Rowan Up-Date

Lots of you are probably wondering what has happened to Rowan. She hasn't been in any photos in a while and doesn't seem to be mentioned. No, I haven't been keeping her in a bag in the closet.

She has been down in Los Angeles since Jan. 10 working with a couple of her colleagues in vision research (I mean this is a sabbatical, and one is supposed to do some work while being away for 6 months!) We keep up with each other via skype (see

photo)every day so it is almost like being together, except she doesn't get to partake of the food feast I've been on for the last 12 days (that is why she weighs 20 lbs less tan me!) She spent her first week in Glendale with good friend Kristina Tarczy-Hornoch (say that fast 3 times) who is a pediatric ophthalmologist at USC. She works at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the Dohney Eye Institute. Rowan has had the pleasure of observing more eye surgeries in the operating room with Kristina. Sometimes they are in there for over 7 hours. Row says it is amazing to see a child's eye turn

surgically fixed right in front of her eyes. It blows away all those pictures in the books you learn from in school. Luckily it hasn't been all work for her. She and Kristina did have a wonderful hike above the hills of Glendale that

provided beautiful views of the valley (see photo at bottom of post). One whacky footnote is that Kristina just happened to marry one of my old AIDS Ride buddies, JP (whom I hadn't seen in years). It's a miracle how they met in LA and are now married and have a baby on the way. Congratulations! It really is a small world! Rowan is now working with Sue Cotter at the Southern California College of Optometry, planning research collaberations between Kristina, Sue and Rowan's lab in Indiana.

Stay tuned for more updates from Rowan's end of the state soon.