living spaces

well, since i was planning on going to the park this afternoon but its still cloudy, i'll go ahead and update things here a bit more. here are some pics of where i'm living now.

i'm only here while the regular tenant is in china; he returns at the end of may. ive managed to make the space work pretty well. its a spacious apartment in the south of amsterdam, and im happy to be able to explore a part of the city i wouldnt usually visit. there are a few great parks that i never went to until recently because they seemed so far away; but now i know that theyre worth the 20 minute bike ride from the center of the city. anyway, ive got about 5 weeks left here, then its time to relocate again.

chances are good that i'll be able to stay in the houseboat of a friend while she goes to africa for two months. she's squatting the houseboat, which is a fairly common practice in amsterdam. although i dont know of many houseboats being squatted, because theres a limited number of them - only 2,500 in the city are allowed. but she's been living in this one for over a year, and she says the owner comes and gets his mail on a weekly basis and pays the bills and registration but never bothers her. she's even left notes in the mailbox inviting him to come introduce himself, but he never has, nor has he written any response. she changed the locks, so its not like he's sneaking in at any time. rumor has it he lives with his mother in another house, so he doesnt mind anyone living on his boat. i haven't seen it yet, but will go check it out this weekend. its great because i'll barely have to pay any rent. we'll have to see how it works out.