Guess what arrived in our home last Saturday? No, not Pandora’s Box but a big balikbayan box! Finally it’s here. Big sis sent it last August 8 from Thailand, and as guaranteed by the shipper it’s delivered to our doorstep a month after. What’s inside? Some goodies and stuff my sis can’t bring to their new home in Finland.
Opening the box and seeing what’s inside has made me imagine how my sis packed all that stuff such that EVERYTHING would fit within a small volume of space. I know packing up can be a complicated puzzle to solve: a + b + c + d + e + etc ≤ x where x is the maximum space that can accommodate all variables from a to etcetera. 
Equipment rental is the trend nowadays, particularly for temporary use of office equipment, A/C, computers or projectors for short-term events. For instance, we’re thinking of renting a projector for our family business, it would be easier on the budget since we are just starting out. My mom handles training for engineers and we usually hold them in universities since we don’t have our own facilities yet. We are planning to have our own seminar room someday complete with computers and of course a projector to explain things better when presenting some features of the software which can’t be easily discussed by writing on a whiteboard. Good thing, there are available projectors for rent nowadays.
Projector rental is not only useful for business presentations and seminars but also for special occasions when you need to present important videos or slide shows, such as family reunions or weddings. This is one way to entertain guests and make the affair more meaningful by presenting some photos or videos that highlight events in the life of the couple or the family involved. In the US, Projector123.com makes it even easier by delivering the projector to your place via FedEx. Whether it’s a Cleveland, Syracuse or Miami projector rental, placing an order is easy by logging in to their website, selecting your event dates, and after completing the payment process, just wait for your projector to be delivered one day before the scheduled event.
Continued from The joy of baking (Part 1)
Baking needs more exactness than cooking. With cooking, you can use your instincts and taste buds without even measuring how many pinches of salt to add to your dish. Well, there are even lots of MSGs available in the market nowadays disguised as broth cubes and seasoning powders to enhance one’s cooking. But baking? A teaspoon more could mean disaster.
Baking also needs your concentration. One time a recipe called for 4 cups of flour and there I was, carefully measuring each cup, when somebody got me distracted. Hmmm…wait, did I put 3 cups in the mixing bowl or was it 4 already? Aarggh… I had to return the flour in its package and do it again.
You also have to be familiar with the oven you’re using. We use a small electric oven and it easily heats up, it only takes five minutes instead of the usual ten for preheating time. Bigger ovens give you the advantage of being able to put more baking pans inside.
Lately I have been so busy I haven’t done much baking, but I managed to sneak into the kitchen and bake one of my faves, Deep Dark Banana Cake. I got the recipe from Inquirer Online, I wasn’t able to copy the link though. It’s one of the best banana cake recipes for me (after trying other recipes), it’s so tasty and the raisins enhanced the dark flavor. I tweaked the recipe a bit and used honey instead of molasses and muscovado sugar instead of brown sugar. And since I don’t have banana extract or flavoring, I just used vanilla instead. Though baking needs exact measurements and ingredients, you can play around by using substitutes once you’re confident with the results. The result is a soft and fluffy yet full cake with dark and silky crust. Yum!
Ideas are powerful. A train of thought can make or break, build or destroy. The choice is ours. Our ideas become our future. I believe that life’s meaningful lessons are best learned when shared with others.
