Glorious Days To Be Alive!

I remember my dad used to say that he wished he lived in the early 20th century when times were simpler and resources were seemingly limitless.

Me, I have no such reservations, I am overjoyed to be alive now regardless of all the gloom and doom scenarios we are constantly being bombarded with. The economic crisis is being compared to that of the Great Depression (only worse because it affects us globally). It’s bad, many people are suffering but I think it’s a great opportunity for a new form of capitalism (or something to that effect) to emerge. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/newcapitalism.pdf

We were a runaway train of consumerism. People forgot the simple joys of growing and cooking our own food, or simply shopping in the supermarket to make a nice- home cooked meal from scratch.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/30/AR2006113001405.html.

We see Michelle Obama planting an organic garden and all of a sudden we are all oohing and aahing like if we need to be brain scientists to this, or need someone of importance to instill common sense into our brains!Great times, so many opportunities in this lifetime!

I am not sure if I’ll be around for when there is a cure for cancer, or when there will be everlasting peace, or when the rape of the Amazon stops, but what intrigues me is the profound impact technology has and is making in our lives. Unfortunately my father didn't live long to see the marvel of the internet, and the only cell phone he saw, weighted a ton and looked like a brick! www.retrobrick.com/moto8000.html

But ahh, the winds of change are blowing across the world, we have female presidents/prime ministers, people of color are leading in traditionally "white" dominated areas, POTUS , sports such as tennis, Formula One, and golf. The Berlin Wall has fallen, Apartheid has ended, Mandela is free, we have free phone calls http://www.skype.com/, 24 hour communication, live radio/tv/cinema and so on!

Oh the marvel that is the internet! The internet has rekindled the student in me. I remember as a high school student spending hours poring over thick encyclopedias trying to write geography papers. Now, I think I can learn anything via the internet – I have amassed tons of useless information - (Do you know rats can laugh when tickled)?news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/85711.stm - 28k

I have become a financial wizard thanks to reading all about stocks and bailouts and foreclosures, the Dow, the CAC and the Nikkei financial indexes online. And thanks to the internet, I have become a domestic diva when it comes to cooking. I am also a medical expert, tell me your ailment and I will Google http://www.google.com/ everything for you!

And then there's Face Book, Twitter, IPods, Blue Tooth, Black Berries and digital cameras - Oh I remember my father chastising me about “wasting film” pre-digital camera days! Oh what about Botox, Viagra, Silicone implants (Do you know you could get implants in your derrière)? Kids becoming mega-billionaires, the invincible USA crashing financially, the entire car industry on the verge of collapse not solely due to the high cost of gas, but other financial reasons.

Who would have thought these things were possible? It’s a modern day Armageddon, like a scene from Mad Max, but when the dust settles, a new breed of mankind will emerge, one for the better I hope.

The winds of change are blowing, some are good, some are bad, but I won't trade this time for anything! I am glad to be alive now!