awakened at dawn i find myself escorting a friend to a relationship workshop in dulwich hill. (more irony than a man can bare) she has an appointment and is anxious about going alone, after all, its personal stuff disclosed to a bunch of strangers, she's agitated about the whole thing so we leave early and stop in the city for a walk through kings street, grabbing various coffees, teas, healthy drinks and the occasional trinket. i'm looking for a panamanian hat, my man seems to have closed shop as i can't locate his shop anywhere near where i recall it to be. it's a funny old day as everyone seems to be smiling at me, big wide grins of acknowledgment and recognition.  
my friend wants thai food so we take a break from the hordes and duck into a small pocket-sized place that seems to have the meals already in front of us. i can't recall ordering but this is apparently exactly what i wanted, veggies and tofu. it's delicious. my friend eats meat so she's chowing down something that looks uninteresting to me. i'm in my vegan mindset again, discipline seems to be my key word of the moment. my mind is crispy, it even smells of fresh apples plucked from a tasmanian orchard.
later we stand outside the shopfront where the workshop will take place, no one seems to be around. i notice the building next door is a chocolate factory with a narrow doorway that we wander through from the street. inside is a short sighted giant who seems happy to see us.
i've already seen a huge tray marked 'seconds' and inside are bags of gourmet hand made chocolates for a few dollars.
well it seems the giant is upon us, explaining each bags variations. and i must say my discipline goes out the window instantly.
we scoff the bag between us as we wait for the workshop facilitator to arrive. 
when she does she's a glamorous looking woman with an assistant in tow, they hold lots of workshop stuff, thick marker pens, butcher paper and various files.
we are let inside and almost immediately several other people turn up.
i make an agreement to pick up my friend at 4pm and take myself to enmore. i stop in at a friends shop, say hi to the georgian girl who recognizes me, many pleasantries are exchanged and i'm almost forcing myself not to ask her to write in 'georgian' for me as i normally find myself mesmerized whenever she does.
i don't buy anything but feel like i have been given something without any cash exchanging hands, she puts something inside my heart, she always does this strangely. we say goodbye and i wish her well.
the strange pull of people towards me seems very strong today, i can't seem to slip into anonymity, everyone just acknowledges me. i end up in the art bookshop asking for sarah parry's new book which i am desperate to read but they don't have it so i buy alister reynolds new one 'permafrost.'
the girl at the counter asks me what i bought, she inspects the cover. i give her a run down on the genius of reynolds and why she should read him. she's looking at me with a strange look, almost something intimate, she nods her head and says she will read him and mentions she loves science fiction. i notice her face is quite elfish, she's an inner-city elf girl. she's looking at me very strangely but not in a bad way. i attempt to leave the shop but something stops me, a pull, she's using some sort of weird attraction upon me, i can see it in her eyes. i stare at her, snapping whatever fixation she cast. we briefly smile and i leap out the door to escape.
later i sit in the graveyard with two spanish ladies. they have a beautiful cat with them, and their english is almost non-existant but i attempt to engage in some friendly banter. i'm drinking a green health juice and they are sharing an ice cream. it's somehow all wrong, they even seem to know it. they offer me a lick but i've rediscovered my discipline.
later i find i have almost an hour and a half to kill so i go check out the market where the hub used to be. 
memories pull me back to the old days. the bank hotel, the singapore gourmet, the late-night escapades. it all comes flooding back in a wave of weirdness. i have to force myself back to the moment with some breath work and mantra. a buddhist man in white appears in front of me and i spontaneously say, 'i'm working on my inner child.'  
he nods as though needing to know this intimate secret that i have apparently revealed, smiles and vanishes into the crowds.
i march back to pick up my friend and drive her home. she tells me she didn't enjoy the workshop at all.