Being broke is no fun. I’m in London until tomorrow night, and I currently have £4.50 to my name. I splurged by buying £1 worth of Internet access, so that I could do something other than sit in my room. Also, so that I could try to get ahold of my family and ask them to give me more money. In theory, I’m supposed to meet my friend Lizzy in an hour at a club that costs £6. Whether that can happen remains to be seen.

Unless I get some more money in the next hour or so, I’m going to be in trouble when it comes to eating tomorrow. Ramen might even be too expensive (not to mention I’ll have no way to cook it). So right now, I’m contemplating some possibilities for how to nourish myself cheaply.

1. Eat Dirt: This one isn’t looking promising. There’s not really much free dirt left around London, and concrete really isn’t a good substitute. Still, a mud pie is probably going to sound pretty attractive by tomorrow afternoon.
2. Religious fast: I’m not really the religious type, and not eating doesn’t sound very attractive, but maybe if I called it a fast. Could be the start of a new, successful travel book, “Zen and the Art of Being a Broke College Student.”
3. Panhandle: This almost seems like my best bet. The only problem I see is finding a way to smell the part in such a short time frame. Looking broke might also be a challenge.
4. Nutella: The only option I have that costs money. But one jar costs only a pound, and it has something like 2000 calories. It even tastes good. But I might have trouble with walking around with the equivalent of a lead weight in my stomach for the rest of the day.

My options are booming here, there must be something that I can do… I think I’d better call my parents. :-/

Posted on August 20th, 2004 by Lee
Filed under: Uncategorized