Letter to Erin 20151129

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

Hi Erin!  How's your Thanksgiving weekend?  Oh, you had to work.  But you love that!  Make a killing now Sweetie, and stash it all away while you can.  Now is where you are, and now is when you have the power, and now is when you are at the top.  Hooray!  Erin, I love you and I need you.

Technically I'm not married yet, but when we marry inshaAllah, you will be my first wife.  As I told you before, my decision is to focus on Erin's happiness first and make sure she is properly settled down before I take a second wife.  The law of the Qur'an is that I must treat each wife equally, but I'm not married yet, so there.  So I am forced to regard Erin first before I can marry another, besides I need your permission to make the second wife legal.  I'm sure you know who she is, and I don't want to leave her in limbo.  So I want her to know that my intent is serious, but I won't put down a formal proposal and dowry until Erin is taken care of.  Erin, I want you to try be close friends with her, because I don't you to be the only blonde in Perlis.  She will distract some of the jealousy away from you, plus her business will improve for being my wife as yours has improved.  And since I'm an old soldier, I will most likely kaput first.  Then you will have at least have each other to turn to, who knows what it's like to be in the eye of the hurricane.

To my wives, I want you to understand that the goal of our marriage is to stay put and raise a family.  What I care about is your sincerity and your Islam.  You don't have to be an extremist, just do the best you can with the situation that Allah has given you.  I'm sorry but you will lose all your privacy, so please dress as modestly as possible and absolutely no slutting around.  I am faithful inshaAllah, and I want my wives to be faithful.  That being said, I will do my best inshaAllah to give you a happy and secure marriage.

Letter to Erin 20151128

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

Hello, beautiful Erin.  How are you feeling today, my darling?  Busy as usual?  Well, please make sure you look after yourself.  Lots of kids in your business right now, huh?  Just guessing.  I'm sitting here writing to you, and waiting for them to call the sunset prayer as usual.  I had dinner at Ina's just now.  Just the usual, nothing too exciting.  My Mom is back home home, and is the center of attention.  I cleaned up her house a little with the leaf blower (sure beats sweeping).  I made a puree out of the kelisa I harvested the other day for my noodles at lunch, which tasted pretty good.  I was nearly done cooking and I dropped an egg into the soup, when I discovered the egg was rotten.  Ack!  How did I miss that!  Now I have to start all over again!

But used up all the kelisa.  So I had to eat bread sticks and marinara sauce for lunch.  Right after that, my parents found out that all the food in their freezer had decomposed, because the wall outlet was out of order.  I was wondering what that smell was.  But nobody opens that freezer except my Mom, and she's been busy with her knee.  So it took that smell to motivate someone to open the freezer, so I had to help clean it up.  Coincidence, right?

I hope all the food in your freezer is good, and in your fridge too.  Fresh food is the best!  Well, that's all for now.  I just called to say I love you.  And I need you.

Letter to Erin 20151127

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

Hi Erin!  How's my All-American Sweetheart doing?  You're so beautiful, Erin.  And beautiful to me.  I still have a headache from yesterday.  I believe I know where the illness came from, but I don't want to discuss it here in this public place.  I'm writing this letter later than usual, because I got distracted right after the Asr prayer by Donny Hathaway and by my snack mix.  As you know, I just acquired one of my favorite snack mixes, which is roasted peanuts with crunchy anchovies.  I had to fry up the anchovies myself and mix it in with the peanuts, and I got the anchovies right the first time, and the peanuts were straight out of the vacuum pack.  But there were too many peanuts and not enough anchovies, so I fried up more anchovies until I thought they were crunchy enough.  But I was wrong!  They're still chewy!  But I already mixed them in!  Arrrgghhh!  The overall texture was driving me bonkers, so I roasted them all up, nuts and all, over and over again.  I think I finally got the blend right, after 3 hours of re-roasting and stirring.  I'm not a perfectionist!  I just wanted my snack mix right!  But the re-roasting soaked the nuts in anchovy oil, and they taste much better.  But slightly overcooked, so they taste slightly like coffee beans.  Arrrgghhh!  I'm not a perfectionist!  I just wanted my snack mix right!

At the same time, I got caught up listening to "Extension of a Man" by Donny Hathaway.  As far as I understand, this album wasn't a best seller, but I like it.  It's like classical music mixed with R&B/soul, with flashes of a western movie soundtrack.  Actually, it's more like soul trance.  It's not just because I've been listening to it over and over again.  It's because Bobby has been outside howling along with the music.  In time and in key, of course.  Yeah, I've been listening to it over and over again.  But I like the music.

You're probably being surrounded by all sorts of people telling you all sorts of garbage, trying to influence you, now that you're super busy and Boss Model.  Always trust your heart Sweetheart, because you have a good heart.  Remember to give your heart plenty of rest, and don't forget to pray.  OK?  I love you and I need you.

Letter to Erin 20151126

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

Hi Erin Sweetheart.  How are you feeling, my love.  You are my beautiful beloved, and I love you with all my heart.  I am feeling somewhat off today.  It's because of shuffling sleeping hours.  I spent the early morning today with my Mom who is in hospital, and I still haven't caught up on sleep yet, but I remained physically active today.  I cleaned my parents' house, I spent some time with my baby mangoes, and there was much kelisa (you know the legume that grows on my fence) to harvest.  Almost a kilo, which is alarge bagful.  I think I'll make soup with it tomorrow afternoon.  It may seem that I sleep too much, but I estimate it to be about 7 hours a day .  From about 12:30 am to 5 or 6 am, then 7 am to 8:30 or 9 am.  Then I try to take a nap before voice training, because I could easily put myself into a coma with my own voice.  I have fainted more than a couple of times during voice training, but not if I take a short nap before I start singing.  I ate out all day today.  People were buying, and I couldn't say no, especially when there's no time to cook.  Eh!  My heart doesn't feel good.  I'm going to have to take it easy tonight.  I want you to take it easy on your heart.  Just because you're young, don't think you can push yourself and your heart too far.  Get plenty of sleep, and eat properly.  I need you. You're my girl.

Letter to Erin 20151125

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

Hey there, Dreamer Girl!  What do you dream of, my darling?  Beautiful clothes and basketballs?  I dream of guitars, drums and amplifiers.  Dream on, huh?!

My Mom is still in hospital, so I spend my evenings there.  So no yard work or cooking dinner at this time.  Mom sure has a lot of energy for someone who just through surgery and is bedridden.  So I took out for dinner.  Just some fried noodles, but a lot of it.  Want some?

We both know that our dreams are more complex than that.  Just remember to stay optimistic, and pray.  OK?  You are my beautiful girl.  I love you, and I need you.

Letter to Erin 20151124

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

Hello there, lovely Erin.  Dahling!  How are you feeling today?   Busy, I suppose.  Well, please make sure you are giving your heart a break.  Some quiet time, and not just work work work all the time.  And during your time, please think of me, and know that I love you and I need you.  I want to marry you.  OK?

My Mom was in surgery today, so I had an early start at 5:30 am.  I arrived at the hospital just in time to see them wake my Mom up, and take her to surgery.  So I just stayed outside the operating theater, and fell asleep on a bench.  I brought some chili for breakfast or whatever, and waited until I got news that the surgery was a success.  Alhamdulillah.  So I got home in time for lunch, which was an egg and cheese burrito, and a 10 minute nap.  My Dad sent me on a quest for rose and lychee syrup, so that's what I did after dropping off a bottle of water to my Mom.  Dinner was beef and potatoes again, just because I hadn't given much thought to what I would eat.  Sorry it's so boring, but you're welcome to share my food.  I am tired, though.  Maybe I'll take a nap before going to sleep, but I have to make a batch of dough.

Letter to Erin 20151123

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

Hi Erin.  How are you feeling, Sweetheart?  Please don't be blue, because I love you.  I long for you and the time when are married.  I need you, my precious heart.  So please cheer up, pray and be optimistic, OK?  Just now, I was all dressed up and showered and everything, the doors were locked, and my motorcycle was running, and I was about to visit my Mom at the hospital.  She's having knee surgery.  Again.  Then the sky turned black, the clouds flew by faster than jets, and it began to rain.  We are all subject to God's Plan.  So please remember that, OK?  Things happen in their own time.  You ought to know, you've said that yourself.

So I started my dinner instead.  It's beef and potatoes and kelisa (you know, the legume that grows on my fence) with salt and pepper, to be eaten with a side of ketchup.  It's actually very good, you should try some.  I made a very big helping, which includes your portion of course, but I am hungry and I do have a big appetite.  Hungry for you!