Jun Jun, also known by Jack, has been in Loma Linda for the past several months. He came from the Second Hospital of Tangshan and mainly shadowed Dr. Mudge and me. For his farewell, we got together to make pizza, one of his favorite American food.
One of the highlights was just having a simple picnic lunch right by the pond, on the deck over the vault. Also, I had the chance to visit the aquarium, Huntington Library and the new Chinese Garden, the Getty Villa, and El Matador beach near Malibu.
Kandus and Brad Thorp invited a lot of people to the opening ceremony of the Hope Channel’s production center in Loma Linda. Brad gave a nice devotional about the satellite dish and performed symbolic footwashing as well.
After several months of work, the pond is finally done and filled to the right level. Everything seems to be working well. The only thing left to do is to perfect the level mechanism to autofill and to finish some of the edging detail where there is exposed liner.
We climbed San Bernardino Peak today. The hike started from Angelus Oaks. We left Loma Linda around 6:00 am, arriving at the 1W07 trailhead forty minutes later. It was cold, but I started out in shorts, a quick-dry t-shirt, and a beanie to prevent heat loss through the head. It…
Today, the high was 106 degrees F. Anyhow, it was a day for outdoor work, wrestling boulders into place around the pond. The depression had been excavated already, and months ago, I helped my dad with a homemade water level to figure out the elevation of the entire perimeter. After…
I enjoyed the Western Orthopaedic Association meetings. The lectures were good, and I had an opportunity to network with some of the exhibitors as well. The association arranged a cruise tour of Tillicum Village. The best part was the cruise to and from the island. It allowed time to relax…
I arrived in Seattle. The first part of the trip will be a backpacking excursion along the Northern Loop Trail of Mount Rainier National Park before joining the Western Orthopaedic Association. Sunday morning, Brad and I drove to White River Ranger Station to pick up our permits after having breakfast…
Dr. Wright Zheng and his wife Connie invited Dr. Mudge, Leora, and me over for dinner. Everything was traditional Chinese, even the handmade dumplings.
Dr. He Chao and Li Hong came with a delegation from Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital to visit Loma Linda. We had everyone over to our place for dinner. Dr. Hadley and Donna came as well. It was good to see so many friends from Hangzhou.
Like every year, the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency graduation banquet was held at the Redlands Country Club. The graduating residents are Joe Bowen, Sam Chen, Kevin Dahl, and Chad Harbour.
Transiting through Atlanta, I arrive at Savannah. The rental car process is interesting. Budget, where I rented from, is closed. I get help at the Avis counter. They give me the keys, I go outside, and there’s no security. I just drive off, and then in two days, I will…
Traveling filled the entire past week, making it feel much longer. The first stop is Florida. It’s Tuesday night. I check in at LAX for a red-eye flight to Orlando. After boarding, I take an Ambien and drifted off, to be awakened upon landing at MCO. The transit is painful—both…
It was great to see so many students accomplish so much and get to the point of commencement. The hooding ceremony is always inspirational, with Henry Lamberton reading notes of appreciation from the students. This year is a special year, because my cousin Aimee is part of the graduating class.…
Last week, on Wednesday, I arrived in Maui for the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons’ Annual Meeting. After getting the car, I picked up my parents and Alice before heading to Kapalua. We checked in at the beautiful Kapalua Villas, and our condo overlooked the golf course and ocean.…
This year’s research seminar was held at the Drayson Center. We invited Ed McPherson as the guest professor, and he gave a very informative session about biofilm and hardware-related infections.
It’s springtime, and a small group of us went to Forest Falls to enjoy the scenery. Also with us was Jun Jun Zhang from the Second Hospital of Tangshan. He will be visiting for a few months.
Partnering with the Loma Linda Chinese Seventh-day Adventist Church, Hope Channel began filming a health series targeted toward the Chinese population. I spoke about general bone health.
For the Alumni Postgraduate Convention, we invited several guest speakers, including George Cierny and Thomas DiPasquale. Also, the Neufeld Society honored Scott Nelson as Orthopaedist of the Year, and he was present at the meeting online through Skype.
We’ve all been looking forward to the Grand Canyon hike. Very early Saturday morning, as the mercury plummets to below 20 degrees F, Todd and I pull into Mather Campground after a very long drive from Las Vegas, post AAOS. The frozen ground crackles under our feet as we step…
This snowshoe trip was more strenuous than I had expected. Uncle Ben Vassantachart and I went up to Angelus Oaks and parked by the restaurant. We followed the trail up to the helipad and spent some time exploring. After getting to that plateau, we decided to come straight down the…
Last Sunday, a group of us took an ambitious trip up San Gorgonio. The group I took consisted of Hasan (4th year orthopaedic surgery resident), Ken (senior medical student), DJ and Rob (juniors), Mark and Seth (sophomores), and Brandon (whom I ran into at the Drayson Center several days before).…
This plant, given to me by Dr. Wright Zheng, blooms just about once a year, and the bloom happens only at night for several hours. There is sort of a craze in Chinese culture, where the blooming symbolizes how transient everything in life can be—曇花一現, as they say. Anyhow, on…
Last Thursday, I spend most of my afternoon packing for the trip to China. Then, I drive out to LA and take the direct flight from LAX to PEK on a very full plane. The plane lands a little ahead of schedule, and Dr. Zheng and Mgr. Sun meet me…
Today, Brad brought Grant and Max over. I had the day off, of course, and we shot some archery rounds.
