The Nibbletron: Nibble Your Way to Happiness

You know those days when you come home from work and you're super tired and just not feeling like you can even muster up the energy to do anything except pass out. Well...all you need is The Nibbletron!

Okay, all you need is someone to come at you really fast and nibble at your face, neck and ears. It's literally the most hilarious thing. It will give you energy, make you laugh, make you smile, and probably make you giggle.

Imagine how nice it would be if instead of greeting people with a handshake, we could nibble each other!
"Oh hello madame!" *nibble nibble nibble nibble*

Sometimes I want The Nibbletron more than anything. I want it more than a bowl of popcorn, I want it more than my favorite Chanel eyeliner, I want it more than double smoked bacon, and even more than an online shopping spree with Forever21.

If you want your life to be simple and happy and fun and perfect, get nibbling.

Goodnight future Nibbletrons!

How Do I Know How Much You Care?

  

As I sit here in my bubble bath with candles and a warm cup of tea, I wonder "how do people show they care towards others?" Do I have a certain way that I show affection? Do I like certain things over others, or is it just about the thought that counts. Do I like material things or is it more about the gesture?

I have to say that if you asked me this question 10 years ago my answer would be very different than what it is now.
I truly appreciate the small things. And I know it's such a cliche, but it's so true.

When my dad picks me veggies from his garden and puts them in a bag for me to take home, I know he cares.
When my mom tiptoes around the house in the morning so that she doesn't wake me up, I know she cares.
When my grandma cries on the phone just from hearing my voice, I know she cares.
When my brother gives me advice for building my future, I know he cares.
When my roommate wakes me up with coffee in the morning, I know she cares.
When my best friend invites me to her annual awards gala, I know she cares.
When my best friend talks to me for hours on end, I know she cares.
When my friend comes over to make me dinner because my attempt was absolute garbage, I know he cares.
When my man makes me a bath with candles and tea, I know he cares.
And when he gets me a toothbrush, I really know he cares.
When my favorite coffee shop has almond milk, I know they care.

I just find that having little loving gestures means a lot more to me than having one grand gesture. I feel more safe and happy. I feel cared about and loved. I feel calm and content.

This is probably the sappiest writing I've done but I feel like I don't tell these people how much I appreciate what they do.

We all hear the saying, "tell the people around you how much you love them", and it couldn't be more true. But you don't have to literally tell them that. You can do it in little ways to make them feel loved.

Whatever it is. Show your love.

Love.
Kitten.

The Only Thing That's Predictable About Life is That It's Unpredictable

The tough thing about life is accepting its unpredictability. 

Sometimes your house may be near a forest fire or maybe your wife is paralyzed  in a car crash or maybe your dog dies from heatstroke or maybe you find a lump and it's cancer. All of these things happen every single day. 

But for the most part they don't happen to us. 

Until they do. 

So what do you do until then? 

Every plan and goal you have will literally have to be put on hold when your life is in jeopardy. The big kitchen renovation you're doing or the dream to open up your own brewery or the Masters program that you've been working towards.

They just all lose any priority. I guess that's what people call "the important things in life". 

Well I mean the only really important thing is your health. 

Because without it you can't do all those things. You're either dead and can't do them or you're physically, mentally and emotionally unable to do them. 

So that's kind of depressing. 

But it's not! 

You just really have to do whatever you want to do. 

Do what makes you happy and don't apologize for it. 

If you want to take a thousand selfies then do it! 

If you want to watch hours of reality TV then do it! 

If you want to adopt 5 kittens do it! 

If you want to start every morning with an expensive latte then do it!

My perspective is that if you're not hurting anyone else then do it. And pay no attention to what other people say. Do it and don't stop doing it. Because one day you won't be able to anymore. 

Love hard

Live hard

Laugh hard 

Xoxo

Azin

Whose Life Is It Anyway?

The more and more you live your life, the more and more you realize how precious it is. We want to live our lives to the fullest because it can be so easily taken away. So do you live your life more aggressively because what have you got to lose, or do you try to be as safe as you can because you'd rather not take the risk?

I like to think that I live my life the way I want to live it. I have the job that I want to have, I eat the foods that I want to eat, and I spend my time with people that I want to be with. I would say yes, I am the ruler of my life.

But then I meet someone who completely blows me out of the water. I have a friend. His name is Yashar. He is that guy who has completely taken over the direction of his life. He is that guy who quit his job to pursue his passion. And now he is literally doing what he loves. He has Yummus, Chinatown Experiment, Midtown Experiment, and I'm sure so many other projects that I don't even know about.

I imagine that it must have been so hard to make a change like this. Not only to make the initial decision, but to follow through with it and really go for it. I'm sure it was really hard, and I bet it still is. But wow, what a feeling it must be to create something and make it yours.

I admire and am motivated by people like Yashar. Although I don't really see myself following his path, it still makes me reflect on the decisions that I make.

It reminds me of a South Park episode. When Cartman is on Maury Povich and he says "Whateva, I do what I want!!"

Well hell yeah. It's literally your life. We each get a life. So make sure it's actually yours.

A love story

This summer has been a summer of love. Whether it was new friendships, new favorite beaches, or love aches, it is safe to say that love has played a major role. 

One love story is that of my best friend Melissa. I have known her since the 8th grade. We have been through really significant events in our lives together, and coming up is one of her most significant events: her wedding day. I remember when we were in high school and my mom would always console Melissa on the phone after a break up. My mom would say “Melissa, you are beautiful and smart, and he’s not the one for you”. Well my mom was right. Because she’s marrying Sean. He’s the one for her. 

My idea of true love has changed a lot since high school. I remember thinking that I was in love with Kevin from the Backstreet Boys. Love used to be an infatuation, a complete obsession. Now I think of love as this really special thing that I hope to feel one day. I mean to be honest, I have not had the most success with love. But that’s okay, because I have been able to spend a lot of time with myself and now I know what I expect of my future lover. 

Back to Melissa’s wedding. It is this weekend and I just can’t believe it’s already here. Melissa is my babe. She’s so sweet, generous, kind, and loving. One of my favorite memories is going shopping together for 9 hours. My mom didn’t believe that we were actually shopping for 9 hours, she thought we had gone somewhere else and drank, and no matter what we said, she never believed that we were in a mall for 9 hours. I also remember going to get pizza after the bar in Victoria, and we would go right behind the counter, say hi to Yash, and take some pizza, and head out. And our infamous trips to Vancouver where we would stay at the Landis and once again, go shopping for hours. 

I’m so excited to spend the night before her wedding with Melissa. I know she will probably get really emotional, really happy, really sad, really happy again, and then probably fall asleep. I’m glad that I will be with her through all of it. And then on her wedding day we are getting up at 5:00am to get ready! 

I just can’t believe my love is getting married. But I know she’s marrying the right guy because I know she will not change when she’s married. Sean lets Melissa be herself all day every day. I love them both so much. 

Love. Laugh. Beauty.