We drove to Oakland over Presidents’ Day weekend for the Mammoth fundraiser at the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt. Following months of failed bonsai hunting, we finally managed to grab a gingko grove, Chinese elm, and mini jade plant, which combined with our recent azalea and ginseng bonsai purchases rounded out our new bonsai collection. We celebrated over delicious shrimp and oxtail with grits at Willow & Pine before returning home. Melody was away at a conference the following weekend, which gave me a chance to help Westley build a mini gundam from his friend Liam and the Guan Yu mecha I brought back from NYC. With the torrential rain, we almost didn’t notice our 20+ year-old water heater leaking onto the garage floor, which we decided to replace with a Navient tankless model. We were thankful to have replaced our Everhot dispenser and serviced our fireplace, which helped us survive the week of cold showers for me and sponge baths for Westley. At work, I was kept busy reviewing applications for our department chair and junior specialist positions, as well as grants for PCORI and NIH. The small business NIH review panel took me to Bethesda, where the hotel’s central location in the Pike & Rose neighborhood allowed me to sample tonkotsu ramen from Jinya, crispy fish and chips from Summer House, and a chirashi bowl from Kusshi Sushi. Back home, we also tried out some new eats including paper-thin XLBs from Yi Long Dumpling and AYCE hot pot at Shabu Shack. Yesterday, I picked up treats from ABC Bakery and akadama soil from the Maruyama Bonsai Nursery for a weekend of repotting the gingko, pulling weeds, and packing for spring break in Singapore. We’ll need to start shifting our sleep patterns for the 17-hour flight and 15-hour time difference.