New Post.

No photos, no nothing. I've blogged a bit on myspace lately. I actually forgot my blogger login until today. It just kinda popped into my head out of nowhere...

Check out that page at www.myspace.com/nikiniki

Whole Foods World HQ

So last week, I finally made it downtown to visit the new Whole Foods Market HQ/Landmark store! Talk about amazing!! Stephanie and I enjoyed fresh chocolate chipotle gelato, cajun crab cakes with chipotle and lemon aioli, citrus smoked salmon with caper and red onion cream cheese on olive crisps, delicious fire baked pizza (she had the greek, I had blue cheese and bacon.) And finally, we had fresh juice. I had the carrot, apple, and orange and felt GREAT all day long.

That was over the course of a couple of days...

We're going back today. What an amazing store! Within the store, there are several cooking stations and food bars serving sushi, breads, soups, bbq, REALLY fresh seafood, sandwiches, pizza, homemade gelato, confections/desserts, vegetarian items, smoked meats from turkey to duck, an awesome meat deli, a cheese counter, juices.... You can eat at one of the stations as you would in a restaurant or you can purchase food and eat outside or even on the roof!

I have been a fan of Central Market (an HEB store) here in Austin, but I have to say that I was even more impressed with Whole Foods. I think it's going to end up as a regular/weekly ritual for me.

Visit www.wholefoods.com to find a location near you!

tsubo the dog

Tsubo as a puppy in July.


Selling homes has been a most rewarding career thus far. People are so happy when they finally get to move in. I've experienced a range of emotions and all different types of people. Some people are not very easy to deal with, but you have people that make up for it.

One night I was watching the news and there was an "adopt a pet" segment. They had this cute little guy who was probably part chihuahua. I thought about that little guy the entire night. The next day, I went to work still thinking about the little guy. Around 5:00pm, I got word that some of my homeowners had arrived from California. I met them at their home with keys and was surprised to find that they had brought me a "live" gift.

It was an odd gift, I admit, because we had NEVER talked about dogs or pets or anything of the sort. Their daughters were so happy to present me with a puppy. He weighed less than a lb, and fit in the palm of my hand!

I gave him the name "Tsubo" (the "T" is silent) which is a Japanese measurement for small units of real estate. It's also my favorite shoe brand (designed by Japanese architects).

Tsubo completely has stolen my heart and he runs the house! I have two other dogs, Marlee and Fristo, beagles from the same litter who I've had for over a year. Tsubo, as small as he is, rules the pack.

Tsubo was fixed last week and my vet thinks he may have a liver problem. He goes back for testing in two weeks. He's been an expensive little dog. He spent labor day weekend in an emergency vet clinic after bumping his head on an armoire in the dark. I was lucky he made it out of that okay, and I'm confident we'll get through the liver thing.

Here's a photo I took last week. The t-shirt was a gift.

Back on Blogger!

I'm back on blogger after a hiatus to myspace. To be honest, I'm a bit tired of myspace. All the drama and ridiculous postings revolving around sex and bad music. I'm not leaving it, but I'm also not really accepting new friends there. It's been a great way to keep in touch with friends and family. Many of my cousins are on myspace, which is great, since we're now all growing up and spread out accross the U.S.

One good thing that has come out of my time on myspace is a relationship with Taráz’ulláh, a cool guy who lives in Washington and who's been kind enough to introduce me to the Baha'i Faith. You can find out more this faith on my myspace page at www.mypace.com/nikiniki. Visit the blog that says "The Bahá'í Faith."

Although I will continue to use myspace, I think time away to reflect on my personal day-to-day life events here will be good for me. In the matter of a few days, I have immersed myself in the Baha'i Faith. A comment on my blog revealed a friends' lukewarm sentiments, in which he writes:

"I am not gonna sit here and slander your religion, but it does seem that this religion is the same as most others as in that it uses the term God as a lure, and that the only real basis it has on the "proof" of 'God' is that its not possible to prove otherwise."

I disagreed, but being new to the faith, I did not have an immediate rebuttal prepared. Lucky for me, Taraz has a friend named "Nutmeg" who wrote:

"I am a Baha'i and I have been my whole life. The Baha'i faith does use the term God, which can be expected given the teaching that Niki mentioned, known as progressive revelation. I was always given the right to choose what religion suits me. The real lure of the Baha’i faith- to me- rests in its capacity to change the world. It is largely selfless. It isn’t about right and wrong and heaven and hell, using God as a lure to get you a ticket there, it is about personal development and service to the world of humanity in more respects than just the spread of the faith. God aside, this faith is the only faith that is really still united. That allows for a lot. God is unknowable. Whether or not someone believes is a question of faith. It should be left to that."

Nutmeg's response was right on. It seems like for the last few years I have been wandering aimlessly. True, I've had great success in my career selling new homes, but I have felt incomplete in so many other facets of life. Material things don't fufill me and don't make me feel complete. It's taken a long time for me to understand that.

Maybe it's redemption time.

I think I'm growing up.

I watch CNN for what IS on the news and for what ISN'T. I scour the internet for alternate news media and I'm on a constant search for truth. What I've realized is that truth can shaped and molded and twisted and spun to the point that it's diluted and opinionated and biased. I wonder if it's possible to tell a news story now without having a biased interjection. I miss being able to hear something or see something and forming my own opionions. It seems like everything has to be right or wrong, good or bad, pretty or ugly. Why can't things just BE?

I apply that same rationale to my mental state as well. Sometimes I am real "uppity" and sometimes I'm more withdrawn and quiet. When I'm quiet, though, everbody asks me, "what's wrong?" Sometimes there's nothing wrong. Sometimes I just don't have much to say.

All that being said, I am happy to have found this faith. It's a faith that strives for universal education, world peace, racial and gender equality, and spiritual well-being. It embraces the notion that all major religions were created by the same God with the purpose to bring the human race to spiritual and moral maturity.

Boy, could we ever use some of that. I could use some of that.

I've always felt like I had this incredible purpose. I didn't know what that purpose was or would be. When I was younger, I always helped friends out with motivation. In 8th grade, I had a friend named Kim Ogata, who father was in the military. She was a good friend. We played basketball together all the time. I was so excited that she might be able to play in high school with me, but there was one problem. She was failing a couple of different subjects. She had forged her report cards and convieniently spilled paint on the final report card. I encouraged her to go to summer school, but she didn't know how she was going to pull it off. Since her parents had no idea that she failed, she snuck out of the window every morning and caught the bus to and from summer school. Then she would sneak back into her room and pretend that she had been there the whole time. She thanked me for convincing her to go to summer school. Unfortunately, she suddenly moved to Las Vegas and we didn't get to play basketball together in high school. I was okay with that, though, and wonder where she is now and how she's doing.

I had another friend named Carlos who was a gangster that sat behind me in health class. I remember that he NEVER brought paper or anything to class. He had a folder that he'd roll up and stick in the back pocket of his jeans, but he was so polite that I gave him paper everyday, and sometimes a pen or pencil, too. We had to study in pairs during class sometimes, and I'd always turn around and study with Carlos. I was surprised that he was really good at memorizing things and he was pretty smart. I asked him why his grades were so bad if he was so smart. He said he didn't know. Six weeks later, we were sitting in class before school was letting out for the summer. He tapped me on the shoulder and said, "hey, I want to show you something." He pulled out his report card. He had made the honor roll for the first time! He was so excited to show me that report card!! I remember that the year after that he started to dress different and he made the honor roll frequently. I guess all he needed was a nudge.

Maybe I need some time away with the peace corp before my body stops working.

That's all for now. Thanks for listening.