Short and sweet...

I haven't got much to say at the mo so I'll make this short. This is probably best, I do have a tendency to go on a little. All my friends are getting married, or at least all my Facebook friends are. I know this through their facebook status. You know when they change from being 'single' to 'in a relationship' to 'engaged' with all the congrats wall posts that come along with it. Then finally (in Facebook terms) the 'married' status. This is followed up by more congratulatory wall posts from close friends who couldn't make it and those who found out too late and wondered why they didn't get an invite.

But it has come to my attention that there is a flaw in the Facebook profile status setting. The choices are 'single' for those who are ok to state that and leaving it blank for those who feel sad by not having a partner. The step up is 'in a relationship' and one can choose another Facebook contact to be in a relationship with. This is usually a defining moment in a young relationship and comes with connotations of a girl being freaked out by the speed in which the guy has announced their relationship or the guy being freaked out by the declaration. Then there's 'engaged' and 'married' for people who really know they love each other or, annoyingly, for those female best friends. Then there's two more strange additions, 'it's complicated' and 'in an open relationship'. I put down 'it's complicated' once and one of my friends demanded to know who was the guy I was referring too. It was no one in particular, just the general description of all my relationships.

But in a world where most people who get married in their twentys WILL be divorced by their late thirties I see no Facebook status option of 'divorced'. It seems to me they've missed a vital demographic here. Or maybe Facebook users are all under 35? Maybe they could argue that no one in their right mind would like to share the fact that they're divorced but my argument is this: When greeting card manufacturers are producing 'Congratulations, you're divorced' cards I see no reason why this status should not be included as an option.

Some friends of mine have recently changed their relationship status to one of being married to each other and this is what popped up on my Facebook Homepage "...made a lifetime commitment to one another, and let everyone on Facebook know." Note: Lifetime Commitment. So we're all aggreed - we all still believe Marriage is 'till death do us part'. I believe this may be a reflection of how the world likes to see marriage as opposed to the reality of it. The engagement phase and wedding is a magical time, special, when two people who love each other join together (sometimes in front of God even though they don't believe) in official matromony. Except people fall in and out of love with each other all the time. What makes a precious metal ring on a finger mean it's going to last forever? I think the vows should be changed to 'in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, for however long we feel like it...' None of this forever sharade.

If we all just accept the option that marriages don't always last forever then I think that the meaning of a marriage wouldn't feel like such a sham. I do love the dresses though, and the cake, and the flowers. I'll probably get married one day just to have a good party. I dream of a world where I might be able to get away with the line "Great wedding, can't wait for your next one." and where the Facebook Homepage states 'Bob Jones has changed his relationship status from Married to Divorced.' Wall post reads 'Congrats on the divorce Bob, I never liked her anyway.'

What's the plan Stan?

Feel I need to re-establish myself with the long term goals. Plus peeps keep asking me what I'm up to and my answer is annoyingly vague.

Aim: Around the World without flying.
Reason: Environmental (air pollution yes but I feel cars do as much damage in that area), financial (I don't believe air travel is as necarsary as the governemnt push for expansion on all areas of the industry regardless the obvious low cost and speed. I can not imagine how we have come to access trans continental travel in 2 hours and £40), personal (to me flying isn't part of the journey - it's a metal time machine taking me out of one time-zone and dropping me into another causing my body to re-adjust un-naturally and my mind tired from no connection of the previous place to the present).

Route: Spain (1yr approx to become fluent in Spanish)
Africa (Overland with a company including Morocco ending in Cape Town)
Australia (Must reach Perth by Sea from somewhere in Africa. Preferably Cape Town but I have yet to find a freighter that is on that route, approx 1yr in Australia inc a stint in New Zealand to see in the new yr from the furthest easterly Island in the world)
North America (Starting out in LA, experiencing Hawaii, doing Route 66 to Chicago, NY and the surounding area).
Ending trip with a sea crossing to Ireland/England depending on funds.

Deadline: Return to England for the 2012 Olympics.

Well that's the plan for now. Who knows what will pan out.