As far as I’m concerned, two things of note happened in 1994. First, I won the science fair. And second, after spending weeks recreating a miniature, but insanely scrupulous papier-mâché Mt. Rushmore, I lost the fifth grade “state fair” by handing out fist-sized bags of pure, unadorned flour as a snack during my oral presentation. And yet, neither the triumph nor the failure were really mine alone: I had what’s known a yes-man on both counts. (You know who you are. Mom.)
My science fair experiment, adapted from a handy “ideas for science fair experiments” book that my mother had bought me, involved gauging a volunteer’s stress level, showing them a bit of a scary movie, and then checking to see how the clip had affected their heart rate. I can remember that the book recommended Psycho as an anxiety-provoking choice, and that it specified that the experiment be performed on adults not currently taking any medication. As we didn’t own Psycho – nor possess many reliably non-medicated family friends - I came up with a few minor variables of my own.
“Do you see this chart, Lynne? This is your height-weight percentile chart. And do you see where you are? You’re waaaaaay up here. Waaay past the 90th percentile. Do you see that? How would you like a shot to suck all the fat away?”
Of course I’m as broke as the next girl, but as I was waiting for my car to get serviced, I decided to treat myself for having to suffer two hours in Santa Monica. I called a friend and she suggested Huckleberry. I had only been there one other time and the breakfast was completely fabulous, so I was excited to try it again. But on this last visit, the service was verging just on the brink of truly awful (like surprised that the people in line "actually want to order something" awful) and the ready-made salads (which are even more expensive than they are at Joan's on Third) looked as if they had been sitting out way too long and that they might not have been that great in the first place.
Shopping eco friendly is easier than you might think, even at a bargain focused store like