R is for Rehan (maybe)

Once in a while, when I don't know what I want to listen to, I look through my itunes list to see if any long ignored bands catch my attention. This weekend that band turned out to be Megadeth, who I havn't listened to since last winter. They are fairly similar to Metallica, but better (I'm not a big Metallica fan). The only really salient feature of Megadeth for me is that it reminds me of the guy who lived across the hall from me during the first term of last year. Now, I'm not sure how common this is, but I instantly recalled what he looked like, our interesting conversations, ect, but I couldn't remember his name, except that it begins with an R. Not only that, but I felt like his name was on the tip of my tongue all day. It drove me nuts. I even asked some of my floormates from last year, but all they could remember was the R too. In fact one got really frustrated with the tip of the tongue thing too. So, his name is one of those names that is really close to a common name, but at the same time different. My current guess is Rehan, and I will now call him Rehan, but something about that name doesn't sit quite right.

Rehan is one of those people I doubt that I will ever forget. Not because we were close, or spent much time together (we didn't), but because I doubt I will meet anyone quite like him again. Let us start with the basics. Rehan was in his mid twenties, and was in his first year of studies at ubc (in engineering). He is from Pakistan, and is rediculously wealthy. And that is probably the most important thing to remember about him. He claimed that prior to coming to Vancouver he had never cooked himself a meal, had never cleaned dishes, had never done laundry. He had never even used a toaster before. Why? Because he had a massive housestaff. He had a guy who, in the winter, would go out and warm the car for him when he wanted to drive somewhere. Now, here in north america, house staff is basically unheard of. I mean, you can have a chef, a maid, a gardener...that's like three tops. More than that seems a bit silly. But not so at Rehan's place (or should I say places?). His father was a general in the Pakistani army, but had retired and was now more of a wealthy buisnessman. Now, the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the rich son of a military figure in the Pakistani army is that he'll probably be pretty strict or dogmatic about things. But, what always struck me about him is that he about the most laid back person I have ever met. And he loved it here. He actually liked doing his laundry. It was a genuinely novel experience for him, and it hadn't acquired the negative "chore" stereotype it has for children most places. He had the most amazing stories. He had been stationed (as an officer in the army) in Kashmir. And perhaps the most astonishing thing about it was that he was kicked out of the army because he protested the conflict by going right to the border and playing chess with an Indian officer doing the same on the other side. To me, the prospect of being an officer in Kashmir and protesting by playing chess with the opposing army is...well, admirable. And frankly, I thought you'd probably get executed for that type of thing. But I guess that is where having a father in high places has its benefits. And you may ask...why do I believe such a story? Well, I think almost anyone who had met him would. He was incredibly sincere, and it fit with everything else he said, even when very drunk. I mean, we would sit on my floor listening to nine inch nails or led zepplin (he was very into hard music, and introduced me to megadeth) and drink beer and vodka. And we would drink a lot. But through it all his story never changed...so he would have to have been an incredible liar.
When I think about it, I think his laid back attitude can largely be attributed to the fact that he, more or less, had nothing to worry about. He was living in residence, going to school at UBC, even though he had a personal fortune and a place in Dubai. Not his family home, but his personal "pad" complete with fancy cars and housestaff. Just sitting there unoccupied. It was refreshing to meet a rich person who cared so little about money. Very refreshing. And we had very interesting conversation about the way life differed here from Pakistan. One thing that amazed him here was women. He didn't understand them at all. You have to picture him in Pakistan, rolling around in a fancy car, and picking up any girl he wanted. In Pakistan, so he said, he could have almost any girl he wanted, all he had to do was, more or less, buy them with a nice dinner, or an expensive trinket. But here, girls didn't work that way. Some girls would refuse his advances no matter how rich he appeared. And almost everytime we ran into each other (generally when i was getting up for class and he was getting back from a night out on the town), he would smile at me and say "canadian girls". No matter how many times it happened he just didn't understand girls that were more interested in personality than money. And the great part about it was that he loved it, the challenge of it. It was a world in which, for once, he could not get whatever he wanted. And so, Rehan, wherever you are, and whatever your real name may be, I hope life is treating you well.