TERM 1
Opening
DEFINITION 1
Hello everyone, Im Mike. Im Haiders best man. When Haid er asked me to say a
few words today, I told him I needed at least 20 minutes because thats how long
it would take me to get through all of the em barrassing stories I have about him.
But, I decided to be nice (pause)Just come fin d me later in the night. For those of
you who dont know us, thats the kind of re lationship we have. I do most of the
jabbing and Haider smiles and laughs and trie s not to kill me. Haider always says
that he can lack in patience, but being friend s with me proves thats definitely not
true. When you hear these speeches at wedding s people always talk about how
they first met. I wanted to do something a lit tle different, but whenever I sat
down and started thinking about what to say, I was always being pulled back to
that time. Ive known Haider for almost half of m y life now and weve shared a lot
of memories, but for whatever reason that 2 nd day of university always stands
out to me.
TERM 2
At University - Day 1
DEFINITION 2
To set this scene you have to realize that the Haider that stands before you today
is much different than the Haider of 13 years ago. That Haider grew up in the
mean streets of Scarborough listening to Tup acbefore he turned to the Dark Side
of Pink Floyd. That Haider would have never love d to play charades or do
anything that would embarrass himself like r un down the full length of a street
pretending to ride a horse and screaming yee haw at the top of his lungs. That
Haider had also only been in Canada for a cou ple of years at that point and had
definitely never encountered the kind of thin g he would be seeing that first day
at the University of Guelph. Something that w ould cause him great pain and
anguish and cause him to re-think his entire decision to go there. Until fate
intervened. Now, Its important to note the entire goal of the first day of
orientation at our school was to embarrass ev eryone. Ok, they were probably
trying to get everyone to laugh and become more comfortable with each other.
But it definitely didn't feel like it at the time. Its also important to note that
Haider was late for the opening orientationve ry late. I was not. I was supe r
excited to go to a school where I knew no o ne and could meet tons of new
people. And the way the university decided to go about it was to make each
residence come up with a choreographed da nce to represent the places we all
lived in. Ours was called Maritime and I have no idea what kind of interpretive
dance we came up with. Im sure its a burie d and repressed memory at this point.
So, anyways, after about an hour of nonsens ical and terribly choreographed
dance practice we were all ready to assembl e on the football field to perform in
front of all the other residences and one by o ne proceed to make fools of
ourselves. Except for Haider. Because he wa s SO LATE he saw exactly what was
happening from afar. So what does Haider de cide to do? And remember we're
talking about a cool, city kid watching a bunc h of country kids dancing on a
field...so naturally he just took off. For the rest of the day he was never seen by
anyone. You know, I actually still have no ide a to this day what happened to him
that night. As for myself, I actually didnt hav e a great first night. I didnt know
anyone and my floormates had plans with ot her friends from other residences.
So, I kind of just spent the first night alone. It was one of the loneliest moments in
my life. I was second-guessing my decision as well.
TERM 3
At University - Day 2
DEFINITION 3
But, the sun came up and I woke up hungry and decided to head
out for some food. I stepped out of my roomand there he was. The
man I knew I wanted to spend the re st of my life with. Haider
wasnt going to get food though. He w as about to leave for the rest
of the week and come back when c lasses started. He was very,
very scarred by what he saw the nig ht before. But, I introduced
myself and he decided to stay and gr ab some lunch with me. Then
we played some pool and hung out so me more. And Haider
decided to stay for good. And from that day forward weve
remained best friends.
TERM 4
After University
DEFINITION 4
For 13 years weve spent time near a nd far. From Hamilton to
Montreal to Jordan and as far as South Korea. For a lot of
relationships, the distance would be a killer. Luckily Im an expert
on the long distance relationship. But, weve really had to work at
it. We had to put in the time. There were lots of visits, phone calls,
chats and lonely nights. But we made it. And were here today to
celebrate that(Raise glass)
TERM 5
To the Bride &
Groom
DEFINITION 5
But, in all seriousness, I knew this day was coming the very first time Haider told
me about Amira. Ironically enough it happen ed over lunch and a couple of games
of pool. I could see in the way he spoke abo ut her that he had already fallen for
her very hard. And I always knew that Haider would make a great husband. The
traits that Haider exudes in our friendship he brings to the rest of his
relationships. The two biggest in my mind are his generos ity and his loyalty.
Haider is always willing to put others before himself and will do anything for
those that he loves. That is the foundation o f a successful marriage in my mind.
And I know that Haider loves Amira very dee ply and that he will always put her
first and do whatever it takes to make sure s he always feels loved and safe. To
AmiraIm personally very excited to have you in our lives. Now, Ill finally be able to
talk sports with someone! We may have to do something about your team
choices though But seriously, were excited to get to kn ow you much better over
the coming years and we hope to share cou ntless memories together with you
and Haider. I know that you two will make e ach other incredibly happy and Im
truly honoured to help celebrate your special day. A toast to the bride and
groomTo Haider and Amiracheers!
