The piper always has a price to pay. Words that many of us I am sure will be familiar with. As you work through life and enjoy moments that you look back on with such fondness it can often seem that way.
My guess is it has more to do with our own human frailties than any mythical piper, we look for misery far easier than we look for happiness.
I can almost hear you wondering what path of this wonderful life of mine you think I am walking down this afternoon, well I guess being in the apartment all day writing leaves you open to being a little retrospective and less up beat than you would normally be, I think perhaps a little sunshine on my collar would have made a world of difference, but time, money and books wait for no man and I am no exception, I am here to do a task and it will be done.
That all said, it would be a shame to behave in such a way when in reality I am overjoyed to be out here in Sydney following what can only be described as a calling to write, it has been a long time since I was able to enjoy such artistic pleasures in such a bountiful amount, usually i am snatching what time I have to reverberate just before bedtime, so having a few weeks to follow my calling is truly a Godsend and I am making the most of it. I am still in love with Sydney even though it may or may not have missed me today, I find the Australian people a delight to chat to and be around, there are also many Brits over here working in bars and the like and they too talk of the wonderful attitude the locals have towards outsiders.
I do at this very conjuncture however, have an apology to make to one Sydney wine merchant. I have to admit I am hopeless with foreign currency and i usually end up just giving the retailer notes rather than trying to work the change out, so much so that my bedside cabinet is about to drop through the wooden floor under the weight of 50 cents and one and two dollar coins. Anyway, i grabbed a bottle of wine and my usual poison a bottle of Scotch and proceeded to the checkout, she rang the till up at $36.98 and said "that's $37.00 please", now me being a Brit i looked at the numbers on the till and said without thinking for a split second,
"That's $36.98 ?"
She said nothing and I handed her two 20 dollar notes, she then gave me three dollars and five cents change, which I still hadn't twigged, until i left the shop and my Oz guide here burst into fits of laughter.
I couldn't see the joke until it was explained that the money over here is rounded up to the nearest, in other words 98 is one dollar, 93 is 90 cents, "no one ever bothers with the 2 or 3 cents", well that is unless they hail from sunny Shropshire where every penny counts!. Another fine lesson learnt and another milestone for what is becoming an eyeopening trip culture wise !
My guess is it has more to do with our own human frailties than any mythical piper, we look for misery far easier than we look for happiness.
I can almost hear you wondering what path of this wonderful life of mine you think I am walking down this afternoon, well I guess being in the apartment all day writing leaves you open to being a little retrospective and less up beat than you would normally be, I think perhaps a little sunshine on my collar would have made a world of difference, but time, money and books wait for no man and I am no exception, I am here to do a task and it will be done.
That all said, it would be a shame to behave in such a way when in reality I am overjoyed to be out here in Sydney following what can only be described as a calling to write, it has been a long time since I was able to enjoy such artistic pleasures in such a bountiful amount, usually i am snatching what time I have to reverberate just before bedtime, so having a few weeks to follow my calling is truly a Godsend and I am making the most of it. I am still in love with Sydney even though it may or may not have missed me today, I find the Australian people a delight to chat to and be around, there are also many Brits over here working in bars and the like and they too talk of the wonderful attitude the locals have towards outsiders.
I do at this very conjuncture however, have an apology to make to one Sydney wine merchant. I have to admit I am hopeless with foreign currency and i usually end up just giving the retailer notes rather than trying to work the change out, so much so that my bedside cabinet is about to drop through the wooden floor under the weight of 50 cents and one and two dollar coins. Anyway, i grabbed a bottle of wine and my usual poison a bottle of Scotch and proceeded to the checkout, she rang the till up at $36.98 and said "that's $37.00 please", now me being a Brit i looked at the numbers on the till and said without thinking for a split second,
"That's $36.98 ?"
She said nothing and I handed her two 20 dollar notes, she then gave me three dollars and five cents change, which I still hadn't twigged, until i left the shop and my Oz guide here burst into fits of laughter.
I couldn't see the joke until it was explained that the money over here is rounded up to the nearest, in other words 98 is one dollar, 93 is 90 cents, "no one ever bothers with the 2 or 3 cents", well that is unless they hail from sunny Shropshire where every penny counts!. Another fine lesson learnt and another milestone for what is becoming an eyeopening trip culture wise !
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