Friday, May 27, 2011

Three Beautiful Things: 05/26/11: Poetry Picture Books, Fickle Kidneys, Dickie Jo's >5 Guys

1.  In World Lit, I once again pushed the idea that poems are picture books and that poems invite us to go back to being kids again when we loved picture books and I read aloud "Problems with Hurricanes" and three of Neruda's Odes and encouraged my students to picture the poems, let the pictures work on them, feel the impact of the pictures, and stop trying to figure out what the poem means.  Experience it.

2.  I'm beginning to understand the mutable nature of blood work.  A couple months ago, the creatinine levels in my blood were higher than they had been, and I was alarmed.  Today I found out (or was reminded) that my creatinine had been higher when I was hospitalized with pneumonia and c-diff, when I had been dehydrated.  The results from last week's blood work showed the levels had gone down, indicating that my kidneys, at least last week, were functioning at about the same level of diseasedness they have been since I first found out I have chronic kidney disease.   So, it seems, my kidneys are a bit fickle.  So, I am going to never take a single blood test seriously again, but will pay more attention to the big picture, the pattern.  I'll chill.

3.  To celebrate my new mindset regarding my fickle kidneys, I made my first visit to 5 Guys Burgers.  The burger was good, but I like Dickie Jo's a lot more.  The fries were mushy.  I like fries crisp.  I'll never sit down to eat in a 5 Guys Burger again.  The noise made the place intolerable.  All the burgers are fried out in the open with about twenty-five young employees yelling stuff, dancing to 70s music.  They were all amped.  It's why I don't go to Dutch Bros. anymore.  It's hyper.  I get treated like I'm 19.  I'm not 19.  I'm 57.  Shhhhh.  When 5 Guys comes into our neighborhood, I might get to go orders, but if the one being built nearby is as loud, casual, hyperactive, and garishly RED as the one in Springfield, I'll never sit down to eat there.  And I'll probably pass on the fries.

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