Teepoo's Scribbles

What Will I Look Like When I’m Old?

teepoo — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 22:04:13 +0000

I blame curiosity on this post. Like most people, when I came across Aging Booth in the App Store, I was well curious. What would I look like as an old lady? Well the answer is this..

The one asian stereotype that I hope I do fall under is that I will look 20 forever and the above photo does not happen.

Things I Learned So Far From Video Blogging

teepoo — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:56:48 +0000

On my music blog I started making video album reviews. It was definitely something that I had my doubts of doing because of some great fear of not being liked or that people would make fun of me. It has only been a few weeks, but here are some things that I took away experience so far:

How to Improvise
In the beginning my videos seemed to much like I was reading from a page. Then I got more comfortable and stopped looking at my notes so much. I also began to be much more spontaneous. Some of the hilarious things in the videos just happened on the spot.
How to Edit Video
This is still a learning process for me but when I started, I had no idea how to edit video. I am currently using Adobe Premiere Pro CS4. I’m always reading up on new techniques so if I start to play with special effects, you’ll know why.

Take Criticisms Lightly
Someone clicked dislike on my video and I used to get upset and hide in a corner. Now I realized, it’s better to get a dislike than nobody watching them at all. At least I can learn from negativity and improve on future videos. In terms of what I say on the videos, my mentor told me I need to stand strong on my opinions even if the world may not agree with me. There will always be people who agree and disagree with an opinion and critiques aren’t made to impress everyone. I am still developing my style and voice as a video blogger but it will always represent me.

Never Give Up
Like blogging, there are slow days. There are days where almost nobody reads anything and giving up seems like a valid option. Nobody is watching, why should I continue? I never gave up and I recently received a ton of new subscribers because a more popular guy reviewed one of albums that I did. As a result, I was listed in one of the Related Posts.

I don’t think I will give up video blogging any time soon. Who knows, maybe you’ll see one on here as well!

Space Invaders Infinity Gene Finally Blasted!

teepoo — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:15:27 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve beaten and posted about an iOS game. I end up getting way too excited over games and download WAY too many of them. I’m slowly getting through the ones I currently have before I get any more. One game I have finished was Space Invaders Infinity Gene which is available in the iTunes store for $4.99. It’s well worth the money as it has some amazing replay value even when it’s been beaten.

The game is fast paced and like a much improved version of the original space invaders. The characters are kept familiar and you’re still in a pretty much 8 bit-like animation mode. The one difference is, the music is pretty amazing and intense. Levels follow a system of leveling up and branching out. There are a few levels that I swore were impossible at first but in a fluke I beat them. Not sure how it happened. The controls are pretty smooth, the shooter follows my finger pretty well across my iPad.

The game follows a level up system with a progress bar after each level. Each time you “gain a level”, something unlocks. You can unlock settings, functions, stages and lastly different shooters. When you beat enough levels the music mode become available. This in itself is worth the $5 on the game. This function turns any song in your iTunes into a Space Invader’s level. It’s pretty neat. Although if you have an absurdly long song in your library it makes for an endurance level. I actually beat this game a few months ago in a matter of days. The written levels themselves aren’t too hard, especially if you were a former space invaders (or even Raiden) player.

Now that I have blasted enough aliens, I can finally delete this one from the list. It’s strange but beating a game that I started makes me feel like I followed something through. I think I needed to feel that way lately.

Anyway, what’s your favorite iOS game? I’ll add it to the list of things I need to play!

WTF is a Slim Burger?

teepoo — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 05:23:44 +0000

Hero Burger is just one of those okay burger joints in Toronto. I think they just have too many choices. I prefer places were the burger toppings have been worked out to perfection and are presented at a price that isn’t an absurd. I always seem to make a fail burger at Hero Burger because I either forget to say an important topping or I just don’t say much or I’d be that annoying pretentious person in line. But anyway, this isn’t a rant about toppings at Hero Burger.

The other day I was at Hero because it had just happened to be a convenient place for lunch. I had an average “Hero Burger” but was enjoying the freshly hot fries. While I was eating, I was appalled from the little table sign that was sitting in front of me. It was an introduction to what would be called the Slim burger. To me, it just seemed like a burger with a lack of bun. Sure less bread does mean fewer calories, but it also means it would be an atrocious thing to eat. The sauce would break the thin bread and the contents would just fall out. It’s a disgrace to a burger.

Honestly, if you are trying to diet, what on earth are you doing in a burger joint? It’s not cheap either. I hate people who call themselves foodies and obsess over dieting. Go back to the celery you came from. This stupid sign was an idiotic reminder that I should probably be eating healthier, but I don’t want to be. I eat what I want. Whoever comes into Hero Burger probably doesn’t give a crap about their diet, they just want a burger. If you’re one of those people who do, is eating a slim burger going to make you feel better? slimmer?. The answer is no. The Slim Burger needs to go away and soon. It is just something that shouldn’t exist, like the veggie burger, except those people know what they’re getting into.

Bubblegum Adventure Time

teepoo — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:18:55 +0000

I had a pretty DIY Valentine’s Day this year. It started with the Pinterest inspired card but what we did on Valentine’s night was pretty crafty as well. We found these boxes of what looked at the time like some kind of edible play-doh in-a-box at the Asian grocery store:

I thought that they were going to be like the powder cupcake and donut set. However when we opened it, there was mini packets of bubblegum, sprinkles and a stick to use as a rolling-pin.

We decided that on Valentine’s we would make the cast of Adventure Time. It was a show that we were both fans of and had led to our first date.

We had the original intention of making just Finn, Jake and Princess Bubblegum but we ended up having enough to make some others. Bubblegum is much more difficult to handle than actual play-doh as it is incredibly sticky. Lint kept getting in the way and if you made the slightest movement the thing warped. This is the result of 2 hours of stickiness:

They were much smaller in real life

The largest figure, the princess, was only 2 inches. Don’t worry we didn’t eat the bubblegum. Who wants to eat bubblegum that we touched for 2 hours? It smelled delicious though. It was a hilarious way just to spend time together and do something that had meaning. Fancy dinners and expensive presents can be nice on Valentine’s but doing something random together has much more meaning. It’s not everyday you can find someone that you can do anything with.

DIY Valentines: Pinterest Inspired

teepoo — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:27:51 +0000

Me and my boyfriend didn’t really want to make a big deal out of Valentine’s Day, especially since we’re still both in job hunt mode. I decided to look to Pinterest for some DIY card designs. Here is the front of the card I made:

Text says: "I hope you'll always be there to eat my green Skittles"

The paper heart was inspired by this love note pin. The skittles represent a chapter in the beginning of our relationship. Before we dated, when we had just started talking, I was eating a pack of Skittles and told him I hated the green ones. I also blurted out that I would love the boy who would eat my green Skittles. He told me he liked green Skittles. It’s funny because we had not even thought of each other as date-able material at that point but it’s one of our first memories as friends.

The front of the card was an idea from this pin.

It looks simple enough but harder to execute than it looks. I love thought put into DIY gifts. Sure fancy gadgets would be nice but those are for Christmas and birthdays. If you are one of those people who complain about Valentine’s Day being too commercialized than get off your ass and make something.

The rest of our day was also pretty DIY and crafty, but I’ll tell you about that tomorrow.

No Coffee Challenge: Half-Way Point

teepoo — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:28:58 +0000

Still not a coffee

February is a short month, therefore I’m already half-way through my challenge of giving up coffee for a month. I can tell you that time didn’t pass by fast at all in the beginning. The first few days were highly dreadful. I would wake up with headaches and quite nauseous. This all happened because I did not drink my usual cup of morning coffee.

I began to find ways to help my body feel awake and refreshed. Some things worked and others didn't. Here is what helped me:

Splashing Face with Cold Water
This sounds almost stupid, but the cold water on your face really does refresh and wake me up.

Walking the Dog
There’s nothing more refreshing than fresh air. Walking the dog became a good way to activate all my joints and muscles as well absorb some sunlight. Sometimes I think my mood is directly related to my weather and seeing the sun really does brighten my mood. I also love it when Teddy meets a new friend along the way!

Tea/Hot Chocolate
It’s really hard to give up caffeine entirely so for those times when I needed a bit of a jolt tea helped. I find green tea makes me sleepy though. Black tea works best. Hot chocolate with a hint of cayenne pepper and cinnamon is also a great way to spice up the morning!

15 minute naps
Sometimes you just need to nap and taking a little 15 minute power nap can be what I need. It’s a great way to rest the eyes and get them away from the a billion screens that make up my life.

I hope I can continue to ignore coffee for the month. However, I have a business meeting on Friday at a coffee shop called the Roastery. Would it be too pretentious to order a tea?

Photoset: Heart Potato

teepoo — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:55:06 +0000

Maybe love is in the air because it’s almost Valentines day, but I found this potato that looked like a heart while I was making chips. I decided to tell a mood story with a potato. It goes from rather light and happy looking to pretty dark.

Happy early Valentines day!

Microwave Potato Chips Recipe

teepoo — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:34:00 +0000

If you follow me on Facebook or twitter you’ve heard about me making potato chips with the microwave constantly. People always ask me for the recipe so I thought I’d finally make a post about it. I discovered this recipe when I was a student with not too many ingredients and resources available. Here’s something that anybody can do if they have a random potato lying around!

Ingredients
1 table-spoon of oil (olive or vegetable doesn’t really matter)
1 potato
Seasoning (salt, pepper, get creative!)

Instructions
1. Thinly slice the potatoes. Don’t make them way too thin because they tend to burn or get stuck on the plate. My slices are usually around 3mm thick.
2. If you have paper towel lying around pat the slices down dry. It lessens cook time and gives you a better result.
3. Mix potatoes and oil in a bowl so that they are even coated.
4. Coat the plate with a little bit of oil/PAM so the potatoes don’t stick. Arrange the potatoes on the dish in a single layer.
5. Cook in the microwave for 5 minutes. The cooking time can vary depending on the power of your microwave and how thick you cut your potatoes. Basically if they are a little bit brown they are done. If they aren’t brown, they won’t be crunch!
6. Toss with your own spice. In the picture above I used Montreal Steak dry rub from Club House and some cayenne pepper. Get creative and mess around with your own toppings!

The recipe also works for sweet potatoes. Happy eating!

Yes, I Will Eat That Much

teepoo — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:00:01 +0000

I don’t know why but every time I go out to eat I get rather trivial looks and then am asked the question “Are you sure that’s what you want to order?”

Triple-pork poutine? Hell yeah I did.

Yes, damn it. Why would I ask for it if I wasn’t sure? I admit that me (and my boyfriend) are pretty small framed people. That doesn’t however mean I munch on salads and bite size portions. I enjoy and can chow down on any fat guy’s happy meal.

One day I was in BQM in Toronto and was faced with a dilemma: Should I get the bacon filled poutine or a delicious burger? The solution? I got both.

Burger or poutine? The answer is BOTH!

I devoured both as the waitress watched in horror. There’s nothing wrong with me. I just love food and can somehow keep a 105lb frame.

On dates with the boyfriend we also get questioned. “Are you sure you want 2 orders of fajitas?” Apparently, people normally get 1 order and can’t finish. Listen lady we wanted 2 orders. And man did we clean them up!

Last night was 1/2 price wing night so we decided to get 64 wings in 6 different flavours. “Are you going to finish that many wings?” Some random dude actually came back to look at our progress every 5 minutes.

Hello restaurant workers out there. YES I DO WANT WHATEVER IT IS I ORDERED. Let me be. The day I downsize or order a salad is the day I have been possessed by one of the cows which created the burger I just ate.

For now, bring on the food.