Costa Rica: Half the Adventure is Getting There…

Buenos Dias, La Gente de Mi Blog

Que pasa? Estoy en Costa Rica ahora para trabajo. Que vida yo tengo cuando el trabajo [forces me] ir a Costa Rica! Pero, que puedo hacer? Trabajo es trabajo y si necessario hacer cosas como ese, entonces yo voy a hacerlo. Por supuesto, todo en el nombre de mi trabajo. Yo no voy a hacer algo divertido. Solamiente trabajo. ;) Entiendes? No? Que lastima! Ojala que una dia tu puedes ser como mi. Hahaha, pero no se que ese es posible porque soy un baller internacional, mashaAllah!

Ok, ok, sorry, I like to get in character sometimes. I’ll switch it back to Ingles now...

So my latest adventure brings me to Costa Rica. And, yes, I’m blogging here in Costa Rica because I have a little free time before I give my presentation. I really hope I get the opportunity to check out the rain forest and other sites, but we’ll see. Unfortunately, unlike Vienna, I have a lot of work to do, so it may be difficult. InshaAllah, time will tell. It is nice, though, to look outside my hotel room right now and see mountains with their peaks covered in clouds because we’re 3000+ feet above sea level. Seeing the beautiful flora and people swimming outdoors while sipping on a glass of papaya juice is also a nice site considering that the Windy City is 75 degrees one day and 40 the next.

But getting here was a battle and a definite test of patience. And it was also perhaps an ode to my stupidity, but in the end, a testament to the Rabil Alameen (aka God)…

So my flight out of ORD was going to leave at 2:20pm on Tuesday and stop over in Dallas. I was scheduled to then depart Dallas at 6:20pm direct to San Jose, Costa Rica. The best part of this was that for the first time I was going to travel First Class & Business Class, mashaAllah. First Class to Dallas, Business Class to CR. (Have I ever mentioned that I love big pharma? Well, I love big pharma. I hope they keep manufacturing drugs we really don’t need! j/k!) I was also particularly looking forward to the flight because work has been pretty stressful lately and a comfortable business class plane ride would just lessen the burden that every superhero including me carries.

I recently inherited a study-from-hell and it has only about a billion and half issues. That’s a slight exaggeration, actually. It’s more like a billion and a quarter. How I was chosen to go in there and clean things up is beyond me. All I know is that I get to “enjoy” 12 hour minimum work days again and I’m oh-so-excited about that! Anyway, my plan was to pack on Monday night but that didn’t work because I worked until 12:30am and shortly after collapsed on my bed when I intended to take just a five minute power nap. But, I’ve done stupid things like that before, so the next morning I wasn’t that worried about it. Scratch that. I actually was worried because the study-from-the-depths-of-Tartarus was trying to drag me into meeting with Hades himself. Hades, you can imagine, isn’t the coolest of people to meet so I had to go forth and battle him with my Zeus-like thunderbolts. (I have no clue why I’m suddenly inspired by Greek mythology.) This battle of the IVRS (my field) Gods turns out to be rather time consuming. My window to pack for Costa Rica begins to shrink. (But you’re dang straight that I had enough time to update my Facebook status. Priorities, people, priorities!)

I had a 9am teleconference call that morning followed by a 9:30 call which ended up taking an hour because I had to talk to my internal team about some…wanna guess?...yep, more issues that came up! Yay for me! Now, by 10:30, I was in super crunch mode. I told my team to liaise with my assistant while I was out, but people were IM-ing and emailing me last second questions. I hadn’t even showered at this point. I finally manage to shut down my computer around 11am and begin the mad rush to take a shower and pack. The goal was to be at ORD by 12 or 12:30.

My plan of action for packing was simple: Get a huge suitcase and throw everything into it. But even doing that wasn’t all that effective because I kept forgetting things like my black dress belt, so I had to unzip my suitcase and throw that in there. Ok, I’m ready, I thought to myself. Oh crap, my toothpaste and razor would probably be good to take! Unzip and pack again. Now I was set. Or maybe not. I need ties! I grabbed a couple of my favorites including a beautiful, trendy golden paisley tie. Whew, all good now! Wait a second...! At this point I was downstairs by the kitchen and a big old light bulb over my head goes on. What about the Chips Ahoy Chewy Chocolate Chip cookies Mom bought yesterday? They will probably be finished by the time I get home! Frick this, man, I’m taking them with me! Unzip and pack again. Now I was officially set.

I sped down I-55 and 294 while talking to my assistant about things he needs to follow-up on in my absence. And then I got on the phone immediately after that to talk give my boss the latest and greatest study updates. Finally I get to ORD and it’s now about 12:30. As I end my call with my boss, I get my things out of my trunk and do my usual checks. Luggage? Check. Phone? Check. BlackBerry? Check. Car keys? Check. Parking ticket? Check. Wallet? Check. American Express card (which I’ve forgotten on past trips)? Check. Alright, I’m all set, baby!

I look at the time in total relief because I was really worried that I was going to miss my flight, which this client would’ve been pissed off about since some other PM was late at the last meeting. I start walking over to the terminals and reach back for my wallet to pull out my ID for when I check-in.

And that’s where it hit me. I’m going to Costa Rica. I’m going to freaking Costa Rica! Do you know what that means exactly? No, not that I’m going to have a great time in a tropical paradise. It means that Costa Rica is an international flight. Which means that I need to bring another form of ID…i.e., a passport! And, yes, my passport that’s sitting safely - no, not in my car - but in my table drawer. At home. Billions of light years away!

I quickly toss everything back into my car and at this point I’m nothing but pure impulse and adrenaline. I call up my boy Farooq and give him the low down. He laughs at me for a good 30 minutes, calls me a moron, and then gives me an American Airlines 800 number. I asked him for it because I need to find out exactly how much time I need to have to check-in luggage prior to take off. AA tells me that it’s 40 minutes. That means that I need to get home and get back to ORD, park, and get to the check-in counter no later than 1:40pm. And it is now fast approaching 1pm.

So now I’m driving down 294 and I-55 at speeds that will remain undisclosed for my own personal safety (Yes, I fear my mom finding out. I don’t care if I’m nearly 30 years old. She’s a Punjabi mother, man! Let’s just say that they put Hades and Zeus to shame!). Anyway, on the mad dash back home I get a phone call from my fiancée. I give her the low down, too. She calmly tells me that I’ll be ok and will make my flight. I think to myself, Didn’t she hear what I said? How is she so calm about it? I continue pushing the pedal to the floor now worrying about whether or not the C-Dub can handle the pressure. And also worrying about how my back two tires that have lost a lot of its treading and what type of impact that would have cruising at high speeds over pot holes on the highway. So, yes, you can rest assured that I was making plenty of dua and listening to naats...

So anyway, when the future Mrs. 2pac hears me suddenly telling my grandmother when I reach home that I forgot something, she asks, “Wait! Why are you at home?”

“I’m picking up my passport,” I reply back confused why she asked me that question all the while running up and down the stairs at home at warp speeds.

She replies in turn, “You mean to tell me that the story you just told me about possibly missing your flight isn’t in the past tense? It’s happening as we speak?!”

“Umm...yeah, kinda.” Little did she know that when she called me (around 1:15), I had just picked up my passport. Clearly she thought that I was on my way back to the airport and almost there (and also probably thought that I was being overdramatic for no apparent reason when I kept saying, "I'm SCREWED if I miss this flight!" or "Aaaarghh! What am I going to do?!"). Thinking about it now, I wonder what she was thinking when she asked me that question. What am I getting myself into with this guy? Just wait until we start traveling together iA...

So regardless of the situation, she advises me to be patient and trust in Allah that He will hook me up. I thought to myself that she is ultimately right. If I miss it, what can I do? So I just ask her to make dua that I do make it as I had also requested the same from Shaykh Farooq “Al-Haqq” and my momz, too. (BTW: I think my mom wanted to slap me when I told her the story of how I was running late. Seriously, I think I felt her slap me via the phone. That’s amazing if you think about it. But, at the same time, I don’t think she was entirely surprised by my act either. What does that mean? Come to think of it, neither was Farooq. What the…? What do you all really think of me, dang it?!!”)

Anyway, it’s like 1:30 and I’m about 15 minutes away from the airport. I’m clearly not going to be able to make the 2:20pm flight and probably not even the 2:30pm flight.

I get to ORD and somehow I manage to park in the outside parking lot instead of inside the garage where I normally park and where it’s also much closer to the terminals. Like I said, I was just acting on pure impulse at this time. So then I make a longer trek than normal to Terminal 2. Terminal 2, for your information, is NOT where AA is located at. They’re in Terminal 3. I mean, can this get any worse? So now I take the tram to Terminal 3 and proceed to the First Class check-in (which made me feel aristocratic).

I’m stuck with some desi chick, but to my surprise she was really cool. She told me that I was too late for the flights to Dallas and then tried to get me on a flight to Miami. The only problem was that I’d arrive in Miami at 8pm and the flight to San Jose was going to leave at 8:20pm. And I’d have to re-check my bags in because she couldn’t bypass that process. There was a similar situation for a later flight in Dallas. Arrive in Dallas at 6pm and then the flight to San Jose leaves at 6:20pm. Do I try my luck, I kept wondering? She then booked me for a 4pm flight to Miami and then a 10:30am (the next day!) flight to San Jose, which meant that I’d now have to get a hotel room and spend the night in Miami (which normally would be awesome, but not when you could potentially piss off your client for being late). I called my company’s travel agency to see if they could find me any other alternatives. The only other one was to fly to Denver, get there at midnight, and then take an overnight flight from Frontier Airlines to San Jose that would arrive at 5am. Umm, no. I’m not THAT concerned about pissing the client off or not. So then I resolved to stick with the flight that the AA desi chick set me up with.

On the bright side, good old HP/Harry Potter/Harry/Harris/Future bro-in-law happened to be in Miami so I could hang out with him and his in-laws for the evening.

And so off I went via my baller First Class status, mashaAllah (now I know how Farooq mashaAllah feels on a daily basis). You get so spoiled traveling first class. I don’t think I can travel any other way now. But more on that later.

So when I arrived in Miami, I noticed that we got there incredibly earlier than expected. We were due to arrive at 8am like I mentioned, but got in just before 7:30am. Wow, I wonder if I can make the 8:20?! By the time I got my luggage, though, it was getting close to 8pm and my glimmer of hope was soon fading. It was a nice thought, but what can you do? Despite the odds, I went to the check-in and tried my luck. I told the guy that I realize it’s late, but is there any chance that I could check into the 8:20pm flight to San Jose? He looked at me as if I was an idiot and said, “There isn’t an 8:20pm flight.” He then reminds me that I was booked for the 10:30am flight the next day. Thanks, man, I think I know that. I was actually a little confused about his statement because my travel agent and the AA agent both told me that there was an 8:20pm flight so I asked him again, “So there’s no 8:20pm flight scheduled to go to San Jose, Costa Rica?” He looked it up again and told me, “No.” But then he added, “That flight has been delayed. It’s now leaving at 9:15pm.”

My eyes shot up. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn't believe that the flight was delayed and I couldn't believe that this punk didn't share that information with me the first time I asked! “That’s awesome! Is there any chance I can get on that flight?!!” He held up his finger and told me to wait (yeah, so, clearly this guy has control issues in his life). Then he asked me how many luggage pieces I am checking in. Two, I told him. Before I know it, he prints out my new itinerary. I was booked to go San Jose and reach there Tuesday night as originally planned! SubhanAllah!

I was amazed. I mean, seriously. What were the chances of my flight arriving into Miami more than 30 minutes earlier than scheduled and then the connecting flight being delayed by an hour. In fact, more than an hour. It went from 8:20pm to 9:15pm to 10pm.

I finally arrived in Costa Rica sometime past midnight. One of the first things I thought about was how my fiancée reminded me to have trust in Allah. Hasbonallahu wa naimul wakeel. The very lose translation of that is Trust in Allah for there is no better Advocate than He. Perhaps Allah had reminded me about two things that day:

1. Trust in Him. I had resolved that whatever the outcome was going to be, I was going to trust that it was His Will and that I was going to be content with it no matter what.

2. Related to the point above is a reminder that no matter how we plan for things in our lives, it is all in Allah’s hands and happens the way He wants it to happen. No matter the odds, He has power over everything. La hawla wa la quwatta illa billah…

And no matter all the planning I had and despite me missing my flight and having little chance to catch the connecting flight, it’s all up to Allah. We can only hope and pray to keep this mind in everything we do.

I was also reminded that my mom, Farooq, and my fiancée all had made dua for me to make it and that Allah answered their duas, too. And so I’m grateful to them for it! And especially my mom’s because there’s nothing in this world that compares to the duas of your own mom.

Well, that’s it for now. Off to my meeting.


Buenas noches.

Wien Day 1

Hi

I found out that the Viennese people are fobs. Yep. You know how desi fobs pronounce W’s as “V’s” and vice versa? Well, the Viennese people are quite similar, but I think it’s just for the “W.” So when you see “Wien Day 1” up there, it’s really “Vien [the way it’s said indigenously] Day 1.” Just thought I should clarify that for my culturally unenlightened and lesser traveled readers. You are welcome. Actually, the thanks should go to my new BFF Rafeh (more to come on him later) for clarifying that because every time I saw “Wien,” I wanted to start singing the Oscar Meyer Wiener song.

So, upon my arrival in Vienna I was picked up in the baller style that I am accustomed to and expect (Mercedes S-Class) and naturally struck up some conversation with my driver on his past history (since his English was spot-on) as well as Vienna’s, of course. In case you were wondering about his history: He lives partly in Austria and partly in Canada. He came back to Austria after 20+ years in Canada to take care of his brother’s kids after his brother and sister-in-law tragically died. Hmm, that possibly changes the tune of this entry. Moving on...

He also told me about The Ring, The Hofsburg Family, and what to hit-up during my stay. I was in one of the nicer areas of Vienna – right by The Ring in the 1st District. Oh, I forgot. You probably aren’t familiar with what “The Ring” is, huh, young Hobbits? Sigh. Ok, so The Ring is basically a circle in Vienna’s city center – a ring, if you will – that you can walk around and see all of Vienna’s/Austria’s main attractions, which includes palaces, museums, konkerthaus (concert house), etc. So right off you know that Vienna is a place of historical significance (the World Wars, the Austrian-Hungarian Empire) and perhaps one of the world-wide capitols of art and music (enter some guys named Beethoven and Mozart).

Even though I was jet-lagged and tired (11 hour+ trip including a layover in Germany), I only allowed myself to sleep for just an hour or two because sleeping as per your normal sleep schedule when traveling far distances is the worst thing you can do. Giving yourself a power nap, though, gives you that boost you need to stay up and active and slowly help you adjust to the new time zone. Again, my lesser travelled readers, these are some precious rules of travelling knowledge I'm imparting upon you, so be sure to take notes and please try to keep up...


-- more later --

Vienna: Recap Coming Soon...

Gut Morgen!

The time has come for me to ride off into the sunset of my Viennese week-long tour. As always, expect a blog entry about the adventures and drama about my Vienna, Austria tour. (Ok, maybe not so much the drama.)

(a pic I took outside of the Hofsburg Palace)

Later

The Business of Politics: Marketing Marvels

Hi

I know I should be blogging about Vienna right now, but here in my room watching CNN, I feel compelled to write about some thoughts I have on politics in light of the recent issue with Barack and his "elitist" comments.

On some level, you do have to acknowledge that his comments are in fact elitist and a little out of touch with Working America. It's very convenient for someone of an affluent background to posit such a remark without much pause or realization of how it sounds. Of course, Obama's reality and the reality of Working America (and by "Working America" I mean largely blue-collar workers who "cling to guns or religion" because they are poor - apparently) is quite different. When you're in a better economic situation than others, you can fall into the mistake, as Obama did, of making broad, sweeping statements on issues you may not have direct knowledge or experience of. Unfortunately, it's not always that simple or, put more accurately, black and white (you should know that one, right, Barack?). Anyhow, this discussion lends itself towards another debate that deals essentially with the Have's and Have-Not's. Maybe another day for that.

What I want to concentrate on is the business of politics here. By making the controversial statement, Barack Obama Incorporated now has to get its dynamic PR group to devise of new marketing strategies for damage control in order to maintain its otherwise "People Person" image of its beloved CEO, Obama. And like any company with a strong vision and good product, it will bounce back (or so I hope). The avenues for its comeback will take different paths, but chief among them would be to lambaste The Hillary Clinton Corporation as to remove or limit the media slaughter Obama is going through. Hillary was recently seen throwing back some beers and a shot of alcohol to show just how "down" she is with the average consumer - that Working, bitter American.

Says Obama: "'Around election time, the candidates can't do enough for you. They'll promise you anything, give you a long list of proposals and they'll even come around, with TV crews in tow, to throw back a shot and a beer...'" By making this deliberate statement (as opposed to his inadvertent "bitter" statement which probably intended to say that Working Americans are bitter about the economic slump and lack of leadership), Obama Inc. tells us that Hillary Corp. has to make a concerted effort to fit in and be relevant to all demographics; whereas his campaign already provides that and everyone else is trying to catch up.

You can easily substitute Obama's name or Hillary's with competitors like McDonald's and Burger King or BMW and Mercedes. Consider McDonald’s saying "We offer coffee and salad, not just burgers and fries. Now everyone else like Burger King and Wendy’s is trying to catch up." In a way, wouldn’t that sound like Obama effectively saying “We offer change, not more politics. Now everyone else like Hillary Clinton or John McCain is trying to say the same thing after I said it.”

So you have to begin to wonder: How effective are these marketing campaigns? No matter how catchy or hip, is it the marketing efforts that these two entities are pursuing that will win them over with voters? Or will people default to whomever they like based on issues, not how images are leveraged or marketed? Look at it this way: Let's say you're like me and agree that Dunkin Donuts makes the best coffee out there period. Will a catchy new logo, phrase, or wonderfully imaginative commercial for Krispy Kreme change my opinion? Likely not. But what if they claim that they have a new taste for their coffee? Will that at least pry my interests at all? If McCain comes out and says that “Hey, I’ve changed my stance on foreign policy. We won’t stay there for 100 years [note: bad example, but you know what I’m getting at],” will that make me at least think twice about McCain?

I suppose you’re now getting into debates about whether or not the millions spent by a company for marketing a new/existing product will pay off. I’d have to be an experienced market researcher to comment on that definitively (or I’d have to know what the future holds), but from what little I do know, it seems like it can really go either way depending on how something is marketed. And that’s why we will continue to see comical images of Hillary Clinton getting crunked at a bar or Obama talking endlessly about how change is needed (which I happen to agree with).

The simple point(s) I’m making here is that over the past few years in politics, “candidate branding” is becoming more of the norm and I would say with reason, too. In a society where voter turnout and democratic participation is low, candidates need to find ways to stay as relevant as possible and as visible as possible to all demographics, especially younger ones. On that note, I strongly encourage you to read a recent article by Fast Company magazine (one of my favorite magazines) called The Brand Called Obama. The author makes great points about Obama’s phenomenal branding efforts and how businesses should do what they can to mimic his strategies. I mean, for example, Obama has one of Facebook’s founders directing his web image and using other media outlets or marketing tools to reach out to the masses. Anyway, that article and watching the current events in the campaign spurred this entry. It’s really quite impressive and offers new perspective as to the many different aspects of what a well-oiled political machine (or business) should be.


Live from Vienna.

Patek Philippe - Birth of a Legend

Hi

This video is phenomenal. It shows how much goes into a Patek Philippe watch. It's no wonder that a "cheap" Patek Philippe goes for $25,000.

Anyway, a friend and co-worker sent me this link after telling me that a friend of his got a $25k Patek Philippe watch from his older brother as a graduation gift and then a little while later, PAWNED the watch for $9,000 to get a fricken engagement ring for his fiancee (this guy is a highly educated professor, but doesn't make a lot of money). Regardless, that's just no excuse. My friend said that had he known his friend would've sold it for that cheap, he would've bought it off him.

Just goes to show you that love makes you do crazy things!



By the way, I love their office. I wanna work there now.

cheers

It's Closer Than You Think (guest blogger: Fahad)

AA

So upon hearing news of my engagement, my boy Fahad wrote me an ode of sorts. This is a great and hysterical account; much love to you, my man! Looking forward to more guest entries:

Blogger's Note: Some content has been edited out due to typical Masood-like wording. Such content has been noted with "[censored]" or "[bleeped]." Please contact me or Masood for the wording offline...:

True story:

I wake up on Tuesday, February 26th at 7.30 am. I typically wake up, and the first thing I do is check my work cell phone for emails. Usually I get emails from China, Germany, and Prague that don’t have anything to do with me. I delete them in the order that they are received. As I am scrolling down I see an email from Imran. Now the weird thing is that Imran never emails my work account, so to see his email was weird in itself, but then I read the email and now I know something is up:

Hi Fahad,

Give me a call when you can. Just heard you lost/damaged your phone. So call me from work tomorrow on my cell. Had to ask you something asap.

I had damaged my cell phone yesterday and posted this on our email list. Why would Imran care if I lost/damaged my phone, I thought to myself, Does he have an extra one or something? Maybe the same thing happened to him and he wanted me to call him to console him? Does he secretly work for T-Mobile?! All these questions were dancing in my head like a bhangra competition.

So I decided on my way to work I would call Imran and find out what was going on. We typically greet each other with a “do me” before salaam, and the phone conversation started off with loud “do me!” This is always great and really never gets old and the convo goes a little something like this:

Imran: “I heard you damaged your phone, [censored]?”
Me: “Yeah man, I [bleeped] it”
Imran: “Hahaha, that’s awesome”

Then there is an awkward silence.

Imran: “I wanted to let you know that I'M ENGAGED BRO!” (I can’t remember if he actually did say "bro," but I just added in there)
Me: “WHAT THE FRICK!! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN!? TALK ABOUT UNEXPECTED!”
Imran: “The baaat pakeee (solid confirmation) was last weekend”
Me: “No way! That is awesome, Mubarak!”

Then it hit me, getting married is a lot closer and easier than I thought! Maybe that’s a premature idea (twss), but just to think that a few weeks ago my good friend Imran was still a bachelor, and now he is engaged really put it into perspective. And that would be: If he can get hitched, I’m a shoe in! Haha, ok so I really didn’t think that but you could imagine what it would be like if I did. The point is, a lot of guys put too much thought into the whole process when really it’s not as hard as you think (twss, I’m sorry I just can’t help it).

With that being said, I am truly happy for our dear friend Imran “2pac” Shakur. Never would I imagined even just a few days ago that Imran would call me and say dude I’m engaged and not actually be joking. You see one time I got a text from him saying "I’m engaged," but I didn’t really believe it and someone (won’t mention names here [blogger's note: I don't mind, it was AH!]) hijacked his phone and sent that text out, but I knew it wasn’t true because that is not his style.

Over the next few months, the guys have to teach Imran a few things before he divulges into marriage which he may think he knows, but truly he has no clue!

1.) Burn those GD cargo pants! This is not 1994 Imran and you are not a wild man (as much as you like to think so). Just because Old Navy has a sale doesn’t mean you have to buy from them! We will teach you how to dress to meet your personality. You can be gq without trying to look like Taha or Sami or Masood.
2.) Teach you how to be a smooth “offline”. The key word being offline here. The thing with Imran is he loves to chat it up on blogs, online, and emails, but he is a bit more subdued in larger group settings. We will teach you how to work crowds, throw in some jokes, and have the crowd on your side without requiring you to take off your shirt (we all know you love to do this)
3.) Trim sideburns. Sometimes Imran has sideburns, and sometimes magically they are gone! I don’t understand it myself and I don’t even think David Blaine could do that trick. We will teach you how to keep them at all times.


Best of luck Imran! We will guide you thru this journey……

A Few Entertaining Websites

Hi

From my good friend Hamaad, for those who enjoy some geography and quick thinking:
http://budapestpocketguide.com/budapest-world-travel-iq-challenge-quiz.html

And some funny links provided by Farooq himself:
http://whitewhine.tumblr.com/
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/


:)

Old Man Ali

AA

Happy Birthday, Ali.

You're an even older fart than usual. I mean, at your age, what do you think about when you wake up in the mornings?

I wonder how my 401k is doing?

I just want some perspective since you're mashaAllah really, really old now. Older, but not wiser, I should add. Which leads me to my next question: When do you get wiser? At 40? 60? Well, either way, you're not that far off...

InshaAllah, I'll start posting more blog entries on how it feels to be young and in your twenties. Maybe it'll inspire you and maybe you'll recall those years so long ago...

Anyway. Much love always, man. Sal gira mubarak.


Sincerely...Your trusted heir of Kazakhstan

Bab'Aziz: the prince who contemplated his soul

Hi

Courtesy of my wannabe culturally sophisticated brother, Umar, a potentially interesting movie:



I'll probably be able to relate to this movie. It wasn't that long ago when two of my cousins (of the female persuasion, mind you) from the UK used to call me their prince. I was a wee lad at the tender age of five and they were teenagers or in college. I ruled their hearts with what can accurately be described as cute looks and a child-like innocence. I'm pleased to say that I still have the same affect upon woman these days (no, not just my cousins!).

Moving forward, you can call refer to me simply as "My Prince." It's kinda classy like Robin Williams in the timeless Dead Poets Society where he asked his students to call upon him by saying "Oh Captain, my captain!" I humbly ask that you do much the same: "Oh My Prince, My Prince!" Otherwise, I can't say that I guarantee any sort of response.

The contemplating of the soul part can be likened to my approach at Cold Stone. It takes a lot of soul searching to be able to have the ability and strength to select just one Love It ice cream size and flavor. Do you go for the new, limited-time only Chocolate Fantasy (featuring Ghiradelli's chocolate) or do you go for a classic, though fobby, Coffee Lovers? Sigh. These are the questions that only the wise can answer.

Signing off,
Your Prince


cheers

Badie's Wedding

AA

Alhamdullilah, beloved brother and DMC charter member Badie Ali - the well known chief operating officer of a major media conglomerate - recently got married and on top of that, got married to a girl who compliments our brother very nicely. But, she works (or worked) for the UN, so clearly her intellect more than compliments his, it surpasses him.

And so this past Sunday night, Badie honored his friends with the opportunity to share in his happiness by inviting us to his wedding celebration. This night was nothing short of a DePaul / DMC reunion, but with all of us in suits (sans Awais, but more on that later). Our table was overflowed with the likes of Fahad, Sami, Tariq, Eyad, Meraj, Taha, AJ, and A-Moose. Not to mention that there were other DMC guys like Aladdin (also newly wed, too, mashaAllah) and Mustafa Squared.



After getting our seats, the night officially started in royal fashion when Badie walked into the hall alongside his father, followed by close family and friends. I think Taha said it best when Badie entered: he looked like Arab royalty walking in as though he was about to claim the throne to Palestine. The happiness and excitement on his face was unmatched and soon enough that energy transferred to the dance floor. Now, Arabs are cool and all, but I am now completely convinced that they have no right making fun of desi dancing (i.e. screw in the light bulb dance, pet the dog, etc.). I mean, they're dancing consisted of a lot of skipping and holding of the hands. What's more is that I didn't see any swords being thrown around like dandias are at desi dance offs. In fact, later in the evening, me and my good friend Fahad aka Masood went out and documented this for your viewing pleasure. I think The Riyality Show (Omar) and I, however, did bridge the gap between Desi and Arab dancing with our hybrid performance of "East meets West and runs into the Middle East" fusion dancing. Be warned that the contents here are Rated R. Ok, maybe PG-13. Relax, just watch it below or click here:



What you didn't see here was the screw-the-light-bulb dancing Badie and I did in the middle. Also, I'm not entirely sure of some of the footage Masood caught (i.e. the posterior of some random Arab guy), but it's well captured and documented regardless. Much love, Masood. I can see future collaborations down the road...

Other highlights of the night had to include Awais. Awais in recent years has been caught seen in the back pocket of many an Arab including guys like Aladdin and Badie. That being the case, you can imagine our collective surprise when he came to the wedding in a gray sweater turtle neck and jeans. Yes, jeans. You know how there's always that one fobby desi guy that wears jeans to a wedding? Well, yeah, meet Awais. Ok, I should be a little sympathetic here considering how bad he felt. The poor guy forgot his dress shoes at home and didn't want to come in with his everyday shoes and suit. He called me asking for an extra pair, but I didn't have his size (though he later asked me to bring the extra pair well after I offered and well after I left home). Despite that, Awais' everyday shoes are actually black and he could have pulled off wearing the suit (I mean, it was a segregated wedding, Awais! You had no one to impress!). But, because he didn't feel it was appropriate, he came in his jeans. He also wouldn't enter the main hall and stick around as a result; he just stayed in the lobby and left after about 30-40 minutes. To his credit, he did come all the way from the city to give Badie a gift and to at least show his face (he also did have to go back to Indianapolis that night, too).

One of the quotes of the night had to be OR pointing to AJ saying, "This is Corporate America" based on AJ's very professional, well-groomed look and then immediately point to Tariq saying, "This is R&B" based on Tariq's dark brown, pin-stripped suit that was reminiscent of what many R&B singers or rap artists would rock at award shows. But he did pull off the look extremely well, mA.

Finally, and perhaps the most important "event" of the night, there was the presentation of the dessert. It was a masterpiece and our only regret was that we were too stuffed to enjoy every single item on the dessert menu. The menu was very Grand Lux-esque (i.e. a huge variety); even Taha himself couldn't hide his excitement. You could've almost mistaken him for me at that moment.

Anyway, I'm very appreciative to have been a part of this happy occassion in a good friend's life, mashaAllah. Seeing Badie happy and having good friends come together to celebrate it is absolutely priceless. We wish the newly wed endless happiness and pray that Allah (swt) blesses them with love, mercy, and success. May Allah facilitate to them all good and protect them from all evil. Allah huma sali Allah Muhammad. Ameen.


Much love, Badie