Alan Ilagan

Last night our oven died. Andy was trying to bake a cake for my work place and it came out burned on top and liquid batter on the bottom. Apparently it only goes to 140 degrees now, which means we might as well be cooking on our driveway pavement.

It’s yet another sign that our kitchen is on its last legs, and a rather portentous one at that. One of the main reasons we did not register anywhere for our wedding is because we are trying (and mostly failing) to save up for a new kitchen. Not that a wedding alone will afford us the chance to rehaul everything, but it’s a start, and a badly-needed bit of hope that one day we’ll be able to re-do it in the future. I don’t know how other couples are able to do it.

Personally, I have no real business being around an oven, and the real blow is to Andy, who loves to bake and cook. Without this, he’s going to be lost. Baking brings him a sense of peace and accomplishment that I, unsurprisingly, cannot provide.