Peculiar living space

We’ve been living in this art studio for a while. It was quite an alternative. Cause there was no shower and no bathroom. I think I had no shower since the last year. But there was a heater and sometimes cold water.

The place was above the bazaar, among some normal shops. On the second floor of a huge square shaped bazaar building with multiple entrances on each side. It was quite fun. No one around at night, cause all those shops do business in the daytime as normal. But we were living there instead. It was like a room in a big castle.

The castle was closed every night. So we had to use a secret entrance. Then we would use the paid water closet on the first floor. At night the woman controlling the tribute would go away. So we could experience it for free. Also there was an architectural drain hole just near our place. Which can be used to drain.

Before us our friend used the place to do some painting and artistic meetings. But this time he had another bigger place, so he was about to drop the smaller one. I could see that he wanted to keep it though. And I was looking for a place to rest. So I agreed with him to pay for the rent and electricity. So we could keep it going for a while and live there.

Our agreement was quite shady from the beginning. Cause I think he was not sure of the costs. And I have not asked him about the electricity price either. Also we did not really knew how much of it is actually consumed. So I suggested to keep track of actual watts.

Everytime during the month our friend would come, he would check watts burned and tell something hardly comprehensible. I was trying to wrap my mind around this without any success. When he finally brought a book with symbols at the end of the month, it turned out to be quite unexpected. The electricity appeared to be industrial and cost 3 times more. Plus it’s more during the day. And it is winter. We used the heater all the time and an electrical stove. All in all we got close to the price of an actual apartment with the shower and stuff.

Also everything was little bit suspicious. I have not ever seen any real papers with numbers. And everytime I would offer to talk with the owner, our friend would say there is no need. And I think the owner had no English. And I had no Macedonian. And god knows what the guy actually thought of random guys living at his place in the bazaar. I just wanted to wait for the bill, but then our friend came and said that he had a conversation with the owner. And we should free the space.

So we packed our stuff. Paid what he asked and left as is. It is a good idea to clear things out next time from the beginning. It makes total sense to do so. That was just a lesson in the fog. On the other hand things would not happen the way they are. We were able to play guitars and sing loud in the castle any time we want. And it was wonderful. So I’m very happy about the whole experience. Hopefully our friend figures out what to do with the place, so it brings lots of fun to him or someone else too.