Did you poison this cookie? (2/31)

The day is winding down in HK. I was just chatting with Elijah, Michael and Tim on Skype. Elijah was proud of the fact that he woke up before I did. Time is weird- I'm in my pajamas getting ready to end my day, and they're just getting ready to eat their morning Cheerios. It was a pretty funny conversation- who knew you could fight a monster via video conference?! I lost my eye in the battle. Toddlers can be vicious.

My friend Jacqualine came over tonight. She is the teenage daughter of my dear friend Fiona, who passed away this summer after a brave fight with cancer. Jacqualine and her younger brother Kingsley come over for supper once in awhile. I like treating them to dessert, and tonight I made The Easiest Cookies in Life (also known as "cake mix cookies"- take any cake mix (lemon is my favorite), add two eggs and about a third cup of oil...presto...a pretty nice cookie for five minutes work). We had a lot of cookies, so I took Jacqualine on a cookie sharing outing in my complex.

From time to time I wander around with baking in hand, hoping to share a little love with my neighbors and pick up a smile or two. A minor frustration that I sometimes feel in HK is the "officialdom" of the culture. It actually leaves me in as much wonder as it does frustration. I offer my cookies to the workers in the building and I get a look that says, "I can't take it. It's not in the rule book". Or, "You look a little sketchy. Did you poison this cookie?!" Maybe, my cookies just don't look all that good to eat!

Jacqualine gave the cookie sharing campaign a major boost tonight. She was able to explain that I was not a crazy person (most of the time), and that the cookies were actually not half bad. Amazing what speaking a language can do! I heard a couple "ho mei's" (tastes so good!) from the takers, and picked up a few smiles, too. Cookie mission accomplished!