Letter to Julia 20140113

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

Hey there, my most beloved Julia and Erin.  I didn't get a chance to blog my love for you on Saturday, because the Internet cafe was closed.  They usually open late on Saturdays, but after going to the market for more wontons plus other errands, I couldn't wait for them anymore, besides I had woken up late myself.  Of course I could have gone to the other at the other end of town and typed everything in, but I was running out of time until singing time, so I went straight home.  I'm sure you have observed that I don't do anything outside of my routine inshaAllah, this routine of waiting for you.  But I posted Saturday's letter today, if you wish to read it.  Please forgive me.  I love you so much.  I think of you and pray for you all the time.

Aaaaaaa.... I had to do ironing... I hate doing laundry... before that I made a batch of dough.  I seem to be making dough all the time now.  My Mom consumes a lot of it, and I eat it everyday for breakfast.  Just a tortilla, and some sauce to dip it in.  My dipping sauce is a bit strong right now, I think I'll add a can of sardines to dilute it.  Remind me to pick up some sardines on the way home from blogging this letter.  For dinner it was beef tenderloin and potatoes stewed in my shrimp combination marinade.  Thank you God, it was awesome.  When we are married inshaAllah, we'll plan all our meals OK?  Please be patient, my beloved.  Patience is the next best thing to bliss, and it's something you can control.  Please pray.

As you should already know, there is no priesthood in Islam: every person has a direct line to God, and no mediator thereof.  So there are no priests in Islam who hoard wealth taken from the people in the name of God, who for certain will receive a heavy penalty for doing so.  Sure, I have to live a spiritual life, but I'm no priest or holy man.  I am a musician.  I live day to day and dollar to dollar for the Cause of Allah, because I've realized that this is the only way for me to live.  I invest my life, as I have for decades now, for this music that Allah has given me, for the Cause of Allah, and not because no one else cares enough about this music so as to invest in it.  If I seem to have courage while everyone else is a coward, then that as well as the music is a gift from Allah.  Perhaps Allah will grant me my reward in this life as well as the Hereafter, with my Julia and Erin.

Letter to Julia 20140109

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

YOOOOOOOLIIIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!!!

Hello again!  I love you, I love you!  Right now I'm writing my love for you, while watching the Victoria's Secret fashion show 1998.  Wow, the show sure has changed since then.  I must say, if you really want to hear my male chauvinistic or spotty teenager point of view, that the show was more attention grabbing back then.  Probably because there was less haute couture, and no video of 2 men looking into each other's eyes and rapping to each other.  But hey, I'll always watch the show if my Sweetie's there.  Guaranteed.

Stuffed wontons!  You would LOVE stuffed wontons, I bet.  It's such dainty and feminine food, but oh so good.  I could eat 100 of them in one go, but today I only had 30.  It's only too easy to let gluttony go out of check when there's good food around.  Nowadays I seem to have a lot of young coconut meat available, so today's stuffing was shrimp, coconut meat, garlic, onions, and lime leaves, blended together of course.  Oh, yummy!

Qur'an 20140109

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

23.  O you who believe!  Take not for protectors your fathers and your brothers if they love infidelity above Faith.  If any of you do so, they do wrong.

24.  Say, "If it be that your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your mates, your kindred, the wealth you have gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline, or the dwellings in which you delight are dearer to you than Allah and God's messenger, or the striving in God's cause, the wait until Allah brings about God's Decision.  And Allah guides not the rebellious."

The Repentance 9:23-24
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If it be that your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your mates, your kindred, the wealth you have gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline, or the dwellings in which you delight are dearer to you than Allah and God's messenger, or the striving in God's cause, the wait until Allah brings about God's Decision.  And Allah guides not the rebellious.

Letter to Julia 20140108

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

Hello Wednesday, my dearest Julia and Erin.  My, how time flies.  It's already 2014.  I just made a commitment to call the prayer at the local mosque during the weekdays, the Dhuhur and Asr prayers, or the high noon and late afternoon prayers respectively.  Which would make it right before and after my daily voice training.  When we are married inshaAllah, I would expect you to follow me to these prayers, especially if we have plans to go out, but more because I don't ever want to leave you by yourself.  I don't even want to leave you to throw out the garbage.

I didn't make it in to blog because I went to buy some tenderloin, then I grilled a fish.  It was a fairly big scad, with a massive amount of roe, which my Mom gave me last week but I only found the time to cook today.  It was sliced up the back, which I don't particularly like.  For stuffing, I put young coconut flesh, onions, garlic, ginger, chilli paste, cilantro stems, and a peeled lime in the blender.  Chee Cheah never hangs around the house during the day, but somehow she knew I was grilling a fish, so she was present and a-meowing for her snackipoo.  Later, in the evening, someone had thrown a fish on my driveway which I found.  It looked like a tilapia.  No, I didn't grill it.  The ants had already claimed it.

So what's for dinner?  Last night I bought a kilo of fresh shrimp for real cheap: RM8 per kilo.  Not as attractive or as large as white shrimp, but fresh and clean.  Would you like to know the secret of shrimp?  Well, I'll just show you.  Hint: think "bisque".  Otherwise, fork out the bucks for jumbo shrimp.  I made a batch of shrimp injections.  I'm sorry, croquettes.  Tomorrow, it's wontons again.  Wanna join me for some munchies?  I love you.

Letter to Julia 20140106

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

My beautiful, distinguished princess Julia.  You are truly a lady, my princess.  Your demeanor and aura has become so refined and sophisticated, it only adds more and more to how lovely you are.  You are like a well-polished diamond.  I am humbled by your love, my Queen.  I love you so much, my beloved Julia.  MY Julia.

Erin, you little sweetheart.  I'm sorry!  But that's what I love most about you, is how sweet and good-hearted you are.  I just want to hold you, and protect you, you darling girl you.  You're such a sweetheart.  I love you so much Erin.  MY Erin.

My dearest wives, I'm sorry it's been so business-like lately.  Please forgive me.  But that's what happens when more money and more people come around.  Perhaps soon Allah will send wealth my way, and trounce with a heavy penalty those who stand in between and against us, so we can be properly married.  InshaAllah.  But always know that no matter how much business they try to shove at me, I always want you to be with me at all times, for us to be together all the time, and do everything together, inshaAllah.  I love you.  Ya Allah, thank you for Julia and Erin.

Letter to Julia 20140104

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

I had been craving mole sauce for quite a while already, but for some reason I had been waiting for avocados.  Can't have chicken mole without avocados, right?  But I couldn't wait anymore.  So together with my chilli paste and powdered chocolate I put onions, ginger, garlic and oil into the blender.  Awesome!  Praise Allah!  Instead of avocados, I'm eating it with oyster mushrooms.  Right now, my chicken breast is stewing in the sauce, so I'm waiting while writing my love to you.

Somehow I'm having an imaginary conversation with you about love, about how love should be all the way, or something like that.  Don't you believe my love for you is all the way?  I'm certain that I must put your well-being into the highest consideration, so I cannot have you marry into my poverty.  But I am waiting and working towards that... all alone... all by myself... isn't that all the way?  Am I not working into the deepest danger in the service of Allah, to push the barrier until it collapses into wealth enough to afford to marry you?  InshaAllah.  Don't you sense my all-out abandon for you?  Don't you feel how deep my love is for you?  Oh, you don't think it's deep enough yet?  How can it be, when we're not together yet?  Wait until we're together.  InshaAllah.

Would you like some chicken mole with mushrooms?

Letter to Julia 20140102

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

As I mentioned before, some goodly villagers helped break down the coconut tree that fell on the roof of the old house at Casa de Julia inshaAllah, and they took apart 2 other coconut trees besides.  Total of 3.  So the lot is strewn with large debris.  I spent the evening doing some burning, but the wind coming from the northeast was blowing strongly.  So strong that the smoke was moving horizontally in a straight line, so I could only have a small fire.  But there is soooo much debris.  It might be weeks before I get rid of it all, compounded with my other chores.  I plan to use the tree trunks, though.  The wind has been strong for over a week already, but strangely not at night.  Right now the air is still, but I don't want to cut and burn at night.  Northeast from here is China and Japan.

When we marry inshaAllah, I will be there with you to give you my strength and my devotion inshaAllah.  Until then, I pray that you try to find happiness in whatever you are doing.  You have my commitment for marriage, so please be patient.  Be patient and positive.  We all get moody, but please don't despair.  Not everybody despairs!  The faithful do not despair!  If you despair, it means you have no faith.  So please be patient and positive.  Pray.

I love you.