Hope ...

My father told me in August this year that 2009 will be a very bad year according to some Chinese beliefs. I just nodded and brushed his comments aside thinking that it is still too early to think of 2009 back then.

To tell you the truth, the idea of going through bad period in time crossed my mind many times before that as I noticed the trend for tough and difficult times did come and go every decade or so. So with the oil prices increasing exponentially to almost $150 per barrel in July and sound financial sectors began showing signs of cracks because of the subprime mortgage crisis in the US, I knew someone has already threw s**t in the air and it was about to hit the fan. But I thought, maybe the s**t will miss the fan because in this decade, we just had September 11 ....

Splat! (S**t definitely his the fan and it is all over the place) Lehman Brothers go down really hard on September 15. Damn ... not even a month after my dad told me that bad and nasty thing would happen in the financial sector! Again .. trying to be positive, I foolishly thought that it may be an isolated event because both Europe and Japan seemed to indicate that they are somewhat shielded from the s**t that just splattered all over US. In other words, they could prevent or avoid the Domino effect from US financial sector from affecting them. Well, we all know what happened!!

Here I am ... sitting in front of the computer screen supposedly worrying about the melting rate of iceberg in the Antartic due to global warming (I am currently taking Environmental Management and Policy Masters programme), I too now have to worry about the global financial meltdown that one way or another will affect me and my family even more compared to the melting iceberg in Antartic. Don't get me wrong .. I am still concerned about what impact might the melting of the iceberg be on my children's future here on Earth but the uncertainties from the global financial meltdown is definitely affecting us now.

So winter is just around the corner where I am now ... the days are getting shorter and gloomier. Many people get depressed during winter months and based from my experience living in Switzerland, Japan and now Austria, suicide rate increases during winter. Then comes the global credit crunch that just sent stocks market around the world spiralling down adding to the misery for those about to go through the cold and gloomy winter. Just recently on Monday this past week, a person (I believe it was a guy) lied down on the railway tracks near my office at 6 am attempting to commit suicide. The train driver manning the express train from Salzburg to Vienna was alert and managed to stop the fast moving train thus foiling this person's attempt to take away his precious life. However, this incident paralysed the whole rail network operating between Vienna and Salzburg for more than an hour thus causing more misery to daily commuters heading to their workplace on that chilly Monday morning.

The stream of bad and miserable news seemed unending and any sign of hope was nowhere to be seen or heard of until November 2nd when a good friend, Vic, wrote on a note in his FB site. A note, entitled I got the girl, to his wife and his family on his 11th wedding anniversary ... a note worth sharing with all of you.

Today marks our 11th anniversary! In contrast to the celebrations we've had before, it's becoming more of a family affair.. As in with kids in tow. But, we feel that the anniversary marks the birth of this family, and hence, the celebration should include everyone that is part of this family.It wasn't anything spectacular... Just dinner, with the boys, both of whom were feeling under the weather, but happy to be included nonetheless. To be honest, it wouldn't have been the same without them along. Today also makes me look back at the road that both Jasmine & I have taken. It has not been easy, and neither will it be easy from here on. The future is uncertain, and I for one have been having doubts about a number of things, mainly professionally. As I silently watched my kids and wife tonight, there were mixed feelings.. Fear and panic was one.. for would I be able to provide for all of them in the years to come?

However, I was also infinitely grateful for my brood. For it is the single thing that grounds me, and makes me want to go on. The smiling faces of my wife and children serve as affirmation of the reason I'm alive. More so, now that No.3 is well on the way. I know, whatever happens, they will be there for me.. to save me. So this note is a tribute to my tireless wife, my personal confidante, my patient lover, my beautiful protector, my hero, my saviour.. I may not be the easiest person to live with, but I promise to try to the day I die .. Come what may, whatever life may throw at us, whatever obstacles crop up.. at least.. I got the girl.

Simple, honest and yet beautifully written by my friend to his wife of 11 years and his lover for more than 15 years. Amongst all the s**t that is flying around after hitting the fan, a sliver of hope can be seen as a man, a lover, a husband and a father professes his love to his family and holding on to hope no matter the obstacles. A small beacon of hope from Malaysia and I am sure there are many more individuals out there loving each other ... as love is definitely the best placebo to 'heal' misery and depression. For some, this may seem like a light at the end of the tunnel ..

Then came November 5, a bright flash of hope, in the form of a man riding on a vessel called US Presidential election, inundated the world. Joyus moments were in the air at Grand Park, Chicago when Barrack Obama gave an awe inspiring victory speech. People all around the world also rejoiced this historical moment in the US election history as it gives hope to people that change is possible. His political campaign tagline "Yes we can" gives hope to people that he, as the President of USA with the involvement of every individual with sense of patriotism and responsibility to not only help oneselves but also each other to climb out of the pit filled with problems such as planet in peril and the worst financial crisis in a century. Let's hope that through his leadership and fulfillment of his promise, the nation can start healing ... despair around the world will start ebbing and the future of our children becoming brighter. A daunting task for any person even for President elect Obama and such changes may not happen soon but his victory is the first sign of change. So if everyone do their bit with sense of ownership in making their children's future sustainable without adversely affecting others, then YES WE CAN.