I wanted to come back with a post that's a bit less controversial and a bit more pleasant to talk about. Like I said before, I don't want to bring specifics of family into this, so I'll keep it very general.
It's my mother-in-law's birthday this week, and so I thought a tribute to her would be fitting. I love my mother-in-law. She's a bit unconventional, kind, caring, and one of the best cooks I've ever encountered in my life. She calls every couple of days to check in, ask about the day-to-day, compare what we're making for dinner, etc. She always makes sure the whole family gets together a couple of times a year, which we did yesterday. Like all people everywhere, we've had our disagreements, but they never last long and neither of us is the kind of person to hold grudges. Overall, she's about the best MIL one could ask for.
If you search on Shine, which is my primary source of lifestyle articles to read and respond to, you'll find a plethora of articles pertaining to dealing with mothers-in-law. Popping 'mother-in-law' into the search engine for the site returned 600,000 hits. Just on Shine. And quite frankly, most of those articles will drive me insane. Are so many mothers-in-law really this obnoxious? I'm going to use the first that came up: Reader's Digest's '13 Things Your Mother-in-Law Won't Tell You,' in an effort to compare and contrast.
1. I spent a couple of decades being the leading lady; now I have a character role. It hurts to be downsized. I don't think my MIL has ever felt 'downsized,' mostly because she raised some fiercely independent kids. MrMMO and his brothers are all responsible adults with the capabilities to do most anything for themselves. They also all recognize the importance of their mother, and show her the love she's due.
2. I know he's your husband now, but he's still my son. Yes, and in most cultures, those are pretty clearly defined roles. My MIL and I understand that. I don't interfere with the 'mom' parts and she doesn't interfere with the 'wife' parts. It works out well that way.
3. You don't seem very confident about yourself. The littlest comment from me is taken as a criticism, so I'm very careful what I say around you. Not so much, and maybe that's the problem for most people. My MIL is very direct to me, and I to her. She's also loving, supportive, and praising of my accomplishments. When I mess up, she tells me, but also helps fix the problem as best she can. It's called 'constructive criticism.'
4. Every year, I send you a birthday present, but you never even pick up the phone to thank me. This year, I said, "That's it. No more." Yet look at me: I'm about to send another present. I guess that's how I am. I don't think my MIL's ever gotten me a birthday present, but she does call to wish me a happy birthday. And I always say thank you. I made her cupcakes for her birthday, and she thanked me at least twice, and again in front of everyone at the dinner table. Maybe it's just impolite people that are the real problem.
5. We mothers say to our children, "I want you to be happy." And we mean that. What we don't say is, "But I would like to be happy too." Actually, she has said that. Again, honesty seems to be a big part of why our relationship works.
6. I've bought and sold 13 houses in my life. Why won't you ask for my advice? We have, and we will again. In fact, I ask for her advice pretty frequently and on all kinds of topics, because she's done all of this stuff before.
7. When I visit you, I'm not coming for a white-glove inspection. I'm just coming to see the family. Don't look at me, your son's the one who cleans the house. I kid, I kid -- he does do the vacuuming and dusting, but that's not the point. She doesn't expect my house to be spotless, and I don't expect hers to be either. There are more important things in life to focus on.
8. When I really want to talk to my son privately, I don't call your house. I call his cell phone. She calls me on my cell and talks to me privately too. And when she wants to talk to both of us she calls the house phone.
9. I'm so happy that you allow my son—your husband—to visit me on Mother's Day. It's a long trip and a big expense. I'm truly appreciative. It's fifteen minutes and 3 gallons of gas round-trip. And actually, she doesn't really make a big deal out of Mother's Day, she'd rather see everyone all at once on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and/or Easter. But even so, it's not really extravagantly hard to see her any time we want. And that's relatively often.
10. My dirty little secret: I'm afraid that if I don't get this right, you'll cut me off. She would have to do something really, really awful for me to even consider that as an option. I like my MIL, and I value her input.
11. I'm in competition with your mother. She takes you on vacations every year and buys things I can't afford. All I can do is love you and babysit for you. I hope that's enough and that it's appreciated. It's not a competition. You're different people, and have different ways of doing things. I talk to my MIL in ways I could never talk to my mother, and we have a completely different relationship. My MIL knows she's appreciated because I try and tell her so as often as I can.
12. Whenever I stay at your house, you always have my room ready, my towels, everything. You do all the right things. I'm lucky to have you! Ha! I don't even have my own room that put together. Seriously though, we live so close that staying the night really isn't necessary. However, she does tell me she appreciates me in other ways. As I mentioned earlier, she's an amazing cook. Desserts aren't really her thing though, and always came from a bakery until I (maker of tasty, tasty desserts) joined the family. In return, she has taught me how to make half a dozen dishes I'd never had before dating MrMMO, and they've become regulars in our house.
13. I cherish the refrigerator magnet you gave me: "Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill." I've never given my MIL a refrigerator magnet. She has one my younger brother-in-law (now in his 20s) made in kindergarten, but none from me. I think 'treachery' is the key word here, though. She isn't treacherous, and that's part of what makes our relationship break the stereotype.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Healthcare Reform: Two Points of View
Today's topic is (well duh) the healthcare reform bill. I'm actually watching the president give his signing speech as I type this, which, if this whole thing works out, will be a cool story to tell my grandkids someday. I'm going to give my opinions on this as both a consumer of healthcare, and also from the position of my current occupation.
First, my own experience. Growing up, we usually had some sort of insurance, but we were constantly underinsured or subject to the whims of an HMO. I was sick pretty frequently as a kid, including a couple of hospital stays, so the deductibles and rejected claims added up, a lot. I lost coverage from my parents' health insurance after my COBRA ran out, and though I will soon have the option of coverage through my current employer, the cost would be prohibitive. The one prescription I need each month is over $70 without coverage, which when you're half of a young couple just making ends meet, is a hefty amount of money. MrMMO, thankfully, is about as healthy as they come; he's only had 3 or 4 colds in all the time I've known him, and aside from a scare when he was a newborn, hasn't had any major health problems. The fact that we're going to have a little less to worry about with healthcare when we have kids (especially if they have my genes) is really reassuring. Being without insurance coverage can lead to scary situations. About a year and a half ago I cut my hand while making dinner, and the blood was pretty substantial. I've never had to get stitches, but that was easily the closest I'd come, and had I had insurance at the time, I probably would have taken a trip to the ER. However, knowing the sheer cost, I (and a very worried MrMMO) took all the basic first aid steps, waited for the bleeding to stop, cleaned, bandaged, Neosporin-ed, etc., and the cut healed cleanly. Something similar happened with MrMMO last fall, when he kneeled down to pick something up and a loose carpet staple put a gash in his knee, though he's now sporting a funky-shaped scar. While these incidents taught me that sometimes it's better to give an injury a little time before immediately freaking out and rushing to the hospital, it's also planted a seed of worry in the back of my mind -- what if something really does happen?
My second point of view comes from my job. I work in a pharmacy, and right now the bulk of my responsibility is at the checkout. Because of a number of factors, my shift yesterday drove me to the point of tears by the time I got home. As I mentioned in a previous post, the law mandates I keep this very generic and not share any specifics, so I'll just say that the man or woman who works the register at a pharmacy is likely one of the most abuse-taking members of the retail sect. Many of those factors are things that this bill is designed to limit or eliminate altogether. While I can understand a sick person just wanting to get through the line and get home to bed, it is not the fault of the lady at the register that your order is not ready yet -- especially if your doctor never called the prescription in to begin with, or you were out of refills and didn't know it, or your insurance rejected it, or Medicaid has crashed again, or you decided that 'your order will be ready in 30-45 minutes' means 'please come back in 15 minutes and glare at us until it's ready.' Please do not yell at the lady behind the counter. She is doing her very best to help you, and really does want you to feel better. If your prescription is, in fact, ready, but your insurance has declined to cover it, or if you've been paying out of pocket and the price suddenly went up, please do not go into a 10 minute tirade directed at the lady behind the register, then slam the money down on the counter, wait for your change, and walk away in a huff. That nice lady behind the counter (who's trying ever so hard to be nice to you even though she lost her patience 5 minutes ago) may be in the same position with a prescription herself.
Yes, that got kind of ranty. And no, I don't hate my job; on the contrary, most days I like it quite a bit. But to know that so many of the things that cause trouble for me could be prevented make those problems even harder to deal with. No, this bill is not perfect, but it's a start, and that's what we need.
First, my own experience. Growing up, we usually had some sort of insurance, but we were constantly underinsured or subject to the whims of an HMO. I was sick pretty frequently as a kid, including a couple of hospital stays, so the deductibles and rejected claims added up, a lot. I lost coverage from my parents' health insurance after my COBRA ran out, and though I will soon have the option of coverage through my current employer, the cost would be prohibitive. The one prescription I need each month is over $70 without coverage, which when you're half of a young couple just making ends meet, is a hefty amount of money. MrMMO, thankfully, is about as healthy as they come; he's only had 3 or 4 colds in all the time I've known him, and aside from a scare when he was a newborn, hasn't had any major health problems. The fact that we're going to have a little less to worry about with healthcare when we have kids (especially if they have my genes) is really reassuring. Being without insurance coverage can lead to scary situations. About a year and a half ago I cut my hand while making dinner, and the blood was pretty substantial. I've never had to get stitches, but that was easily the closest I'd come, and had I had insurance at the time, I probably would have taken a trip to the ER. However, knowing the sheer cost, I (and a very worried MrMMO) took all the basic first aid steps, waited for the bleeding to stop, cleaned, bandaged, Neosporin-ed, etc., and the cut healed cleanly. Something similar happened with MrMMO last fall, when he kneeled down to pick something up and a loose carpet staple put a gash in his knee, though he's now sporting a funky-shaped scar. While these incidents taught me that sometimes it's better to give an injury a little time before immediately freaking out and rushing to the hospital, it's also planted a seed of worry in the back of my mind -- what if something really does happen?
My second point of view comes from my job. I work in a pharmacy, and right now the bulk of my responsibility is at the checkout. Because of a number of factors, my shift yesterday drove me to the point of tears by the time I got home. As I mentioned in a previous post, the law mandates I keep this very generic and not share any specifics, so I'll just say that the man or woman who works the register at a pharmacy is likely one of the most abuse-taking members of the retail sect. Many of those factors are things that this bill is designed to limit or eliminate altogether. While I can understand a sick person just wanting to get through the line and get home to bed, it is not the fault of the lady at the register that your order is not ready yet -- especially if your doctor never called the prescription in to begin with, or you were out of refills and didn't know it, or your insurance rejected it, or Medicaid has crashed again, or you decided that 'your order will be ready in 30-45 minutes' means 'please come back in 15 minutes and glare at us until it's ready.' Please do not yell at the lady behind the counter. She is doing her very best to help you, and really does want you to feel better. If your prescription is, in fact, ready, but your insurance has declined to cover it, or if you've been paying out of pocket and the price suddenly went up, please do not go into a 10 minute tirade directed at the lady behind the register, then slam the money down on the counter, wait for your change, and walk away in a huff. That nice lady behind the counter (who's trying ever so hard to be nice to you even though she lost her patience 5 minutes ago) may be in the same position with a prescription herself.
Yes, that got kind of ranty. And no, I don't hate my job; on the contrary, most days I like it quite a bit. But to know that so many of the things that cause trouble for me could be prevented make those problems even harder to deal with. No, this bill is not perfect, but it's a start, and that's what we need.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Thoughts on School Lunches
This is an overall response to the blog Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project. I started following Mrs. Q and her efforts a few days ago when it was featured on Yahoo.
This is an issue close to my heart. Why, you ask? Aside from the fact that I'm not so many years removed from being a student in the public school system myself, I did a semester of K-12 substitute teaching after college. Here are some thoughts based on those experiences, and I'll try to go chronologically when at all possible.
I attended private school for my earliest elementary years. The school I attended participated in the federal programs, but was unique in that, since it was a small school and had an amazing (and ancient) lunchlady, the food was actually pretty darn good. There was still the usual canned fruit and veg fare, but the entrees were often quite good. PB&Js were rarely on the menu (and only then, I'd wager, by request). I remember the spaghetti being a particular favorite of mine, as well as the chicken noodle casserole. And she did something to those canned green beans that made them mighty tasty. Health-wise, they weren't spectacular, but pretty good in comparison with what Mrs. Q has been describing, and almost never reheated frozen foods. Despite this, I brought my lunch from home the majority of the time -- not for nutritional, but for dietary/health reasons, as well as the fact that my mother found packing cold lunches to be more economical.
The cold lunch trend continued most of the way through my public school years into secondary education. Since my parents refused to pay for hot lunches most of the time, in addition to declaring that packing my lunch was my own responsibility, I ended up with a two-part system for much of high school. If I didn't like what was at home to pack (one can only eat so many bologna or cotto salami sandwiches before tiring of them), I would eat an extra-large breakfast of something that would keep me full until after school, at which point I would eat a light snack after returning home to tide me over until dinner. When I had extracurriculars in the evening (and 3, sometimes 4 or all 5, days each week this was the case), I would turn the after school snack into a full dinner. Was it healthy? Meh. 2 bowls of oatmeal and some fruit in the morning, 2 Healthy Choice (or Lean Cuisine, etc. etc.) frozen dinners after school, and a couple spoonfuls of coffee Haagen-Dazs before collapsing into bed probably isn't the healthiest, but I was a teenager and on the go, darnit. But I digress, this is about school lunches. Let's move back towards those.
When I wasn't packing a lunch or skipping lunch alltogether, it meant I had the available cash to get lunch at school. This was sporadic at best, partially because my cash flow varied from season to season depending on how many extracurriculars I had going, and partially because the food was commonly unappealing to me. There were two hot lunch offerings each day, in addition to an 'a la carte' line where all the foods that are now being phased out of schools were located -- chips, cookies, snack cakes, molten cheese, etc -- as well as sandwiches, extra milks, and the occasional (and fast moving) gem like a sausage biscuit or those breakfast corn dog contraptions (a sausage wrapped in a blueberry pancake-like substance -- ugh). This is where I usually grabbed something. The tuna sandwiches were pretty good, when they were available, but I usually ended up with some chips and molten cheese, often accompanied by a couple of Slim Jims for good measure. There was a salad bar that was half-decent, too, though it cost more ($2, if I remember correctly). This was replaced one day each week by the end-all-be-all of lunchroomness in my high school: the baked potato bar. By no means was it healthy, but darn were they good, all covered in flowing nacho cheese and bacon bits and those little ham cubes that you can't get anywhere else but at buffets and salad/potato bars. There were occasional soft-serve sundaes or cones available too, which I often got if I had the spare cash. Every once in a while, usually around the holidays, there would be a special meal or dessert the cafeteria staff had prepared from scratch -- I specifically remember Easter cupcakes with green coconut and jellybeans on top -- and were especially proud of. For the most part, however, the main lunches were processed, frozen foods with canned fruits and vegetables on the side and white bread as the only option.
That was the summation of my public school eating experience as an attendee -- let me offer you two more points of experience.
MrMMO and I attended the same public school and graduated together, and his cafeteria experiences differed somewhat from mine. First of all, my mother-in-law, while an amazing cook, wasn't really one for packing lunches, and as a result, MrMMO and his siblings all frequented the cafeteria lunchline. The square cafeteria pizza that Mrs. Q has been so adamant about hating is still one of his fondest memories of school food. I think she actually hit the nail on the head; it's an acquired taste, and something that, if you haven't eaten it from kindergarten on up, might turn your stomach rather than make you salivate. He also lovingly remembers something called 'sausage and shells' that I have tried, without success, to find a recipe for on the internet. He ate school lunch on a regular basis, and was a perfectly normal-sized kid, and about as healthy as they come. He has, however, between his mom's food and the cafeteria's, a powerful addiction to all foods of the super-duper-processed variety. Even after several years together, I'm still working to drive healthier things into his diet, especially now that his metabolism is no longer that of a teenager's. It's something I'll blog about in the upcoming weeks if there's nothing else particularly exciting for me to write about.
As I mentioned above, I subbed for a semester after college and got a teacher's perspective on the school lunch situation. The only time I actually ate a cafeteria lunch it was, ironically enough that square, flat pizza with cheese-like substance on top. I was never particularly fond of it when I was in school, but I was hungry. It was pretty awful, and gave me a solid case of indigestion in the following hours. It was accompanied by a chocolate milk (the only kind I like other than an organic, soft-pasteurized milk that a local dairy produces), a salad, and some sort of trail mix that I had to decline because of my one and only food allergy -- walnuts. The salad was a bit wilted and sad, but the dressing was pretty darn good -- a vinegarette of some sort. I noticed most of the kids tossed the trail mix, and (interestingly enough) later overheard a conversation between the two lunchladies wondering whose fool idea it had been to serve the stuff in the first place when it was so unappealing to the kids. Many of the days I subbed I spent lunch in the teacher's lounge, so I can't really comment on those days, although in all the days and all the schools I was at, I only saw teachers eat from the cafeterias a handful of times. Incidentally, a couple of the times when I passed by the cafeterias (or went to escort the younger kids back to the classroom if I was subbing elementary), the sheer processed, greasy smell of the food turned my stomach -- I'm no health fanatic, and don't have the opportunity to buy much organic, but the smell of the stuff was just overpowering. If it was mediocre when I was in school, it's certainly not gotten any better since.
So, if you've made it through the massive wall of text above, why do I find this to be a vital issue? Because, as Mrs. Q has already stated, many of these kids are getting one meal a day -- that one. MrMMO and I were lucky that we had the option of breakfast (at home or at school) in the morning and dinner at home in the evening. Lots of kids don't, and if the school lunches are full of crap, that means these kids are ingesting 100% crap, all the time. Even if you don't want to look at the statistics for obese kids in the US, the aforementioned fact should be enough to make anyone want to do something about this.
What needs to be done? Baby steps -- removing sugar-filled (and I'm talking added sugar in any form, be it real sugar or HCFS) drinks and trans-fatty snacks from vending machines and lunchlines is a start. Entrees made of whole pieces of meat rather than patties of pressed chicken-type meat and hot dogs. Convenient, ready to eat fruits and veggies in eye-catching spots would also be good. If I'd had the option to eat those instead of chips and molten cheese, I probably would have gone for the veggies. At the very least I would have bought the veggies AND the molten cheese to dip them in. A better and cheaper (or even included in the lunch price) salad bar option? Heck yeah! Whole grain bread options? Fantastic! Side dishes that don't come out of a can? Awesome! And if you want to say it's going to be more work for the lunchladies and gentlemen -- they would probably welcome it just as much as the parents and the kids; most cafeteria workers care about what the kids are eating just as much, if not even more, than everyone else. Are all-organic and freshly prepared lunches a must-have right now? Not really, but more of an ultimate goal to be taken step by step.
Finally, a link for you to consider:
A (legitimate) video of how hot dogs are made can be found here, on YouTube (couldn't embed it, sorry). Note how hot dogs contain the 'trimmings,' of meat, and also contain corn syrup. Food for thought, no?
This is an issue close to my heart. Why, you ask? Aside from the fact that I'm not so many years removed from being a student in the public school system myself, I did a semester of K-12 substitute teaching after college. Here are some thoughts based on those experiences, and I'll try to go chronologically when at all possible.
I attended private school for my earliest elementary years. The school I attended participated in the federal programs, but was unique in that, since it was a small school and had an amazing (and ancient) lunchlady, the food was actually pretty darn good. There was still the usual canned fruit and veg fare, but the entrees were often quite good. PB&Js were rarely on the menu (and only then, I'd wager, by request). I remember the spaghetti being a particular favorite of mine, as well as the chicken noodle casserole. And she did something to those canned green beans that made them mighty tasty. Health-wise, they weren't spectacular, but pretty good in comparison with what Mrs. Q has been describing, and almost never reheated frozen foods. Despite this, I brought my lunch from home the majority of the time -- not for nutritional, but for dietary/health reasons, as well as the fact that my mother found packing cold lunches to be more economical.
The cold lunch trend continued most of the way through my public school years into secondary education. Since my parents refused to pay for hot lunches most of the time, in addition to declaring that packing my lunch was my own responsibility, I ended up with a two-part system for much of high school. If I didn't like what was at home to pack (one can only eat so many bologna or cotto salami sandwiches before tiring of them), I would eat an extra-large breakfast of something that would keep me full until after school, at which point I would eat a light snack after returning home to tide me over until dinner. When I had extracurriculars in the evening (and 3, sometimes 4 or all 5, days each week this was the case), I would turn the after school snack into a full dinner. Was it healthy? Meh. 2 bowls of oatmeal and some fruit in the morning, 2 Healthy Choice (or Lean Cuisine, etc. etc.) frozen dinners after school, and a couple spoonfuls of coffee Haagen-Dazs before collapsing into bed probably isn't the healthiest, but I was a teenager and on the go, darnit. But I digress, this is about school lunches. Let's move back towards those.
The doppelganger of yesterday's Haagen-Dazs, once again courtesy of Haagen-Dazs.
Admit it, coffee makes you smile just like this, doesn't it?
Admit it, coffee makes you smile just like this, doesn't it?
When I wasn't packing a lunch or skipping lunch alltogether, it meant I had the available cash to get lunch at school. This was sporadic at best, partially because my cash flow varied from season to season depending on how many extracurriculars I had going, and partially because the food was commonly unappealing to me. There were two hot lunch offerings each day, in addition to an 'a la carte' line where all the foods that are now being phased out of schools were located -- chips, cookies, snack cakes, molten cheese, etc -- as well as sandwiches, extra milks, and the occasional (and fast moving) gem like a sausage biscuit or those breakfast corn dog contraptions (a sausage wrapped in a blueberry pancake-like substance -- ugh). This is where I usually grabbed something. The tuna sandwiches were pretty good, when they were available, but I usually ended up with some chips and molten cheese, often accompanied by a couple of Slim Jims for good measure. There was a salad bar that was half-decent, too, though it cost more ($2, if I remember correctly). This was replaced one day each week by the end-all-be-all of lunchroomness in my high school: the baked potato bar. By no means was it healthy, but darn were they good, all covered in flowing nacho cheese and bacon bits and those little ham cubes that you can't get anywhere else but at buffets and salad/potato bars. There were occasional soft-serve sundaes or cones available too, which I often got if I had the spare cash. Every once in a while, usually around the holidays, there would be a special meal or dessert the cafeteria staff had prepared from scratch -- I specifically remember Easter cupcakes with green coconut and jellybeans on top -- and were especially proud of. For the most part, however, the main lunches were processed, frozen foods with canned fruits and vegetables on the side and white bread as the only option.
Image courtesy of Jimmy Dean
That was the summation of my public school eating experience as an attendee -- let me offer you two more points of experience.
MrMMO and I attended the same public school and graduated together, and his cafeteria experiences differed somewhat from mine. First of all, my mother-in-law, while an amazing cook, wasn't really one for packing lunches, and as a result, MrMMO and his siblings all frequented the cafeteria lunchline. The square cafeteria pizza that Mrs. Q has been so adamant about hating is still one of his fondest memories of school food. I think she actually hit the nail on the head; it's an acquired taste, and something that, if you haven't eaten it from kindergarten on up, might turn your stomach rather than make you salivate. He also lovingly remembers something called 'sausage and shells' that I have tried, without success, to find a recipe for on the internet. He ate school lunch on a regular basis, and was a perfectly normal-sized kid, and about as healthy as they come. He has, however, between his mom's food and the cafeteria's, a powerful addiction to all foods of the super-duper-processed variety. Even after several years together, I'm still working to drive healthier things into his diet, especially now that his metabolism is no longer that of a teenager's. It's something I'll blog about in the upcoming weeks if there's nothing else particularly exciting for me to write about.
As I mentioned above, I subbed for a semester after college and got a teacher's perspective on the school lunch situation. The only time I actually ate a cafeteria lunch it was, ironically enough that square, flat pizza with cheese-like substance on top. I was never particularly fond of it when I was in school, but I was hungry. It was pretty awful, and gave me a solid case of indigestion in the following hours. It was accompanied by a chocolate milk (the only kind I like other than an organic, soft-pasteurized milk that a local dairy produces), a salad, and some sort of trail mix that I had to decline because of my one and only food allergy -- walnuts. The salad was a bit wilted and sad, but the dressing was pretty darn good -- a vinegarette of some sort. I noticed most of the kids tossed the trail mix, and (interestingly enough) later overheard a conversation between the two lunchladies wondering whose fool idea it had been to serve the stuff in the first place when it was so unappealing to the kids. Many of the days I subbed I spent lunch in the teacher's lounge, so I can't really comment on those days, although in all the days and all the schools I was at, I only saw teachers eat from the cafeterias a handful of times. Incidentally, a couple of the times when I passed by the cafeterias (or went to escort the younger kids back to the classroom if I was subbing elementary), the sheer processed, greasy smell of the food turned my stomach -- I'm no health fanatic, and don't have the opportunity to buy much organic, but the smell of the stuff was just overpowering. If it was mediocre when I was in school, it's certainly not gotten any better since.
So, if you've made it through the massive wall of text above, why do I find this to be a vital issue? Because, as Mrs. Q has already stated, many of these kids are getting one meal a day -- that one. MrMMO and I were lucky that we had the option of breakfast (at home or at school) in the morning and dinner at home in the evening. Lots of kids don't, and if the school lunches are full of crap, that means these kids are ingesting 100% crap, all the time. Even if you don't want to look at the statistics for obese kids in the US, the aforementioned fact should be enough to make anyone want to do something about this.
What needs to be done? Baby steps -- removing sugar-filled (and I'm talking added sugar in any form, be it real sugar or HCFS) drinks and trans-fatty snacks from vending machines and lunchlines is a start. Entrees made of whole pieces of meat rather than patties of pressed chicken-type meat and hot dogs. Convenient, ready to eat fruits and veggies in eye-catching spots would also be good. If I'd had the option to eat those instead of chips and molten cheese, I probably would have gone for the veggies. At the very least I would have bought the veggies AND the molten cheese to dip them in. A better and cheaper (or even included in the lunch price) salad bar option? Heck yeah! Whole grain bread options? Fantastic! Side dishes that don't come out of a can? Awesome! And if you want to say it's going to be more work for the lunchladies and gentlemen -- they would probably welcome it just as much as the parents and the kids; most cafeteria workers care about what the kids are eating just as much, if not even more, than everyone else. Are all-organic and freshly prepared lunches a must-have right now? Not really, but more of an ultimate goal to be taken step by step.
Finally, a link for you to consider:
A (legitimate) video of how hot dogs are made can be found here, on YouTube (couldn't embed it, sorry). Note how hot dogs contain the 'trimmings,' of meat, and also contain corn syrup. Food for thought, no?
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Shopping with MrsMMO 101
Dawn Meehan's blog, Because I Said So, was actually the first blog I followed on a regular basis, starting about two and a half years ago -- I still don't have kids and I wasn't even engaged at that point, so even though it's a 'mom blog' it still has that kind of universal appeal. As such, I find it fitting that today's post be inspired by her latest, Shopping 101.
To preface, I'm currently working in a very specific section of retail: a pharmacy. I'm not a pharmacist, but rather a tech -- less responsibility, less (but still a ton of) training, way less pay. We're the nice men and women who help you when you drop off or pick up a prescription, in addition to a lengthy list of other responsibilities. It's not a lifelong profession, it's not my first love, but it pays the bills and is actually quite an interesting and enjoyable job. Because of HIPAA laws, employer policy, and my own desire not to reveal too much about my personal life on my blog, that's the most specific I'm going to get in terms of my job; however, just that much is still necessary to prepare you for the rest of the post.
The following is an amalgamation of my experience as both a retail peon and a voracious consumer.
To preface, I'm currently working in a very specific section of retail: a pharmacy. I'm not a pharmacist, but rather a tech -- less responsibility, less (but still a ton of) training, way less pay. We're the nice men and women who help you when you drop off or pick up a prescription, in addition to a lengthy list of other responsibilities. It's not a lifelong profession, it's not my first love, but it pays the bills and is actually quite an interesting and enjoyable job. Because of HIPAA laws, employer policy, and my own desire not to reveal too much about my personal life on my blog, that's the most specific I'm going to get in terms of my job; however, just that much is still necessary to prepare you for the rest of the post.
The following is an amalgamation of my experience as both a retail peon and a voracious consumer.
- Be a considerate shopper. I'm reiterating about half of the Because I Said So list in just one point. Don't run into people, say excuse me, keep your shopping cart towards one side of the aisle so that people can get through. If you're going to stand and compare two brands of air freshener for half an hour, be aware that someone may need to get around you -- and don't get offended if they ask to sneak by you to grab something. You should be the one apologizing.
- I don't care if the person you're having a conversation with is your oldest and dearest long lost friend, don't stand directly in front of products while you're catching up. Move to a wide open aisle, or (gasp) leave Wal-Mart and go somewhere designed for that kind of catching up -- a sit-down restaurant, a park, or your own house for heaven's sake. Offenders of this rule need to be especially careful about it in the frozen foods aisle. I do not want to wait fifteen minutes for my pint of Haagen-Dazs because you won't move your conversation to another locale. True story.
- 'Please,' 'thank you,' and 'excuse me,' as well as 'sir' and 'ma'am,' will get you a long way with both shoppers and retail associates. Example: MrMMO needed a Microsoft Points card, which are locked in the video game case. While he ventured off to find an employee to retrieve said card, I waited with the cart in the video game aisle. A man turned the corner and I asked if I needed to move so he could find what he was looking for. "No, ma'am, I'm just browsing, you're not in my way at all," he replied. It made my day. Another example: Towards the end of a very long shift the other day, a guy about my age addressed me with the phrases 'no, ma'am,' and 'thank you, ma'am' as I checked him out. I smiled and thanked him for being the first person who'd been truly polite to me all day. Some other girls in their 20s think being called 'ma'am' is an insult, that it makes them feel old; I find it to be about as respectful as it gets.
- At most pharmacies, it's perfectly acceptable to bring other items to be checked out at the same time as your prescription. However, if you've got a cartfull of stuff, remember that I have very limited counter space, and that I may only have extra large or extra small bags. Large packages (think family packs of toilet paper) are actually okay with me, because I can just pop the scanner out of its holder and point it at the bar code from a couple feet away, without having to take it out of the cart.
- At the pharmacy specifically, if you're buying things that don't 'go' with your prescriptions, don't be surprised if I raise an eyebrow at you -- i.e. large quantities of Easter candy and insulin, or several different asthma/emphysema prescriptions along with a carton of cigarettes. If it's especially outrageous, the pharmacist is a few feet away and will probably see you do it (and will probably say something about it, too). Remember, the whole point of our job is to help you be healthy, so it's really frustrating to see people do this.
- In the opposite direction, if you go up to a pharmacy counter (or call) with a question about medications, ask to speak to a pharmacist before you spend 5 minutes explaining your question in detail. It's likely that the person at the window or picking up the phone is a tech, and we cannot legally offer any health advice to you or answer any medicine-related questions -- even about products sold over the counter. It's not going to offend us that you want to speak to the head honcho, it's going to save us (and you) time.
- Don't be embarassed to buy 'embarassing things' at a pharmacy. Ever seen this famous scene from The Golden Girls? My job is to ensure the experience ISN'T like that. All that HIPAA training means that our middle name is 'discreet.' There will be no intercom price checks, no phone calls to family members; quite frankly it's actually a relief to see people (of all ages) buying protection -- not buying it doesn't mean they're not having sex, it means they may be having sex and not using protection. The same goes for products like Preparation H, Vagisil, KY, etc. Remember, our job is about helping you feel better, not making you feel bad about yourself.
- Another pharmacy related one. If you've read my earlier post about PSE and DXM-based over the counter medications, you may have guessed this: don't throw a tantrum at the poor retail peon because you have to buy these products at the pharmacy counter and/or show ID and/or can only buy so much at a time. You'd think people would be used to these restrictions since they've been in place a few years now, but that's not always the case. It's the law, and yelling at me isn't going to change anything. Feel free to throw a fit at your congressman, or find some meth addicts and read them the riot act, but I have absolutely nothing to do with the law. I just take your money and tell you to have a nice day, even when you've been a real jerk to me or given me a sob story about how it's the only medicine that works and why should you have to come back another day to buy more.
- If you're going to yell at your kids, please wait until you get home to do it, or at least out to the car. Pretty much all retail peons feel this way, but I'm especially sensitive when it comes to this kind of thing. I've worked for years to keep an anxiety disorder under control without meds, and someone getting yelled at is one of the only things that can really set me off. So help me, if you give me a panic attack from screaming at your kid, once I'm through hyperventilating I will probably give you an earful. It irks me just as much after hours, too. Yesterday MrMMO and I were grocery shopping and I jumped a solid three inches off the ground when some woman started hollering at her kid about asking for candy. She then continued yelling all the way down the aisle, past (and completely oblivious) to us, not bothering to lower her volume, and making my ears ring. Had she not been about triple my size (and, quite frankly, frightening in appearance, as was her husband), I probably would have turned around and told her to shut the heck up.
- Cell phones at the counter actually don't bother me too much, as long as there's a purpose behind them. Lots of customers will call a doctor to check if a script's been called in yet, or double-check the number of prescriptions that the relative they're picking up for is supposed to get. I actually encourage that kind of behavior because it's easier on everyone involved. However, if you're talking about something inane or obnoxious, and doing so loudly, that's going to annoy me -- luckily that doesn't happen too often in my experience. Bluetooths/headsets are another matter entirely. I despise their use anywhere outside of a moving vehicle. A person with a cell phone will instinctively move that phone away from his/her ear when I'm explaining prescriptions or asking questions at the counter. With a Bluetooth, they just continue the conversation, and I have no clue if A) they're actually talking to me or to the person on the other end of the line or B) they're actually paying attention to any of the (usually pretty important) things I just said.
Carton image courtesy of Haagen-Dazs. Sad face courtesy of me.Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Stop Beating on the Big Girls!
A short post today, but important nonetheless.
TMZ articles can be found here and here.
People need to stop picking on Gabourey Sidibe. Now. Look at the girl! She's happy, she's healthy, and she's living a life that at least a million skinny girls would kill to live.
Let's take a little quiz, shall we?
1) Do you have a medical degree from a legitimate, accredited institution?
2) Do you have any Academy Award nominations?
If you answered yes to the first question, you may have grounds to tell her she's unhealthy, if she actually is. If you answered no, then shut the hell up.
If you answered yes to the second question, you are probably happy as can be for her and have nothing but kind things to say. Members of the Academy tend to be classy like that. If you answered no, then, again, shut the hell up.
TMZ articles can be found here and here.
People need to stop picking on Gabourey Sidibe. Now. Look at the girl! She's happy, she's healthy, and she's living a life that at least a million skinny girls would kill to live.
Let's take a little quiz, shall we?
1) Do you have a medical degree from a legitimate, accredited institution?
2) Do you have any Academy Award nominations?
If you answered yes to the first question, you may have grounds to tell her she's unhealthy, if she actually is. If you answered no, then shut the hell up.
If you answered yes to the second question, you are probably happy as can be for her and have nothing but kind things to say. Members of the Academy tend to be classy like that. If you answered no, then, again, shut the hell up.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Midmonth Madness Redo
Due to some unforseen technical difficulties, I had to completely redo this morning's post, so let's hope it's as good the second time around.
Since I'm not always able to post every single day (Besides that cold that's subsided nicely, MrMMO and I have a darn hectic schedule sometimes), so I thought I'd catch up with a few of the less monumental (at least in terms of my capability to write about them), but still notable things that have happened lately:
R.I.P. Peter Graves. His passing is noteworthy, but I don't feel like I can really do him justice since so much of his best work was in the decades before I was born. Of course I've seen Airplane!, but I don't own it, and, in fact, don't really own much of anything Mr. Graves was in except for an episode of House.
Tim Burton is made of happy. I've not gotten a chance to see Alice in Wonderland yet, but can't wait. We live about an hour away from the nearest 3D capable theater, so it's going to take both of us having the day off, and so far that's not happened (we coincidentally have an appointment next week that we both had to request the day off for, so if it doesn't run into the afternoon, off to the theater we'll go). Until then, College Humor has tided me over with this video. It's funny and it's true, even as a Burton fan I can say that; if that kind of formula is entertaining and sells tickets, why change, right?
The past two weeks of Saturday Night Live have been really, really funny. And because sometimes I tend to turn this place into one fortress-like wall of text, I am going to embed some video, darnit.
The first is from last week's, with Zach Galifinakis. Yes, it's the one he shaved his beard off for, but it's so, so funny in and of itself. The Situation Room parody came in a close second to this one.
The second is from this week's, with Jude Law. The whole episode was great, but this particular one was my favorite, partially because I'm a huge fan of the original segment with William Shatner (I have it on a DVD that I found at a Cracker Barrel), and partially because even if you don't like the original or get the Food Network cake reference, it's still going to make you laugh.
And just to make it a little sweeter, they finally made a Digital Short for Boombox (I'll link this one rather than embed, there are some... more adult bits), which for all of us crazy kids with a copy of Incredibad on iTunes, was both a gift and a curse; now I'm compelled to go buy myself a pair of fingerless gloves.
And now, ending on a serious note:
There have been an unnervingly large number of nasty earthquakes lately. Having been through a small (5.2) and minimally damaging, but still scary earthquake just a couple years ago, I can't stress enough how important it is to be prepared. FEMA has some good resources on the web. Conveniently enough, many of the points like disaster supplies, safe locations, and family communication plans are things that you may already have in place if you're like me and live in an area where tornadoes are relatively common (By which means, it's getting to be that time of year... so be prepared for those too!). Lots of basic supplies may be found around the house, they just need to be popped in a Rubbermaid container or Spacebag for durability's sake and placed somewhere discreet but easily accessable.
While we're in the general area of disaster preparedness, and since I've already mentioned tornadoes, I also recommend subscribing to a weather app if it's available on your cell phone. Most phones, even older ones, have it available for about $4 a month subscription cost (if you have a smart phone with internet access, you could just use the Weather Channel or Intellicast's regular sites). Yes, radio's free, but with this you'll get things like radar images, which I find invaluable in that kind of situation. For peace of mind during at least one super-severe thunderstorm or tornado warning each season, I find it worth the cost.
Since I'm not always able to post every single day (Besides that cold that's subsided nicely, MrMMO and I have a darn hectic schedule sometimes), so I thought I'd catch up with a few of the less monumental (at least in terms of my capability to write about them), but still notable things that have happened lately:
R.I.P. Peter Graves. His passing is noteworthy, but I don't feel like I can really do him justice since so much of his best work was in the decades before I was born. Of course I've seen Airplane!, but I don't own it, and, in fact, don't really own much of anything Mr. Graves was in except for an episode of House.
Tim Burton is made of happy. I've not gotten a chance to see Alice in Wonderland yet, but can't wait. We live about an hour away from the nearest 3D capable theater, so it's going to take both of us having the day off, and so far that's not happened (we coincidentally have an appointment next week that we both had to request the day off for, so if it doesn't run into the afternoon, off to the theater we'll go). Until then, College Humor has tided me over with this video. It's funny and it's true, even as a Burton fan I can say that; if that kind of formula is entertaining and sells tickets, why change, right?
The past two weeks of Saturday Night Live have been really, really funny. And because sometimes I tend to turn this place into one fortress-like wall of text, I am going to embed some video, darnit.
The first is from last week's, with Zach Galifinakis. Yes, it's the one he shaved his beard off for, but it's so, so funny in and of itself. The Situation Room parody came in a close second to this one.
The second is from this week's, with Jude Law. The whole episode was great, but this particular one was my favorite, partially because I'm a huge fan of the original segment with William Shatner (I have it on a DVD that I found at a Cracker Barrel), and partially because even if you don't like the original or get the Food Network cake reference, it's still going to make you laugh.
And just to make it a little sweeter, they finally made a Digital Short for Boombox (I'll link this one rather than embed, there are some... more adult bits), which for all of us crazy kids with a copy of Incredibad on iTunes, was both a gift and a curse; now I'm compelled to go buy myself a pair of fingerless gloves.
And now, ending on a serious note:
There have been an unnervingly large number of nasty earthquakes lately. Having been through a small (5.2) and minimally damaging, but still scary earthquake just a couple years ago, I can't stress enough how important it is to be prepared. FEMA has some good resources on the web. Conveniently enough, many of the points like disaster supplies, safe locations, and family communication plans are things that you may already have in place if you're like me and live in an area where tornadoes are relatively common (By which means, it's getting to be that time of year... so be prepared for those too!). Lots of basic supplies may be found around the house, they just need to be popped in a Rubbermaid container or Spacebag for durability's sake and placed somewhere discreet but easily accessable.
While we're in the general area of disaster preparedness, and since I've already mentioned tornadoes, I also recommend subscribing to a weather app if it's available on your cell phone. Most phones, even older ones, have it available for about $4 a month subscription cost (if you have a smart phone with internet access, you could just use the Weather Channel or Intellicast's regular sites). Yes, radio's free, but with this you'll get things like radar images, which I find invaluable in that kind of situation. For peace of mind during at least one super-severe thunderstorm or tornado warning each season, I find it worth the cost.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
RIP: Corey Haim
Sigh. I was hoping I'd have a bit more blogging experience before I had to write my first 'RIP.' I'll begin with the fact that I wasn't a huge Haim fan, but that we do, in fact, own The Lost Boys on DVD. I had to check to confirm, but there it was, sitting quietly between The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Mallrats. I have a hunch that my fiancé, in his way, will probably pop it in to watch this evening, the same as he did with Just Married after Brittany Murphy passed away (please don't ask me why we actually own that movie, I'm not sure myself. If we had King of the Hill on DVD it would have been that instead), and the episode of The Simpsons Michael Jackson guest starred in, etc. It's this pop culture-obsessed couple's way of saying goodbye.
What drove me immediately to my blog this morning was not simply Haim's untimely passing, but also what I was doing when I found out about it. I've got, funny enough after my last posting, a bit of a cold, so I slept in late this morning. As I often do, I popped in a disc of a TV show DVD to act as a soft alarm clock for me; I hit play all, and when the disc ends and reverts back to the menu screen, something about that change always wakes me. Incidentally, some noise outside happened to wake me anyway about halfway through the disc, and, looking at the time, I decided to get up and start my morning routine.
I paused for a few minutes to watch the episode of The Simpsons that was playing. I got up, got the mail, started up my computer, and brought up Yahoo. And there it was. My first thought was, 'How sad.' My second thought was for Corey Feldman, who has now lost two close friends in less than a year. My third thought was the realization that the particular episode of The Simpsons I'd stopped to watch (and which was still playing) was Brother From the Same Planet, where the B-story involves Lisa's obsession with a popular boy named Corey (an amalgamation of Haim and Feldman) and becomes addicted to calling a 900-number hotline to hear the sound of his voice.
Since MrMMO and I own over 300 DVDs, including 12 seasons of The Simpsons, and there are over 250 episodes in those 12 seasons, I thought the fact I was watching that particular episode pretty astounding.
Rest in peace, Mr. Haim.
I paused for a few minutes to watch the episode of The Simpsons that was playing. I got up, got the mail, started up my computer, and brought up Yahoo. And there it was. My first thought was, 'How sad.' My second thought was for Corey Feldman, who has now lost two close friends in less than a year. My third thought was the realization that the particular episode of The Simpsons I'd stopped to watch (and which was still playing) was Brother From the Same Planet, where the B-story involves Lisa's obsession with a popular boy named Corey (an amalgamation of Haim and Feldman) and becomes addicted to calling a 900-number hotline to hear the sound of his voice.
Since MrMMO and I own over 300 DVDs, including 12 seasons of The Simpsons, and there are over 250 episodes in those 12 seasons, I thought the fact I was watching that particular episode pretty astounding.
Rest in peace, Mr. Haim.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
They've ruined it for the rest of us -- DXM
This is a direct response to justokay's Shine posting on the dangers of DXM.
Why do I have any knowledge of the stuff at all? Because, among other things, I deal with this stuff on a daily basis at work.
If you're not already familiar with DXM, you are probably at least familiar with pseudophedrine -- and if not by name, then by reputation. Until a few years ago, pseudoephedrine (PSE) was the active ingredient in just about every over the counter cold medicine on the market. It is also, unfortunately, one of the key ingredients in the illegal manufacture of the very illegal substance methamphetamine (meth). Having grown up in what is coloquially (and with good reason) referred to as the 'meth belt,' I can tell you that this is some nasty stuff. I'm not going to be your D.A.R.E. instructor today, but if you've lived in a cave with your fingers in your ears for so long that you don't know that meth is bad, take a minute and go look it up.
Now the fact that one of the key ingredients in an illegal drug could be purchased easily in large quantities began to concern people, and laws began to spring up to more strictly control the purchase of PSE. In most states, you now must be 18 and provide a state or federal ID to be scanned to be able to purchase any meds containing pseudophedrine. It's sold only by request at a pharmacy counter, there is a limit of how much can be purchased at a time, and an ID scan is performed to ensure these limits are being enforced -- you're not just being entered into the store's database, but into the government's.
Here's where DXM comes in -- after PSE became so strictly controlled, lots of medications reformulated from PSE to DXM to avoid the stigma of being sold behind the pharmacy counter. They advertized themselves as being more convenient and just as effective; the chain I work at carries over 100 products containing DXM as the main or auxilliary active ingredient. The problem is, there was already an issue with the fact that DXM in large doses turns into a hallucenogen, and is very dangerous. The side effects are plentiful and, quite frankly, pretty gross. As someone who had chronic tonsillitis as a kid and took every cold medicine known to mankind, I cannot begin to fathom why anyone would want to induce those kind of side effects on purpose. But people are pretty darn stupid, so that's where we're at now. This has led DXM to get the PSE treatment in more and more states. You have to be 18 to buy it, and in some states, just like PSE, you're tracked whenever you buy it, and by how much you buy. This is why the woman at Target had to get her license scanned, regardless of age. It's not so much a creepy store policy as the law.
Now, a couple of more specific reactions:
First of all, don't think that having DXM in the house is going to make your normally well-behaved kid all excited and want to trip balls. If you want to keep it around, keep it around. If you honestly don't trust your kid to not get high on your cough syrup, then 1) keep the cough syrup, and anything else of similar interest locked up, and/or 2) educate your kid on the dangers of abusing DXM products. If you seriously can't trust them enough to keep it in your house, that's the least of your worries. If they want it that bad, they'll probably get their hands on it some other way, so EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE; it's the key to preventing stupid decisions. Like I mentioned earlier, the possible side effects of tripping on DXM can get downright gross (loss of bladder and bowel control, anyone?), so let your kid(s) know what they could be in for. Be honest and talk to them.
Secondly, about the bar code scanning -- speaking from the employee level, your pharmacy/store the pharmacy is in has no way of accessing the info contained in the bar code of your driver's license. It's all computerized and goes straight to the state/federal government databases, and since those are the authorities issuing the ID to begin with, I don't think the info's going to be new to them. Also, at the employee level, we're all required to abide by the government's HIPAA policies, which means any divulgence of your personal information could get both the individual and the company in a whole heap of trouble. We're talking large fines and jail time here. Doctor's offices and pharmacies are required to hand out privacy policies; most people don't read them. You'd be surprised at what they contain. Most places also have a number you can call with questions or concerns.
And finally, if you're just not comfortable handing over an ID to scan to buy cold medicine, you're pretty much out of luck these days when it comes to anything that's both effective and over the counter. Even with PSE restrictions in place, many states are pushing to make it prescription-only (and two have succeeded) because the meth problem is still raging. If you don't like it, take a look at some of the ways our foremothers used to treat colds; they're still plenty effective, and lots of times cheaper, too. I'm not a fan of Neti pots personally, but for some people they work wonders. Lots of fluids, vitamin C, chicken soup, etc. I'm also a big believer in spicy foods to help clear congestion. If you're sick to your stomach, too, then avoid them like the plague, but for an allergy-related stuffy nose, I swear by horseradish and jalapenos (not mixed together, obviously). WebMD has a good article on home remedies here.
Best of health to you all!
Why do I have any knowledge of the stuff at all? Because, among other things, I deal with this stuff on a daily basis at work.
If you're not already familiar with DXM, you are probably at least familiar with pseudophedrine -- and if not by name, then by reputation. Until a few years ago, pseudoephedrine (PSE) was the active ingredient in just about every over the counter cold medicine on the market. It is also, unfortunately, one of the key ingredients in the illegal manufacture of the very illegal substance methamphetamine (meth). Having grown up in what is coloquially (and with good reason) referred to as the 'meth belt,' I can tell you that this is some nasty stuff. I'm not going to be your D.A.R.E. instructor today, but if you've lived in a cave with your fingers in your ears for so long that you don't know that meth is bad, take a minute and go look it up.
Now the fact that one of the key ingredients in an illegal drug could be purchased easily in large quantities began to concern people, and laws began to spring up to more strictly control the purchase of PSE. In most states, you now must be 18 and provide a state or federal ID to be scanned to be able to purchase any meds containing pseudophedrine. It's sold only by request at a pharmacy counter, there is a limit of how much can be purchased at a time, and an ID scan is performed to ensure these limits are being enforced -- you're not just being entered into the store's database, but into the government's.
Here's where DXM comes in -- after PSE became so strictly controlled, lots of medications reformulated from PSE to DXM to avoid the stigma of being sold behind the pharmacy counter. They advertized themselves as being more convenient and just as effective; the chain I work at carries over 100 products containing DXM as the main or auxilliary active ingredient. The problem is, there was already an issue with the fact that DXM in large doses turns into a hallucenogen, and is very dangerous. The side effects are plentiful and, quite frankly, pretty gross. As someone who had chronic tonsillitis as a kid and took every cold medicine known to mankind, I cannot begin to fathom why anyone would want to induce those kind of side effects on purpose. But people are pretty darn stupid, so that's where we're at now. This has led DXM to get the PSE treatment in more and more states. You have to be 18 to buy it, and in some states, just like PSE, you're tracked whenever you buy it, and by how much you buy. This is why the woman at Target had to get her license scanned, regardless of age. It's not so much a creepy store policy as the law.
Now, a couple of more specific reactions:
First of all, don't think that having DXM in the house is going to make your normally well-behaved kid all excited and want to trip balls. If you want to keep it around, keep it around. If you honestly don't trust your kid to not get high on your cough syrup, then 1) keep the cough syrup, and anything else of similar interest locked up, and/or 2) educate your kid on the dangers of abusing DXM products. If you seriously can't trust them enough to keep it in your house, that's the least of your worries. If they want it that bad, they'll probably get their hands on it some other way, so EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE; it's the key to preventing stupid decisions. Like I mentioned earlier, the possible side effects of tripping on DXM can get downright gross (loss of bladder and bowel control, anyone?), so let your kid(s) know what they could be in for. Be honest and talk to them.
Secondly, about the bar code scanning -- speaking from the employee level, your pharmacy/store the pharmacy is in has no way of accessing the info contained in the bar code of your driver's license. It's all computerized and goes straight to the state/federal government databases, and since those are the authorities issuing the ID to begin with, I don't think the info's going to be new to them. Also, at the employee level, we're all required to abide by the government's HIPAA policies, which means any divulgence of your personal information could get both the individual and the company in a whole heap of trouble. We're talking large fines and jail time here. Doctor's offices and pharmacies are required to hand out privacy policies; most people don't read them. You'd be surprised at what they contain. Most places also have a number you can call with questions or concerns.
And finally, if you're just not comfortable handing over an ID to scan to buy cold medicine, you're pretty much out of luck these days when it comes to anything that's both effective and over the counter. Even with PSE restrictions in place, many states are pushing to make it prescription-only (and two have succeeded) because the meth problem is still raging. If you don't like it, take a look at some of the ways our foremothers used to treat colds; they're still plenty effective, and lots of times cheaper, too. I'm not a fan of Neti pots personally, but for some people they work wonders. Lots of fluids, vitamin C, chicken soup, etc. I'm also a big believer in spicy foods to help clear congestion. If you're sick to your stomach, too, then avoid them like the plague, but for an allergy-related stuffy nose, I swear by horseradish and jalapenos (not mixed together, obviously). WebMD has a good article on home remedies here.
Best of health to you all!
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