(no subject)
No luck yet. I spent about 3 hours sketching in the art museum (free on Sundays), which was pleasant but people tend to whisper a lot. Yesterday evening I spent cafe-hopping, and this evening I did the same, but with Robby.
Robby, I must say, was a fantastic choice. I only wish he were allowed to stay up past nine. We made it into a spy game--he brought this stupid toy truck Aunt Sheila gave him, and scrambled around on his hands and knees under the tables, listening to people and writing down what they said. Whenever he thought he might be observed, he would push the truck back & forth, mutter, "Vroom! Vroom!", and move on. Every so often he would crawl under our table and stuff the notes he took into my backpack.
So many adults just don't look at kids, unless they're cute babies that someone's showing off. And they're completely scout-ready to underestimate them.
Meanwhile, I put some headphones on (slightly askew, and with nothing playing) and stuck my nose in my Latin book, taking my own notes.
Our strategy was working pretty well--we only got kicked out of one place, and anyway it was just a Starbucks!--but our quarry was either not there or not saying anything incriminating. We did take down some interesting things about city fiscal policy, though, and Robby ended up asking me a few rather awkward questions pertaining to sex, postmodernism, and particle physics, all of which I passed off to our mom, who was of course not there at the time.
Oh, well. Onward, forward, packing straw.
Robby, I must say, was a fantastic choice. I only wish he were allowed to stay up past nine. We made it into a spy game--he brought this stupid toy truck Aunt Sheila gave him, and scrambled around on his hands and knees under the tables, listening to people and writing down what they said. Whenever he thought he might be observed, he would push the truck back & forth, mutter, "Vroom! Vroom!", and move on. Every so often he would crawl under our table and stuff the notes he took into my backpack.
So many adults just don't look at kids, unless they're cute babies that someone's showing off. And they're completely scout-ready to underestimate them.
Meanwhile, I put some headphones on (slightly askew, and with nothing playing) and stuck my nose in my Latin book, taking my own notes.
Our strategy was working pretty well--we only got kicked out of one place, and anyway it was just a Starbucks!--but our quarry was either not there or not saying anything incriminating. We did take down some interesting things about city fiscal policy, though, and Robby ended up asking me a few rather awkward questions pertaining to sex, postmodernism, and particle physics, all of which I passed off to our mom, who was of course not there at the time.
Oh, well. Onward, forward, packing straw.