After such a bad last quarter, I thought it necessary to move into this new year with a little bit of hope. A little bit of goodness and optimism to keep the Dark Lord Sauron (or whatever it was that draped its black veil over the last part of 2001) at bay for a while.

I hope my brother and his wife have a lovely boy or girl in a month or so. (Hint: name the kid Max)

I hope India and Pakistan don't go to war. There is a rather lengthy song by Led Zeppelin called "Kashmir." I'm not sure if it is an anti-war song (or what Robert Plant is saying), but I figure if the leaders of India and Pakistan sat in the same room and listened to the whole song without talking, they could work something out.

I hope my other brother has a successful production of Catch-22 in March.

I hope Israel and Palestine stop randomly blowing each other up. There is a novel by Tom Robbins called Skinny Legs And All, which, among many other things, is about this conflict. The solution (which comes up right as the apocalypse seems inevitable) is strange and probably a bit new agey, but the point is this: the people in these countries are essentially the same lineage of people. Why can't they all just get along?

I hope turning thirty isn't really as much of a milestone as some say it is.

I hope to break a few hearts this year, and even get my heart broken again. For some reason, I haven't felt this good in a long time. Maybe it's because the down was so far down, being where I am now is like being on Everest.

I hope the Kansas City Royals stay alive in the pennant race until at least the end of June.

I hope that wine, women and song are the hallmarks of a good time.

I hope I meet a lot of new and exciting people.

I hope I don't lose any more good friends.

I hope that lessons learned don't get forgotten.

I hope Attack Of The Clones is as good as The Fellowship Of The Ring.

I hope for late nights of spirited conversation with those I love.

I hope for mornings of reflection with hot mugs of coffee or tea.

I hope there isn't another September 11th, but, if there is, people realize that a missile shield will not protect us from such a thing happening again. Or that extreme, blind patriotism is no substitute for real solutions to real problems.

I hope to never have another month like November 2001.

I hope that a return to normalcy means more than spending your paycheck before it gets in the bank.

I hope to see great sights and be able to bask in the glory of their greatness as they occur.

I hope everyone has a Happy New Year, no one gets too caught up with rules and everyone just goes with the flow.

Matt Worley is full of hope for the future.