July 2015 – Page 3

I May Be A Robot

July 11, 2015Health, LifeLeave a Comment

Sometimes I’m like a robot. I have a set of tasks I need to get done before I let myself go to bed. I’ll go on for weeks and months like this.

Then eventually like a robot, I break down a little. I get tired, anxious, stressed out, maybe even depressed. It’s awkward to talk about but at times talking about it is the greatest way to fix it. I need to let myself relax, without thinking about the a million things (there are always things) that I could/should be doing. I’m like a robot that needs to stay on the task at hand and doesn’t know anything else.

This weekend, I’m letting myself relax. Some e-mails will go unanswered. Some posts will go unwritten. Walks will be taken. Food will be eaten. Naps will be taken. Robots need to be recharged once in a while, and I do too.

This Water Is From Iceland

July 10, 2015Drinks, Food1 Comment

My parents went on a trip and had a layover in Iceland for a few days. They brought me back a bottle of Icelandic Glacial water. At first, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to leave it sealed as a souvenir forever or drink it. I decided to choose the later. I’ve been trying to get out of the habit of collecting things without using them. Things are meant to be used, played with, eaten, whatever or they don’t have a place in my tiny apartment. Moving out on my own has showed me that for sure.

Bottled water is a strange concept for people that actually live in Iceland because of their ample supply of fresh water. I think the concept must mainly exist to sell to tourists and abroad.

Anyways, I decided to play water connoisseur (this is an actual job someone actually does by the way). The result was that it tasted like… nothing. Which doesn’t mean that the water isn’t different than our water. Our water indeed tastes like something, usually like the bottle, or fridge, or has a tiny bit of sweetness. This really tasted nothing. Does that mean it’s more pure? I don’t know. Nash drank some and thought it tasted like mineral water, which it indeed is.

Do different waters taste different to you? What is your favourite? I want to know! I should ask for a bottle of water as a souvenir from everywhere so I can drink the waters of the world.

Words To Avoid in Confident E-mails

July 9, 2015Inspiration, LifeLeave a Comment

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#Repost of @aubrey_jax's photo. Had a lovely time last night with all these girls! Thanks @thesuperdarlingband for hosting ❤️❤️❤️❤️ #torontowomeninmusic

A post shared by Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) on Jul 9, 2015 at 1:44pm PDT

A few weeks ago, I started attending meetups of women in the Toronto music industry. Last night, someone mentioned an article on how women tend to sound less confident than men in e-mails because they use certain unnecessary words. While, some of those theories are somewhat debunked, or anti-feminist (because men should take women seriously no matter what), I think there’s validity in using these words less often. There are times to sound polite, and nice but when you need something done (especially professionally) here are some words to avoid:

Just
Out of all unnecessary words, “just” is a word that is truly unnecessary in most cases. It can come off as too harsh if read in the wrong tone or too passive.
Example, “I want to follow up…” sounds like it will get more of an answer than “I just want to follow up”. You either want to or you don’t. There’s no need for “just”.

There are cases where it sounds too harsh. Example “just go over there”, sounds more pissed/passive aggressive than “go over there”.

Hopefully
In a professional setting you never “hopefully” want something to be done. Sound like you’re in control and less like you are complaining. “I will finish all this paper work” not “Hopefully, I will finish all this paperwork.”

Actually/Literally/Basically
These are essentially the same thing. These don’t help you explain a situation, in fact if you repeat any or all of these words in an e-mail it can ruin the flow and sound very distracting.

Kind of/sort of
It is or it isn’t. There isn’t a middle (at least most of the time). Don’t be vague.

Sorry
Unless you legitimately need to apologize for something there’s no need to say sorry (but even then, a personal call is necessary). “Sorry for bothering you but..” No. Just cut the unnecessary apology and get to the point. You never want to give a person a reason to dislike your e-mail even before they read it.

Bonus here’s a word we should say more often: No. Learning to say no avoids other people’s priorities from taking over your own, and allows you to focus on your true priorities.

Teddy Will Entertain You

July 8, 2015Pets, Photography, TeddyLeave a Comment

Headed off to another meetup today with some cool people so don’t have too much time to blog! Enjoy some photos of Teddy

My Irrational Fear of Lightning

July 7, 2015LifeLeave a Comment

Haha, I found this lame piece of photoshop I did when I was 14.

I have always been afraid of lightning. It’s like an unpredictable deadly thing. The funny thing is I am short so it will probably hit someone else before it hits me. That is a scientific fact right?

When I was younger I was even terrified of thunder. It would roar through the house. Mom would tell me that there was nothing to be afraid of if I wasn’t a bad girl. But what was “bad”?

Then other times she would tell me to be careful. To not go outside, take showers or even sit in cars during a major lightning storm. Apparently even staying in the house might not be safe.

I don’t know why but every time I think of lightning I replay this memory in my head of walking home in a storm and a strike a few meters away. I can’t legitimately confirm if this actually happened or if the event has been twisted and animated with false memories.

A couple of weeks ago, on the Friday of Bestival the weather networks warned of a thunderstorm. Bestival took place on the Toronto island. I thought I was in for my doom this time. While my feet were muddy and my clothes wet, I was fine. There was no lightning, or it just had better places to hit.

I think my fear of lightning has subsided a bit but I’ll still avoid going outside during a storm if I don’t have to.

What’s your irrational fear?

Cooking As Therapy

July 6, 2015Food, Health, Inspiration, LifeLeave a Comment

Lately, I’ve been so busy that all my meals were quickly thrown together with whatever the hell I had in the fridge. Sometimes they’d taste weird but I made do because I was busy and headed off somewhere else in an hour (or less). Cooking and eating became more of a stressful mandatory activity than an enjoyable one.

Finally today I had time to plan a meal and actually see it through. I pan seared pork chops, following half of the instructions of a Gordon Ramsay video and my boyfriend helped and made pan-fried eggplant with melted mozzarella in between them. It was a team effort, but it was fun and relaxing at the same time.

On days where I’m not so busy, I want to have more fun with cooking again, seek out new delicious recipes and learn different techniques. Cooking can be rather therapeutic if you let it be!

Sweet Weekend

July 5, 2015Food, SnacksLeave a Comment

It’s rare I have a weekend where I have nothing planned so I headed over to Market 707, where shipping containers were converted into restaurants and shops.

As my avid readers know, my friend Steph has a little café called Petit Nuage there that specializes in French macarons and cream puffs. For the summer, she even has a patio where you can enjoy tea and coffee (iced options available!).

The inside of the shop has changed a bit since I last went. There are now shelves with teas and other things for sale!

I enjoyed a piece of matcha tea cake on the patio. It was delicious and beautiful.

I also picked up half a dozen macarons which came in an adorable box with a print of kittens having a tea party. Naturally, I took photos of the macarons before eating them. Enjoy some photos below:

Intergalactic Travel Authority

July 4, 2015Food, Restaurant Reviews2 Comments

There’s an adorable café in my area called the Intergalactic Travel Authority. Until recently, I thought it was legitimately a travel agency. Then I walked by one light and the portal and the back was glowing. I had wanted to visit ever since but it’s usually closed by the time I come home from work. This summer, I have half days on Friday so I went into the café yesterday to do some writing.

What I learnt was that this was no ordinary coffee shop. All the profits from the coffee sales go to a charity program called Story Planet. The program focuses on teaching children how to be creative and express themselves through literacy. They take place in the back of the café in a classroom behind the secret portal.

Some of the stories that were created during this program are for sale inside the shop. I love the idea of this program. All kids should be encouraged to write and what an awesome way to do so and make their imaginations come true! There are also random trinkets and art for sale.

There are even interplanetary spices for kitchens in need.

I ordered a mocha and they make a mighty fine one! I will definitely make galactic travels occasionally to splurge on a guilt-free mocha to support a wonderful cause. If you’re in the area, please consider buying a coffee here if you get the chance!

Passed Halfway

July 3, 2015July 3, 2015Inspiration, LifeLeave a Comment

Cheers! This is my 184th blog post in a row this year. That means I’ve more than passed blogging every day for the entire year. The most incredible part is my best friend has also achieved this goal.

It hasn’t been easy. The last month and a half or so have been some of the craziest in terms of work and festivals. There were a couple of times where I became super close to forgetting (like seriously I was blogging at 11pm) but I managed to get in a post every day. Having a smartphone really helps when you are in a bind. The WordPress app for iOS isn’t perfect, but it’s sufficient enough to at least upload a photo and type some words.

Though sometimes the quality isn’t the greatest, I am super happy with all my posts. I have become less critical about publishing my work and find it a lot easier to speak my mind. I like to write down ideas (or even entire posts) as soon as they come to mind, so a lot of my writing has been happening on the go on my phone. I contemplate carrying around a notebook (and you know I love Moleskines) but having a digital notebook in my pocket is just so convenient.

The summer business stretch isn’t over yet! But I’m not quitting. Besides the busier I am, the more ideas and photos I have to blog about! It’s a win win.

Life is a continuous adventure and I love sharing it with all you here.