Imagine a future moment in your life where all of your dreams come true. You know that it’s the greatest moment of your life and you get to experience it with one person. Who is standing next to you?

-p sawyer

It’s quite possible this song was written about me.

When Did Your Heart Go Missing?, by Rooney 

Love don’t come so easily
This doesn’t have to end in tragedy
I have you and you have me
We’re one in a million
Why can’t you see?

I’m waiting, waiting for nothing
You’re leaving, leaving me hanging
When did your heart go missing?
When did your heart go missing?
I treat you like a princess
But your life is just one big mess
When did your heart go missing?
When did your heart go missing, yeah?

I meant every word I said
I never was lying when we tucked in bed
I’m retracing every step in my head
What did I miss back then?
I was so, so misled

I’m waiting, waiting for nothing
You’re leaving, leaving me hanging
When did your heart go missing?
When did your heart go missing?
I treat you like a princess
But your life is just one big mess
When did your heart go missing?
When did your heart go missing?

I don’t understand
How could you forget what we had,
It’s so wrong

I’m waiting, waiting for nothing
You’re leaving, leaving me hanging
When did your heart go missing?
When did your heart go missing?
I treat you like a princess
But your life is just one big mess
When did your heart go missing?
When did your heart go missing?

Yeah!

Things were so good
We had a little dream
A little dream together
Buy a house, settle down, do our thing
But you disappeared on me
And your heart, your heart went missin’
I don’t know how to find it
I don’t know where it is
I don’t know where your heart went
It was here just the other day
Now it’s gone
I’m gonna call the police
Call the investigator, the heart investigator

It’s not like we try to be heartless.

“Goodbye my love.” He doesn’t say it. There’s no room for softness…not in Sparta. No place for weakness. Only the hard and strong may call themselves Spartans.
Only the hard, only the strong.

Are you not the slightest bit confused?
Just the truth
The speed at which we move blends so well
It’s too soon

Separate yourself from what compels you to relinquish us
Push your way on to me, entirely
Stay away from me, stay away from me now
Less you gonna see, less you gonna see me out

No, I can’t dance less it’s slow or sad
To a song that’s far less obvious
You using me, do it slowly
Make it last until I have to go

Trust me when I say just a few more weeks
Don’t move
Resist temptation
Or do you see fit, just choose

Separate yourself from what compels you to relinquish us
Push your way on to me, entirely
Stay away from me, stay away from me now
Less you gonna see, less you gonna see me out

No, I can’t dance less it’s slow or sad
To a song that’s far less obvious
You using me, do it slowly
Make it last until I have to go

No, I can’t dance less it’s slow or sad
To a song that’s far less obvious
You using me, do it slowly
Make it last until I have to go

No, I can’t dance less it’s slow or sad
To a song that’s far less obvious
You using me, do it slowly
Make it last until I have to go

Stay away from, stay away from, stay away from me

Stay away from, stay away from, stay away from me

Stay away from, stay away from, stay away from me

I registered to vote for the first time in my life today.

Are YOU registered?

What if you had the opportunity to go somewhere where you know no one from your current life, and you’re allowed to be anyone you want to be.  Would you be kinder?  Ruder?  Happier?  Funnier?  Sluttier?  These people probably won’t even see you again, you can pretty much do anything you want and get away with it.
 
I had this opportunity three years ago when I went to a weekend-long leadership conference through my high school.  I can’t even remember where we went, but we met with students from nearby states, and we stayed at a campsite somewhere up north.  I do remember that it was cold, so it was probably in February or March.  Anyway, I was the only Muslim there, but honestly, I could have been anything.  I was at a point in my life where I felt so restricted at home, that being without a clear set of boundaries was a new world to me.  What did I do?  To tell you the truth, nothing!  I always told myself that if I got this sort of opportunity, I would be totally different.  But instead, I was SHY.  Me, shy?!  It was the strangest feeling.  I felt like a different person.  Today was the first time I looked at all of the pictures from that weekend, and it doesn’t even look like me in the picture.  It was such a strange experience.  What held me back?  I’ve never been quiet or shy or timid a day in my life.  I still can’t put my finger on it.  It’s one of those things where I want to go back and do it again, just to see if I would be the loud and outgoing person I really am.

I guess I should have said something.  Anything.  I mean, for a guy who wants to be a writer, it suddenly seemed like no words had ever been written.  But when someone tells you that they somehow stopped missing you?  You’re pretty much screwed no matter what you say.

-Lucas, One Tree Hill (4×01)

A moment of silence is due for the extremely talented and beautiful Heath Ledger.
Honestly, what an actor. It is possible that after TDK’s release, he is getting far more attention and praise than what is necessary, but seriously? I was so impressed. I really enjoyed Batman Begins, but the director really stepped it up with this film. The late Ledger’s portrayal of Joker was iconic.
Some classic lines from the movie that I know I’ll forget unless I write them down somewhere…
“I just want my phone call” -Joker

-”You think you can steal from us and walk away?” -Mobman
-”Yeah.” -Joker

“Madness is like gravity, all you need is a little push!” -Joker

“Kill you?!? I don’t want to kill you! You… complete… me!” -Joker to Batman

*Lieutenant Gordon is promoted to Commissioner as officers in county jail erupt in applause, turn to Joker, who also begins clapping* [note: apparently Heath Ledger improvised when it came to his applause, and director Chris Nolan urged the cameramen to keep filming]

…And so many more that I can’t think of at the moment. I read that, in order to prepare for the role, Heath Ledger lived alone in a hotel room for a month. He perfected Joker’s psychology, posture, and speech during this time, the speech being the most difficult to do. Christian Bale was, of course, fabulous in the movie. He seems like someone who takes his work so seriously (no pun intended). He really tried to establish the dual character of Bruce Wayne and Batman, and he did an amazing job. Plus, he looked great while doing it. Maggie Gyllenhall, in my opinion, totally topped Katie Holmes. First of all, she doesn’t annoy me as much. Second of all, she doesn’t annoy me as much.

I watched it twice already, which must mean that this movie topped my favorite superhero movie up to this point, Spiderman 2. I think I’ll have to watch it again, just to soak in all of the greatness in the movie.

i visited my sick uncle today.

i suppose one could say that he is not quite sick, but he is on his deathbed. he has been battling cancer for the past couple of years, and at this point, there is nothing left he can do. his organs have been failing him one by one.
when i saw him today, he was not the man i once knew. my uncle has always been an active and jovial man. the best ways i have gotten to know him are through his love for nature and God’s creation. he had a huge aquarium for several years, and every time we came to visit, we commented on his newest fish, the deep maroon color of its fin, or its quirky body shape.
my sister and i were always looking for things to do in his great big house. all of his children were older than us, so we were treated like the kids we were. thanks to our uncle, who always seemed to buy everything in bulk – even the things that would never be utilized in a house with no children – we discovered pop-ice. for some reason, he went through a phase where he bought big boxes of flavor-ice popsicles, the pop-ice name brand. my sister and i snuck down into the basement in the middle of the night snooping for the box. we’d choose our favorite colors to freeze, gauging the appropriate amount according to the number of nights we would be staying. the next night, after our parents went to bed, we snuck down and slurped on our secret treats, returning to bed with our tongues stained blue and red.
and then there were the geese. he was the only man i ever knew who owned and cared for geese. since he had a pond built in his backyard, owning geese does, in fact, make sense. there were four of them: snowy white with bright orange beaks. a hungry fox came down to the cage and devoured them one night, so that phase ended quickly.
i remember the year he bought his dream car. after marrying off two of his daughters, he bought his beautiful black jag. too bad i was too young to drive it at the time, but only recently has it hidden itself in the garage.
he has the most distinct laugh. whenever i think of the living room, i picture all of our parents and aunts and uncles sitting amongst each other, laughing and talking. his laugh is forever embedded in my memory.

seeing him today really hit me hard. no longer can he laugh, he has lost his voice, and he now only speaks in strained whispers. and only when completely necessary. his face is sunken in; it’s as if he has aged fifteen years in two months. his skin and the whites of his eyes are yellow, due to the jaundice that set in one month ago. sores and scabs cover his body, where random infections have engulfed his skin. he no longer walks, eats, nor goes to the bathroom on his own. my uncle is on his deathbed. the fear in his family’s eyes in non-existent. clear in their eyes, however, is their worry and their pain. now my uncle lays in the living room as everyone sits around him. yesterday, even he became emotional; he hated having everyone see him like this. he can no longer entertain his guests.

it’s only a matter of time.
my uncle is on his deathbed.