Letter to Erin 20160111

In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

Hello Princess.  Hi Peaches.  Staying busy?  There's always something to do around here.  Sundays I have to clean my parents' house in the morning.  I started my morning at 5 am, so I was hammered by noon.  Good thing I got a nap in before voice training.  After that, I started work on my hydroponic system, but I didn't get a chance to finish it.  I had to stop to take down the green coconuts before the squirrels devoured them.  I used to get quite a few ripe coconuts over at your house inshaAllah, but nowadays they don't get a chance to ripen because the squirrels get them first.  At least the young coconuts make a great drink, which my Mom loves.

By the time I got done with that, it was almost sunset.  Gosh, how time flies!  I needed to buy a new grill, and I didn't want to travel during the day because of how blistering hot it's been.  Which is a good thing because it's supposed to be a heat wave this time of year, which means there isn't any weather distortion.  So I took a shower and went to the thrift store to get my grill.  I bought a concrete grill this time, shaped like a bucket.  It isn't very big as I had to fit it in my motorcycle basket, but I don't use a whole grill anyway: I always cook away from the direct heat when I grill.  A stone grill should last me a lifetime.  I prayed the sunset prayer with the congregation at the main mosque downtown, then took off immediately to find dinner.

It's not a simple matter to roam around and find a good place to eat around here, because everything looks blah: you have to know where to go.  I think it's the same all over the world: a restaurant is either dead or extremely busy.  Rather, it's either too busy or not busy enough.  McDonald's was REALLY busy.  I guess that's the place to be on Sunday night around here, so I decided to get my usual.  The restaurant next door was busy too, by sympathy I guess.  It's an India style rice place: I remember these guys used to have their shop underneath my Dad's law office.  But McDonald's here is super busy.  It's almost like the center of the universe: I ate my double cheeseburger value meal by the entrance, and there were all walks of life going through.  Malay, Chinese, India, Arabs, etc.  A double cheeseburger used to be RM5 last Ramadan, now it's RM7.95.  Tastes the same as ever, plus it gave me heartburn.  Probably just the shift in my routine.  They have a coffee bar here, where you can buy your double espresso.  They made me watch the Hornets at Clippers game.  I wonder if it had been live?

Anyway, please take good care of yourself and don't overwork.  I love you and I need you.