As a young childless married person living in the ever eventful and constantly buzzing New York City, it's not hard to see how a single person could live it up in this town that is known to chew people up and spit them out- if you let it. By any definition, I'm no where near being in "single" minded mode, as I have been in a relationship for almost seven years. But living in a city like this, even as a couple, it's very easy to get swept up in the partying and the live for the moment and only for myself attitude.
During the beginning of this year, I have constantly bragged about how I feel I have a foot in both worlds because of the boom of Internet forums like Facebook and Myspace. My two worlds being, Sydney- where most of my friends and all of my family are and New York- where I now live and have met and hanged with some really cool people. It's been easy to view the latest photos of my friend's art exhibition I missed out on in Manhattan to a friend's party in Sydney. Without physically being there, you get a visual summary on what you did miss out on. Any extra goss can be simply derived through a gossipy email to one of the people on your "friends list" who would have attended. These forums can also be proof that you really did have something else on, as here are the photos to prove it!
What these two worlds have introduced me to are two more intriguing worlds, that not for the sweet invention of Facebook, could I have had the pleasure of getting a closer glimpse of. It's the marrieds and the singles worlds. In over two hundred friends, mainly from Sydney, a huge majority are not married and also childless. The general age bracket of my friends are from twenty three to thirty six. When I was a teenager and witnessing other people in this age bracket, many of them were married, had children and very settled down. What's going on with everyone, why are we all acting like teenagers and why are even some of my married friends still childless and spending more time listing who's hot on Facebook? My layman's answer is the world is changing- and fast. The impact of societal changes such as house prices soaring and becoming almost impossible to own, more and more options beyond the nurse, teacher, bricklayer or accountant type roles, young women wanting a longer blossoming twenties that goes way pass thirty five and let's not forget to include more and more people migrating to other countries not just to get away from a war or give their family a better life, but just to take advantage of a working visa or boost their careers. Personally I'm quite happy with all this, but I was wondering if my ovaries felt the same.
It does seem it's all for the better as people are getting smarter, choosing marriage or children only if feeling completely qualified, the world is less populated and sexual freedom is exceedingly less judged and peaking. So why is it that I enjoyed my three weekends at home with my husband and my dog watching Harry Potter a little more than this past weekend's debauchery at a club called Fat Baby, no less? Don't get me wrong, Fat Baby was a fun place. Where do you go to hear Bell Biv Devoe and Nirvana in one night- hilarious, but somehow worked really well for me. The packed crowd was diverse and entertaining and the bartenders are notorious for giving away free drinks, which our little group had the delight of experiencing. If you do have a fat baby, chances are you weren't at this one.
Which brings me to the conclusion of maybe I'm not enjoying all this like I used to. The traveling, the partying, the random adventures- not so shiny and new anymore. For a while there, these Internet forums tended to glamorize it all and feed my need for more. But today, still feeling a little stiff two days later after reciting every word to Wrex n Effect's "Rump Shaker", maybe that really was the "last call". I guess I'll find out tonight after some Cinco De Mayo celebratory drinks. Sheesh, here we go again.
Photos from http://www.myspace.com/fatbabynyc
