Qur'an 20140804

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

49.  Say, "O humans!  I am to you only to give warning."

50.  Those who believe and work righteousness, for them is forgiveness and a sustenance most generous.

51.  But those who strive against Our Signs, to frustrate them, they will be companions of the fire.

The Pilgrimage  22:49-51
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So there

So you see, Erin?   I have had plenty of experience with people telling me "No", "You can't do that", "Not interested", etc etc.  But I keep trekking on.  I have no one to comfort me, to tell me that everything will work out, other than my trust in Allah.  There are some people who have authority over me as in the Book of Allah, but Allah has taken care of the details regarding that matter, and I have learned that God certainly works in mysterious ways, and that God tests my perseverance.  So when people tell you "No", "You are wasting your time with him", "It won't happen" etc etc, you must ask them why they want you to be separated from me.  It can't be that they care about you.  There must be something in it for themselves.  I can honestly say that I do it for you and me and am guided by God, can they say the same?  Please patient my love, and ignore them regarding the matter.  You will be my wife inshaAllah.  I love you.

Natty, did you spend your Sunday at school?  Those iron arches look like something an Ivy League school would have.  Nice photo, though.  You are a very beautiful girl.

Pina, I'm not pleased with you.  My source tells me that you blew your advantage in Milan by choosing New York, but you can find out if this true for yourself.  I want you to go home, where you can have an easier life.  A hard life makes people ugly, and it will show in your face.  You need to be treated like a princess in order to feel like a princess.

Dinner was spaghetti with marinara sauce and spicy sausage, with melted cheese and chopped basil.

Wet, wet, wet

For some reason, after voice training and the Asr prayer today, I decided to go to the big supermarket of the far side of town, close to the McDonald's.  It wasn't raining when I left, so I thought maybe I could get there and back on my motorcycle with getting rained on.  But After I finished my shopping and came out of the building, the rain was coming down, and everywhere was grey, grey, grey.  So I sat at one of the tables outside and ate my dinner, which was 5 chicken curry pastries.  Right when I finished, there was a break in the rain, so I left quickly.  But half way home, the rain really began to come down, the water hitting the ground loud as hammers.  Visibility was about zero, so there was no way I could continue home so I took shelter at a closed restaurant, and watched the rain.  It was right about sunset, and the rain didn't let up and was very heavy for about an hour.  When the noise finally came down in volume, I continued home, even though it was still very wet.  But I made it home obviously, took a shower, prayed the sunset prayer, fed the cat, and wrote to my Sweetie.

Busy, busy, busy

So please take some time for yourself!  Please look after yourself my darling, because I love you so much.  All those people can be a drain, but having to be nice all the time is a bigger drain, right?  Thank God for the digital age: now that you have a pad, you can bring your TV everywhere with you, lock yourself up in your hotel room, and order room service.  Did you bring your cat along with you?

I used to sell magazines over the telephone.  We used to call people up at their homes (no cell phones yet then), tell them they have a chance to win 100 grand, then sell them a magazine package.  Some of the people we called were cold turkey, but most had been harassed by telemarketers over and over again.  "How did you get this number?'  "Put me on your do not call list!"  Etc etc.  We were given a script to narrate, at times I would read the script verbatim, sometimes I would improvise, sometimes I would talk over them, most of the time I would argue with them etc etc.  I think I was most productive when I had the smoothest tone of voice, I listened to what they had to ask, and was most matter-of-fact in demeanor.  Good telemarketers don't last long, though.  It's such an emotional job.  Then they start to know who you are, and it's all over.  I did learn how to maintain an argument from it though, plus I acquired a very thick "skin" for public speaking.

I worked late on Second Life last night, so I went back to sleep after dawn prayer and woke up late.  After my usual daily chores in the morning, I went downtown to pay my bills and get gasoline.  I got home in time to make chicken broth from the bones I portioned, then my lunch which was rice vermicelli in soup.  After voice training and the Asr prayer, I cut the grass by the side of the road.  Then I showered and went downtown to buy a new litter box.  I stopped by Ina's to buy some iced tea, now I'm writing to you after the sunset prayer.  I haven't made my dinner yet.  I'll probably make my dinner when I get back from the mosque after the night prayer.  Then it's back on Second Life.

Natty, I advise you not to participate in Varsity sports.  You can be a spectator, but not a participant.  I'm afraid someone else has taken that niche.  I suggest that you take an acting class instead, and participate in theater.  You will find that to be very productive and profitable indeed inshaAllah.  If you are taking business classes, please focus on food business (international sales and distribution).  And please try not to consume interest.

Whew!

I'm so happy the kitty crisis is over.  It's amazing how little we know about the ones closest to us, who we interact with everyday.  And that the nourishment I gave her was actually poisoning her.  And the difference between generic ready-to-eat meals to the ones that are hand-prepared thoughtfully.  Floofy eats less now, but cats don't need to eat that much anyway.

It's easier to be a better speaker if you are a good listener.  Understand what they are saying, and wait until it's best to speak as opposed to talking just for the sake of talking.  That's what I do in the chat room, I listen more than speak.  And there's certainly nothing wrong with asking them to explain what they mean.  But I'm oh so moody, so I always speak from the heart, but I do try to be tactful.  Then there are other times when I'm just a hellcat, and ready to cause trouble.  Oh well, nobody's perfect.  But I think most of the time, I speak well.  I and I feel you as well, speak from the heart as opposed to the mind.  So we use our mind to control the emotion in our words.  Right?

Cat tails (epilogue)

That's it: no more dried cat food pellets for Floofy.  When she came to me 4 Ramadans ago, she was only about 8 months old, and of course she was a local cat.  Which means that if she had been raised by humans, then she would have eaten rice.  So that's her new diet: rice with canned cat food, preferably fish.  I thought I could grind up the cat food pellets into a coarse powder, then add water.  Boy, that was a mistake.  I had created a turd, except that it took effort to make when I could have just fed it to the cats and they would have done all the work creating turds.  Now nobody wanted the cat food powder, and I had to dump it all.  I wasted half a bag of cat food.  Then I tried the other approach.  I had bought some canned cat food a couple of days ago, but she had no appetite then.  Now she has her appetite back, I've been serving her a mix of rice and canned cat food.  At first I served it cold, because I had opened up the can and portioned it out to be kept in my cooler, and the rice was cold too.  But she didn't like that: she scraped at it as if she were in the sand box.  Yeah I know it all turns to poop, Floofy.  So I heated the mix up to slightly above room temperature, and that was acceptable.  This mix already has moisture in it, so inshaAllah there should be no more blockage.

Erin my love, I hope you are keeping safe in your travels and getting lots of sleep.  Please remember that in order to speak better, you need to practice.  So write, write, write your heart out, and study English grammar and vocabulary.  Eventually you will be speaking poetry at all times.  I've had plenty of practice speaking: I used to work on the phone for a living (among other things).  So I'm actually quite comfortable talking to strangers.  I just don't want to.  But nobody can say the right words all the time.  Just shoot for most of the time, OK?

Natty, that's a sexy workout video.  I enjoyed watching you move your cute little butt.  Check out my snapshots below, I'm wearing as much clothing as you are!

Cat tails

The kitty crisis is over!  The poop is gone!  It's all gone!  Subhanallah!  Alhamdulillah!  Lailahaillallah!  Allahuakbar!  Wow, what a spectacle.  I started the morning pumping Floofy full of water to dilute the poop.  Then I went about my usual chores, cleaning the cat room, watering the plants etc.  Then I had harvested some aloe vera, and I had sat down and started to peel them, when I noticed that Floofy was bloated.  All she had had was water, so could it be that she couldn't pee as well?  I got that sick feeling, and started to panic.  I had to take her to the vet immediately.  When I got there, the place was crowded but I was sent straight in for some reason.  The vet told me that her condition was advanced, and that she needed surgery.  I pleaded with him for an alternative, to give her an enema instead to see if that would work.  So the vet gave her an enema, gave me two more enemas for later, and said if there is no positive response after 3 enemas then she would have to undergo surgery.  But the first enema worked.  When I got home, she proceeded to poop it all out.  The kitty emergency is over!  Praise the Lord!  Hooray!

I was given some medicine to be administered to her anally, but I did the best I could by myself using the syringe that I was provided.  Plus it makes a huge difference having someone hold the cat down while treatment is given.

In comparison to the amount of liquid pumped into the anus with the enema:

Here's a snapshot of Floofy after relieving herself, sleeping it off by the back door:

Erin, I feel that you need to pour your heart out.  You need to express yourself more, but you are either too shy or you don't know how.  Seeing that you do work in the spotlight, there is a difference between holding back your voice and holding back your words: you can express yourself better if you use the right words.  I suggest that you study English grammar and vocabulary, then write, write, write.  Write about how you feel: you don't need to show it to anybody, you just need the practice.  Then when it comes time to talk in real time, you can just slow down, choose your words, and express yourself better.  InshaAllah.  I go through moods when it comes to expressing myself, but I've been in the Public Eye for so long already that I don't care how I'm received.  Like today for example, I was much more confident with my expression after the kitty crisis was over.

Natty, I think it's very sweet of you to downplay your career so that your brother can shine.  After all, you do have a future husband who will take care of you inshaAllah.  I just want you to have some wealth that is entirely yours.  After all, your brother is a grown man, and strong enough to make his own success.