Nuremberg & The Mechanical Pencil

I couldn't believe the difference, I didn't even notice, nor could figure out when I went from the Cheq Republick through to Germany. I just ended up in Nuremberg. Suddenly the whole world was different.
I should qualify that Prague it seems avails itself of all kinds of experiences, and if you luck out and get good accomodation, good restaurants it may just be the best place in the world.
But I couldn't wait to fucking get out of there because for me, it was the worlds most beautiful rat infested pit. A place where I felt I had to look over my shoulder constantly. A place where you couldn't even trust money.
Of which I had run low on my account that I could actually withdraw money from. So I simply transferred more money in. Honda still pays my lifestyle technically, that's how good I am at saving.
But on the morning of the day that I got up incredibly early, got locked out of the hostel reception preventing me from checking out. Said 'can't help you buddy go to the embassy' to a guy that told me he got drugged and robbed on the train and asked me for 60 euros for a ticket back to Germany. The same day I was thrown off the train with my bike (that got a flat) and put on a bus, to drive to another train station, and then apparantly put back on the same train. To almost crying when told you could take a bike on every single train in germany.
On that day I had about 18 euro's in my pocket.
But to be on the safe side I went to the bank (which they have in every trainstation in Germany) and withdrew money. And then they informed me I had none.
This left me with 18 euros, and with time zone differences - 48 hours before I could get any more.
The awesome Hostel in Nuremberg allowed me to pay after I left, once I'd figured out my finances and didn't even ask for collatoral. This allowed me to eat lunch/dinner.
But it was funny, just for that brief moment... two days with no money, it totally changed everything. Not only did I not have to lie to the numerous beggers throughout europe for once, but it is just strange sort of self righteous poverty when making a 3 euro purchase is a really big deal.
These were the real experiences of abroad, of travel. The adventure is never in booking ahead, arranging three different forms of finances. The adventure is always in turning up not knowing anything and having to figure shit out.
Here in Australia, since I returned I've been letting my account run down, I haven't logged in to any of my online accounts for months.
Yesterday I withdrew my last cash I could from an ATM leaving a bank balance of $2.64. I then went and bought a mechanical pencil.
And you know what, two weeks ago I would have bought the $10 one without even thinking about it. But suddenly the difference between $10 and $3 became a big deal, because it represented saving 30% of my net worth (for 24 hours) and finally I'd got that feeling back.

Interestingly I probably made a good decision to go cheaper, percieving (no doubt correctly) that until I'd fucked around with a cheap mechanical pencil for ages, I wouldn't be able to percieve the benefit of a good one.
It also feels really good just to use a mechanical pencil, more on that later in the next fowp update.
The other side, when I have more time to write about what I think may quite possibly be going very wrong with me, is that it was the medicine to all the meaninglessness that is stifling me.
I mean specifically, the complaints by people about how expensive housing, or petrol, or bananas, or anything is when they are all walking around in $180 shoes, and $60 (cheap) neckties! Neckties aren't even functional. Kids are still incredibly rich! I don't understand this recession. Maybe we really need it, when all we do is work 14 hour days to afford stuff that has little to no practical value at all.
but anyway, buying a mechanical pencil felt really good yesterday, because it was a big investment. Even if it only lasts a day.