happiest day

At the risk of sounding like an utter curmudgeonly bitch, I have had a surfeit of those insanely OTT wedding proposal videos. I just watched one where a guy had flash mob dancers and a marching band  leading up to his 'surprise' proposal. I have seen so many others with lip synching or roof diving stunts or some inventive outrageous gimmick, I am starting to wonder about the whole premise. If the person said 'no' what would happen? Such a huge gesture, so somehow disproportionate; what a way to start married life, when nothing you do in the future can possibly match up to that? How can you just ride off into the sunset when the bar has been set so high? It's foolhardy and unrealistic to have to think of ever more amazing things to do to 'prove' you love someone; why not just keep it private and personal, a genuine tender moment? Instead of broadcasting it for the whole world to witness. Is it the ultimate showing off? Is it a huge ego boost in the attention seeking generation? How many people now think their ideas have to be ramped up a notch or two to impress not only their future intended, but the whole media world? I find it somehow voyeuristic and unpleasantly smug. That is my opinion, for what it's worth. 

Frequently, when I see other people's blogs, I wonder why I (or they) bother. Like diaries, if you have a busy interesting life, you have no time to blog about it; and if you have the time, you haven't done anything worth blogging about. I am not about to start a career out of stating the bleeding obvious, that pool is overflowing already; nor will I moan and rant about other people (not today, anyway). I am not Nigella in the kitchen, jut a sweary messy woman who likes to feed people. I don't dispense sex tips like Mrs Sting, or fashion and beauty advice (which you would know if you took one look at me). I don't knit my own yurts, though I did once have 3 pet chickens who were a delight. I am not in a band, nor am I writing a screenplay, script or even a novel. I don't have amazing children about to take the world by storm, (even if our only kid is a fantastic drummer, you won't hear me pushing him on the TV), I was never a glamour model (nearly) or married to anyone sleazy enough to sell my story. Even though we 'survived a life threatening accident' I don't feel like sharing any of that; it was hardly uplifting after all. I am an immigrant, not an expat, so I can't comment on those issues other than travel guide tips. Seinfeld famously made a career out of 'a show about nothing', and I think a lot of blogs are like that too; nice if you can make inconsequential small talk sound remotely interesting or inspiring, but I am afraid I haven't even got that gift. Any advice I give is likely to be 'Suck it up, Princess' or 'have you tried running it under a hot tap?'.
I frequently don't recognise this world, or know my place in it any more; I am not sure if that is a getting older thing, or a general 'turning my back on society' thing. But perhaps the sad thing is, I don't really care. I am finding it harder and harder to get worked up about so many emotive issues that fill my timelines and my inboxes. It all seems so dumbed down and uninvolving, so curiously flat and 2dimensional. Perhaps I should go back to the old chicken keeping, yurt knitting, gun toting lifestyle? Then I could blog mindlessly to my hearts content about manure?