A Mostly Unglamorous Week

Forgot my SD card, but made a birthday cake

🍦Hello!

This week was one of those weeks where nothing makes it to Instagram. Few glamorous product shots (forgot my SD card). No big wins (still waiting on FEHD). Just the messy, unglamorous reality of building something from scratch. Here’s what actually happened:

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FEHD - Still Playing the Waiting Game

Another trip to the post office to send documents I’d already sent digitally. Got a call confirming they received the physical copies - it’s clear their digital system is hit-or-miss (or I imagine it’s going to the junk mail, and they’re not checking properly), but good old-fashioned paper never fails.

They said they’re ‘on it’ and will get this done soon. Sure. Fingers crossed, but not holding my breath.

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The Stuff Nobody Talks About

Forgot my SD card. Spent all of Thursday shooting content, came home ready to edit, and realised I’d left the card in my computer from the night before. Some genuinely good shots, all gone. Annoying? Yes. Fixable? Also yes. These things happen, and dwelling on them won’t bring the photos back.

I got this shot this week, so it’s not like I didn’t get ANY photos.

Public holidays feel strange now. Part of me wants to enjoy the day off like a functioning human. The other part does mental math on lost revenue. Plus, long weekends mean my core customers leave Hong Kong anyway, so maybe I should just take it easy too? One of those things you don’t (can’t?) learn anywhere except by actually doing the work.

Content creation is tedious. Boundaries are blurry. My IG algorithm tells me this stuff is normal, but it’s what running a business actually looks like most days.

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Custom Requests - If You Want Something Special, Just Ask

Two custom orders came in this week: a Sticky Toffee Pudding birthday cake and a physical gift voucher for one of my Flavour Lab Workshops. The voucher request was because handing someone an actual card feels more special than just saying ‘I bought you a thing.’

More work for me? Absolutely. Worth it? Every time.

There’s something genuinely lovely about ice cream being part of celebrations - birthdays, anniversaries, ‘I survived this week and need something good.’ Dessert belongs in the happy moments, and I’m honoured to be part of them.

So if you’ve got a special request or wild idea brewing, reach out. I’ll do what I can, even if it doesn’t scale or fit neatly into a business model. Not everything needs to translate directly into revenue. Some things are just worth doing because they’re on brand and make people happy.

Got a custom request or celebration coming up? DM me. Let’s make it happen.

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I’m Bad at AI (Send Help)

Spent two hours this week trying to design decorations for my ice cream cart using AI. Tried multiple tools on Poe. Tweaked prompts. Tried again. Results? Absolutely useless.

I get stuck here. Functioning line drawing, but can’t get the colours I want here.

I refuse to believe my prompts are the problem, so I’m choosing to believe AI just isn’t there yet for whatever niche thing I’m trying to do. (Or I’m using the wrong tools. Or I genuinely am terrible at this. The jury’s still out.)

Real talk: If you can help with cart design - AI wizardry or actual design chops - please reach out. Because right now my cart’s going to stay painfully boring, and that’s extremely off-brand.

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Not every week has a shiny announcement (and if you read this, you know they’re rare). Some weeks are just: bureaucracy, forgotten equipment, custom birthday cakes, and losing arguments with AI.

Thanks for being here,

Ernest