Letter to Julia 20140518

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

I'm sorry my dearest wives, but yesterday was the king's birthday, so it was a public holiday.  I didn't think the Internet cafe I always go to would be closed, though.  Gah!  As you know, I always plan my letters, and I don't like to write them live, and this is the only place in town that takes my USB drive.  Gah again!  In the meanwhile, Floofy gave birth to 3 beautiful kittens!  Aw!  They are so tiny!  They are a quiet bunch for some reason, but very energetic, and always squirming about.  Subhanallah!  Alhamdulillah!  Lailahaillallah!  Allahuakbar!  I love kittens!  One is a dark calico, almost like a dark tiger type.  One is a carbon copy of my Batty Watty Bat cat!  Strange that Bat Cat isn't the father.  The last is a white kitten with small blonde and black patches.  I'm going to name them Bat Cat, the white one Hepzibah, and I don't know what to name the striped one yet.  Ya Allah, please protect my kitties.  Ya Allah, please protect my Julia and Erin.  I love them, and I need them.

Qur'an 20140518

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

101.  When We substitute one revelation for another, and Allah knows best what God reveals, they say, "You are a forger," but most of them understand not.

102.  Say, "The Holy Spirit has brought the revelation from your Lord in Truth, in order to strengthen those who believe, and as a Guide and Glad Tidings to Muslims."

103.  We know indeed that they say, "It is a man who teaches him."  The tongue of him they wickedly point to is notably foreign, while this is Arabic, pure and clear.

104.  Those who believe not in the Signs of Allah, Allah will not guide them, and theirs will be a grievous penalty.

105.  It is those who believe not in the Signs of Allah that forge falsehood, it is they who lie!

The Bees 16:101-105
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The Holy Spirit has brought the revelation from your Lord in Truth, in order to strengthen those who believe, and as a Guide and Glad Tidings to Muslims.

Letter to Julia 20140517

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

Floofy is beginning to scrape around, looking for a place to put her kittens.  She was scraping about the corner of my bedroom, but I told her she can't put her kittens there.  Kittens may be cute and all, but their poop can still give out a frightful pong, which would keep me awake at night.  Besides, I don't sleep with cats.  I got Floofy a little cupboard to put her kittens in, and she has been scraping around in there, but I'm going to have to move them all inside after she gives birth.  I told Floofy that she and her kittens are welcome in my house, but she has to eat and poop outside, in her cage.  I guess I have no choice but to clean up after the babies.  She said, "Meow".  Typical of a cat to give an esoteric answer to everything.  Floofy is actually my first pregnant kitty.  I've known many a cat, but Floofy is my first pregnant kitty.  Ya Allah, please grant us beautiful, happy, and healthy kittens.

For dinner, it was pizza.  Yeah, I've started to make pizza again after a 6 year hiatus.  The difference, besides cheese, to making a great pizza is the oven.  A professional pizza oven is pre-heated to 500F, and has a concrete slate in it to cook the bottom.  So at home, I cook the crust first.  And since my teeny electric oven doesn't go to 500F, I have to put aside more time to cook the food.  I cook the bottom first on the stove top, on a flat pan.  Then I sauce it, and cook the crust without cheese.  On the menu tonight is sardine and cashew pizza.  I've been making perfect sardine dip lately, so I used it as pizza sauce.  And cashews taste like pineapple on pizza.  After all that is done, I finally put the cheese, and bake it long enough to just melt the cheese.  What to do, all I only have generic sliced cheese.  But the pizza is good.  I enjoyed it with my Mom's home made hot sauce, locally known as sambal belacan.  Tip to locals: sambal belacan is a perfect match with melted cheese.  Want some? 

I love you, I love you.  And of course, I need you, I need you.  You are my wives, inshaAllah.  The promise I made to you is for us, and not for my own personal gain.  What is being built here, this Casa de Julia in the name of Allah, is being built by us: me here, you in your far away, with Allah as our Helper and Protector.  Do not weaken our oath to each other and to Allah by way of deception.  What is with Allah is far superior than anything you can imagine or desire.

Letter to Julia 20140514

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

Are you hungry?  Are you ready for some REAL food?  I sound like a commercial.  Anyway, I bought some sole at last night's market.  I was watching chef Sakai dealing with sole, and suddenly I had the craving.  Chef Sakai has to be the best Iron Chef.  Anyway, sole makes great sushi and great crispy fry, so I thought I would combine the two.  Crispy fried sushi?  Nah.  Sole takes time to prepare, it's like you have to fight for whatever flesh there is.  Both sides have to be scaled, and there's a lot of scales.  There's not much to gut, so I take off the head and the guts with one move with a scissors.  I peel and fillet the fish before gutting, but I suppose I could do it after, it would it easier to peel.  Yes, you can peel the skin off.  Don't throw it away!  The skin and the fins are the best part of the crispy fry, so trim the fins with the scissors, and save them along with the skin.  I stretch out the skin and the fins straight when I put them in the hot oil.  Yes, this is for sushi.  Sole is sweet meat, totally awesome for sushi, and combines with the crispy skin and fins, plus egg and chives, makes totally awesome sushi.  Of sourse I left some for you, I can't eat al 24 rolls in one sitting.  But you didn't show up for dinner, so I had them for breakfast.  I can't seem to get the scent of raw sole to go away.  It's as if I had an extra fish, and left it on the floor.  It's never done this before, sole is such a mild and sweet fish.  Thus, the advantage of having an outside kitchen, especially when odors take a supernatural quality.  You were right, Julia.  You both must join me for dinner sometime.  But where would you sit?  I need a table, and a candelabra.  Oh, sadness.

Obviously, it's not me who sustains you.  And even if I had all the money in the world to give you pretty baubles for your retirement, it still wouldn't be me who sustains you.  Allah is the One who sustains you.  Perhaps some celebrities seek you as the only means of reaching me, but that too is the Will of Allah.  After all, why should I care about people who didn't care about me long ago when I tried to seek them out?  Now I've become extra lazy.  So do not make comparisons of Allah to other things, when you do not know.  God is Incomparable.  And pray that soon Allah will grant me the means to give you a secure and happy marriage.  Thank you for your love.  I love you, I love you.  And I need you, I need you.

Letter to Julia 20140512

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

Hi there, my beloved wives!  I love you, I love you!  I pray we were together in love and happiness, always.  I just got done peeling bamboo shoots for my Mom.  She's going to make her famous bamboo shoots in dates and brown sugar pickle again.  The stuff doesn't go bad.  I had the 2 years ago batch yesterday with my steak, and it was delicious.  Bamboo is the highest form of grass.  I love bamboo because it makes great drumsticks, because it curves naturally.  Those other drumsticks are straight, so I use them for rolling out dough for my morning flat bread.  A bamboo shoot is edible if you are able to snap it out from the bamboo cluster.  Even so, it must be peeled, and only the tender parts can be used.  The tip is the most tender, and I like to use it for soup because it unravels like noodles.  My Mom likes them fresh, but I like to marinade them in slat water for at least a week or two.  Tastes like sauerkraut.

Letter to Julia 20140510

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

It rained heavily the last time I went out to blog my love for you, so I wound up spending too much time at the Internet cafe, plus getting soaked as well.  I still have this lingering chest congestion from the Flu Of The Year.  It started with a cough, and I still have a cough, and when I sing, it sounds like I'm about to throw up.  I hate singers.  As a technician, I hate singers.  Sure, they may argue that their body is their musical instrument.  Prima Donnas, all of them.

Now you may not feel that you are at the top because life might be too mundane for you, or you're not rich enough, or whatever.  I have inspiration from Allah that the both of you are at the top of your business at this time.  So you must not feel and behave as if you are ungrateful about the position that Allah has given you.  The mundane is much more romantic anyway.  Planning meals, checking for love messages, etc.  It's kind of like Floofy: other creatures are feeding off her poop.  Yeah it's gross, but it isn't easy at the top.  So you shouldn't be trying to step up, nor should you be sliding into the abyss.  Devote your energy into conserving your energy, and slowing down.  Pray.  You are my wives inshaAllah, you are the most beautiful women in the world, and I love you, I love you.  I need you, I need you.

Letter to Julia 20140507

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

Mmmmmm... I just had a most mouth-watering steak.  Oh my God, it was so good.  The first bite was sheer ecstasy, and I can still taste it in my mouth.  Oh, I love a good steak.  You're supposed to let the steak sit for a while after you cook it, but I do love it so when it's piping hot.  Praise be to Allah, it was so good.  You want some?  It's tenderloin.  Oh no, I ate it all!  I'm going to have to cook you another one.  Steak is easier to control when it's pan fried.  Put it on the grill to dry it and char it up.  Nah... I already ate it.

And how are you doing, my precious Julia and Erin?  I love you, I love you!  Work on slowing down, my beloved wives.  Have some chocolate mousse.  I spent the evening collecting mangoes, and digging up tapioca.  I played a little bit of guitar t night while watching TV.  I have to plug into my vocal amp, which I don't like, because it feeds back like mad.  I love feedback mind you, I just don't want to blow up my vocal amp which I have to work with everyday.  I don't really try to practice my musical instruments as I used to when I was younger, because nowadays I'm primarily a chick singer, and I need to slow down.  Plus, I don't have the right amp for my guitar.  Anyway, back to being a TV junkie.  Wish you were here.  I need you, I need you.