Both clinic and lab work has been getting busier since the pandemic. We see more patients in clinic, and have fewer qualified personnel in lab. I still managed to submit three grant applications to the Foundation Fighting Blindness this month, however, including a 5-investigator team proposal for the Translational Research Acceleration Program which had a foreboding acronym. Between upgrading my PC to Windows 11 and my Pixel to Android 12, both of which offered visual enhancements that I did not ask for, I also binged on new Netflix series like Squid Game and Midnight Mass. The Korean battle royale show was surprisingly engrossing, while the limited horror series provided a slow burn as well. We also embarked on Apple TV’s adaptation of Foundation. For me, Asimov’s iconic series was probably my favorite read of all time. So it was disappointing that the showrunners had to deviate so far from the original source material to keep the show relevant to today’s audience. With recent approval of the Pfizer vaccine for kids, Westley was able to revisit farm friends at Grandpa’s Barn, plant cabbage on his field trip to Fiery Ginger Farm, and earn popcorn and cotton candy at the Upstander Carnival at Davis Central Park that was aimed at discouraging bullying. For Halloween, we showed our parental commitment by hand-crafting a robot costume for Westley from cardboard boxes, toilet rolls, and metallic spray paint. The ankle-length design limited his mobility for trick-or-treating, requiring a modification to waist-length mid-trip. Westley seemed less interested in the candy, and more interested in feeding his new venus fly trap, which he named Trapper Keeper FlyEater or Justin for short. Along with his pet spider Aphider, this meant doubling the mouths to feed insects to. The atmospheric river and torrential rain slowed our outdoor kitchen project a little. But with our new marble counter finally set in place after a fiasco with an inexperienced fabricator and fractured slab, we hope to once again enjoy our back patio.