I have made a coffee vodka. Saved the grounds up for days, only to realise you don’t need much to make it! Left it for much longer than the recipe said, but that was because I wanted a stronger coffee taste.

Not sure if you get it in the US the same as in the UK, but I find that even just squash is good with carbonated water, e.g. orange squash. Cheaper than syrups and it tastes good with still water too!

I generally follow this recipe, but normally do about double the amount of oats for the quantity of honey and oil, as I’m looking for it to be a bit less sweet and a bit drier. You can add anything after it’s cooked, and before it’s cooled - I normally add loads of sultanas and dried cranberries, and a dried tropical fruit mix. I also sometimes mix in some desiccated coconut.

Totally understand - each to their own! And we agree on forced fun!

I WFH since COVID, and I definitely wouldn’t go back to the office (we go in once every two months which everyone really enjoys). Personally, I’d swap the 50k for working in an environment that I enjoy, and that for me means working closely and collaboratively with my teammates, who I get along with. Everyone is different though, so what I want from a job is probably other people’s idea of hell.

I wouldn’t say party culture - it is what you make of it! You’re normally at work for a significant portion of your day. Something like a table tennis table can help to break up the day and is just a bit of fun. For example, we had a table tennis tournament at work, which people got really into - it was fun and people bonded over it. I’d take that over working somewhere where you don’t even know your colleagues.

This was at a tech company where culture was a big part of why almost everyone worked there. Definitely wasn’t a party culture, but it was collaborative, where people worked closely together. There was never an expectation to work outside of working hours, or to do anything social - it was purely optional.

Obviously pay is a big factor, but it isn’t everything. I’m lucky enough to be in a sector where I can afford to get paid less and have a better work (definitely not party!) culture and work-life balance.