05 Jan 2010

R: One starts to worry about one's biological clock when every adorable child on the street stirs the immediate urge to drop to one's knees with open arms - "Baby!" I went through an almost-baby-snatching period in my last couple of years in college that was both inexplicable to me and somehow natural. I would see children running down the sidewalk in that characteristic helter skelter, no reserves way that only children are capable of and I'd immediately want to catch them in my arms. I think it might've been a protective instinct since it's pretty dangerous to run like that on New York sidewalks, but it was mostly the urge to hug them.

I thought this phase in my life had passed, and I could return to avoiding disease-bearing children and their screaming and ruining lives. I was certainly back on the absolutely-no-kids-ever track, but then I started working at a community center, and what do you know but those little snot machines wormed their way back into my heart. They are just too much fun to watch. I can't help it. They toddle around wearing 17 thousand layers of warmth, and I just want to grab them and take them home and feed them marshmallows.

This particular fellow is one of those little heart-breakers that you know is a raging brat when the mood strikes him, but would you look at that face? He was at Thai Market with his parents and a group of other familes. My table had been making eyes at him throughout the meal, when he saw one of the waitresses passing by and latched on to her hand. He wouldn't let go or come back to his parents no matter how they coaxed; he just smiled impishly and wallowed in the attention. I was not even remotely sneaky when I took out my camera and snapped this shot. Actually this was the second shot, since the first was blurry without a flash. He mugged for both when he saw my camera. He's going to be trouble, that one, what with charming creepy strangers at restaurants and all.

C: I've been suffering from migraines at lot more than usual, and I called in sick this morning since another night of imperfect sleep meant I woke up with a headache again. When taking painkillers, drinking water, eating and even peeing don't work, I typically resort to napping, but that didn't work for me this time. M was out with his dad all day, and he thought maybe all I needed was some time outside of the apartment. After some major coercion (it is freezing outside, you know), he convinced me to roll my wallowing arse out of bed to meet him at the Pru. We did a little people watching and the headache passed, and I was hungry again. M had some leftovers from Bostone, so naturally I wanted beer to go with it. We hurried over to M's former employers, Coolidge Corner Wine & Spirits, and beelined it to the Belgian bottles (I chose La Chouffe). Nothing like pizza, beer and a movie for a Friday night.