A night in Newtown

BUY:

$15.50 - weekly train ticket to Erskineville

$40 - books

$8.50 - tip for dinner at Sherpa Kitchen, Newtown

$4 - donation

WHY?

The sightseeing with MB and Em continued onto Sunday night. Had we met in front of Newtown station as planned perhaps I wouldn't have spent what I did. Instead I was directed to a bookstore where the two of them were browsing. They had already bought their fill and had also identified a vegie-friendly restaurant but that didn't stop them taking me into two more bookstores on the way to dinner.... very dangerous.

Leaving me in a bookstore when I am trying to limit my spending is like taking an alcoholic to a wine-tasting. Books are my weakness. I can, and do, spend hours browsing shelves, rarely leaving empty-handed because I don't have a lot of self-control. At the first two stores, I was a little overwhelmed by choice and so didn't actually buy anything - I enjoyed being surrounded by the ideas and opportunities within, soaking up the intoxicating scent and coveting the exciting new titles (yay me). However all that changed after dinner, during which we were assaulted by a charity mugger seeking donations for a soup kitchen. I couldn't help but feel guilty about those less fortunate than I as I sat waiting for another gorgeous meal to settle before I rolled out the door and so I handed over some coins. We looked for a dessert/coffee place but that forced us past a second-hand store two doors from dinner where I succombed and bought two work-related books (well, that's how I justify my compulsion) on selling and a third on genealogy, in keeping with my role as the family archivist.

I start house-sitting today for friends in Erskineville (hence the ticket purchase) and I am really keen to live in the Newtown area, but I may have to revisit this idea now that I know there are a myriad of bookstores open late into the night...