Original Commentary

Back in February, Kimberly implied she'd surprise Brisbane with something next month. Well, if she did it in March like she said, it wouldn't've been much of a surprise. And yes, she has to get to work (and get dressed and all that) in 15 minutes, as of the last panel - Terrence

Modern Commentary
This is why you read all the directions and gather the ingredients before you start. "Mise en place" is the French term for it. Y'know, make sure there's not a "chill overnight" in the recipe for tonight's dinner, make sure the tomatoes haven't gone off, and that someone else didn't eat all the cheese as a midnight snack.

Just the other week, I was cooking and found out - mid-cook - that my breadcrumbs were a few years out of date. Ended up having to make toast and slice it up really quickly and it worked out well enough, but it was a near thing.

This is the first time we see cooking fail due to lack of planning. That's going to be a recurring thing here, for Brisbane, Kimberly, and us. - Terrence

Original Commentary

I wrote most of this comic yesterday but I couldn't come up with a good second plan for Kimberly. I had the snappy comeback in the last panel, but I needed something to lead up to it. I read the comic out loud to Isabel and she came up with it on the spot - that she should bake the cake at a really low temperature. It's been a while since I wrote a comic, looked back on the script, and thought it was funny. (Because surprise is a key element of humor and it's difficult to surprise yourself.) It's a good feeling - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Oven logic! I really like this comic, but I think the punchline could've used just a little more punch.

You'll notice that she didn't even pre-heat the oven. Kimberly never stood a chance. "She wants to do something nice for Brisbane but doesn't quite know how" is kinda her thing. - Terrence

Original Commentary

In the old days, I probably would've had two comics involving Kimberly getting to work carrying the cake batter. I'm trying to work on pacing, because I need to - I can be too slow sometimes. Kimberly doesn't visit the lounge much. And she doesn't usually ride to work with Richard and Sinclair, but she got a ride with them today because of the cake. At least she had the sense to put it in a cake pan before she left. The oven mitt was Isabel's idea - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Yes, Richard and Sinclair would drop everything to help someone bake a cake. No questions asked. No explanation needed. It's just assumed.

If this plan had worked, would Kimberly have shared it with them? I mean, it's too much cake for two people to eat in a single sitting. She wouldn't have minded leaving the leftovers in the break room for them. But I can easily see Brisbane making the suggestion first and Kimberly agreeing. - Terrence

Original Commentary

This is actually a pretty good idea. I was thinking of having her make cupcakes out of the batter but realized she didn't have cupcake tins. Now, does styrofoam melt in an oven? That's a good question. I'm sure Kimberly will find out - Terrence

Modern Commentary
On one hand, Kimberly left the baking instructions at home. On the other hand, trying to cook a cupful of cake in a toaster oven is so far off the map that it wouldn't help. The styrofoam will probably insulate the cake (if it holds up) and the whole thing is probably a bit taller than a regular cake pan, so I think you'd need to bake it longer. But I'd want to check it every 10 minutes or so.

Those aren't Richard and Sinclair's suggestions for how to bake a cake this way. Those are their personal favorite cooking temperatures which bear no relevance to the situation at hand. If they haven't already started doing a bit, they're likely to start soon.

I mentioned that they'd drop everything to help bake a cake? Well, mostly that help involves driving people around, gathering ingredients, and waiting outside the kitchen for cake to happen. - Terrence

Original Commentary

I never knew Styrofoam could melt... that'll make me think twice about sticking that stuff into the microwave...

That little 'ding' effect was hand drawn, by the by, I was running low on time and didn't feel like looking for a cutesy font. I think it came out as well as any ding could. -Isabel

Modern Commentary
What happened to the aluminum foil? It got shaped to fit the cup. Couldn't just waste it. That's the foil that Kimberly brought with her; there's not a separate roll of aluminum foil for the office. So every time she had to tear it, there's no going back.
which I think describes this cupcake. - Terrence

Original Commentary

Now, is it really the three year anniversary of their first kiss? That's a good question. Approximately. It depends on which kiss you count as the first. Kimberly is just kind of guessing here. I dislike placing year numbers on things because the comic can take a month or more to go through a day - especially Unlike Minerva; that could spend two or three months on the events of a single afternoon. And it restarted after a year or so, so trying to put exact dates on things that happen in the comic is something I generally discourage. So let's just say that it's probably within a month or two of the three year anniversary of their first kiss and Brisbane isn't going to call her on it - Terrence

Modern Commentary
"I wish I was important enough to get invited to corporate meetings", says the guy who's never been invited to a corporate meeting.
I'm sure Brisbane had his fill of them by the end of the series.

The nice thing about being a grown-up is that you can just buy a cake whenever you want - as long as you have a couple bucks spending money.

Being a grown-up is a lot more fun when you've got a couple bucks spending money. While money doesn't directly buy happiness, it helps cover for a variety of failures. Like that cupcake.

The cooking was a disaster, but the celebration was a success because Kimberly had, like, six bucks to just buy a small cake. She probably even saved a dollar or two on bus fare so it almost works out.- Terrence