In this edition of video round up
I talked about Meerkat and Periscope
I cooked some noodles
Teddy’s tongue gets derped as I chase him around the house
Month: April 2015
L’Oreal Paris Fibralogy Kit
Influenster recently sent me L’Oreal Paris Fibrology’s shampoo, conditioner and serum. The line uses filloxane, a patented ingredient that helps thicken hair. Beyond this, I don’t really know what it is. I tried Googling but it didn’t bring up much information.
This is a photo of me when I first woke up in the morning. My hair was greasy, also it’s kind of thinning more and more as I was growing in age. Insert sadface.
I used everything as directed. I’m usually heavy-handed with shampoo since my hair is greasy but I found this particular needed less than usual to get my hair evenly soaped. The serum was applied after rinsing the shampoo and conditioner was added immediately after. All the products had a faint fresh smell. A little like clean babies.
Anyways here is a photo of me a few hours later after letting my hair air dry out side. I didn’t comb it or anything.
There’s a noticeable difference in smoothness, cleanliness and volume. It didn’t feel heavier even with the added volume. This is only after one use. The instructions say that after 5 uses there will be a more notable difference. I’m a fan of the line already. It is making my hair look super healthy with very little extra effort!
This product was complimentary thanks to Influenster.
Carls Jr. Comes to Toronto
This afternoon I ventured into the newly opened Carl’s Jr on Queen West, the former home of HMV.
The burger joint joins the many American fast-food chains that have been making it’s way into the city. The menu was a little overwhelming looking and I was rushed by the cashiers to make a choice. I had the Teriyaki Burger with waffles fries because I can’t think of a single place in the city with waffle fries.
I liked the waffle fries, they were crispy and lightly salted. However, I found the burger very unappetizing. The patty had those weird holes like a McDonald’s burger and there was something really weird about the texture. The sauce was nice but in the end I couldn’t finish it because I couldn’t get over how unappetizing it felt.
For the price, I could’ve went down the street to any of the bajillion gourmet burger places on Queen Street, or even McDonald’s for something better.
Adventure Time’s Card Wars
When we saw Finn and Jake play Card Wars in an episode of Adventure Time, we wished so hard that it was a real game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrWV4Hemfio
And it turns out it is. A single Card Wars Collectors Pack is approximately $20 and has two decks so two people can play right away. I decided to buy all the decks out so far (I think they will release more later). That way, we can switch it up and games would be different each time.
One thing to note is that it is exactly like the game in the episode meaning that the Adventure Time characters (Finn, Jake, Princess Bubblegum etc) aren’t actually part of the deck. Though you can imagine you are one of those characters if you wish. In fact, there is a “Hero deck” (optional) that exists where you can pretend you are characters from the show and gain special bonuses. The cards are actually ridiculous made up characters with hilarious descriptions in brand with the show. There are landscape cards, spells and even punch out hit points so you are fully ready to go in each box.
Like in the show, the winner of a match is damed the “Cool Guy” and the loser the “Dweeb”. Players try to protect their land so that their “Hero” (yourself) doesn’t get any hit points. Certain monsters need specific landscapes in order to work. The game is a lot of strategy, fun and laughs.
Let yourself have cake
Every day there are trials and dumb things that happen and things that are beyond your control. Don’t forget to reward yourself every once and a while that you’ve survived.
15 Days of No Complaining
As you know from my previous post, I am trying not to complain for the entire month of April. I am only half way into the month and it’s been a long and arduous journey. Complaining is so natural in our nature. Sometimes I don’t even notice it until after. I realize some relationships with other people are built entirely on complaining and this isn’t healthy.
I’ve observed how much myself and others complain on a daily basis. In the course of an hour, this can be hundreds of times. I haven’t completely eliminated it but I’ve become more mindful. Instead of complaining about someone, I’d consider other people’s perspective more when they did something that annoyed me. I’d also became more aggressive in taking actions to prevent things I’d later perceive as problems.
I participated in less gossip and in return people gossiped to me less. At first I felt a little bit left out, but keeping a positive outlook has actually made me a much happier, better (in my mind) person.
Boss Monsters Card Game
Ever wanted to be the evil villain in video games instead of the Hero?
Well now you can with the Boss Monsters card game. Essentially you are the boss of a dungeon and heroes go through your various rooms and try to survive. Your objective is to make sure they don’t. If five survive you loose, if you destroy 10 you win.
The original deck comes with heroes, monster rooms, trap rooms, bosses and spells. We also purchased the first expansion set which introduces hero items. The cards parody classic video games.
We have been playing the game with the two of us and it’s fun but we feel like it would much more of a challenge with 3 or 4 people.
Apparently a Boss Monsters mobile game is coming out. You can find out more at Brotherwise Games.
Can You Tell I Dyed My Hair?
Yesterday I bought a box of L’Oreal Superior Preference Noir Fatal hair colour in a deep plum colour (NF03). It was essentially a black colour that was supposed to show highlights of dark purple.
Here’s a photo after I dyed my hair. Can you tell the difference?
There isn’t really much difference. It was a darker colour on my hair so it coloured my lighter ends. However the shine ended up being more red than purple. My hunt for a purple highlight colour continues!
Why I Moved To Adobe Creative Cloud
For the first time in 10 years, I bought a legitimate and updated copy of Adobe Photoshop. In the past, I’ve always had either versions that came with cameras or less than reliable versions I’ve downloaded from the internet. I decided to subscribe to the photography package that includes Adobe Photshop CC and Lightroom 5 for $10/month.
Even though people criticized Adobe’s move to the Cloud I found many advantages:
$10 month is affordable. In the past, each iteration of Photoshop would cost like $500. Even previous copies of Lightroom costed around $200 on it’s own. At $10 a month, this would only be $120 year. I feel that the only people who complain about this pricing are people who’ve probably never bought it in the past.
It will always be the most updated copy. For $120 year you can always have the most updated version instead of forking up more money to own a piece of software. People need to let go of the idea of ownership in software.
There are some awesome upgrades from CS6. Camera shake reduction, smart sharpen, perspective changing are some unique advantages to the Creative Cloud software.
The option to save things on the cloud. Each subscription comes with 20GB in Adobe’s Cloud so you can always have your projects on hand. There are also mobile apps that allow you to continue working on your devices.
It can be installed on two computers. When you buy a Creative Cloud license you can have it installed on two computers regardless of operating system, so you don’t need to worry about buying the right discs.
It’s convenient and safe. No more disabling updates or using dodgy practises to change a computer’s registry which can affect the longevity of a computer.
For the price of one less burger a month, I can have the best photo editing software out there in my arsenal.
Nordic Brunch @ Karelia Kitchen
This morning I had brunch with friends at nearby Scandinavian restaurant Karelia Kitchen. I ordered the Potato Pancake $14 which had hot smoked trout, beet and horseradish cured gravlax, and a poached duck egg. There was also a strawberry and a yellow berry. Everything on the plate was super fresh and delicious.
I also added a side of smoked strip and loin bacon. The portion was a lot bigger than I expected! The bacon was brunchy and had just the right amount of salt.
We all drank coffee with our meal. Milk and sugar came in shot glasses which I thought was funny.
I couldn’t resist the desserts in the display so I chose the oreo cheesecake topped with berries which I believe were freeze dried and added a nice crunch.
I’m excited to discover a new spot in my neighbourhood to indulge in weekend brunch!
Tiana Feng 