wife was the perfect way to unwind after our traumatically-delayed flight home from Costa Rica. This of course involved eating a lot of comfort food like ramen, bun rieu, and Cantonese seafood. Since Melody had to cover clinic on Friday, I stayed home with the rats while editing photos from the trip. After a forgettable dinner at Mulvaney’s, we brought home treats from Ginger Elizabeth and Ettore’s to snack on while curing the world of Pandemic. Having watched Will Wheaton and friends hilariously tackle this board game, we were enticed by the clever game mechanics and cooperative play, and were not disappointed. We spent Saturday morning taking holiday photos with Gus and Walter, but the mood turned when I received an email that my flight home was canceled. Incredulous, we called United again and was placed on hold for a record 5 hours, which lasted through our dinner with the in-laws at Lollibowl and Lollicup. We finally had to settle for a flight leaving from San Jose, which was 2 hours away by car. Fortunately, we felt a little better after some fresh dim sum and soy sauce noodles from 99 Ranch and pastries from Kee Wah Bakery. Flying on Delta also got me upgraded on both legs of the flight, which provided comfy chairs, delicious raviolis, and Belgian chocolate gelatos on my way home. Anyway, photos for Costa Rica are up on the Travel page. Enjoy!

With several attendings gone and co-fellows helping to cross-cover, I was able to arrange my first week-long vacation in fellowship to spend New Year’s with my wife. The options were slim given the little time we had to plan, the costly airfare flying from different cities, and most hotels being sold-out for the holidays. We ultimately decided to explore ecotourism in Costa Rica at the Los Angeles “cloud forest”, a private nature reserve that was more secluded than the better-known Monteverde cloud forest. Our trip began on Saturday with a morning flight to San Jose, where my wife, despite having overslept her connection, was able to rendevous with me. Our 2-hour bumpy drive to Villa Blanca did not help Melody’s migraine, but we recovered after settling into our casita, a quiet little sanctuary overlooking the misty, picturesque landscape. After dinner and a good night’s sleep, we awoke next morning for a day at La Paz Waterfall Gardens. We were thankful to have opted for a private transfer instead of the cheaper group tour so that we could take our time enjoying the kaleidoscope of animal species – delicate butterflies, hefty toucans, ferocious parrots, buzzing hummingbirds, agile monkeys, colorful dart frogs, slithering snakes, and restless jungle cats – along with our niece’s school project Flat Stephanie. The lunch buffet was simple but satisfying – a welcome break from the repetitive resort menu. Before dinner, we embarked on a guided night hike, where the 10 pairs of eyes in our group located a variety of frogs, toads, spiders, and walking-stick insects, but sadly no sloths or other larger animals. On Monday, we learned to zipline among the San Luis canopies, where our professional guides and well-equipped 12-cable trail kept us feeling safe as we glided and swung through the trees. The final “superman” cable sent us soaring 106m above ground along a 552m cable back to our launch site, where we dined on delicious typical cuisine at La Arboleda. We spent the afternoon exploring the self-guided trail before trying a new board game beside our wood-burning fireplace. Next day, after trying our hands at milking a cow, we returned to San Jose. From our hotel, we set out on foot to explore bustling Central Boulevard, where we got a taste of the culture and energy of the capital city. After very authentic fare at Nuestra Tierra, we scoured the nearby crafts market for souvenirs, then returned to the hotel exhausted from all the walking. We had our New Year’s Eve dinner at the hotel restaurant, considered the best in the city, where the beautiful courtyard view made for a perfect night of celebration. Sadly, we fell asleep soon after ABC’s 30 Greatest Women in Music countdown, and could barely hear the firecrackers sound off at midnight as we drifted into peaceful slumber with Dick Clark’s NY Rockin’ Eve playing in the background. With most businesses closed on New Year’s Day, we found reprieve with HK-style dim sum at Wong’s to celebrate our last day in Costa Rica. We didn’t make it back to Sacramento until almost 4am next morning, thanks to a 4-hour delay at our Houston layover, where United’s food voucher only got us hot chocolate since the airport restaurants were mostly closed. Luckily, our board game kept us occupied and we had all of Thursday to recover. While our trip to Costa Rica would have been more satisfying without the airport drama, or if we had seen more animals, we were nevertheless thankful to have the time together, and to experience a unique New Year experience abroad.

After many months of negotiations and awaiting a “partners of opportunity” waiver to go through, I’ve finally signed my contract to join the staff at UC Davis. The process has been so dragged out that the moment seemed anti-climactic in retrospect, but it does make for a nice holiday present. Meanwhile, with online sales abound, I’ve also treated myself to a few new toys, including Google’s Chromecast and a new Harmony remote to replace my dead one. Despite the bluetooth capability, I still can’t shake the habit of pointing it at the TV. With many of our faculty gone for the holidays, I was also able to spend my extra hours harvesting research data and catching up with my colleagues in training. Last weekend, my co-fellows and I spent a 7-hour pow-wow session banging out ideas for the upcoming AVS skit over take-out Italian. This followed our residents and fellows holiday bash, where the annual white elephant gift exchange left me with more junk (this time with hyphema-inducing capability). Despite the meager turn-out this year, we had our customary night out in Chapel Hill after the shindig. Sadly, my other holiday outings have been lackluster – subpar paella at Taberna Tapas, salty pho at Sushi Love, and wok hay-lacking drunken noodles from Pad Thai – one of few places open in my local ghetto on Christmas Day. I will definitely need to redeem myself over my upcoming vacation week. My stomach demands satisfaction, sir!

My old high school friend flew in from Ohio to visit this weekend, which gave me the chance to introduce her to the breadth of Durham cuisine. On Friday, we drove directly from the airport to the newly-opened branch of The Pit in Durham. Despite running out of almost all the barbeque we wanted, the restaurant gave us a thoroughly satisfying feast. A poorly-timed fire alarm chased us out of the restaurant before we could pay, so the meal ended up on the house. After dinner, I sampled the drinking chocolate at Cocoa Cinnamon before we crashed back home. Next morning, we overslept our lunch reservations, and explored downtown Durham a bit before dining on reliable chicken and waffles at Dame’s. We bought a slice of pie from Beyu Caffe to go, napped for most of the afternoon, then awoke for fair French bistro at Rue Cler for dinner, followed by ice-cream at Francesca’s. Before her flight out, we drove to Chapel Hill for famous shrimp n’ grits at Crook’s Corner for brunch. Although I didn’t feel like a good host, having spent the entire weekend just eating and sleeping, we agreed afterwards that it gave us the relaxation and recuperation we both so needed.

With all the traveling I’ve endured over the past few months, I was relieved to learn that I’ve at least earned silver medallion status on Delta. So with my free upgrades, I was able to fly back to NYC in first-class comfort to spend Thanksgiving with my family and friends. I avoided holiday travel anguish with an early morning flight on Thursday which landed in time for a dim sum brunch with my parents. A visit to my aunt gave me the chance to catch up with her family and alleviate some anxiety about her upcoming cataract surgery. After an afternoon nap, we feasted on a dinner of shark fin soup, conch with scallops, salty-spicy lobster, steamed fish, and pea pod stems to celebrate dad’s 70th birthday. I spent most of Friday catching up on sleep, awaking briefly for some homemade comfort food. This energized me for a full day hanging out with my college friends and their swarm of children buzzing around at the Museum of Natural History, followed by a stroll through East Village with my high school friend. Here, the crowds at Ippudo diverted us to the less busy Ramen Setagaya, where the gyolo ramen’s broad, flat springy noodles helped carry the savory, if a bit garlicky broth. At ChikaLicious, the prix fixe menu of amuse bouche, petite fours, and a main dessert of toasted almond cake complemented the meal nicely, but barely justified the $16 price tag. Fortunately, I filled up that evening on banquet-style Chinese seafood with a bunch of old family friends from some 25 years ago. The meal sent me straight into a food coma on my morning flight back and much of Sunday afternoon. Overall, the trip was relaxing, but unfortunately did not reset my sleep schedule as I had hoped.

This year’s AAO meeting brought me back to New Orleans, but there were plenty of other good reasons to revisit NOLA. My Southwest flight landed last Thursday evening just in time for us to catch the last seating at Mr. B’s for BBQ shrimp. The next day, I took an extended lunch break from Subspecialty Day to compare Emeril’s version of BBQ shrimp, then rubbed elbows with retina big-wigs at the Michels Fellowship reception before receiving my award. In the evening, I hung out with other Dukies and retina fellows at a Genentech dinner reception, then danced the night away at one of Cornea Society’s epic parties. Exhausted, I awoke late Saturday morning to the jazz brunch at Court of Two Sisters, then slept off my food coma through the rest of retina program. Afterwards, I stuffed myself again at the Duke reception and confirmed my ignorance at the Retinal Jeopardy event, before joining some residency friends for some hot jazz-rock at the Maison on Frenchmen. By the time the meeting officially started on Sunday, I already felt that things were winding down. After lunch at the Heed reception, I spent the afternoon scouting vendor booths to peruse surgical instruments and imaging devices for my job next year. I then roamed the French Quarter with a few friends, sampled sweet pralines, shared beignets at Cafe du Monde, and brushed with death over a sample of ghost pepper salsa (Bhot Jolokia: 2007 Guinness World Records’ hottest-known pepper and 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce). I recovered enough to be coherent at the MEEI reception, then shared gossip with my old classmates over some jambalaya for dinner. On Monday, I was glad to have made it to Cochon Butcher for their muffaletta. But the day quickly turned south when I became engaged in a cat-and-mouse text exchange with a suspicious party who tried to sell us a shady diamond ring just 2 weeks after my wife lost hers. Fortunately, the failed interaction did not affect my presentation at the Duke VR course. I consoled myself afterwards at the CAOS banquet, where the research talks were drowned by the roar of the Asian diners enjoying chef Tommy Wong’s menu of Chinese food with a Cajun twist (seafood gumbo, stir fried alligator on bok choy hearts, honey-glazed pecan shrimp, etc.). It was rough waking up at 5am this morning for our flight home, and even tougher returning to clinic in the afternoon. But alas, I have survived NOLA for a second time, and it was every bit as good as my first trip there.

“This is the moment.” Mike the photographer gestured to me to look at my watch. It was 9:10am, November 12, 2013 … 9-10-11-12-13. Clever. There are moments in life that can forever define your future – the forks in the road, the branch points, the decision trees. My past two weeks have been a long, agonizing process of self-reflection, as I juggled the decision to pursue one of two job offers in Sacramento. To clarify, there were no “wrong” answer, as both positions were incredible – one a well-funded clinician-scientist faculty position in a collegial academic department; the other a premier, lucrative retina-only private practice with smart, friendly, and highly-motivated partners. A year ago, I would’ve been happy to have any job in NoCal to be with my wife. Yet, the two options I now face span two ends of a spectrum that straddles the ideal balance of research and clinical work that I had envisioned. I found solace in long discussions with friends, family, and colleagues from various stages of my career. I know in the end, I will have to just go with my gut and follow my heart, and take life as it comes. I felt the stress somewhat relieved at our fellowship interviews last week over drinks with the applicants and snacks with classmates from residency. In the meantime, I also completed round 4 of my instant noodle competition. As always, scores are for soup base, then noodles.

1. Weichuan Miso Vegetable Flavor (7, 5) – Good fermented soup with lots of goodies, but boring sub-par noodles reminds us of Weichuan’s mediocrity.
2. Vifon Instant Porridge Chicken Flavor (5, 7) – The well-textured porridge smells just like the real thing, but tastes more salty than chicken-y. Also, not technically a noodle.
3. Sapporo Ichiban Miso Ramen (6, 5) – Salty soup and floppy noodles reiterates the disappointment that is Sapporo Ichiban. Two thumbs down for such a promising name.
4. Nongshim AnSungTangMyun (8, 8) – The amazingly hearty, subtly-fermented broth is paired with noodles with just the right texture, inching past their tried and true Neoguri.
5. Good Bean Vermicelli – Artificial Minced Pork Flavour (6, 7) – Little rubbery meat balls slightly elevates the spicy-salty soup, and is paired with above-average bean vermicelli.
6. JML Artificial Spicy Hot Beef Flavour (4, 5) – The bowl was so spicy that I could barely taste the soggy noodles, or my tongue, after the fact. Not for the faint of heart.
7. Vina Acebook Mi Lau Thai Seafood Flavor (5, 4) – The somewhat umami yet ambiguously-flavored soup does little to complement the soft, rubbery noodles.
8. Six Fortune Broad Instant Noodles (7, 8) – A flavorful broth with just the right amount of kick pairs well with a nice, springy broad noodles that stand out from the rest.
9. Mama Hu Tieu Nam Vang (4, 6) – Mama makes pretty solid rice noodles, but all their broth seasoning seem to taste the same.

It was just 2 weeks before Melody’s visit this past weekend that the right side of my jaw began to ache. Mistaking it for a toothache, I went to a local dentist despite not having dental insurance, and found out that I was more likely suffering from TMJ. Apparently, sleeping with my face in the pillow and recent stressors at work may have contributed to the night time teeth grinding that resulted in this condition. Between hot compresses and jaw exercises, I picked up my wife from the airport on Thursday. With leftover Indian food and a fresh pot of homemade bun rieu, we alternated between sleep and wake throughout the night to adjust to the jet lag. On Friday, we had Q Shack for lunch, then after yet another cryptic Assassins Creed game ending, went to the American Tobacco district for dinner at L’uva. While looking for the next game to play, we chanced upon the Stanley Parable – a re-released version of a Half-Life mod that explored the concept of choice and free will from an office cubicle with witty British-accented narration. We finished the game that same night, just in time to drive down to Raleigh Saturday morning for the NC State Fair. After satisfying our Korean crave at Seoul Garden, we entered the fair grounds to continue our feast of soft-serve ice-cream, funnel cakes, and frozen bananas while watching pig shows and pig races. That night, we aptly dined on delicious NC-styled BBQ pork at The Pit to round out the experience. With an accumulation of leftovers in our fridge, we spent Sunday vegging out at home chowing down while watching the most recent Star Trek movie and episodes of Buffy and Arrested Development. Every one deserves to live like piggies once in a while.

After 3 consecutive weekends of traveling cross-country, I’m relieved to be finally back home despite being on call. Last week, I flew to Sacramento for my UC Davis interview, which unfortunately coincided with my wife’s conference in Seattle. We overlapped with just enough time for her to see my job talk and dine with the faculty at Plan B, ironically. After she left, I spent my second interview day touring the labs at Davis and hanging at her home with the rats. On Saturday, I made sure to get my ramen and banh cuon fix before my red-eye flight home. This past weekend, I headed West again for my interview at UC Irvine, which showed me a very different approach to academic medicine. The recruitment dinner at Anqi introduced me to the hip Asian culture of Orange County, while my return flight the next day let me revisit Popeye’s at ATL. All the traveling has given me plenty of mileage from my Surface, and for my Delta account. It’s also given me some down time to explore a few shows like Breaking Bad and Arrested Development, which I was able to try out on my new Roku. Sadly, it’s hard for me to enjoy my brief moments of procrastination without feeling bad or guilty. So I’m sure it won’t be long before I plunge myself back into work next week.

My trip to LA for the Retina Society meeting this year also gave me a chance to immerse briefly in the hyped up culture of old Hollywood and Beverly Hills. My fellowship research award provided the all-expense-paid trip, which included a 3 night stay at the Beverly Hilton, where the retro 1970s facade contrasted with the recently-remodeled, stylish interior. Our Thursday morning arrival gave us time to wander Rodeo Drive and lunch out at Psy-endorsed Bibigo for pajeon and steak bibimbap. We returned to attend afternoon case presentations before the poolside dinner reception. My award lecture on Friday was well-received, and it felt good to be recognized by experts in the field. I celebrated with friends at the swanky dinner reception at the Getty Museum, followed by drinks at Mastro’s, where the chatter of the hip crowd discussing films, records, and modeling made us feel out of place. The black-tie dinner banquet on Saturday was even more impressive, held in the lavish hotel ballroom where the Golden Globes are held. The great food, live music, and dancing, was only a warm up to the afterparty at Westwood’s Whiskey Blue at the W Hotel. By Sunday, the meeting was winding down and a crowd of beautiful people were checking in for the Guess district manager meeting. I spent the afternoon working at the hotel lobby while waiting for my red-eye flight home, but not before seizing the opportunity to sample rib-eye steak frites at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro for lunch, and risotto and gnocchi from Wolfgang Puck’s Spago for dinner. It’s reassuring that even as our government is shutting down, that the bold and beautiful of Beverly Hills will continue to thrive.