Jen Goes to a Job Interview...and Survives

When is a job interview something not worth getting excited about? Well...based on my personal experience, it's when you really, really, really don't want to go back to work. Ever.

Last week, out of the blue, I was contacted by a recruiter from a large, very well-known company named after a piece of fruit (hint: it begins with the letter "A"). I feel compelled to say, at this point in the post, should any of you work for this company or know of someone who does....I'm just kidding about the "not wanting to work" thing. I love your company. I love your products. And I desperately need a nice, fat paycheck.

Ahem.

So as I was saying, I had an interview with said company. Which I was dreading. Because in all honesty, the thought of returning to work is right up there at the top of my "things I would never want to do again, but probably will" along with taking a 10+ hour international flight in winter with two children under the age of five and going to the dentist. But in spite of my personal feelings about the matter, I realized it would probably be a good idea to go. First of all, the inheritance I planned to receive from a hitherto unknown (yet benevolent and extremely wealthy) relative hasn't quite panned out. Secondly, K's job isn't exactly making huge strides. Which has left me feeling a tad insecure about our collective finanical future. So I went.

The interviewers were very pleasant. The interview itself was very comfortable. No surprise questions. Nothing stressful at all. In fact I appeared to know more about the job role than they did...which was slightly disconcerting. The job is essentially what I was hired to do at Yahoo! but never really got around to doing what with all the reorgs and layoffs. The pay is good, I'm sure the benefits are as well. Some travel will be required...possibly to areas of the world I've yet visited (Japan, Singapore, Australia).

However here I am, three days later and with hours and hours of time spent rehashing the experience, and I still can't really say whether or not they will call me back. I can, however, say I fervently hope they do not. Yes, I realize I sound like a nutball. But honestly, I know if they do call me back and perhaps decide to offer me a job....I will very likely feel compelled to take it in an effort to ensure my family and I don't end up living out of a car in the near future. And you heard it here first, folks: I. Do. Not. Want. To. Work. But I may need to.

Sigh.

J Goes to Church...And Survives to Tell the Tale!

Every Sunday, M and I get ready and head out the door as close to 9:00am as humanly possible in order to get to our local farmer's market just as it opens. I like to arrive before the crowds and the heat. Arriving early also means I get first pick of all the fruits and veggies. K almost always stays at home with Z who still requires a morning nap. It is, I suspect, also an excuse for K to sleep in as he is most definitely NOT a morning person.

Today, after pondering it for some time, I decided if we were ever going to try the whole spiritual thing, it would probably be as a result of me taking the initial leap. K likes the idea of going to church and is most definitely a lot more into the whole God thing than I am. But he's a bit of a introvert. Frankly, neither of us likes social situations but I can probably bumble through them a bit better than he can.

So after we finished up at the farmer's market, M and I strapped ourselves back into the car and headed off to our local unitarian church. Services start at 10:30am so I figured I ought to arrive early-ish in order to have time for whatever it is that new church-goers are expected to do. We parked the car just across the street and I watched as folks began arriving. I had a moment where I decided I didn't really want to get out of the car...but M said, "Mommy! Let's go to church!" And off we went.

I won't give you a blow-by-blow of the entire experience. But suffice it to say it was mostly very positive. The unitiarian service is, for anyone who has ever gone to church in his/her life, rather comforting in its familiarity. There's some singing (check), lighting of candles (check), a blessing or two (check), the passing of the donation basket, and a very well put together sermon (check). I was a bit bemused by the hand-holding ritual towards the end of the service but it was so fast and harmless that I won't hold it against them. In particular, I enjoyed the guided meditation, the row of religious symbols across the top of the altar (a cross, a star of David, a crescent, a yin-yang, etc) and the fact that the minister was a) a woman and b) most certainly gay. Was it awkward? Yes. Isn't it always a bit strange to insert yourself into a tight-knit community of people? I spent the first half of the service hoping I could just blend in until I realized that I was one of the only ones with a name tag on. And then the sermon began and I was so impressed that I forgot to be concerned with my newbie status. But all in all, the folks were very nice (if a tad on the older side) and welcoming.

While I was attending the service, M was having a blast in the children's area. I have no idea what took place there but she was reluctant to leave when I came to pick her up. "Mommy?" she asked, "Can we go to church again?"

Next week's sermon is on the spirituality of money. Sounds interesting. I suspect we'll go. And maybe someday, after Z drops the damn morning nap, I can convince K to join us. Actually, I think he'd be happy to go...although when I got home today, he grilled me on the experience (I think he was shocked I'd actually gone at all) and he kept asking if it was like a Catholic service. I guess familiarity breeds a certain amount of comfort.

For those of you who might be concerned, I highly doubt I'm going to start carrying a bible around or getting some lame-o religious bumper sticker on my car. It was highly reassuring for me to see several Priuses in the parking lot and many with Obama/Biden stickers. Hell, if I'm going to go to church, I definitely want to be with folks I can relate to!

The Babbling Idiot Strikes Again

A few days ago I came across a job opportunity that sounded perfect. It was for a writing position, the salary was exactly what I'd hoped, it was located in San Jose, the company wasn't too big (or too small)...PERFECT! Even though I'm not really looking for work, I figured what the heck. I submitted my resume and a cover letter and --great balls of fire -- I immediately received a call from a very pleasant fellow somewhere in the mid-west.

Sadly, two things happened during the call to pretty much guarantee I wouldn't be getting this job:
1) In spite of the fact that it was listed as a full-time, permanent position on Monster....the job was actually contract with the possibility of turning permanent.
2) I somehow managed, in the longest 20 minutes of my life, to sound like the biggest dipshit EVER.

For those of you who imagine I'm exaggerating in order to make this post more humorous....I wish I were. But I'm not. At one point I was babbling so incoherently about a prior role at a job I held two companies ago that I literally burst out laughing at myself. The poor fellow on the other end of the line was no doubt wishing he weren't such a nice, midwestern man because if, say, he'd grown up in NYC, he'd have hung up on my crazy ass five minutes into the call.

The truth is, watching children all day has many fine, upstanding things going for it. However one of those things IS NOT an improved ability to have a rational, articulate conversation with someone over the age of 10. Seriously, you know you're in trouble when someone asks you to describe what your previous company does (the one you spent over seven years at) and you draw a complete and utter blank.

But it wasn't all bad. Because either Mark, the nicest recruiter on the planet, took pity on me and decided to throw my ego a bone OR he really had no frigging clue about any of the companies I worked for (to the extent that I could have told him the company was in the business of creating those little mouse ear hats you see at Disneyland and he'd have bought it hook, line, and sinker). Yes, in spite of the worst interview performance of my career, Mark asked me to submit my resume and fill out a pre-interview questionnaire vie email.

I almost did it too. But then the whole "contract" thing took the wind out of my sails. I'm not about to scramble to find childcare for a job that's only going to last me a few months at best. So I pulled myself together and wrote my recruiter friend a very nice email that, if he can read between the lines, said:

"Dude, sorry for being a total spaz on the phone today and wasting 20+ minutes of your time. Truth is, I have no business even thinking of working until I can pull my sorry ass together and not completely fuck up a phone interview. Oh, and you might want to adjust the whole "permanent, full-time job" thing on Monster so it reads "contract position". Thanks and please keep me in mind for future positions!"

Food on the Brain

Recently, I was flipping through the Whole Foods flyer (I guess they finally copped on that perhaps people might benefit from a few coupons now and then). I've never actually bothered to read those things before but this one caught my eye because it was primarily focused on back-to-school stuff like lunches, snacks, and health products. Inside, they had a two-page spread focused specifically on ideas for healthy lunches and how important it is to be aware of what your kids are eating at school. It was a pretty good article and very informative. They included a link to more information, so I checked it out. And that led me to this book by Chef Ann Cooper and Lisa Holmes.

Even if you aren't a resident of the U.S. of A., if you can get your hands on this book, do it. It's informative, easy to read and digest, and the second half is filled with all sorts of great recipes....not only for kid's lunches but for breakfast, snacks, dinners, and treats. The book outlines the flaws in the National School Lunch Program and provides some great ideas as to how each of us might help to turn things around--on an individual and community level. In particular, I really liked how the authors added tons of interesting facts about food production in the U.S. and children's nutritional needs.

I'd always considered myself to be pretty knowledgeable when it came to feeding my kids...but falling into a meal rut can happen to the best of us. The ability to be creative and stay focused on what your kids are eating and whether or not they are getting enough of everything can be pretty challenging. Of all the nutrition books and kid-friendly cookbooks I've read, none of them managed to draw me in like this one.

Anyway, do yourself a favor and check it out. If you live in the U.S., the book is on sale at Amazon for the ridiculously low price of $4.93. Take advantage of it...or check your local library.

A Brief Tribute to John Hughes

If you are American and "of a certain age," you know who John Hughes is. Sadly, he died of a heart attack today while out for a walk in New York City.

I can't begin to imagine what my teen years would have been like without Hughes. No Ferris Bueller, no Sixteen Candles, no Breakfast Club, no Duckie, no Vacation for Christ's sake! I can thank Mr. Hughes for providing me with tons of excellent one-liners (Oh sexy girlfriend!, Bueller? Bueller?), boyfriend fantasy fodder (Jake from Sixteen Candles, Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club, Robert Downey Jr. in one of his early roles as an older bully in Wierd Science), and funny scripts that really spoke to my adolescent angst.

I'd seen teen movies before Hughes arrived on the scene...but they often featured 20-something year olds dressed up to look like teens (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, anyone?) and were mostly targeted at guys. The first time I had the pleasure of watching Sixteen Candles and saw it was populated with actors who were close to--if not exactly--the age of the characters they were playing, I was thrilled. Finally someone really seemed to get those wretched-yet-ebullient teen years and understand what it felt like to be a nerd, a jock, an outsider, and everyone in-between. And he did it with the help of some AWESOME music. But the very best part about Hughes' films was they always delivered a happy ending...although in some cases, not the one you expected or hoped for (I still get pissed that Andie chose that drip Blane over Duckie).

Not too long ago, I read an article about how non-diverse Hughes' movies were. Think about it...can you name a single character of color or ethnicity in ANY of his 80s films aside from the heavily stereotyped exchange student Long Duk Dong? Even the poorest of Hughes characters--Andie in P in P, Keith and Watts in Some Kind of Wonderful--were Clorox white. Yeah, yeah...I get it. I do. I imagine there aren't many Gen Xers from inner-city neighborhoods who give those movies a second thought. But you know what? I still love his films.

And now, I'll close with my version of a 41-gun salute to Mr. Hughes...a list of some of my favorite quotes from a few of my favorite films. See if you can guess the film...answers provided at the bottom of this post.

1) "That's a major appliance! That's not a name."
2) "You break his heart, I break your face."
3) "I can't believe it. You make someone a bridesmaid and they shit all over you."
4) "Tell ya what, dipshit. If you don't like my policies you can come on down here and smooch my big ole' white butt."
5) "Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?"
6) "You know, there's going to be sex, drugs, rock-n-roll... chips, dips, chains, whips... You know, your basic high school orgy type of thing. I mean, uh, I'm not talking candlewax on the nipples, or witchcraft or anything like that, no, no, no. Just a couple of hundred kids running around in their underwear, acting like complete animals."
7) "Would you prefer I slip her in the night deposit box at the funeral home?"
8) N: "Why did you kiss my ear?"
D: "Why are you holding my hand?"
N: [frowns] Where's your other hand?
D: Between two pillows...
N: Those aren't pillows!


Answers below......


1) Pretty in Pink (Duckie speaking to Andie about Blane)
2) Some Kind of Wonderful (Watts to Amanda Jones)
3) Sixteen Candles (Ginny, Sam's older sister)
4) Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Principle Ed Rooney)
5) The Breakfast Club (Bender to Mr. Vernon)
6) Wierd Science (Lisa)
7) Vacation (Clark talking to his wife about Aunt Edna)
8) Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (Del and Neil after sharing a bed)

Homemade Play Dough

I'm tired tonight and don't have a lot of energy to come up with something fabulous on my own so I decided to post my favorite homemade play dough recipe. But first, a quick homemade play dough primer.

Regardless of what recipe you use, you will end up with one of two types of play dough: the long-lasting, foul-tasting, "just like Play-Do" play dough or the short-lived, kinda tasty play dough. Both are loads of fun for the kiddies and relatively easy to make. If you're a parent with ample time on your hands, the 24-hour play dough will do just fine. But if you, like me, can't be bothered to whip up a fresh batch every time the kiddies want to play bakery...then the long-lasting play dough is your best bet.

Anyway, here's my recipe. And while I'd love to say I came up with this on my own, I'd be lying. This is an amalgamation of several recipes I found online and tinkered with ever so slightly to achieve faux-Play-Do perfection.

Jen's "I Can't Believe It's Not Play-Do" Play Dough Recipe
This will make you one giant ball of play dough. If you want, you can prep smaller portions of colored salt water and then divvy up the dough to make several smaller batches of different colored dough.

2 cups water
1/2 cup salt
food coloring
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 tablespoons Cream of Tartar
2 cups of flour
scented extract or oil to fragrance (e.g., vanilla extract, almond oil, lemon extract, anise extract, orange oil, etc)

Step One:
Combine water, salt, and two to three drops of food coloring into a medium-sized sauce pan. Stir well.
Step Two:
Boil until salt has dissolved. Depending on the type of food coloring you use...you may notice it separates into small clumps. Don't worry, this'll go away when you knead the dough.
Step Three:
Remove from heat and immediately mix in cooking oil, Cream of Tartar, and flour. The resulting mixture will look nothing like play dough and will instead be similar in consistency and appearance to badly prepared mashed potatoes.
Step Four:
Add fragrance and knead for approximately five minutes until smooth. If you want to save your palms from burning to a crisp, I recommend using a Cuisineart (be sure to put the dough blade in). This will usually achieve the same results in less time and with less discomfort to your hands. Alternatively, dump the mixture out onto a smooth surface and let it cool for ten minutes or so before you begin kneading. You may find you need to add more fragrance as you go...some scents (peppermint oil) go a long way while others (vanilla extract) do not.
Step Five:
Store in covered airtight containers or resealable ziplock bags. It should last about two months if stored properly.

Enjoy!

Single Sex Eucation: A Good Idea?

When I was a tween and a teen, I think I would have balked if my parents wanted to send me to an all-girls school. Can you blame me? Where's the fun and the drama (aside from the obvious clique-related activities)? You need boys to spice things up. Then again, maybe I wouldn't have minded so much. P.E. was bad enough before it was co-ed. But when they added boys to the mix, it truly became a special brand of hell for me. And some of my most embarassing school moments (in fact almost ALL of them) involved boys.

So now that I'm a parent of two girls, I'm having second thoughts about the whole co-ed vs. all girls' school thing. The fact is, plenty of research shows single-sex education may have an edge over co-ed, at least when it comes to girls.

Last year, I read this book about girls' tween and early teen years. It was an incredibly emotional experience for me. Finally someone copped on to the huge challenges girls face when they hit pre- and early adolescence. I experienced it first hand and can tell you I'm living proof that female self-confidence takes a big hit during the middle school years. Granted, we moved smack in the middle of 7th grade...and that didn't help. But I can honestly say it wasn't until my early 30s that my self confidence rose back to its pre-adolescent levels. I think books like the aforementioned (and this) should be mandatory reading for anyone (mom or dad) parenting a girl.

The fact remains, while females and males have a tremendous amount in common....they also have some very significant differences (aside from the physical stuff). Knowing this, I can see the challenges and disadvantages inherent in trying to educate boys and girls in the same classroom. In fact, the more I read about it, the more I feel the urge to smack my forhead and say stupid things like, "why the hell didn't someone think of this sooner?!" I suspect the different learning styles really begin to diverge just before and during puberty for both sexes. But there are some K-8th grade schools (this one is not far from our house) who see the value of keeping schools co-ed but with the sexes separated into single-sex classrooms.

I think my personal take--so far--is all-girls schools are beneficial primarily in early puberty and beyond. I suspect the whole co-ed thing isn't as big a deal in elementary school although there are some who disagree. Personally, I think at some stage or another, it's good for boys and girls to mix and mingle. It teaches them a few crucial things about the opposite sex. And there are skills and attitudes each sex has that the other might benefit from (Girls are, as a rule, more focused, calm, and communicative than boys in the early years. Boys are, as a rule, more physically active, assertive, and direct that girls in the early years). That said, co-education has been going on for years yet men and women don't seem to have figured one another out in any crucial way as a result of it. Otherwise, why the popularity of books and movies like this?

K and I are already wailing and gnashing our teeth at the cost of private schools. The public schools in our area aren't dismal but they aren't as stellar as some in neighboring towns (Cupertino, Los Altos). Recently, I was excited to find an all-girls middle school located about 15 miles from our home. And there are two reputable all-girls highschools in San Jose, one just a few minutes from our house. Maybe we could send both girls to public elementary school and then, starting in 6th grade, move them into an all-girls environment. That's certainly solve the money thing for the short-term.

Anyway, this is still a work-in-progress for me. We have plenty of time before we need to start worrying 24/7 about puberty. But I'm also of the mind that the more you know, the less surprises you face when the time come. Knowledge is power, as they say.*

*Actually, Sir Francis Bacon said that one.

P.S. This is only peripherally related to the post above but I thought it was interesting nonetheless.

My Top Baby Products (in no particular order)

Last night I was solo parenting. K is on a business trip until Wednesday night and M is at her grandparents. So it was just me and little Z. This meant I had a HUGE chunk of time to focus on nothing in particular after Z went to bed at 7:00pm.

Did I...
a) reorganize the living room closet as I'd planned?
b) clean the kitchen and unload the dishwasher as I'd planned?
c) read a few chapters of the Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market book as I'd planned?
d) sit on my ass and surf the internet

Take a wild guess.

Anyway, I started thinking about a friend who is relocating back to the states with her husband and two kids in a few months. They've been living in Paris for the past few years and decided, after the arrival of kid #2, that it was time to return to the mother ship for the additional support of family and friends.

N sent me an email last week asking for advice on baby products. She had both her kids in France and so is completely out of the loop in terms of what brands are good (and not so good). I decided to throw a quick list together here. And if you know of a product you highly recommend (cost doesn't have to be an issue), please toss it in the comment section.

Baby Formula
Yes, I know "breast is best." I'm not here to lure unwitting mothers to the dark side. However, some moms choose to stop breast feeding at some point before their child's first birthday. And when they do, they need to find a high-quality formula. If this sounds like you, allow me to recommend Baby's Only by Nature's One. I researched the hell out of formulas before M was born (in the event that the whole breast feeding thing didn't pan out as planned....and it didn't). I knew whatever I used had to be a) organic b) relatively easy to find c) made of the highest quality ingredients out there and d) stay on top of the latest and greatest infant nutrition requirements. After looking at a variety of other organic formulas, this one made the grade. Trust me when I say it rocks. It comes in three varieties: dairy, lactose-free dairy, and soy. Like mainstream formulas, it has DHA and RHA included. And if you want to give your child an added immune boost, similar to what he/she might get with breast milk, Nature's One also carries separate "Probiotic" packs to add to the bottles as needed.
CONS: This is not the cheapest formula around. It's available at Whole Foods for a pretty penny. You can typically get it cheaper by ordering it in bulk direct from the manufacturer's website.

Baby Food
Of course the best (and cheapest) baby food to give your child is the kind you make yourself using fresh fruits and veggies. However it's just not always possible. I made most of M's baby food myself from scratch. I resolved to do the same for Z. But after a few false starts, I decided to hell with it. I made my way to Whole Foods and began supplementing my home baby food with frozen stuff. Some brands are regional only....and some are found nation-wide. The best nation-wide brands I've found are:
Tasty Baby
Plum Organics
Happy Baby
Happy Baby and Plum Organics do more than frozen baby food. They also make frozen toddler food, baby cereals, and baby snacks. You can find some of the Happy Baby cereal and snack products at most Target stores and Babies R' Us. You can also order Tasty Baby in bulk at Amazon.com.

Bottles
Unless you've been living underground, you have likely heard the news about bisphenol-A (BPA) in plastics and how it's unsafe for young children. Thankfully, there are a ton of bottles out there without BPA. My favorite is the Born Free brand. You can buy these in plastic or glass and they offer "staged" nipples depending on the age of your child. They are available with other Born Free products at Whole Foods and Babies R' Us. But do yourself a favor and don't bother buying the Born Free trainer cups. They REALLY suck. Instead, I recommend SIGG or Foogo by Thermos (available online, at Whole Foods, and sometimes at Target).

Diapers
I like the idea of cloth, really I do. But I can't be bothered. However I still have a conscience. So in order to make myself feel less guilty, I tracked down and tested every brand of "eco" diaper I could find. Many of them are too expensive (Seventh Generation), some of them just aren't that great (Huggies Pure and Natural), a few are relatively inexpensive and do the trick just fine (Whole Food's 365-brand, Earth's Best), and one really did not work...though I liked the idea (G-Diapers). Then I found Nature's Babycare. These frigging ROCK. They are incredibly durable, soft, and--if they carry them at your local Target or Babies R' Us--affordable. This brand, like most others mentioned above, also carries wipes (unscented and lightly fragranced), pull-ups, and soaps/lotions.

Baby Body Products
When I first had M, I was all about the fragrance when I'd buy baby lotions and soaps. After I took some time to educate myself here, I quickly changed my tune. Now I generally purchase fragrance- and dye-free soaps and lotions. My favorites are California Baby (we use their sensitive skin shampoo, conditioner, and sunscreen), Nature's Baby Organics, and Aveeno Baby Daily Moisture Lotion (fragrance free). Unlike a lot of "natural" products, these work well and won't cost you an arm and a leg. All are usually available at Target or Babies R' Us.

That's it for now. If you have anything to contribute to the list (doesn't have to be organic...as long as it's good quality and works well), please do.

Eating for Two (or Three or Four)

This weekend, we were at my parents. On the drive up, the traffic on the opposite side of the road was horrendous due to road work. I turned to K and said, "Let's remember this. Maybe we can figure out an alternate route for when we go home." And of course, we both forgot until the moment we hit the traffic on our drive back. A cheerful sign on the side of the road let us know the road work would last for the next 23 miles. Fabulous.

We'd left M up at my parents for a few days of much needed grandma and grandpa time. So it was just K, myself, and Z in the car. Unfortunately, Z is NOT a great traveler. She hates to be confined in her car seat and after about 30 minutes or so, begins foaming at the mouth. On cue, the moment the car slowed to a crawl, Z began her weeping and wailing. After 20 minutes of this, I finally turned to K and said, "Let's stop for a while and grab a bite to eat. Maybe it'll relax her."

Let me say up front that nine times out of ten, I have excellent ideas. But this was not one of them.

We got off at the next exit and began searching for a place to stop. On the way, we were sidetracked by the sad sight of a dead turkey in the middle of the road and his/her frantic friend who kept running into traffic to see why his/her buddy was no longer moving. We spent about 20 minutes tracking down the local animal control folks to help the unfortunate pair. By this time, Z was fit to be tied. So we pulled in to the first place we spotted...an Applebees.

Please note: I do not frequent Applebees. In fact, I think I've been there maybe once or twice since it arrived in California 15 years ago. Nor do I regularly frequent any chain restaurants aside from In n' Out. I realize chain restaurants have their place in America. They are family-friendly, fast, cheap, don't require reservations, and don't have a dress code. I can respect this. But the food, for all intents and purposes, is definitely lacking in the quality department.

So anyway, there we were...at Applebees. Our server convinced us to take advantage of the "two meals for $20" special. Not a bad deal, considering. While we waited for our food to arrive, I attempted to keep Z entertained by showing her the menu. This is when I stumbled across the Applebee's Nutritional insert. I opened it up......and felt my lower jaw hit the floor.

Between K and I, we'd ordered about 4,000 calories of food. This is roughly the daily requirement for two adult women. What exactly did we order, you ask? One appetizer and two main courses (fried mozzarella sticks - 960 calories, a hamburger with fries for K-1,600 calories, a small steak with steamed veggies and a baked potatoe for me - 900 calories). No dessert, no foo-foo alcohol drinks. Just the stuff above and water.

What the FUCK people?!

Given all the recent news about childhood obesity, diabetes, etc....how on earth do these places justify serving food like this to families? I think it's criminal. The daily calorie intake for a young child (ages one to three) is roughly 900 calories. One item off of the kid's menu at Applebee's met more than half that requirement. And this is assuming a child doesn't also get dessert.

Kudos to Applebees for having the balls to print their nutritional info for all to see. But I've got an even better idea....why not simply rework the damn menu so you don't risk sending every one of your customers into an early grave each time they dine at your establishment!!!

I'm all for keeping food affordable so EVERYONE can afford to go out to a sit-down-restaurant now and again. But I think it's a shame that people on the lower-end of the income bracket can't expect the same high-quality food that the rest of us get and are, in fact, at risk of developing severe health issues every time they go out for a meal. It's not fair. We are essentially continuing the great American tradition of screwing over those less fortunate by making it next-to-impossible for them to get a healthy, balanced meal anywhere at all. The won't find it at chain restaurants...and based on my recent explorations of "discount" grocery stores (Pak n' Save and the ilk) they sure as hell won't find it there.