Happy New Year. ~ I had just gotten back to the apartment in [[nuremburg, germany|Nuremburg]] when I checked my phone and saw Dua asking me to send a picture of myself for my Oman visa. Dua and I were planning to visit Savar in Abu Dhabi for a few days, during which Dua planned to take us to [[muscat, oman|Muscat]] for a day trip. Naturally, I knew none of this background information — I'm not exactly the best at reading chats — but when Dua asks me to jump, I say how high. I sat down, took a selfie — quietly laughing to myself at some earlier joke in the groupchat — and sent it off. ~ I've been in Abu Dhabi for about a week now. Around four days into the trip, Savar "rediscovered" this photo, which he thinks is very "cutie patootie" because of the restrained smile. Henceforth, an elaborate game was established. Anytime a "bro says he is not a cutie patootie; also bro:" meme pops up in his feed, he shows me the selfie. Anytime a lull in conversation happens, he shows me the selfie. Anytime an animal passes by, he shows me the selfie. Anytime he picks up his phone, he shows me the selfie. And, of course, anytime ~90 minutes passes, he shows me the selfie. Realistically, there's a lot of neutral/negative time when travelling. Lulls, instagram scrolling, walking, taxis, every gathering place closes at a specific time, etc. I originally wrote this post to comment on how even the selfie —which has exponentially outlasted its predicted brevity — will cease to be funny someday, contrary to Savar's strong belief that it will never get old. Yet as I wrote this post, reflecting on the trip, I realise what I recall are the silly little things, like the selfie, rather than the larger chunks of grey time. I remember riding jetskis, riding ATVs, and semi-riding camels; yet I also remember clucking sounds, impromptu magic shows warding off the appetisers, and — the real magic — Dua's bargaining ability. Being shown the selfie consistently was a reminder that just being with friends transforms the downtime into little, unexpected moments of laughter or energy: moments that were, yes, always impermanent, often insignificant, and occasionally immoral; but moments that, when added up, made all the difference.