Coming to UCLA is like returning to the womb for me. My mother got her Ph.D. here, she taught here, and I got my Ph.D. here. The layers of memories at each corner at UCLA are stacked like cordwood. Sometimes I am not even sure whether a vague memory is from early childhood, later childhood, high school or grad school.

I have returned to UCLA for an international conference comprising the bulk of the researchers in the world studying the model system C. elegans, a nematode that has been critical in discovering a lot of what we know about, for example, aging.

It has been odd wandering around campus in my new role as C. elegans biologist since mostly I remember rolling down the hills with my brother in the sculpture garden (mostly the same sculptures I remember as a kid, just rearranged), smoking (don't ask what) in the stairway below Bunche Hall (my mother always called it "the waffle") in high school, or studying the development of the immune system as a grad student. Today my step daughter experienced the "upside down fountain" much the same way my brother and I did as little kids: wading in it, drawn to the central vortex until submerged and wet...and surprised at how shallow it was.

I love Los Angeles. It is still home to me even after nearly a decade as a New Yorker. Jody Maroney's sausages on Venice beach are still my favorite sausages. Versailles is still my favorite Cuban restaurant and Tito's Tacos, though by no means the best tacos I've had, are still among my favorites. For those who think Los Angeles is shallow and nothing but Universal Studios and Hollywood Boulevard, you should come and see the LA County Museum of Art (still my favorite though I've seen the best in NYC), the tongue in cheek Museum of Jurassic Technology (figure it out for yourself!), not to mention the lovely purple of the blooming jacaranda and the sweet smell of the blooming jasmine contrasting with the smell of eucalyptus. Unless the smog is really bad (which of course happens) the smell of Los Angeles is often quite nice.

And for me UCLA is the archetypal university. Yes, I know there are older, more prestigious, whatever. But to me Royce Hall and Powell Library are the perfection of university architecture, and the UCLA campus overall the ideal campus. And for the record, everyone I know who got their Ph.D. in my department at UCLA feel that wherever they went from there (including NYU, Harvard, etc.) was a bit of a comedown from our department (Biological Chemistry) at UCLA. Yeah...UCLA combined great activities, a beautiful campus and great academics. Okay, the bureaucracy sucked, but other than that, I loved it...and still do.

Today I stood in front of 1650+ scientists in Royce Hall, where my mother lectured decades ago, and delivered a Plenary talk at the International C. elegans meeting. Don't ask me how it went...it was a blur to me, though my boss gave me two thumbs up afterwards and I am just glad it is over. A few beers with a colleague at the Westwood brewing company (still the ONLY good drinking place in Westwood, though they no longer seem to brew their own beer) and I am feeling pretty relaxed. There are still a few days of intense scientific talks on aging, development, etc. but for me I can start relaxing from today on. After the meeting ends are two more weeks of vacation.

And I can thank the UCLA Guest House for this ability to blog. They are better than most hotels and cheaper, with free computer access and excellent customer service. My 12 year old step daughter was even impressed! She is obsessing on their varieties of teas available 24 hours a day...though she seems to have run through their hot water supply for tea.

As for politics, haven't been keeping up. I hear NYU had a blackout and that's about it. As a few more days of scientific conference and two more weeks of vacation afterwards, where my son can interact with his grandma and we will loll in the sun in both Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, I am not sure how much I care what is going on in the world. Sure, I will face it when I get back. But for now, my talk is done, the beers are sitting nicely and I have nothing more I need to do.

Good night and be back for more travel notes whenever time, opportunity and inclination allows.

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