We took a break from our usual action-adventures this month and kicked back with a more laid-back game called Stray. Set in a neon-lit, post-apocalyptic cybercity, we play a stray cat evading zorgs and sentrybots as we uncovered the mystery of this robot-inhabited world. We finished the game over a few short sittings with our 1-month PS Plus Extra subscription, which gave us time to try out other titles like Crash Bandicoot 4 and The Crew 2, where we raced cars, trucks, and boats across the continent. I also expanded my VR gaming repertoire by completing the Vader Immortal trilogy and Pistol Whip campaigns. Westley and Melody picked up a less violent pastime with geocaching, which had us searching under street signs and lamp post covers with his friend Liam for a chance to sign logbooks and uncover trinkets at the Yolo Bypass. We continued the digital-age treasure hunt as we explored new dining options this month including Korean soups at Jeon Ju Gom Tang & BBQ, nem cuon and banh xeo at Quan Nem Ninh Hoa, lamb shanks and lentil stew at Maydoon, loco moco and malasadas at Kau Kau, and sushirrito, sammich, and melty mac at Local Kitchens. We missed the soft opening of Mochinut in Davis, but were underwhelmed when we finally got a taste. Otherwise, we battled the heat wave with Sunday visits to the public pool, where Westley took his first leap from a diving board, and shaved ice which was much tastier from a store than a truck. I also took my parents to SF for a dining splurge at Benu to celebrate my mom’s birthday and recovery from surgery. At home, we got new plants, a new fire pit, and a new crew for yard care. Hopefully all three will actually last!

I had planned to attend ASRS in NYC as an opportunity to visit family and friends. But with my parents stuck in Davis and Melody attending a conference in Florida, it became a mission to keep Westley alive as I planned our father-son itinerary in the Big Apple. We secured an Uber car-seat from JFK after our red-eye and quickly unpacked at my parents’ home before heading out. Westley was not a fan of my everything bagel, but enjoyed our subway ride to Dumbo to visit Brooklyn Bridge Park. Here, we watched locals work out, swing, roller skate, and play handball and pickleball along the Manhattan skyline on Pier 2. I politely declined Westley’s request to assassinate me at the playground, and instead shared a burger, fries, and Oreo shake at Shake Shack to escape the heat. From there, we walked past a dead rat to cross Brooklyn Bridge, stopping for photos and a Brooklyn hat before passing City Hall to reach the Oculus station and 9/11 Memorial. My first visit to Ground Zero since the tragedy 21 years ago felt especially poignant having spent many high school days there, and watching videos with Westley at the 9/11 Tribute Museum was unexpectedly emotional for me. We hydrated with boba tea and street vendor mangos to burn if back off at the Battery Playscape and SeaGlass Carousel on the way to the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. Our exhausting first day ended with dinner with my cousin Minh’s family. I awoke Wednesday to share my childhood toys and crafts with Westley, then headed to the OIS meeting while Westley got drawing lessons and new bakugans from Minh and my nephews. I picked him up for a slice at Korner Pizza and cone at Carvel on the way to our hotel, where a detour through Rockefeller Center and FAO Schwartz ended with an indoor booma and E.A.K. ramen for dinner. I stayed up late to practice my talk, and walked with Westley to Javits Center next morning to upload it, but got kicked out of breakfast due to a sketchy building policy prohibiting children. We instead explored fighter jets, space shuttle, and submarine at the Intrepid, shared pizza at Gotham West Market, then returned to Javits in stealth mode for my talk, as my friend Parisa watched Westley fashion wikkistix. We were relieved to return to the hotel, where Westley completed his Daiso 3D frontloader before returning to Times Square for visits to the Disney store and FDNY Fire Zone, udon at Tsuro Ton Tan, and macarons at Mia’s Brooklyn Bakery. Melody finally joined us Friday morning to enjoy Krispy Kreme donuts and NYC views atop the Empire State Building that reminded us of Curious George’s adventures. Lunch at Carmine’s with Eric and Sumit was heavy and exhausting, but BT21 paraphernalia at Line Friends helped energize Melody and Westley for our afternoon at Central Park Zoo. Unfortunately, animal feeding was over at the Children’s Zoo and the RC sail boats were absent at Conservatory Water, but we recovered over dinner with Nancy and Meenakashi, whose Central Park West sunset view overlooking Lincoln Center’s summer dance made for a relaxing end to the long day. On Saturday, we embarked on a Flushing food tour with New Flushing Bakery’s egg tarts, Joe’s steam rice roll with curry fish balls, White Bear’s chili oil wontons, Chongqing noodles at New World Mall, and lian pi from Xi’an Famous Foods, but were disappointed by the closure of Sibling’s potato noodles and Golden Shopping Mall. A potty break interrupted our subway ride to the American Museum of Natural History, but we made the next showing at the Hayden Planetarium before hanging with Jing’s family at the dinosaur exhibits and Ed’s family for dinner and dessert. After a final ad board Sunday morning, we headed to K-town for BCD Tofu House and H-mart kimbap for our return flight. The National Museum of Mathematics offered fun, interactive exhibits of patterns and puzzles which kept us busy up to retrieving our luggage for the flight home. We would’ve appreciated a break before returning to work, but it was fun tracing landmarks from the New York City song lyrics with Westley as he navigated crowds, smells, and subway in my hometown.  

As the summer grew hotter, I felt the heat mount at work as I prepared 4 new proposals to RPB, FFB, Thome Foundation, and UCOP, all while juggling another NIH R01 submission and study section reviews. World leaders also felt the heat with Boris Johnson’s resignation and Shinzo Abe’s assassination. Meanwhile, our own country took blows in abortion rights, gun control, and climate change as the new conservative majority in the Supreme Court dealt their subversive rulings with impunity. We tried to eat our feelings by trying hot pot at Heat Shabu and smoking char siu with our new Traeger pellet grill we got for Melody for Father’s Day. I also took the lab out for XLB and boba to booster morale. I did manage to make time over the July 4th weekend to welcome the new fellows at my colleague Kareem’s place, enjoy the Davis fireworks in Community Park, and spend time with Westley playing Uno, practicing tennis with our new ballport, and singing with grandparents with a Moukey karaoke machine. This weekend, after dropping off Melody at the airport for her conference on Amelia Island, we stopped by Natomas for Korean corn dogs and bingsoo at Deluna Dessert Cafe, spicy KFC at Bonchon, and travel toys at Daiso for my upcoming trip to NYC. As I will be spending my first few days solo with Westley, I need all the help I can get!

With Macula Society taking place in Berlin this year, I had hoped to bring Melody and Westley to visit my relatives in Germany. But with rising Omicron infections and geopolitical tensions with Russia, I ended up traveling solo. My first flight from SMF on Saturday was delayed, requiring a scramble that landed me in Munich. Fortunately, the speedy ICE trains got me to Luneburg in just under 7 hours, which felt like a cinch with pastries and Wi-Fi on board. I arrived at Aunt Phuong’s house in the evening, filled on her bun nem, then overcame jet lag to sleep through the night in my nephew’s room. I awoke Sunday to homemade banh mi and a tour of my aunt’s garden. They introduced to me a promotional 9-euro ticket that provided unlimited access to public transportation in June, which provided a whirlwind tour of Hamburg including the Rathaus, a harbor ferry ride, and the Elbphilharmonie observation deck. Anh Hung met us there, shared hazelnuss ice-cream, then strolled through the glitzy HafenCity waterfront, past a Ukraine photo exhibit at St. Michael’s Church, to seafood at Casa Madeira in the Portuguese quarter. We walked off our dinner at the red light district in St. Pauli, including the infamous Herbertstraße where women were not allowed. On Monday, more relatives drove from Münster to join us for Chinese buffet, followed by desserts at my aunt’s home, where Andreas gave me an in-depth lesson in bee keeping. I awoke early next morning for a train to the Ritz-Carlon Berlin at Potsdamer Platz, which the Macula Society had managed to completely book for members only. After wowing at the 5-star room amenities, I went for Sichuan zajiang nudeln at Liu, checked out an Assisi Panorama, Checkpoint Charlie, and Topography of Terror, then returned to the meeting and welcome reception. I gave my talk on Thursday, then after lunch at the hotel, explored the murals at East Side Gallery before joining UW colleagues for a 3-course tasting menu of upscale German fare at Kurpfalz Weinstuben. Early Friday, I tested myself for COVID via telehealth using an antigen test kit from my friend Lejla, just one day before the U.S. lifted testing requirements, but cleared me to play hookie by visiting the Holocaust Memorial, Bandenburg Gate, Reichstag building, Pergamon Museum, and Berliner Dom. I was most impressed by the Reichstag glass dome, where the audioguide was triggered automatically by location, as well as the Ishtar Gate of Babylon and Islamic art collection at the Pergamon. For lunch, I went to Lebensmittel Mitte for hearty käsespätzle, but could not get a seat at Zur Letzten Instanz for their pork knuckle. I spent the afternoon shopping for a messenger bag, but instead got an iris photograph as personal art. Swimming at the Ritz and banquet at Frank Gehry’s Axica reminded me of the high life of retina and the costs of this trip, which fortunately was offset by a travel grant. On Saturday, I headed to the airport after getting currywurst and fries at Curry 36 at Berlin HBF, and suffered another tight connection in Munich before my usual dinner stop at SFO on the way home. I was glad to catch up with relatives, but sad that I didn’t have my family with me. Unfortunately, I developed a bad cough after getting back, so it’ll be another few days before I feel really home again.

The return of warmer spring weather meant hay fever and more in-person conferences. Our department symposium returned to Napa Valley this year, where I deferred my arrival from Friday to Saturday after developing a cough that fortunately was not COVID. With symptoms subsided, I lunched with my friend Naama at Gott’s Roadside after my first talk, then rendezvoused with Melody and Westley at the hotel for pool time before dinner at North Block, a visit to the RH Gallery, and chocolates from Anette’s. We checked out after my second talk on Sunday, shared French fare at Angele and Double Rainbow ice-cream at the Vintage Sweet Shoppe, then drove home separately. While Melody and Westley headed to Ellie’s recital, I shopped for a messenger bag in Vacaville, then went directly to the hospital to bring my mom home. Between helping my parents settle in, arranging for home health, physical therapy, and a local PCP, I also tried to work on an R01 resubmission, record a CME discussion from my office studio, and still socialize with work colleagues at Ella and private practice friends at Zocalo on Cinco de Mayo. Last weekend, I drove late after clinic to Incline Village for a content-packed CTS conference. Beside a quick dip in the hotel pool, I had little time to enjoy Tahoe before driving back Sunday to join Westley at Analyn, Rylan, and Claire’s birthday bounce-house-and-water-play party. Despite a busy Memorial Day weekend call covering Kaiser patients, I relaxed with family playing Ticket to Ride, TinyTan Beat Saber, Spiderman Miles Morales, and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, while Melody succeeded in solving her first (two) Rubik’s cube. We also used Westley’s Swim America coupon for Dos Coyotes, shared spicy hot pot on the back patio, and snacked on Melody’s homemade char siu and condensed milk buns. With both of us experiencing burnout from work, it was a nice reminder of normalcy for us.

Planning for ARVO was extra stressful this year. It was my last year as program committee chair, but we had to revert back from virtual to in-person format. I also agreed to co-organize an NCATS-sponsored gene therapy workshop for COHA, having deferred our obligation for two years due to the pandemic. Add on top the FFB Innovation Summit, and I was wiped out before ARVO even began. I flew to Denver on a Thursday after Westley’s allergist appointment to dine with my co-fellow Kathryn at Apple Blossom, which was not as good as the birria from Otra Vez Cantina following our two days of pre-ARVO meetings. Saturday consisted of meetings with industry partners, brunch with Yao for the I-TRUST study, and dinner with RegenXBio. I moderated and presented next morning, browsed my students’ posters, then joined an old mentor and Primed for an abbreviated dinner which I had to finish at the airport to catch my flight home. I had little time to catch my breath before flying out again next weekend to San Diego to discharge mom from her SNF and dad from his AirBnb. Our flight back together was uneventful and expectedly slow, but we made it in time to share Chinese take-out for Mother’s Day. Thanks to our UCD connections, we had her evaluated by an orthopedist next day and surgery redone two days later. With mom recovering in the hospital, Melody and I finally took a moment for ourselves to celebrate our 15th anniversary at Benu. It was exactly 5 years ago when we celebrated our 10th anniversary there, and the menu reminded us of what made this place so special for us. We began with small dishes, where our favorites played on textures like abalone-stuffed chicken wings, jellyfish/radish-stuffed dried oysters, and an intricately hand-cut tofu in dashi that moved like a jellyfish. Melody was pleased with Corey Lee’s take on jajeongmyeon with caviar and squid, while I opted for iced mulhwe and rabbit liver soondae with a tricky fried rabbit head. We again shared the Best Bread Ever with ginseng-spiked honey butter, and finished with a beautifully-piped poppyseed-citrus cake. Although it wasn’t presented in a music box this time, the cake was big enough to take home to Westley. We drove home happy and satisfied, reflecting our decade and a half together.

I was in the middle of submitting our tax returns when I received a late-night call from Alvarado Hospital informing me that my mom had fallen and fractured her femur. It had been less than a week since my parents joined us for family swim time, and only a couple of days since they left for vacation in San Diego. It turned out that she had fallen at Balboa Park following a day at the zoo. After frantically rescheduling my clinic, I flew down to SD last week to coordinate her care and surgery. I spent the day reading about bisphosphonates and intramedullary nailing, sharing DZ Akin’s tongue sandwich and mish mash soup with dad for lunch, and teaching him how to use Duo and Lyft over bun bo hue at Pho Ca Dao, before flying back for work. The nail-biting ordeal continued over the weekend as we weighed blood transfusion against anti-coagulation to fight post-op bleeding, all while dealing with her uncoordinated and poorly responsive surgeon and care team. By Easter Sunday, she was finally ready for discharge, which necessitated another flight to San Diego – this time to coordinate the SNF transfer for mom and a hotel transfer for dad. I chose Jacob Healthcare Center based on its CMS scorecard and proximity to an Asian grocery store and hotel. Unfortunately, our first night at the seedy Navajo Lodge had me fearing for our lives. I stayed an extra day to move my dad to a nicer AirBnb, gather supplies from Walmart, and explore nearby dining options. Neither the ramen at Narumi Sushi nor Tajima were worth writing home about, but the banh cuon and bun rieu at Phuong Nga across the street were a good find. The rest of the month was business as usual. We celebrated Melody’s birthday at Allora’s patio, while Westley finally reached level 4 in swim class. He helped celebrate his friends’ birthdays at Peregrine playground, Funderland, and Walnut Park, where we successfully flew our kite for the first time. At home, the window glass repairs were finally completed, but our backyard shade order did not come through, as the white screen material we wanted could not be used. Instead, I put up a cheap projector screen using alumahooks, and also assembled Westley’s Ikea desk to go with his new bed. Despite trying to keep busy and preparing for ARVO, I remain anxious for my mom’s health as I plan for her transfer back to our house for recovery. 

We changed up our hiking terrain by spending spring break at Joshua Tree. With an SUV from LAX, we drove to Diamond Bar’s Chan Kee for congee and noodles, stocked up on groceries and mini taiyakis from H-Mart, then headed to the high desert. The town of Joshua Tree greeted us with dry winds and sandy gusts that challenged Melody’s contacts. Having missed the farmer’s market, we stopped for photos with Murtle the Turtle, a bracelet from the Rock Shop, a visit to the Art Queen’s Crochet Museum, and time-travel at the Beauty Bubble salon museum before checking into our Airbnb. Staying inside an Airstream camper was a highlight, as we experienced close-quarters living for the next 3 days. After cracking into our kalbi, banchan, japchae, and naengmyeon for dinner, we introduced Westley to Go Fish while listening to U2’s eponymous album before bedtime. On Sunday, we picked up a Junior Ranger booklet from the JTNP Visitor Center on the way to our ranger-led tour of Keys Ranch, where we learned about the resourcefulness and colorful tales of Bill Keys and early settlers. We munched on kimbap in Hidden Valley, stopped briefly by Skull Rock, headed to Pioneertown to dine at Pappy & Harriett’s, and returned to our camper to toast S’mores under the stars. We spent next morning exploring Noah Purifoy’s desert sculptures and piecing together a tragic tale at the Oasis Visitor Center, then retreated to the camper for more Korean food and a nap. We returned to the park in the afternoon to hike to Barker Dam and Arch Rock before a sunset kimbap dinner at the Cholla Cactus Garden. On Tuesday we made our leisurely way to San Gabriel Valley for lamb noodles, lamb soup, and lamb dumplings at Shaanxi Garden. We relaxed at our hotel’s pool and lounge prior to check in, then feasted on Peking duck from Ji Rong and mochis and pudding from Phoenix Dessert. Our HK-style breakfast at Delicious Food Corner kept us energized for next morning’s timed entry to the Huntington, where strolling through art exhibits, research library, and Chinese and Japanese gardens delayed lunch to late afternoon. We fell into food coma after Mr. Champion’s rice sticks and Ho Kee’s roast duck and wonton noodles, and awoke early on our last day for sweet and salty soy milk and fan tuan from Huge Tree Pastry for breakfast. After fancy dim sum at Sea Harbour, we stopped by Marina del Rey for rental bikes to catch the beachside breeze along the Marvin Braude Bike Trail before our flight home. We relaxed over the long weekend with my parents and hung out with in-laws for my niece’s birthday as we prepare to return to the grind next week. 

It has been a godsend to have my parents back in town, as Melody was gone for a conference last week and I was taking off for Vail Vitrectomy this week. I am no skier, but was grateful to be invited to one of the most pretigious and exclusive meetings in my field. With little time to plan the trip, I was relieved to find two friends to share a rental car for the 2-hour drive from Denver. We stopped at Idaho Springs for lunch, but opted for muffins and coffee over the hour-long wait at Beau Jo’s, before arriving at the Hythe in Vail. The meeting was small, which combined with the lifting of mask mandates, made for livelier discussions. On Sunday, I strolled past Lionshead Village for Indian food before returning for Susvimo training and my talk. I stayed in my hotel room the next day to get work done and binge on a Crime Scene series on the Cecil Hotel. I made instant noodles using the hotel room kettle for lunch, which saved me some cash to hit up Matsuhisa solo for their so-so omakase menu. Tuesday’s schedule was light, giving me time to go fat tire biking at the Vail Nordic Center. Biking in the snow was much more of a workout than I had anticipated. So I turned back before completing the 8-mile trail to fill on wood-fired bone marrow and short ribs at Mountain Standard back in town. We left the hotel at 4am for the return drive to the airport, which allowed me to catch an earlier flight back to join Westley’s school potluck and share night. After tonight, I’ll have just a couple of days to assemble Westley’s bookcase bed before we depart for spring break.

We showed some Westley love for his 6th birthday by waking him up to a copy of Spiderman: Miles Morales and leading him downstairs to our new PS5 system. After months of following forum threads and restock trackers, I finally scored a golden ticket invite from Sony for their popular console. The ray tracing and 4K graphics were a step up from the prior Spiderman installation, but Westley was more drawn to Astro’s Playroom – the included free 3D platformer that made creative use of the DualSense controller and lots of Sony branding. At his behest, we had his birthday brunch at My Burma with grandparents, although our homemade birthday cake did not achieve Chinese-bakery-level fluffiness. The following weekend, we watched his cousin Ellie’s orchestra performance at DHS, then broke out our binoculars and telezoom lens for birdwatching with the veterinary graduate group at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area. Back home, we solicited quotes for a backyard shade for sun-blocking and outdoor movies, and also learned the difference between window replacements and repairs from glass vendors. Our pet spider Aphider 2 reached his end of life and was replaced by a much younger Aphider 3. On TV, we watched drama unfold on the ice over doping scandals and teenage outbursts during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The Russian ice skating controversy was quickly overshadowed, however, by the country’s invasion of Ukraine, as the geopolitical and humanitarian crises sent shockwaves through the world economy. On President’s Day weekend, we learned about water conservation, solar systems, and snowflake crafting at the SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity. We continued the theme at home by assembling a hydraulic robotic arm and erupting a volcano kit with coke and Mentos from among his birthday gifts. At work, I completed BMCDB & GGIP interviews and NEI grant reviews, but my stress levels surged when I was drawn into planning the NEI Director’s campus visit after my colleague suffered a last-minute medical issue. Fortunately, the event went smoothly, and I was able to restore my emotional state ahead of my upcoming travels.