Okay, came back safe and sound. Alhamdulillah (All praises be to Allah). But I'm still jet lagged...for someone who's nocturnal, I've been going to sleep at about 8 pm and waking up at about 4 am for past few days since I got back.

Really had a fruitful trip; the conference was energizing for me - can't believe how much topics to do with reduced-order modelling and optimization were presented in the conference. It wasn't as popular two years back - so it shows how much work has been done in this field within the last two years.

Of course, meeting ChrisP and Laurach was great. We had the time to go the Universal Studios together - this is a picture of us there that I included. Chris also brought me to Malibu and I stayed with her at her place in San Diego. Her husband, John, is great! Being a Scot, he showed me his family's heirloom and crest; and I got to read about William Wallace. Of course, their dog, Copper, also made my stay memorable - he followed me around, begging for a walk. I'll be uploading some of my pictures that I took of my trip there, so he should also be in it.

Peace,

Sid