Hello again, and happy spring!! At long last, the cold has left Ann Arbor, and it is a beautiful 70 degree afternoon as I write this. A lot has happened since my last post back in early March. First, the Smoker was a huge success and was definitely my favorite of the three I was in. It was sad to see it end, but that was just the beginning of what spring has had in store...Just a couple of weeks after the show, my (now former) classmates matched into their residency programs!

Match Day is a wonderful day at Michigan, and the administration really goes above and beyond to celebrate the accomplishments of the fourth year medical students. This is now the second Match Day I've attended, and the amount of nervous energy in the room before the noon witching hour (the moment at which students across the country are allowed to open their envelopes to find out where they'll be attending residency) has amazed me both times. I was surprised how nervous I was, despite the fact that I will not be matching until next year! It was a truly memorable experience to watch all the anxiety turn into excitement and joy as everyone opened his or her envelopes. As usual, the majority of my class was incredibly pleased with their match results, and it is a true testament to this medical school and hospital that we consistently match our students to top programs in even the most competitive fields. I'm allowed to brag a little since I wasn't the one matching, right?! :-)

I started April off with a week-long Caribbean vacation, which was very relaxing and beautiful, especially in light of this colder-than-usual spring we've been having here in Ann Arbor. On my way back, I spent a few nights in Orlando for an otolaryngology conference, where I sat in on as many talks and panels as I could. It was great to hear the most up-to-date research in the field and to increase my exposure in general to the specialty. While some of the material was definitely over my head, this was a great experience overall.

Finally, I finished April with my first ever marathon. This is something I have wanted to do for a few years, and I finally felt that I had enough time to properly train for it. I ran the Lansing Marathon on April 21, just a week after the horrific events of the Boston Marathon. This certainly added significance to the race for me, and I had a whole new appreciation for the many spectators who come to the race to cheer on complete strangers, as well as for the many volunteers. The race went as well as I could have hoped, except for an unscheduled freight train that crossed the course and delayed us by about five minutes. It was amazing experience to cross the finish line, sore as I was, and I'm already planning my next one.

Despite how this blog may sound, I am still working in the lab too! My experiments on a potential new chemotherapeutic agent have really picked up, and I'm hoping to get some results in the next few weeks. I really cannot believe I'm down to three months left in the lab before entering back into clinical rotations and applying for residency. Exciting but also a little scary!