I get teased by my friends because it seems like every year, my birthday runs a bit longer than a day.  Almost two weeks, to be a bit more exact.  This year wasnt much different.  Last year I spent the entirety of my birthday celebrations up in San Francisco.   In 2011 I got to see LA, Visalia, Fresno, and this weekend Ill be back up in the bay.  My mom made sure to celebrate my ENTIRE birthweek by surprising me with presents on my bed everyday.  Yes, she happens to be the absolute best thing on this planet. Im BEYOND blessed, I know! Since I had a bridal shower to attend in Fresno (bridesmaid on call!), I had to drive up the evening of my actual birthday. There was no way I was going to miss the Del the Funky Homosapien show up in Visalia, though.  Since my cousin, Aren Hekimian, was promoting, managing, organizing, and down right doing everything necessary to put on this show, I got to watch the entire set on stage!  I’ve been a fan of Del since I was 13, so celebrating with him 10 years later could not have worked out any better.  I got sung “Happy Birthday” on stage by the crowd and brought up to dance with a white girl who definitely had one too many drinks to a Major Lazer track.  Now, you know thats my jam!  I even got to meet him backstage later on, which in the Hip Hop industry could go two ways: the act being a total d*ck (see noneekay.com/fashawn-on-power106 for my polite trash talking on Ghostface) or the artist being super quiet and making everyone feel awkward.  Luckily for me, Del chose the latter. Otherwise, this would have been a hate-filled blog post, fsho. He was playing Asteroids on his iPhone sitting in a BMW doing what most people in Visalia do, waiting to get the hell out of there. The next day I celebrated my special day with my family and some great friends at Wasabi and then The Standard, where I proceeded to get free drinks from the bartender all night. What I would have assumed would be a low-key birthday became one of the best yet! Major thanks goes out to all of those who wished me a “happy birthday” and were a part of my very special WEEKS. ;]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Im officially putting my 23rd birthday to rest.  I hope this post brings some understanding to why Im so head over heels in LOVE with my family.  Again, I am blessed beyond words to be given the amount of love I receive on the daily. I wish to only reciprocate that love back to them and all those roaming this beautiful planet.

nJOY from nKAY

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Tags: birthday, del the funky homosapien, the standard in fresno, wasabi in fresno

Like anyone else, I have a couple weird allergies, temporary aches and pains, and not-so-serious bodily dysfunctions.  This brings me to the summer of 2007 when I was diagnosed with chronic tonsillitis.  According to my ENT specialist, undergoing a tonsillectomy at age 19 was to be avoided at all costs.  No, really.  He was very adamant about not going through with the surgery.  My mentality on surgery?  Just yank whatever the hell needs to be pulled out and let me go on with my life.  I was put on antibiotics which made me feel absolutely amazing for a few weeks, and there it was again. I was back to having constant throat aches, a raspy voice, and making that annoying sound with my tongue during allergy season.  I gave up on the surgery until I was stubborn enough to put my foot down for good this time.  Back to Dr. Demeter’s office I skipped and finally underwent a tonsillectomy in July of 2010, which was said to be “the most intolerable pain” of my life.  I cleared out my work schedule for the next two weeks post my surgery thinking I was looking at being mute, under heavy doses of pain killers (yay!), and in bed for most of my day.  Well, how could life be that easy?  Nope.  Not even a little bit.  I was up and running four days after surgery, talking after five, and completely back to my normal self by day six.  Dont get me wrong, it did hurt like a betch, but not as bad as I would have thunk it.  The worst part was probably the hydrocodone. I made sure to make the gaps between each dose a bit smaller, you know, to avoid all costs of pain.  But, my “genius” method soon backfired as it had been three weeks after surgery and I still couldnt feel my tongue.  Oh well, I survived.  It has now been a good seven months since “going under” and I feel fabulous.  I cant make that annoying sound with my tongue as well as I used to, my throat doesnt even tingle if I start talking for too long, and my voice is back to its squeaky self!  This is not to say surgery is for everyone, there are proven natural supplements you can take as well to decrease the infection, but it sure as hell worked for me. 

 

 

 

nJOY from nKAY

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Tags: Ca, Dr. Demeter, ENT, Glendale, medical, tonsilitis, tonsillectomy, tonsils

Tomorrow, December 1st, is National World AIDS day.  To raise awareness, landmarks around the world and social media networks are publicly acting out. From the Sydney Opera House to the Pylons at LAX, institutions will be illuminated in RED to show their support for the (RED) foundation, working to breed an AIDS-free generation by the year 2015.  Social media resources like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and MeetUp are all doing something special to play the part, as well.  If you’re not a world famous building, you can show you’re a fighter for the cause by turning your Facebook profile picture into the (2015)RED image, retweeting the @joinred tweet on Twitter, using the hashtag “#turnred” at your next check-in on Foursquare to unlock the (RED) 2015 badge, and even creating or joining a MeetUp with locals.  The Red website will log every time someone uses these resources and display the amount of supporters on a map according to each country.  Those countries that show the most love will turn a darker shade of red. (Side note:  the branding here is IMPECCABLE.)

By taking these simple steps, we can start to rebuild our faith in humanity and come together as the human race to beat the odds.  In Haile Selassie I’s speech to the United Natons in 1963, (what happens to be, in my opinion, the greatest words ever spoken!) he talks about coming together, and not just as the African race, but as humans.  ”That until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained [everywhere is war].”  What we tend to forget is that we’re all visitors on this planet.  No matter what rules, borders, or hierarchies we create, we are all equal. Despite what you were born to believe, no one man “owns” land.  I’m surrounded by real estate transactions all day long and I don’t care how much Whatshisface paid for that plot, we’re only borrowing the planet.  Have fun on this giant Green-Blue floating ball!  Better yet, help others have fun by sticking together for the common good.

Last year nearly half a million newborns were infected with HIV and only half of those children lived past the age of two.

Do your part.  Preach HUMAN.

Here is list of the planets landmarks that will light up in RED on December 1st:

Australia

• Sydney (Sydney Opera House & Sydney Harbour Bridge)

Bermuda

• Hamilton (City Hall)

Brazil

• Nova Prata (City Hall)

Canada

• Toronto (CN Tower & City Hall)

Colombia

• Bogota (Torre Colpatria)

France

• Paris (City Hall & Fountains)

Ireland

• Dublin (Convention Center)

Netherlands

• Amsterdam (Paradiso)

South Africa

• Cape Town (Table Mountain)

Spain

• Madrid (Puerta de Alcala)

Switzerland

• Geneva (Le Phare des Paquis)

United Kingdom:

England

• London (London Eye, BT Tower, Trafalgar Square Fountain, Alexandra Palace, St. Paul’s Cathedral)

• Manchester (Manchester Town Hall, The Wheel of Manchester, Spinningfields Ice Rink)

Scotland

• Glasgow (The Glasgow Science Center)

United States:

Alabama

• Mobile (RSA Tower)

California

• Long Beach (Convention Center, Hyatt (Wall), Shoreline Square, Terrace Theater Fountains, Promenade, Gazebo at Shoreline Drive, Light House, Renaissance (Wall Tree), Pine Street)
• Los Angeles (Pylons at LAX)
• Oakland (City Hall)
• San Francisco (City Hall)

Colorado

• Steamboat Springs (Old Routt County Courthouse)

Florida

• Miami (Miami Tower, Old City Hall, MOCA Plaza)

• Orlando (the Amway Center Tower)

Georgia

• Atlanta (City Hall, Georgia World Congress Center-International Plaza Towers, Georgia Dome, Centennial Olympic Park, World of Coca Cola)

Illinois

• Chicago (Wrigley Building-top of the building & tower, the Willis Tower )

• Schaumburg (Town Square Clock Tower)

• Urbana (Urbana City Building)

Maryland

• Baltimore (Washington Monument in Baltimore, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Headquarters)

Massachusetts

• Boston (Zakim Bridge)

Michigan

• Grand Rapids (La Grande Vitesse by Alexander Calder)

Missouri

• St. Louis (Civil Courts Building)

Nevada

• Las Vegas (MEET Las Vegas venue & Lou Ruvo Center (Frank Gehry’s Keep Memory Alive Building))

New Mexico

• Santa Fe (Plaza Obelisk in Old Town)

New York

• Brooklyn (Brooklyn Borough Hall)

• New York (Empire State Building, The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, JFK Control Tower, New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ MarketSite Tower in Times Square)

• Niagara Falls (Niagara Falls)

Ohio

• Cincinnati (Fountain Square)

• Cleveland (The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame)

• Columbus (City Hall & Columbus Public Health Building)

Oregon

• Portland (Morrison Bridge)

Pennsylvania

• Philadelphia (Boat House Row)

• Pittsburgh (the needle on the Highmark Building)

Rhode Island

• Providence (City Hall, 1 Financial Plaza, 111 Westminster Street (Bank of America Building), Blue Cross/Blue Shield Building, Bank of America City Center, the State House, GTech Building, the Biltmore Hotel)

South Carolina

• Greenville (Furman University Bell Tower)

Texas

• Fort Worth (Lancaster Ave lights)

• Houston (City Hall)

Tennessee

• Nashville (the Courthouse & Deaderick Street)

Utah

• Salt Lake City (City & County Building)

Virginia 

• Richmond (Richmond Center Stage)

Washington

• Seattle (The Space Needle)

• Tacoma (Murray Morgan Bridge)

Wisconsin

• Milwaukee (The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts)

(Taken from Join (RED)’s blog)

nJOY from nKAY

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My parents started a property inspection business in 1992 called, Advanced Group Property Inspection Company (AGPIC).  Since then, my brother and I have become even more invested in the marketing aspect of the company.  Marketing in the Real Estate world consists of anything from sponsorships, educational classes (I gave my first speech at age 16, and haven’t stopped since!), committee joining, community service, and in our case, feeding, feeding, feeding…  We’re Middle Easterners, so giving, especially food, is no problem.  At least thats what grandma always says.  The fastest growing RE committee in the nation is called the Young Professionals Network (YPN).  Each RE board has the right to create a subcommittee amidst the board and apply to become a nationally recognized YPN.  The latest YPN to join the force is no other than my hometown of Glendale.  As a launch into the wild world of commercial and residential land, this special group of people knew we had to show LA what we’re all about.  So, what better way of bringing good people together than a party?  Enter the Glendale YPN Halloween Party: Real Estate is Dead…A party to resurrect the Real Estate industry.  With over two hundred in attendance, Wednesday, September 27th, 2010 became a night for the books.  Check out the party pictures taken by Ed from Torino Creative and the video by Steven of Enqore Productions. 

My super human family at our home, where the party rocked til the werewolves went to sleep.

Much love to all of our sponsors and true assets to the Real Estate Biz…

…Janian & Associates

…Glenoaks Escrow

…Great Western Bank

…Prudential California Realty

…National Home Warranty + Hazard Disclosure

…Advanced Group Property Inspections

…Bad Termite

…Prestine Home Staging .

..LA Private Eye Geotechnical

…John White Sewer Line Inspection

…Attorney Barry Ross

…Prime Electric

…Ramirez Roofing

…Step & Clean 

…Boston Brick & Stone

…The Box Pros

…Mold Check Professionals

…First Eagle Insurance

 

nJOY from nKAY

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Tags: AGPIC, GAOR, Glendale, Inspection, Property Inspection, Real Estate, Realtors, the818, Young Professionals Network, YPN