My first encounter with him was as eccentric as he is; a random e-mail in my inbox in the first quarter of 2006, gravely entitled, “Pen Pal Proposal.”

His name is Musa, and he is the most brilliant human being you could ever possibly meet, although at that point, all I knew about him was what he chose to tell me about himself : “Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I’m bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.”

Many months later, after wooing me with a red Sharpie and his knowledge of Andy Warhol, I started to really get to know Musa. I discovered that he writes out to-do lists on tissues and scraps of paper practically every day and these lists always start with “Wake up,” that he spends 95 percent of the year in navy blue Adidas sweatpants with the white stripes on the sides, and that he can’t fix electrical appliances for the life of him. :)

I also discovered, way before either of us hinted to the other that we even like one another, that Musa is the guy I want to spend the rest of my life with.

If you know the cynical, realistic person that I’ve always been, you will know how surprising my discovery was. To me, most of all.

You will be even more surprised to know that here I am today, a few months into our relationship, completely unable to resist writing about our choice to take a step forward towards a life together; a step we hadn’t planned, a step that had never even been discussed yet – seriously, between the two of us – not even as I write these words today. I have no idea when this step might be taken; perhaps a year from now, perhaps three years from now, perhaps less, perhaps more. Yet
regardless of when, in my heart, and for some crazy reason that I cannot even begin to comprehend, I know that this step is inevitable.

For now, I will just enjoy being happy knowing Musa, who is very far away at the moment, as well as try to imagine how ecstatic I’ll be feeling as I finally “publish” these words.

The day you’re reading this certainly must be the best day of my life.

- Roobii
(February 09, 2007, 1:28 PM, Amman)

Quick note: I love you Sara M., Noor S., and Hala K..