Mad JZK, Fellas

Salaam

Well, my moment is here. Off to CT for a new chapter in life inshaAllah. So many emotions running through before I leave, it's hard to capture it all...

I wanted to predictably say, "MAD JZK" to all of you guys again for coming through on Friday night to DM one more time before I head out from Bufu, IL to Bufu, CT.

I especially would like to thank AJ for his coordination of the entire event. I'm taking the liberty to describe myself as a master planner of events, too, so I know something involving like 25 guys, ma sha Allah, is no easy task. And AJ did this, as always, effectively and beyond what I could ever ask for. The food set-up was amazing (and thanks to Sayeed for brining the rice from Usmania Chinese), the picture with everyone's messages was an amazing idea and took a lot of work to set-up. I was duly impressed and touched. Of course, in no small part was my guy Taha who was the gracious host (and I should mention Sana here, too). It was phenom of him to give up his place so willingly and help make sure the event was smooth. Him and AJ avoided any "mega" disasters. Taha's hosting coupled with his poker table management was great and much appreciated.

I enjoy writing highlights of any event, so without exception, here they are:

1. The "Good Luck, Pac" sign with everyone's (a) heart-felt and/or (b) hysterical messages
2. The speech(es). Courtesy of AJ, some of it has been captured and uploaded to YouTube (but YouTube / iPhone restricted the amount that was able to be uploaded): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKw6hX3pSgw
3. Memorable parts of the speeches:
4. From Aref desperately campaigning for control and acceptance of the DMC to AJ's hug-to-say-it-all.
5. From Aladdin's baseball bat story (true story) on how we met (and maintained our friendship) to Irfan's 10-min long speech, which, while started off slowly w/no material, ended very sincerely and phenomly.
6. From Samir's absolute molestation of me to Taha admitting that he wanted me gone so he could spark a new romance with AJ (this won't happen as [a] I will kill you or [b] I will kill you).
7. From Sayeed also admitting that he wanted to attend at least one party with me so he could see me go to my own brother Ali/Jake/Liam admitting he wanted to see me leave to gain more control over the house (I'm beginning to detect a pattern of you guys anxiously waiting for me to depart...).
8. From Fahad finally admitting he was turned on when he, well, got a piece of me sometime ago, to Badie asking me about my sister.
9. I can keep going on-and-on, but I hope you basically get the point that in fact this was something I really enjoyed and will cherish.
10. The un-RG discussion led by Aladdin (go figure) on how to have a boy. [RG = religious guy, for those who are somehow unaware]
11. The heart-felt speech Jake gave before I cut the cake
12. The food and dessert set-up. Even the cake that had a picture of a clown (perhaps representing how you all perceive me)
13. My realization that while playing poker, after winning a BIG hand and throwing in chips w/out regard, that there's probably a reason why Allah has not made me filthy rich
14. The stripping part of the night which caused all RGs (ok, just Sayeed; the lone RG) to look down to lower the gaze. Which probably was the smart thing to do.
15. Above everything else, all my homies who came through just to hang out and bang.

Alhamdullilah, Allah has blessed me with the best of brothers and friends. I am grateful. Please know that in CT, you all have a home. And I realize that CT itself is not anything particularly sexy, so keep in mind that NYC is only an hour or so away. Please keep me in your duas as I begin this new chapter in life; you are all in mine.

With much love,

Pac