it’s pretty easy to bribe me. i’m very bribe-able. and quite affordable too. sure, you can successfully convince me with a trip to peru on the spot but food works just as well. or yarns. or photoshoots of raven, which is something i’m trying to take advantage of lately while (a) she’s still at this marvelous age of cuteness; and (b) the weather is still beautifully warm and sunny.

“we haven’t had pepper lunch in a while” was all the line it took from jeff and i was ready. well, as soon as i got my eyebrows sorted, i was. put on my hat and i was good to go.

okay, i lied. i know that outfit i wore looked like it had been deliberated for 3 seconds flat but it actually took me more than 5 minutes (or maybe 10) to settle on it. it takes me a while to dress up as it is. add the whole breastfeeding factor into the mix and i’d be standing in front of my closet telling jeff i have nothing to wear. which is the plain and honest truth. which is something he cannot really comprehend. and i cannot comprehend his not comprehending so i guess we’ll just leave it at the whole “men are from mars and women from venus” thing.

“you know what, how about you have my closet as well and you just put all my stuff in a box. i don’t care. i’m not much into clothes anyway.” he offered.

a very, very tempting offer. i’m still looking for a big enough box.

a quick hypoglycemic drive to the city and we found ourselves at the newly-renovated pepper lunch. shame that joint isn’t really pram-friendly. it’s funny how you judge shops and restaurants with a whole new set of criteria now that you’re a parent. big aisles and baby changing rooms now leave me beaming and praising the management for doing a fine, swell job. i mean, i could even send them flowers for their thoughtfulness but flowers are overrated and i’d rather buy yarns so…

but, you know, the appreciation is definitely there.

another thing i realized? eating and feeding a squirming bub at the same time is no simple feat. just holding her and keeping her from pushing the condiments off the table left me with very toned left upper arm muscles while my right was like lifting a 5kg dumbbell of a spoon to my mouth. not a simple feat either but it’s amazing the little miracles you can do when you’re starving, hey?

walked around the city with me baby and recently-thrifted hat i bought for my sister but she didn’t want it ‘coz she said it’s so mystica. that doesn’t bother me one bit because i still think it’s a really cool hat and referencing it to a defunct sexy singer who may have been the epitome of tacky depending on who you ask doesn’t ruffle my feathers. but since she’s mentioned it, the song “halik” is on eternal replay every time it’s on my head. (cue in lyrics, complete with her signature split as an added effect: nasasaktan ako, oh baybeh…! LOL)

stumbled into this bookshop in elizabeth street. the book grocer, that’s what it’s called. a couple of stone’s throw away from jeff’s camera shop so now i know where to wait for him when he’s out ogling over cameras and lenses. win-win!

oh, and i bought a book. as expected. well, i didn’t expect to find anything i’d like but that’s the thing with expectations. reality can sometimes be the complete opposite. i didn’t go too crazy, though. i mean, sure, all the books there may only be $10 apiece but if you buy 5, that amounts to a lot already, you know. and if you know me, i’m a cheapskate.

so i only bought one: the skeleton cupboard: stories from a clinical psychologist by tanya byron. because the human brain fascinates me. the human brain gone haywire, in particular, fascinates me even more.

i swear, i should have been a psychologist. god knows how many mental disorders i have diagnosed jeff already. and those were only half-meant! imagine if it were for real. i’d be on a roll!

but he’s a good patient. he pays feeds me well.

we walked around the city under the scorching 32 degree heat. something i could complain but won’t, knowing how the cold days are looming fast ahead. it was a nice walk to the park. a bit strenuous, but kinda chill. i reckon i clocked in a week’s worth of cardio on that one trip alone. them boots, as nice as they look, felt like a ball and chain at some point. i’m still trying to break them in but it doesn’t help that i rarely wear them so i don’t know how long, or how many dead toenails, that will take. only time will tell.

as for the photoshoot we did for raven, that’s on the next blog post because something that scared the shit out of us deserves its own special airtime.

took the long walk back to the car park on our way back. into chinatown, under the pretext that jeff wanted to get hopia for snacks. you know, those little flakey cakes stuffed with taro or red beans or durian, etc? but by now, i know him well enough to assume that the main reason he wanted to go little bourke street was to do jumps on his favorite spot there.

taking advantage of the situation, i asked him to come with me to croft alley so he can take pictures of my favorite graffiti. sadly, they weren’t there anymore. so he took pictures of me instead.

in that light and outfit, and with that background, i reckon i looked smashing, but the junkie version. i mean, seriously, i blended right in!

*raven at 10 months old