Guess what...ONE MORE MONTH! Heck, not even a month left. My last day is June 22nd. How crazy close is that?
I finished up my ER rotation last week and started on heme/onc (blood and cancer) at the VA. I forgot how great it is to be on a consult service (last time was way back in August when I still closely resembled a chicken w/ my head cut off). We only have a handful of people we see in the hospital, and the rest of most days I wait for a consult to be called. 2 afternoons a week I work in out patient clinic, which is...interesting (my staff is a very unique guy).
Like most rotations, I can see the positives and negatives of this specialty. The negatives -> you are around quite a bit of sadness and death and dying. Plenty of pain and suffering. With all that, you may be wondering if there is any good in all of it. But there is. You get to help people through a very emotional situation. You get the chance to see the rare ones who always have a silver lining point of view that makes you grateful for your own health and life.
On to food
Pappy's Smokehouse
Now, if you are a food TV addict (as I am), you have likely seen this place on some program or another featuring BBQ. Just search "St. Louis BBQ," and this place will appear several times. Some magazines even rank it one of the top in the nation. Now, I know everyone has their own opinions, and this is just mine. So no getting all argue-pants on me. I am a planner, so I "knew" they opened at 11am on a Saturday. I knew how to get there from the freeway. I knew the main parking lot, which can get really crowded, is in the back. Little did I know, that it actually must have opened earlier, because when we rolled up at 1045, there was already a line (inside at least). We took our place, poured over the menu, and made our choices...all before getting even close to the front. For as busy as it was, the place was pretty clean and a nice comfortable temperature (in the dining room at least). They have your typical red-white checkered table clothes on a variety of table sizes that all have little signs reading "Please place your order before taking a table." I actually appreciate this, because nothing worse than worrying about where you are going to sit.
We decided to get a variety of meats. Matt got a half-slab of ribs w/ a little bit of pulled pork. I got the 2 meat dinner (regular size thank goodness) with brisket and turkey breast. I loved all of our choices. The brisket was incredibly tender, and the turkey was nice and moist yet super flavorful. They had a variety of sauces you could put on yourself, and I think I like the sweeter one more than the other 2 (original and hot). The ribs were honestly amazing. They had a ton of meat on them. While they fell apart in your mouth, you could still pick them up without making a mess. The pulled pork was good as well, not as good as the rest though in my opinion.
For the big question...would I wait an hour or more for this? Truthfully, I don't know. I can't answer that because I have never been in that situation. Yes, it was great and probably some of the best BBQ I have ever had, but I hate lines.
AMBIANCE: great, friendly people, noisy but cozy
TASTE: amazing smokey flavor, amazing sauce
MENU: everything from sandwiches to huge platters, keeping it simple though, which is nice
SERVICE: counter service, so not super personal but everyone was very nice
OVERALL: If we lived in STL, I would give it a 5.5 (without the line). Then again, BBQ ranks just below pizza on my "food on my mind" scale
(Pan across empty room. In walks Becky proudly carrying a soap box. She places it delicately at the front of the room, adjusts her pants because they seem a little short, and boldly steps up. Crowd holds on because she may be up there for a while)
By now most of you have heard about Mayor Bloomberg's proposal regarding the selling of soda in New York City - no more than a 16oz serving at a time in restuarants (or something of that nature). I have huge issue with this, so please excuse me while I impart my almost well thought out opinion on you.
I myself am a lover of soda. It's the bubbles. Gotta love the bubbles. I choose to drink diet soda. Yes, I am sure something in it will give me cancer one day, but I am trying to live in the present. There was a time when I drank regular soda - mainly through college. At that time, however, I was playing competitive basketball 6.5 days a week, so the calories didn't matter as much. Because of this love, I fully understand how easy it is to consume a large amount of calories simply by mindlessly drinking regular soda. I also agree that this is a HUGE issue with the growing number of obese Americans, especially children. Simply limiting the # of ounces a patron can have at one time, however, is NOT how we should go about addressing obesity.
First, my silly critiques on the proposal
1. Uh...they can just keep getting refills and bothering the waitress when she should be bring me my food
2. What about those of us who drink diet soda? I want 96oz of it all at once. Thanks
3. 16oz really isn't very much. The standard "single serving size" plastic bottle is 20oz. Just saying
4. Like any little kid who is told that they can't walk on wet cement, they just want to walk on it more. Tell me no large sodas? I am going to drink more just to spite you
My more serious critiques
1. Why is the government trying to be a dictator? Hear me out before you rip me apart. I am a doctor; I see every day that obesity is a problem. You know who can't boss you into being healthy? The government. No 20oz soda at McDonald's? Guess what, they can still buy it at the store. Sure, tax it more, that is a whole seperate issue. Limiting how much a person can drink (in one cup) impinges on his or her own personal freedom to choose. Yes, I know this isn't the biggest "choice" a person makes in his life, but it is a choice made millions of times daily.
I know you may be saying, "Well they did it with smoking, how is this any different?" And I say, "You smoking around me affects my health; you drinking regular Coke around me doesn't interfere with my life or my health at all." Which is true. It doesn't. You want to drink 10,000 calories in soda a day? Those calories aren't oozing out onto me and getting me all obese and stuff. You, "Well, obesity is driving up costs of health care and this and that and this." Me, "So is smoking. And older people." You, "Well...any little thing to cut down calorie consumption by obese people will help." Me, "True, but this isn't how we do it." Read on
2. Where does it stop? I think this sort of limitation can be too much of a slippery slope. Unlike smoking (you either are smoking or your aren't), there is a huge variety of foods and serving sizes with a broad spectrum of calorie counts. What type of food goes on to be limited next? From now on, burger patties can be no more than 8oz. And you can only have one on a burger at a time. And you can only order 2 per person in your party total. And no sides. You can have either fries OR the burger. Not both. And whenever you order a salad, dressing has to be on the side. Actually, let a government official come put the dressing on for you (okay...exagerating a bit there, but you get my point) You may think this is silly, but I feel it is too easy to allow a limitation on one thing at a time that slowly leads to a ban on a lot of things.
And where does this leave us with alcoholic drinks? I know this ban just stipulates soda, but what about 20oz beers? And that 10oz margarita? Yes, it is smaller than 16oz, but it is way high on calories. Do we just start serving everything in 100 calorie packs? You, "So what do you propose Ms. Smarty Pants." Again, read on.
The key, my imaginary friends, is education. For years now, the government has said that nutritional information has to be easily available to consumers. Cool. Awesome. Love it. You know what is overwhelming? Looking at that HUGE table of numbers down the hallway on the way to the bathroom. They always put them in weird places. They are always hard to read. Heck, I am relatively smart and still find them a little too cumbersome. It all boils down to calories (yes, % of fat vs carbs vs protein matters too, but let's keep it simple here people).
And guess what, most people, be them smart or stupid, have little insight into how many calories are in their food. While it may make me feel awful about my choice to walk into a fast food joint, it helps me immensly to see that calorie count right up on the reader board right next to the item I am about to purchase. King County is Washington has done this for a couple of years. Panera Bread does this nationwide. That whole panini has 950 calories? I'll have half. And a cup of soup that has 100 calories.
To solve, or at least start to address, the issue of obesity, we have to get to the source. People consume too many calories and live too sedentary of lives. Solution - eat less, move more. Being forced to consume fewer calories WILL NOT WORK because no one is there to babysit your eating/drinking all the time. It is still a choice to consume too much. Knowing, however, that your breakfast sandwich has 600 calories in it gives you great information on how to eat the rest of the day. We have to educate people on the calories in food and then let them make the choice. EDUCATION IS KEY PEOPLE!!!!!!!! Dictating intake, is not
(Becky steps off soap box, adjusts length of pants again, and runs swiftly to Panera) :D
Well, not forever. Just for us :)
On May 31st we went to The Shins at the "Stir Cove" at Harrah's over in Council Bluffs. I would never claim to be a Shins fanatic. I would never claim to hate them either. We seem to exist together just fine never really acknowledging the others existence. Regardless of our past relationship, Matt got us tickets along with his coworker Casey and his wife.
In a weird, puzzling way, Omaha was cold that night. Yep. Late May. Cold. Coat cold. People wearing gloves cold. NOT QUITE seeing your breathe cold. Okay, the last one may be a bit of an exageration, but you get my point. We pull up, park easily (no paying!), file in. This place is right on the edge of the "beautiful" Missouri River looking towards downtown Omaha. Harrah's, in all its glory, serves as the back drop for the stage. There are no true seats, just grass in sort of a fake almost natural ampitheater. Casey and his wife have kids and do parent type things, so they had several camping chairs that we used. It was maybe 56 degrees. Max. I hunkered down with my Coors Light (only $6, not too bad for a concert venue).
First group: The Antlers. Um...can we say...whiney? Yeah. We can. Very whiney. Not really a pump up the crowd band to me. I am sure some people love them. We are not those people
2nd group: Blind Pilot. I really enjoyed them. Mostly up beat songs that I can dance in my chair (some may not see it as dancing) to. I would buy their CD. If those still existed.
Finally: The Shins. As stated previously, we have long existed seperately. Last night we were thrown into the same room. Overall...meh. And I don't blame the group. I blame the venue. I see them more as a small indoor venue type group. A place where you can all just chill and have some (cheaper) drinks. The music was fine. Would I have put the set list together a little differently? Yes. Do I know anything about putting set lists together? No. But that doesn't matter. It just didn't flow or move the way I was expecting. Sadly, I think our relationship will go back to the way it was
On why I love my husband (don't worry, not overly the top gushy)
-He is always more than willing to run to the grocery store for me...as long as he has a list in hand
-He likes to walk. A lot. He would take a walk 3 times a day if he could. He is going to make a great old man one day
-He knows when to stay out of "my" kitchen (it is mine when there is food going on. It is his when there are drinks going on)
-He only judges me a little bit when I eat way too many of the things I bake...for quality purposes obviously
-He gets way sweatier than I do when working out (and trust me, that is hard to do)
-He can't sleep in past 7am. Well, physically he can. Emotionally and mentally he feels like a lazy bum if he sleeps past that
A lot of people have food they can't stand, smells that make them sick, and even fabrics that drive them nuts; sometimes we neglect those noises that just drive us crazy. Matt often makes fun of me for my hearing, and, as my friend KTO can testify to, I have a tendency to make things up when I don't hear them :) I am sure this will only get better with age. That doesn't mean, however, that I don't have noises that drive me bonkers. Here is a short list of the ones I can think of off the top of my head (my family knows most of them already...and does them on purpose already...)
-Nails on chalkboard. Duh. No one really likes this I don't think. BUT with smart boards and white boards etc, it isn't as much of a threat in my day to day life. Then again, putting a chalkboard in your kitchen is sort of hot right now. But a lot of times that is "chalkboard paint," and I don't know if that makes the same noise
-Knife on a plate & teeth on a fork. I think the first one is pretty common for people, which means almost everyone realizes when they have done it. The latter, however, often occurs frequently as part of an every day meal. Just an innocent person trying to make sure they get all the food off that fork. Watch for it sometime. It may just make you shudder too. Thinking about it just now almost made me want to throw up. Plastic forks for all!
-Chewing loudly. 'nough said.
-Moving plastic grocery bags. Okay. I admit. This one may put me into the "nutso" or "neurotic" category. I am okay with that. I. HATE. GROCERY. BAGS. MOVING. Yeah yeah yeah. I know I should use my re-usable bag, but I forget sometimes. I guess this is my punishment. I like my groceries very stable and clumped together so that I don't hear them rolling and moving and getting all out of the bad.
I think those first couple boil down to the idea of one bad texture on another. The last one seems to be - as I actually typed it out - more of a personal issue with my groceries escaping all over the place and breaking or causing a mess etc etc. Will I get over these? Probably not. Do I want to? Probably not :D
Wait...did I forget to tell you all? (Okay, anyone who reads this probably already knows...but still) Matt got a job!!!!! Teaching!!!!!! He found out last week. We are beyond excited. This isn't a feat because he has no skills. Matt is a very gifted teacher who truly loves doing it. He didn't choose to teach so he can have summers off or so he can coach. He teaches because he loves it. This was more a feat because of how tight the market is for teachers. Hundreds laid off with fewer retiring and fewer openings. The hardest part is getting the interview. He is dynamite after that. It is at a private school too! Which is a good thing in my mind. Yay! Moving in 5 weeks!
Forgive me if I have already discussed brunch with you imaginary people, but I want to talk about it a little bit more.
Brunch. It is a magical magical word to me. It can quickly change an ordinary weekend into one of beauty and happiness and everything good in the world. Okay. That might be a bit of an exageration...in your book. Not in mine however. As long as it is really brunch. Not just late breakfast.
Growing up, brunch WAS Patsy Clark's. It was this great place in Spokane that served an amazing, out of this world buffett type brunch. Plus it was in this really cool old mansion. We would go when we were young, and I have no clue if they served dinner or lunch or anything other than hoards of breakfast food. It managed, however, to serve as the bar against which all other brunches are judged. Sadly, it no longer exists :(
It may be the fat kid in me, but brunch is not brunch without it being a buffett. Honestly otherwise it is just late breakfast. I have no problem with late breakfast, but don't invite me to go out to brunch if we are just going to Village Inn or Perkins. Invite me out to breakfast then. :D
Patsy Clark's had table upon table of everything you could imagine - pastries, bacon, sausage, potatoes, WAFFLES, eggs, more eggs, and desserts. They likely had a meat carving station, but that didn't appeal to young Becky. Now, was it really as awesome as I make it out to be? I dunno. It could have been my young mind making it into this Willy Wonka fairy tale land. Alas, nothing I have had since can measure up.
(True) Brunches I have tried in Omaha? --> Crave, Upstream, Grissanti's, Valentino's. That is about it I think. I would say the best was probably Crave. It wasn't too expensive plus you got a free mimosa or OJ with it. Yes please!
Brunches (read: Late breakfasts) that I have ENJOYED in Omaha? --> Dixie Quicks, Taxi's, Le Peep. Dixie Quicks (now in Council Bluffs) is fun and quirky, and if you haven't gone but live in Omaha, you should go
