Definitely not haute couture

Yeah sure I need money.  I need to be married my Erin, and as soon as possible.  But I'm not going to work for the government.  My mission is to please Allah with music.  And you can be sure that the agenda of almost every government out there is in conflict of interest with God's agenda.  Yes, I believe in being moderate.  I don't believe in blowing up innocent people in the name of God.  But I am not going to take instructions from the government when it comes to the music and my business thereof.  They can either help me or don't.  My Boss is Allah.

Natty, I need to remind you to stay away from booze and drugs.  Yes you are an adult, and you have the right to drink if you want to.  It's just me.  I will not have an alcoholic or drug addict bear my children.  Yes, you've become successful and temptation is everywhere.  I know you're feeling lonely and lost within all the big business surrounding you.  I want you to know that I am always with you and think about you.  I love you and care about you, and I will marry you inshaAllah.  So be strong and hang on to yourself, which is easier to do when you stay clean.  Please pray.  By the way, that t-shirt and skirt combo is absolutely gorgeous.  Definitely not haute couture.

I like your outfit too, Pina.  But it does look like haute couture to me.

As you can tell, I'm not a big fan of haute couture.  I think the Victoria's Secret fashion show went downhill because of haute couture, so I don't watch it anymore.  But the outfit I wore yesterday is almost haute couture.  Can't win them all.  Do you like it?  It's my "pink demon" outfit.  Acting, acting!

 

 

 

The lentils

Oh hi, Honey.  Sorry, I'm running late.  All that wet weather gave me the sniffles.  **sniffle**  I hope you are doing great.  You must be busy.  I am always busy, it seems.  From 5 am all the way up to midnight.  After this, it's voice training.  Oh, that chili without beans... lentils just don't work for chili.  Lentils have too strong a flavor.  They are sure filling though, and cheaper than rice right now.  But as for that lentil chili, here's a grade:

As chili: F
As lentil soup: C+
As lentil soup if you like lentils and add ketchup and crunchy anchovies: B

Sometimes you just can't cut corners, no matter how broke you are.  Next time, I'll make lentil soup.  Or hummus.

Hey Natty, it's great to see that you are so busy.  Please have fun at what you do!  If you get tired, take naps.  What are those flaps covering your boobs?  I don't understand that.  It seems a bit haute couture, but otherwise the dress looks so normal.  Good thing you are so beautiful, you can make any outfit look good.  But that's the point, right?

 

 

 

Chili without beans?

I really needed to go out and get some groceries.  It had been raining 24/7 lately, and I could barely make it to the mosque for Friday prayers (which is mandatory for all Muslim males) and back.  As it was, I slipped on my motorcycle on the wet trail on the way back from the mosque and hurt my knee.  So going to the supermarket for food was out of the question.  But this morning the sun finally came out alhamdulillah, even though the rain beat down all last night.  After sleeping in to enjoy the cold weather (I managed to get my blankie dusted off.  Ah... simple pleasures), I finally went to the supermarket after doing the morning chores.

I don't have much money left, so it's time to make chili.  However, the price of baked beans (in the USA, you would commonly find them as pork and beans) has gone up.  Not that that is a problem, because there's none to be found, other than the tiny little half cup sized cans.  It's almost as if... EVERYBODY HERE HAS STARTED TO MAKE CHILI.  I can't find plain old pinto beans in a can around here, the other option is to cook up raw red beans, but that is expensive.  So I'm making chili tonight out of lentils.  Yeah, lentils.  For some reason, the price of lentils has gone down to RM2 a kilo.  That's cheap, and filling.  But how will it work for chili?  I couldn't even afford tomatoes or tomato puree/paste.  So tonight's chili will have no beans nor tomatoes.  I have the lentils soaking right now.  Please pray for my success.

Oh Natty, you must be super busy right now.  Well go get them, and do your best, and have lots of fun doing it.  Make sure you get plenty of rest, and drink lots of water.  Keep that tummy cool and hydrated!  I forgot to mention how much I loved those boots of yours.  Once upon a time long ago, I was able to afford a pair of Doc Martens.  They were great looking, and very comfortable.  But then I wore them to work at the pizza joint, so they eventually disintegrated.  I shouldn't have done that.  From then on, I only wore US jungle boots at the restaurant, which were cheap at the army surplus store, so I could just chuck them and replace them without much financial effort.  I wish I hadn't destroyed my Doc Martens, though.  But c'est la vie.  I wouldn't have been able to wear them anyway after my feet grew 2 sizes bigger.

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, the rain

Hi Honey!  How are you?  I hope all is excellent going.  It's Friday morning here for me, and I'm writing earlier than usual before I have to head out to the mosque for the Friday prayer.  It rained quite heavily overnight, and it's still raining right now.  I was so pleased because it was a nice cool morning, and that means I get to snuggle up in my blankie.  But I was not pleased because my blankie was covered in dust for not being used, and it made me itch too much to sleep in.  Always something getting in the way of having a good time, huh?  Seems like it.  My Mom said she'd give me some rice, so I at least I don't have to cook lunch but I am hungry so I'm snacking on peanuts right now.  Good peanuts.  Alhamdulillah.  Want some?

Oh your poor umbrella, Natty!  I'm sure you're wealthy enough by now to get yourself a nice new umbrella.  Or is it raining money on you, and there's nothing you can do to stop it!  Save your money for later, Natty.  It's all yours, you earned it.  By the way, did you notice that you can answer everything that Carlos guy says to you with one expression: "It's because you're so CREEPY!!!"  Oh, what drama.

 

 

 

 

Hi

Hi Honey, how are you feeling?  I'm sorry I didn't take the time to say hello yesterday, but I had an important presentation to make, so I hope you understand.  I wanted to say hi, but it didn't seem appropriate.  I love you though, I have loved you for a long time already, and I will always love you.  I hope you are feeling great, and everything is running smoothly.  Yes, Sia is a sweetheart, isn't she?  I never met any celebrities, they never met me, and I suppose they will never meet me.  But I would love to meet Sia.  I hear she's a real sweetheart.

Natty, you beautiful creature you!  You are on a roll!  You've become a brand name girl Natty, so hang on to yourself.  Always know that in this crazy business that you have people who love you no matter what.  Enjoy your career Sweetie, make tons of money and save it, don't waste it.  Keep it for your future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rohingya

General Matsui Iwane was a devout Buddhist.  He was the commanding officer of the Japanese forces that annexed Shanghai and Nanking in 1937, which infamously became known as "The Rape of Nanking" due to the atrocities committed there.  Where or not he directly gave the order for massacre, he certainly got the blame for it and was executed by the War Crimes Tribunal on 1948.  He maintained that he ordered a humane conquest, and that it was his inferiors that defied the order.  And it WAS the subordinates that did the pillaging and raping.  Whether or not he was guilty of the massacre, he certainly was a weak leader.



What does Wikipedia say about Buddhism?

Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices. Practices of Buddhism include taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, study of scriptures, observance of moral precepts, renunciation of craving and attachment, the practice of meditation (including calm and insight), the cultivation of wisdom, loving-kindness and compassion, the Mahayana practice of bodhicitta and the Vajrayana practices of generation stage and completion stage.
In Theravada the ultimate goal is the cessation of the kleshas and the attainment of the sublime state of Nirvana, achieved by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path (also known as the Middle Way), thus escaping what is seen as a cycle of suffering and rebirth.

"Wisdom, loving-kindness and compassion" certainly are not prerequisites of oppression.  So whoever commits oppression is a traitor to Buddhism?  Well, in every religion there are those who follow the rules and those who don't.  Those who don't follow the rules are usually the inferior and the subordinates.  The other option is that the leader doesn't follow the rules.  Either way, this is a case of WEAK LEADERSHIP.

Qur'an 20170913

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

39.  God it is that has made you inheritors in the earth.  If then, any do reject, their rejection is against themselves.  Their rejection but adds to the odium for the unbelievers in the sight of their Lord.  Their rejection but adds to undoing.

40.  Say, "Have you seen 'partners' of yours whom you call besides Allah?  Show me what it is they have created in the earth.  Or have they a share in the heavens?  Or has God given them a Book from which they refer?  No!  The wrongdoers promise each other nothing but delusions."

The Originator of Creation 

35:39-40
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