def METHOD_NAME(self, seps=None):
    if self.pl[0] in ("'", '"'):
        sep = self.pl[0]
        i = 1
        while True:
            if i >= len(self.pl):
                assert 0
            if self.pl[i] == sep:
                break
            i += 1
        ret = self.pl[1:i]
        self.pl = self.pl[i + 1:].lstrip()
        return ret
    else:
        if not seps:
            ret = self.pl.strip()
            self.pl = ""
            return ret
        for i in range(len(self.pl)):
            if self.pl[i] in seps:
                # foo:bar is a string
                if self.pl[i] == ":" and i < len(self.pl) - 1 and not self.pl[i + 1].isspace():
                    continue
                break
        else:
            i += 1
        ret = self.pl[:i]
        self.pl = self.pl[i:]
        try:
            ret = int(ret, 0)
        except ValueError:
            pass
        return ret