With colder weather setting in, we spent most of Thanksgiving at home over spicy hot pot with in-laws and World Cup games from Qatar. We set up our Christmas tree and lights as usual, but instead of Black Friday shopping, immersed ourselves at the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit downtown followed by lunch at Saigon Alley and treats from Ginger Elizabeth. I did take advantage of online deals for a mirrorless Sony camera, Tamron lens, and Hoya filters for upcoming travels. I also ordered a humidifier for our bedroom, microwave for our kitchen, and new appliances for our rental unit in Boston. We solicited several quotes for a new HVAC system, but decided instead to expand our solar panels to prepare for the new EV I ordered. Melody and I snuggled under our fur throws to watch the Umbrella Academy battle the Sparrow Academy and Korean artists mic drop in one take on Take 1, while I indulged in the finale of the Walking Dead and premiere of The Peripheral – a mind bending new sci-fi series from Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy that managed to be even more confusing than the last season of Westworld. Westley developed a fever last weekend while Melody was at a conference in Baltimore. So we hung out at home playing Azul and RC cars, cooking curry beef stew, and watching MasterChef Junior, which inspired me to let Westley handle a real kitchen knife for the first time. We ventured out only briefly for fresh pineapple buns, piano lesson, and a dentist visit. Melody’s car battery died over the course of her absence, which was ill-timed as my car was also in the shop, so I had to chair my first NEI review panel from home. Sadly, my own grant proposals to the NEI, RPB, FFB, and Thome foundation did not receive much love, but I was glad to score a $2M Multicampus Research Programs & Initiatives award from UCOP, based on my proposal to develop a teleretinal imaging program across UC health campuses to expand eye care access in California. While I work with my institution to broadcast the good news, it seems that my other research has been gaining publicity also, including a radio show on goji berries and TV spot on ABC10. As 2022 draws to a close, we reflect on how fortunate we are as a family as we prepare our gifts and donations.

With Westley now fully-boosted, we renewed his passport and began finalizing travel plans for Hawaii, Australia, and Tokyo. At work, I bid farewell to my ACC office as I packed up for the new TEI building. My new office is smaller, so I had to part ways with drawers and cabinets to make room for my couch. I kept my trip to the Retina Society short, taking most of my meals at the Langham in Pasadena where the conference was held. I ventured out only briefly for a chirashi bowl at Osawa, and a reception at the Rose Bowl, where my impromptu foot race with my colleague Jesse had me skidding on my wrist and knees down the famed stadium field. I returned home in time for the fall time change which gave us an extra hour to visit Seaquest in Folsom. The interactive exhibits sported cabybaras, sloths, porcupines, and marine life, but felt more profit-oriented than typical aquariums. Westley spent his two free tokens feeding a tortoise and getting a small plastic toy. At home, I tried to teach him super Chinese checkers, but he seemed more excited about the board game Azul, where he seemed to be developing some strategy to our pleasant surprise. We spent the past few weekends playing hosts to our retina fellows, cousin Pamela, and in-laws with grilled lemongrass pork rolls and gourmet hamburgers. The weather got cold early this year, so we were glad that our fire pit was operational. We also attended Westley’s classmates Sofie and Liam’s birthday parties at Pioneer Park, where we hung out with other parents while watching our offsprings engage in tug-of-war and ninja-themed activities. With holidays approaching, I look forward to more time at home.

Our neighbors organized a block party earlier this month, where we realized how few of our neighbors we actually knew. While Westley played with his friends, we took notes of who lived in which house and which medical specialties were represented on our street. At his school’s fall festival, many faces were unfamiliar, and I was embarrassed to not know that my high school classmate had lived down the street for the past 6 years. Melody and I took turns volunteering at the limbo station, while Westley mastered plunger-cart driving but struggled at rock climbing. Too bad the haunted house was not as impressive as the $9 price tag on hot dogs. At home, we replaced more dead plants, installed a side-door electric deadbolt, and replaced our undercabinet lights to better match the warmer color of our kitchen lights. We also caught up on new seasons of Stranger Things and SYTYCD, and ate waffles and mochi while watching Waffles and Mochi. Netflix’s new Cyberpunk Edgerunners anime was a refreshing take of the excellent PC game, and Miles Morales’ endgame was a satisfying reminder of the PS4 Spiderman game. My car needed both windshield and bumper replaced, which prompted me to test drive the Mercedes EQS and BMW i4, before placing an order for the latter. The outings gave us a chance to try Jamaican goat curry and beef patties at Dub Plate Kitchen, chicken fingers at Raising Cane’s, and steamed buns at Dah Bao. I also got to relive undergrad dining at the Segundo commons with my lab. On Halloween, we joined the neighborhood gang for trick-or-treating. Westley went as a ninja, which made Melody his armorer preparing his costume, and I his blacksmith fashioning nunchuks and ninja stars. Joining the swarm of children and families was exhausting but exhilarating, as we got to bond some more with our neighbors. 

Feeling overworked recently, I kept my trip to AAO in Chicago fairly simple this year. Despite vowing to avoid red-eyes, I was also keen on avoiding connections, and ended up flying Wednesday after clinic to land in ORD Thursday morning. Fortunately, I made the smart move to book an extra hotel night which gave me a few hours of shut-eye before lunch. The sketchy walk to Chinatown rewarded me with hearty Slurp Slurp Noodles and baked goods from Chiu Quon Bakery to fuel the pig eye injection wet lab at UIC. For dinner, I unwittingly opted for fish at a steak house for the Adverum steering committee, but enjoyed my colleague rapping on the cab ride back. I managed to attend most of the first Retina Subspecialty Day, with only a break for dim sum with ex-fellows, and ended the day with industry functions, the Michels reception, and a dip in the hotel pool. Saturday included investor lunches where I spent more time waxing poetic on clinical trial data than ingesting food, my talk on gene therapy inflammation, and catching up with friends at the MEEI and UCD alumni receptions. After my OCT course and shooting an EyeTube video on Sunday, I headed for some Qing Xiang Yuan dumplings which were definitely worth the wait in line and another visit in the future. I managed to avoid socializing with colleagues and residents on the return flight, giving me time to catch up with work before another work week begins. 

The summer heat wave reached temperatures up to 116F which kept us indoors for most of Labor Day weekend. I spent the cooler evenings installing solar yard lights while Melody tried her hands at smoking ribs. We also ventured out for dumplings at nearby Yang Kee’s soft opening which was respectable for the driving distance. We otherwise spent most of the long weekend lazing about with fuzzy sherpa pillows from Target and a Le Pouf bean bag for Westley. The relaxing weekend helped us rest up for our drive to Monterey the following Saturday for our first lab retreat since the pandemic. After picking up my post-doc Carol, we stopped by Fremont for Taiwanese breakfast crepes and sandwiches at Cafe Mei. In Monterey, we studied caterpillars at the Frog Pond Wetland Preserve, stopped for disappointing fried seafood at Sea Harvest, then met up at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We were wowed by the new “Into the Deep” exhibit which introduced us to psychedelic jellies and giant isopods that looked like football-sized roly-polys. At our spacious AirBnb, three generations of junior specialists coordinated a grocery run and pizza making that included teams for prepping dough and toppings. Westley joined in for some toy fort building and a round of Uno before we cracked into our Pandemic board game. We awoke Sunday to pancakes and omelettes to finish off our pizza toppings, then headed to Carmel beach where we grooved to Vulfpeck while playing badminton and volleyball. Westley tired himself out digging a hole and fell asleep on our drive home. We stopped for lunch in Sunnyvale with excellent dumplings and noodles at Dumpling Depot, but our Moomo Tea might not have been worth the 30-minute wait. This weekend, we tried out a new piano teacher, toured the new Tschannen Eye Institute building, then revisited the California State Railroad Museum where Westley kept busy building a thingamajig while getting over a non-COVID cold. Melody and I spent the rest of our time researching our Australia trip in February as our excitement grows for our upcoming travels.

I had the fortune of being invited this week to Roche’s Vabysmo launch in Singapore which made my wife jealous of my second visit there while she prepared for Westley’s first day of grade school. I opted for a car ride over flying to SFO where the United Polaris Club opened my eyes to luxuries like made-to-order dining that I had to forgo having filled on airport ramen.  Flying business class aboard Singapore Airlines’ A350-900, which at 15+ hours is one of the world’s longest commercial routes, proved to be well worth the hype with AYCE fresh noodles, noise-canceling headphones, and Penhaligon’s amenities. After checking into the hotel, I traversed the muggy weather to Sungei Road Laksa where I realized I had no cash. Having forgotten my ATM pin, I made my way to Mustafa Center to exchange money and stock up on Prima Taste kits before returning for my savory $3 laksa bowl. I hopped into a cab just in time to avoid the monsoon rain and reach the ArtScience Museum for their immersive Future World and Patricia Piccinini art exhibits. Afterwards, I roamed the Marina Bay Sands mall and food court before joining my friend Daniel at Spago overlooking the hotel’s famed infinity pool. My talk at Roche headquarters made me miss out on Tian Tian’s Michelin-rated chicken. So I resorted to chicken rice and bak kut teh at a nearby food stall which I worked off at my hotel’s roof-top pool before bedtime. I awoke Wednesday for my talk and tour at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, returned to Chatterbox for a decadent set lunch, then visited an upscale retina practice and its founder for a second lunch. The official launch event took place with fanfare at the Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay, bringing back memories of the Macula Society meeting 5 years ago which I reminisced upon with my friend Gemmy and her fellows over drinks afterwards. I gave my talk virtually at the Singapore National Eye Centre next morning, which gave me time to check out the hotel breakfast before touring SNEC in person. A satisfying nasi lemak and chendol dessert at the Coconut Club fueled my post-lunch hike through the Southern Ridges. Hauling peanut-free moon cakes from VivoCity’s Mid-Autumn Fair, I made the treacherous climb up Mt. Faber Park across Henderson Waves, through the Forest Walk at Telok Blangah Hill Park, then past Alexandra Arch to HortPark, where I tapped out of the 10km trail for a cab back to the hotel. I concluded with an afternoon tour and talk at NUH, then sampled peranakan fare and white rabbit ice-cream sandwiches at Coriander Leaf overlooking the Singapore Polo Club for dinner. The lavish breakfast at the SilverKris business lounge put me to sleep through most of my flight and car ride back, but the nap did not make Friday afternoon clinic any easier to get through. We celebrated the end of my parents’ half-year stay over Korean BBQ before their flight out on Saturday, as we prepare to care for Westley by ourselves again.

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.