May 2013 – Tiana Feng

In Response To The Toronto Star.. My Best Friend Is Worth The Price

May 31, 2013June 1, 2013Pets1 Comment

Today I saw this editorial, Dog’s Surgery Not Worth The Money”, on the Toronto Star and it enraged me. Basically in a nutshell, Ken Gallinger gives a reader an answer on whether he should put his dog down because he swallowed a ball or shell up $6000 for surgery. Oh yeah, and the dog is only four years old. The answer also goes on to say that even if you were made of money, there would be better things to use your money on like charities and starving people. As a dog owner this really bothered me. I wasn’t so much enraged with the question (maybe the dude didn’t have or know the proper means to help the dog), as I was with the answer.

Teddy injured his leg one time and we took him to the vet. Before the x-rays, they told us that there was potential he might need surgery (which was around $2000). We didn’t hesitate for a second. Thankfully the X-rays came back and it was heal-able on its own. Am I a sadist for not donating this money to charity instead? No, I just wanted to help my best friend.

Pets are as unpredictable as people at times. We both get sick and hurt but that doesn’t mean that we can value one over the other. The choice should not be between money and death. There were other alternatives to the situation such as seeking help from the Humane Society or similar organizations. Maybe even crowdfunding the 6k. I truly hope the owner of this dog makes the right decision for his young dog and ignores Gallinger.

Gallinger mentions having a cat, but I bet he’s never had a dog. He’s never had a dog welcome him every time he came back, even if it’s been five minutes. He’s never had a dog’s smile instantly lift his mood. He’s never had a dog defend him in an argument. He’s never had a dog hug him to sleep after he cried or made him feel like everything’s going to be okay. He’s never had a dog love him unconditionally.

Anomia, Topple, Carmen Sandiego, Labyrinth Board Games

May 30, 2013Board Games, EntertainmentLeave a Comment

Another day at Snakes and Lattes led to more board game adventures. This time there was four of us, which opened up more possibilities and challenges.
In The aMAZEing Labyrinth players pushed the maze in different directions until they could reach all their treasures. The funny part about this game was that the treasure cards and the ones on the board sometimes looked nothing alike.

Like the TV show, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? you solved crimes by answering geography questions. I suck at geography but some of the questions were obvious and the board (which was a map) definitely helped.

We couldn’t figure out how to play Pairs in Pears because the instructions were gone. Even after we looked it up on our phones I still think we played wrong because as we chose our 26 tiles none of us had enough vowels to make any words!

Topple is pretty self-explanatory and none of us ended up toppling it over. So do we all win?

My favourite discovery of the day was Anomia, the card game. Players took turn flipping over cards from the deck. If we had symbols that matched we had to yell a thing related to what the card said. For example if it said “Seafood” the opposing player with the same symbol had to name a seafood. The player who collected the most cards won. It was hilarious when players pointed to the matching card but couldn’t get the right word out!

Teppanyaki @ Iron Chef

May 29, 2013May 30, 2013Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

Last night, our family celebrated my parent’s Anniversary at Iron Chef Steakhouse in Mississauga. Dad’s always looking for a good Teppanyaki place in the suburbs so we thought we’d give them a try.

As a starter, we had this sashimi platter ($7) with a selection of salmon, tuna, octopus. It was very fresh.
We each had our own entree off the Teppanyaki menu. They were all served with rice, salad (with Thousand Island dressing) and miso soup.

Teppanyaki anniversary dinner with parents https://t.co/S3ogaCPJzB

— Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) May 28, 2013

The chef fired up all our dishes (quite literally) performing tricks with knives. I didn’t see the salt and pepper toss that I’d seen previously at other similar establishments.
To add some humour to the cooking, the onion volcano fire was put out with this little thing (which I hope contains only water).

I ordered the Filet Mignon and it was seasoned with butter. The meat was very tender and melt in your mouth. The portions were quite generous totally 8oz no matter what you ordered (well 10oz if you had chicken). Dad had scallops and it still came in 8ozs which is usually rare for seafood. It was a little bit pricier than other Teppanyaki restaurants but the portions are definitely more worth it. Here you are paying more for the food than the show.
The meal ended with some complimentary icecream.

Overall I enjoyed the food at Iron Chef. However I want to make some comments about the service. I found our waiter to be very rushed. She had warned us that there were was a major reservation at 8:30, which was no big deal considering we got there at 7pm. The whole process of ordering, cleaning plates, asking about dessert and handing the bill seemed very rushed. The food and the chefs are excellent but I recommend a reservation if you plan on having dinner here in the future.

My First Loot Crate!

May 28, 2013May 28, 2013Shopping, Technology, Video GamesLeave a Comment

I was so excited when I found out that Loot Crate started shipping to Canada that I signed up right away. It’s a monthly subscription of nerdy gifts to your doorstep. It’s $19.99 for US residence and $29.99 for Canadians. Each month the boxes have a theme. May’s theme was EQUIP.
Inside the box was a card that explained all the product’s relationship to the theme. I also received a membership card since this was my first crate. There was also this $10 digital subscription to Pure Nintendo for iOS and Android so I could be equipped with nerdy news on the go.

This ninja by The Dojo is for wrapping your tangled earphones. I assume I received pink because I registered as a female.

These stickers (via Fred & Friends) are for making your inanimate objects come to life. Hmmm.. maybe now I won’t look so crazy talking to my computer.

I think my boyfriend is going to love this 8-bit tie from Black Tie Geek.

The box contained a DC figurine at random (The Flash, Green Lantern and The Joker) and I was lucky enough to get Batman. Woohoo.

In reference to Douglas Adams’ May 25th towel day we were equipped with this silly towel from Graphic Lab.

Like Mario, we were equipped with a question mark box of coins. These ones were edible and surprisingly strawberry flavoured.

I really enjoyed building this Iron Man figurine from Mini Paper Craft.

I’m loving my Loot Crate so far. It is full of great childhood memories, nerdy references and most of all encourages playfulness.

If you’d like to check out Loot Crate please use this link to help me save on my next box!

The Happiness Project

May 27, 2013May 27, 2013Books, Inspiration, Life1 Comment

I recently read through Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project and enjoyed her journey in the pursuit for happiness. The different chapters reflected the months of the years and the many challenges she added each month. I read a month a day so that I’d have time for some of it to sink in instead of a marathon read through the entire thing. I enjoyed the way it wasn’t written in a how-to-way but instead chronicled Rubin’s own journey in hopes that someone might find their own inspiration in her examples. Like the author of the book, I am not depressed or anything but it’s always interesting to look at what someone else has done to improve their quality of life and be happier.

Here a few of my favourite points:

“You can choose what you do; you can’t choose what you like to do”
“Act the way you want to feel”
“Be Tiana”

Numbers one and three are most likely to collide with each other. In fact a lot about being happy has to do with understanding your own desires. When I was younger and started blogging, I wanted to be a fashion/make-up blogger turned socialite type deal. But that wasn’t really me. In fact I don’t really care that much about fashion. My passion was music, and that’s where it led me today. Other things I don’t like include history and geography and no matter how hard I try, I’ll never find any joy in being immersed in it. It’s important when you are making decisions to consider if you’re making them for yourself or because you think that’s what you’re supposed to do.

In reading this book, I began thinking a lot of my own happiness. Appreciating the joys in life rather than the terrible moments is ideal for a good quality of life. I know this simply from observing my dog running around the yard in circles. Something stupid, that is bound to make me laugh. Laughing out loud is important and in this fast-moving world, it’s easy to forget that and let life past by in a flash.

The Future of Virtual Worlds

May 24, 2013Books, Entertainment, Technology1 Comment

What would it be like if we were more obsessed with a virtual reality than our own? This is what Ernest Cline explores in his novel Ready Player One.

Presently we have small virtual worlds in the form of MMORPGS such as Warcraft, Everquest and Minecraft but Cline takes it further with OASIS (Ontologicaly Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation), an online world that encompasses new worlds and the fictitious ones we know from movies, games and memories. The year is 2044 and the world has run out of oil supply and faced with poverty. The world inside OASIS, where one could be who or what they wanted, became more appealing than the everyday world.

I wonder what the future of virtual worlds will be like for us. There are already people where Warcraft or Second Life takes up most of their lives. In the OASIS, making money online was synonymous with making money in real life. There was even the option to go to school online and students forced through software to pay attention. In 2010, Woodbury University in California tried to do something similar in Second Life but was banned by Linden Labs.

The OASIS Cline created was more than a game. It was a place to chat, browse the web, read books, explore and interact with many worlds without ever leaving your house. All you needed was a pair of gloves, the visor and the console. It may seem like it will be quite some time before we reach that type of technology but Google Glasses will soon be a reality.

As our world becomes increasingly more plugged in, I can only wonder what life will be like 30 years from now.

More Rocky The Zombie Cupcake T-shirts!

May 23, 2013Fashion1 Comment

This week I received another exciting package from Rocky the Zombie. I really loved the previous cupcake shirt I bought on Ranon’s Etsy and wanted more. While exploring her shop a second time I saw these adorable cupcake prints and asked if she could make them into shirts. She was happy to and even threw in a few extra things including more candy. Yay!

This one is a slash-neck magic cupcake t-shirt. Right now a black and white version is 40% off in her Etsy shop.

This summery cupcake T-shirt is also on sale. I love how it reflects the upcoming season.

Ran added this adorable cupcake totebag as well. Now I’m already to take on the summer music festivals with my cupcake attire!

The Tulip

May 22, 2013Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

We were down by the Woodbine beach area for Victoria’s Day and decided to hit up some local eats. There was too long of a line for fast things and ended up in a diner called The Tulip. The menu was reasonably priced.

I ordered the 2-piece fish and chips and Nash had the chicken parmesan sandwich. Some random buttered bread was served as we waited for our food. The service was very nice. The food portions were gigantic. However, I found my fish and chips to lack seasoning. There wasn’t really any salt on the fries, so I seasoned it myself at the table. My stomach was also iffy after which was horrible since we were hanging by the beach for the rest of the night.

Victoria’s Day at Ashbridges Bay

May 21, 2013Art, Photography1 Comment

I spent Victoria’s Day at Ashbridges Bay relaxing by the beaches. We took a walk along the board-walk and visited the skate park.

At night, we braved the chill to see their spectacular fireworks. My favourite part was when the many fireworks dispersed into what looked like mini stars.

Victoria's Day @ Ash Bridges Bay 5/20/2013

Bacon Crackers from Fita Spreadz

May 18, 2013FoodLeave a Comment

While I was grocery shopping with Mom at the Asian grocery store, I came across these Fita Spreadz crackers from the Philippines. These were borderline weird but as a bacon lover I just had to try them.

They were individually packaged so you could have some on-the-go like the people in their commercials.

They looked a lot like giant ritz bits sandwiches and the aroma of bacon was enough to get Teddy wanting some too. The verdict: they weren’t as weird as I’d expected. They were creamy like cheese cracker sandwiches but saltier.

The downside was that it left an after taste that was kind of like when you eat a package of dried Mr. Noodles. Fita Spreadz also comes in a spicy tuna flavour, but that seems even more frightening than bacon.