Bitter kudos

Remember Kudos? That granola/candy bar thing your mom used to put in your lunch in elementary school? Ick.

So I feel the need to expound upon my growing fascination with, annoyance by and pride in
Ms. Paltrow (-Martin, whatever she's calling herself). She disappointed me in saying publicly that she would never give her daughter instant soup. I'm not even sure to what she's referring. Is it Ramen noodles? I wouldn't wish this on my daughter either, unless she chose to spend her college allowance, should she be lucky enough to get one, on booze rather than food and she had to resort to such measures. Is she speaking of Campbell's from the can? I love this stuff! And no matter what I support or condemn, why would you make such a snotty comment to the public? Maybe, indeed, she is as bored as I and needs attention. Something to ponder.

However, I recently read in an English rag (there are so many and they all pose as "news" papers) that she complained about how long it takes to get things serviced in England. The "paper" said that she must be getting serviced somewhere, hinting at her husband, or else she wouldn't stay in this godforsaken country. OK, I called it "godforsaken." Anyway, I couldn't agree with her more. It has been truly unbelievable how slow the general utilities companies are. Why should I have to wait eight days for my automated voicemail to kick in when it's free and I'm not even allowed to record my own voice on it? How could the cable company show up and not bring a ladder tall enough to reach our 4th-floor flat (here they call it "third floor," as the ground floor is zero), when we told them our floor at the start? And how can PayPal, which takes about two days to instigate in the U.S., take two weeks to go through in the U.K.? I know the Brits are tired of hearing Americans say, "Well, in America it's not like this," but do they blame us?

And in response to their next insult, "Why don't you just move back then?", I say wholeheartedly, "I would if I could."

And I'll start another rant that must be continued later: I'm sincerely jealous of Ms. P-M, considering she can go back to the States and pay out of pocket for her next child's birth. If I'd known of the horror that is the National Healthcare System, I do not believe I would have moved here.

Cheers!