Delightful little scones, another wonderful recipe from Dorie. http://www.parade.com/export/sites/default/food/recipes/parade/123-bake-raisin-scones.html Try it, your mornings will be so happy you did.

Graduation finally happened. Moving into Birmingham finally happened. Finding the PERFECT coffee table finally happened. June 15th is getting closer and closer, and I'm getting more and more nervous.

The things I truly depend on are the things I take for granted... such as my car. Thus it is devastating when something goes wrong.

Something went wrong.

The power steering wheel belt broke Saturday morning, which turned out to be because of a broken harmonic balance. The dealer was closed so I had it towed to a different place, which was mistake number 1. Mistake number 2 was when I couldn't find the button to pop open the hood, showing just how incompetent and car illiterate I am... I may as well have signed a written consent for them to rip me off. Between now and then I receive about three more phone calls telling me how many more parts broke, how much more work/time they need, and how much the price will escalate. Finally I told them to stop everything because I am getting it towed to the dealer... which I did.

I guess the lesson learned here is always get my car to the dealership, eve if they're closed.

Brunch at Surrey's, a small cash-only, hole-in-the-wall restaurant tucked away on the far side of Magazine street, with a line of people waiting out of the door. The decor is floor to ceiling local art; the menu is brunch food with a New Orleans twist; when asked the host how long the wait is he said "forever". It turns out that "forever" is quite worth it because I FINALLY got to eat a "stuffed" french toast, something I've only seen on TV.

And so medical school ends. A word from the dean, a word from the chancellor, and four years concludes as unceremoniously as it began. There is still the cocktail banquet, the precommencement, the commencement... but somehow this last day of classes, and so the end of my life as a student, means more to me. From now on when I see my classmates, it won't be in the same context-- sleepy, tired, hung over... They will be impeccably dressed and ridiculously friendly, completely forgetting that not so long ago they were assigned neurosurgery at W Jeff... and in deep denial that a few weeks from now, all this confetti and celebration will seem like a different lifetime ago.

All the more reason to be happy now!