Day 3294: THE MD!

I am no longer "On to an MD," friends. I HAVE IT!

The entire outfit -- tam, hood, and all

With the man who has supported me unconditionally these past four years

With all my loved ones who came out to support me on my big day!

With all the signs my sister and friends made

With the best sister ever and her favorite sign

Thank you to my friends and family who physically came out, who texted or called, who were there with me in spirit on the big day. An equal thank you to all of you who have supported me these past...gosh, six years? SIX YEARS! Through phone calls, visits, care packages -- it has all meant so much to me and I will never forget it. So...

Day 3293: Hooding Ceremony

Today was the hooding ceremony. A little history...

The "hood" that is part of the academic costume was originally designed as a head covering to keep tonsured heads warm in cold, unheated buildings. It dates back to the medieval days of some of the oldest universities in the world. Today, hoods are the most expressive part of the academic costume. They not only indicate the field of study which has been completed but the degree and the institution's colors. The hooding ceremony signifies a scholarly personal achievement. Graduated members (senior leaders, faculty and special hooders) of the profession place the hood on the student as a symbol of their passage from student status to graduate status.

The coveted pictures of this special ceremony:

A fun candid with some classmates before Hooding

This is the core group of classmates I had on my very first
clinical rotation as a third year medical student.
We are really going to miss each other :(

With the fam after the ceremony

My BFF and her newly appointed Marine hubby came out too!

Three-fourths of our high school quartet!

My sister came to celebrate with me!

Lastly, the man who has been with me through the
craziest four years of my life thus far.

This was followed by Senior Dinner. This dinner was put on by my school. They had us pay for some pricey (just okay tasting, therefore making it overpriced) meals and gave out awards to various seniors. I didn't get an award mainly because, despite my loud personality, I kind of just kept to myself throughout medical school. And, I am a middling medical student anyway so I wasn't expecting to be awarded anything for my stellar (sarcastic) academic record.

Overall, the dinner was nice. It was nice to be there with my friends and family. Here are some pictures of senior dinner below.

Me and my closest friend in med school

Nicki came out too! So happy she could make the time!

Day 3291: The beginning of the end.

I feel like I have named several posts with this title but this is very much the end of the road for my blog "On to an MD." The MD is 4 days away! !!!!!!!!

Anyway, my exam for my "Preparing for Internship" course was today. I made the woman grading them, grade my exam right there on the spot. I didn't want to be concerned about failing and having to retake the exam tomorrow. I mean I studied, of course, but still. It's been a long time since I've taken a test. Since you are all dying to know, I passed! Hello graduation!

My pal Alex comes in tonight, to begin the influx of friends and family who will be coming in for this momentous occasion. My sister and parents come in Wednesday. My best friend and her husband come in either Wednesday or Thursday. Hooding is Thursday. Graduation is Friday!

This week is going to FLY BY!

Day 1126: Baby Sister's Graduation!

For those of you who read my blog, I assume you know me. I have this amazing younger sister who is just the bee's knees. She is, by far, cooler and better than me in every regard. Except maybe fashion but even now I try to dress like a 64 year old white man so maybe she does have me beat ;)

Anyway! Baby sister graduated! From college! Keep your applause until the end, please. She graduated with a degree in public relations and a minor in international business. She's just the best thing you have ever seen. I don't know how she keeps her awesome under wraps, but it always peeks out so we know that it's there. The graduation itself was pretty boring, as all graduations tend to be, but I screamed pretty darn loud when they called her name!

So, that was that. She goes to school near LA, so on Sunday, I went to the Rose Bowl Flea Market (pictured below) with my sister and my friend and saw this person (the second picture):

I love her more than anything. She looked super normal (not thinner in real life) and did normal things like eat overpriced pretzels and mull about the stalls. My sister mocked my friend and I for being so amazed at her normalcy, but honestly, when you're famous, after a certain amount of time, you forget what normal is like. You expect things. Like umbrella holders (people, not objects). Or free stuff. Stuff normal people don't have. So.

Dear the actress from "The Notebook" and "Mean Girls" (that's who that is in case you can't tell), I love you. Thank you for being normal and relatable. I apologize for stalking you for half an hour, but I tried to be covert. I did not sell this photo to TMZ and if they try to take it, I will sue them for not asking my permission (note how I haven't written your name in an attempt to save you from internet psychotism and TMZ stalking me). I respect you and your privacy (despite taking this paparazzi photo). Love, Me