Has spring finally sprung?

I feel like I might jinx the spell of lovely weather we've been blessed with if I dare to let myself believe that winter is finally over. I'm going to get a haircut this weekend as a symbol of shedding all that unnecessary insulation now that the sun is back in our hemisphere. That, and my layers are getting scraggly and too damn long.

A major shout-out to all my peeps from UMMS '07 who kicked ass in this year's residency match! Nearly all my friends got their first choices at top programs, most of which are in Massachusetts, so I'm happy they will be nearby next year. Of course, I'll probably have to page them at 2 AM in order to catch them while they're free, but still. I will also be ushering at Commencement so that I can watch everyone officially become an M.D.! *tear*

As I prepare for my own final year (eek! see previous post) I took the day off today from work so I could go to Worcester and get all my paperwork going for the electives I want to do in NYC. What a pain in the arse. On the upside, I got to have a leisurely lunch at El Basha with the divine Ms. Cristina (who will also be ushering), although we had one of those irritatingly efficient waitresses who can't tolerate the sight of near-empty dishes and who believes there should be no more than a five second lapse between courses. She actually asked if we wanted to order dessert and coffee approximately ten minutes into our meal, just as I was about to bite into a stuffed grape leaf and Cristina had her mouth full of chicken shawarma. We kind of stared blankly at her. She left us alone after that. [Aside: There was a group of internal medicine residents whom I recognized from my third year rotations leaving the restaurant as we were being seated and one of them was wearing his white coat and stethoscope. Under no circumstances, barring a medical emergency or bizarre costume party, should anyone need to wear a white coat and stethoscope inside a restaurant. Good grief.]

Speaking of annoying people, I have been experiencing a resurgence of homicidal ideation while riding the T. When I started working at MGH last summer I actually enjoyed taking the T, after three years of having to drive anywhere I wanted to go. Yeah, that lasted about a week before I was pining for my car. So I spent the rest of the summer and fall grinding my teeth every time someone obstinately refused to budge to make room for other people, or talked loudly on their cell at 8 AM, or insisted on reading the paper and thus taking up an additional three feet of armspan in a space which at least two human beings could occupy. But then I decided to rise above the feeling of sardine-ness and simply focus on getting from point A to point B. People are dumb, and I just had to accept it. For some reason, my self-fashioned Tao of the T isn't holding up anymore. Perhaps it's because I've witnessed too many hugely pregnant women have to stand while eight teenagers crowd into three seats, too many elderly citizens practically break a hip every time the train lurches as oblivious young people who are seated bop along to their iPods (which are always turned up to a volume audible to people in the next subway car), etc. But, in just a few more months, I'll have a daily commute to Worcester and back, and I'll probably post a rant here about the insane New Yorkers weaving around on the Pike. C'est la vie.