{"id":4899,"date":"2021-10-03T00:23:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-03T00:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/updates.xephalon.net\/?p=4899"},"modified":"2021-10-24T21:37:09","modified_gmt":"2021-10-24T21:37:09","slug":"pandemic-travels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/2021\/10\/03\/pandemic-travels\/","title":{"rendered":"Pandemic Conference Travels"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>The emergence of the COVID delta variant had me concerned for my first work trip since the pandemic. So when the CDC<\/a> 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<\/a> 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<\/a> provided a tranquil setting for the stroll that included a public art installation<\/a> at the chapel. After a hot everything bagel<\/a> with honey almond cream cheese, I reminisced with my friend Wei on his front porch before feasting on Peking duck and Nile perch<\/a> with my folks and heading up to the Upper East Side to check into the Helmsley<\/a> and catch up with my college roommate Ed at Hex & Co.<\/a>. My 2-day itinerary at Weill Cornell<\/a> was packed with deans and chairs, doctors and researchers, and a tour of the Dyson lab<\/a>. 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<\/a>, and lunch with my parents at Japan Village<\/a> in Industry City<\/a> the next day also reminded me of the amazing culinary offerings of the city. On Wednesday, I took reprieve in a Minute Suite<\/a> at LGA before my flight to Chicago. I stopped for mediocre ramen<\/a> en route to my hotel<\/a> and Retina Society<\/a> conference<\/a> 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<\/a>, 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\u2019appetito<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4899"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4929,"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4899\/revisions\/4929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}