maybe out of sheer boredom, or too many nerdy thoughts always going through my head, or just to find a good use for the domain, i've started a humorous (so claim those who read it) blog about youth and the problems they face in looking to get married (basically some of my theories about the whole marriage process).
you can check it out here.
update - i closed it down 
"the way of the Prophets is a difficult path to follow - they were all hurt and slandered by their people, and while they could have retaliated, they didn't. but we have to do our best to follow it..."
this is roughly what someone i really respect told me today after he was cursed out for no reason. while he could easily have hit the guy or cursed him back out, he kept silent. the whole time i could see him on the verge of snapping, but he managed to keep his cool.
truly, as the Prophet said, the rough meaning of which is, "the strong one isn't by the physical strength, but it is the one who can control himself at the time of anger."
it is really hard for the nafs to remain silent, especially when it is wronged and has strength over the one who has wronged it. when a person is patient, however, they send a much stronger message.
may Allah reward him for his patience and grant him and his family utmost happiness in this life and in the hereafter. ameen.
this past weekend, ustaz amr khaled visited us here in the bay area. he came to jum3ah at mca. it was really a surprise to me (i knew he was giving a talk the following day, but i didn't know he'd come to jum3ah). i felt extremely happy when i saw him, and started thinking about what i would say if i could get to talk to him.
he gave a brief 1 or 2 minute talk in english - i was happy that he said our masjid was like a "hug" and that it felt different than any of the masajid he'd seen in europe. i think i had a smile on my face the whole time.
afterwards, i had the honor of shaking his hand, hugging him, and speaking one sentence to him and getting a reply back. i also tried to get someone to take a picture of me with him.
but after seeing the crowds of people rush him to say salams, get a picture with him, or even get an autograph in some cases, i stopped and asked myself a question...
if i was this excited about talking to amr khaled, wanted to find something memorable to say to him, wanted to tell all my friends that i talked to him and hugged him... what about on the day of judgment when we see the Prophet Muhammad (صلي الله عليه و سلم)?
my name was mentioned on the messenger blog in this post - check it out.