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!