My grant writing was stalled several times this month by work-related travel. At the Future Vision Forum in DC, I stayed mostly at the hotel where the 2-day think tank harnessed insights from such great minds that had me experiencing major imposter syndrome. The gala in the gilded ballroom at the Cosmos Club, where I was surrounded by photographs of Nobel laureates and Pulitzer awardees, did little to quell my qualms. I ventured out only briefly for dan dan noodles from Planta Queen and kimji jigae from Anju which were both heavy, over-flavored, and disappointing. I did catch up with my old lab mate Vuk at the Graham Hotel rooftop bar, which provided reprieve before returning to a packed clinic and division meeting that wiped me out for the rest of the week. My other trip this month was the Thorny Issues meeting in Portland, where the Devers Eye Institute compiled such engaging talks that I even paid attention to the glaucoma and cornea lectures between my own presentations on monkeys, CRISPR, and teleophthalmology. A session on mindfulness helped set the tone for a meditative stroll along NW 23rd St, where I socialized with local eye docs over pu erh at Smith Teamaker on the way to the faculty dinner of delicious peruvian fare at Adina. After the meeting, my host Aris took me on a packed half-day tour of the city with panoramic views at Pittock Mansion, a fully-bloomed Rose Garden, plump koi at the Japanese Garden, chocolate croissants from Ken’s Bakery, multi-tiered Multnomah Falls, and Columbia River views at the Vista House, before returning to his home for dinner with his wife and kids followed by nocciola gelato from Pinolo. Between the work trips, we attended a non-work OME retreat in Truckee that provided a pleasant afternoon of bocce ball, pickleball, pool basketball, and foosball, as well as a visit to the Brick Fest Live event in downtown Sac – an all-out Lego mania complete with race tracks, dioramas, glow-in-the-dark bricks, architectural builds, and photo ops with life-sized statues. Back home, we finally defeated the Elden Beast at level 200 after 271 hours of gameplay, allowing us to embark on our next adventure through Hyrule in Tears of the Kingdom. The heart containers, korok seeds, and ultrahand feature brought back memories of BOTW, and promises many more hours of family fun for this winter and holiday season.