Dilemmas and Other News

Dilemma 1: Invitation to two gatherings on the same night.
2 microbiology teams at SLU are combining with each other and they are holding a party to celebrate the advent of their cooperation. It'll be a pot-luck thing with each person bringing something to the party, and will be held at the home of the Big Guy. His wife works in one of the microbiology teams and offered the use of their home. I'm invited.

Zairis from Honduras is leaving on 10 April and the corridor has decided to hold a farewell party for her on the same night as the previous party. This is also a pot-luck session, but will be held in the common kitchen of our corridor.

Which should I attend? I have to RSVP by tomorrow with what I'll be preparing. Don't tell me both. Read and register the term 'pot-luck'. It means I have to prepare something. Not two things to feed an army. My brain hurts...

I don't want to miss the first party lest they think I'm unfriendly and not sociable, which could in turn make my time at SLU more unpleasant. Neither do I want to miss the other party since Zairis is a really great girl. We shared many good meals together in the kitchen on Sundays. Although she'll be back in September, I won't be around then. So that means we won't be seeing each other anymore. So this party is also rather important in a personal dimension.

Social gathering for work or social gathering for friendship and fellowship?

Dilemma 2: Why are my cookies flat?
Somehow I just can't seem to get my cookies to attain certain height in Sweden. Maybe I'm too rusty. I used to have this problem back home, but I can't remember what I did to solve it. More flour? More butter?

Although I like my chocolate chip cookies flat so that the chocolate can be fully appreciated instead of being covered by flour, I believe cornflake cookies shouldn't be flat. And that's exactly what happened to my cornflake-coconut, and cornflake-rasin cookies today. They rose a little in the oven, but flattened soon after. Even then, I think they tasted quite good still. At least Zairis and Xuedong concurred. Hey, only the two of them tried the cornflake cookies today!

But why ah? I placed such nice rounded teaspoons on the baking parchment. Too much/little flour? Too much baking powder? Insufficient butter? Oven too hot? What? What? I don't want a trial and error situation here. Amateur bakers, help me out here. What should I do to make my cookies nice and thick (~ 1cm)? Please?

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In other news...

I think I'm really lucky today. Feeling rather lazy, I didn't walk up but took the lift instead. As you probably know, there is always a gap between the edges of the lift and the floor of the platform. Now, this gap is neither too small, nor can it be considered big. But it is definitely sufficient for a bunch of keys (only 2 flat keys) to pass through. And lucky me had to drop my bunch of keys directly into this gap. But heng man, the angle was wrong and the keys were just lodged in the gap, with just the tiniest bit (about 0.5cm) sticking out. Sia lah... heng man. I managed to get my keys back. I can't imagine what would have happened if they passed through that gap. I didn't have my mobile with me. Even if I did, and called Securitas to open to door for me, I would have to pay 800kr, and an additional of 200kr to get another set of keys. Lucky me. Looks like I have to keep my keys secured to the landyard that I have around one of the belt loops of my pants all the time, even when opening the doors.

I don't have my Singapore SIM card in my mobile all the time, so it's difficult to call me. I suggest all back home to email me instead. But it so happens that Yeo-ah-yeo SMS-ed me yesterday about possible mobilisation. He thought I was already back in Singapore. But lucky me (again), there was no mob, so I don't have to go back to camp next time and explain my absence. What's more I don't have the stoopid entry stamp in my passport (because of some idiot girl in France), so explaining will be difficult.

I've been rather lucky the last two days. Let's hope this good luck train doesn't derail and the 'l' doesn't change to an 'f' at any point in time. Perhaps the solution I thought of for the bonding of the different layers over this weekend will work? Fingers crossed.