Jai Ho.

Khaled Said. Or Khaled Fathi as he likes to call himself. Kito, K2K, or a legend, as I like to call him.

Khaled is the smartest person I know, by far. 

He was never an A-class student, far from it, but he is a genius. This post is 17 years late. In 2006, I penned one of my favourite posts, here, and Khaled, at the time, was still a newbie. He was frustrated that he wasn't part of it, and I told him back that he needed to 'earn' his place amongst us and become a constant. Khaled delivered and was a regular at the ahwa, and a year later (or two - I am not so sure), he moved to Dubai and has been there, ever since. There is no specific reason why I am writing this now.

The truth is, I've been wanting to write about Khaled ever since, but as usual, life came on the way, and maybe, rightly so, he deserves a more fitting blogpost, over just a paragraph in a post that contains tens more. Khaled joined our gang in the year 2005 to be exact, after he came to the ahwa with Wael. Wael was taking a post-grad course in the AUC and Khaled was his instructor. When Khaled came, he automatically recognised Heema and other people who were part of the gang, as he used to go to school with them. He was our age. It struck me back then how can someone our age, be a 'teacher' to others our age, or older. Khaled was a different character. He used to dress smart, coming to the ahwa in a suit, while the rest of us were in shorts, trainers or even our pyjamas. I remember he was dating a girl at the time, and soon was getting engaged, and he only invited Wael and Heema to his engagement. I wasn't annoyed that I didn't get invited back then, but of course, a little part of me felt rejected. We used to tell him he needed to cool down his stubbornness; stories like one day racing the girl's father on the highway just to prove that he is not inferior to him (driving a cheaper car). There were situations when I felt that Khaled was trying 'hard' just to prove a point. A point to himself, to those around him, and to the world. Later on, I realised that we are all trying hard to prove something. It wasn't just him. We all felt and still feel inferior in a way, but Khaled was a couple of steps ahead already in how he figured out how the world operates. 

I could write tales about Khaled's determination, will to succeed, and never-say-never attitude, and it still won't do him justice. Khaled was always (still is), the most successful person I know. I call him the 'millionaire' friend of mine but jokes aside, it is not material things that Khaled possesses. It's his mindset. I believe that if I had a mindset like him, I would accomplish the impossible. As I said in the beginning, he is the smartest person I know. Khaled can sit and listen to me for hours, and will never interrupt me. Not once. And when he talks, he will tackle every point, not bypassing anything. He will fix me. He always does. Whenever I am down, whenever I need someone to talk to, whenever I feel helpless, very few people can get me out of the state I am in and reposition or reset my mindset, and Khaled is at the top of that list. Khaled could be an HR professional, but he did everything. He worked in sales, and not just any sales, but door-to-door sales promoting videogames, he is a standup comedian, an aspiring author who doesn't want to publish a book, a great storyteller, a licensed sailor, a corporate trainer, an impeccable linguist, a coffee addict, a life coach, an entrepreneur, a computer science lecturer, and above all, a human, with a heart of gold. 

Almost a year ago, I had a nice one-on-one with Khaled, where I was hoping he would fix me - and he did, as he always does, but on that night, Khaled, for the first time, opened up to me, and what he told me that night, made me realise that the person I am sitting with, my friend and mentor, is not only a true master of the craft, but he is the most compassionate, genuine and kind-hearted person I will ever meet. We all have our own personal struggles, but some of the stuff he had to go through in life, really, no man I know would ever be able to conquer. 

Just like my post back in 2006, I will end this one in the same way. The first time I met Khaled was at Ya Hala Cafe when Wael brought him, however, many years later, I think in 2011 or 2012, I was watching one of my mom's old camcorder tapes, when she came to my nursery - this was circa 1987/1988, and while watching that hazy blurry video, I came across Khaled. Who would have thought?