Context

So - I...got around while I was in Berlin. (tee hee) I think the moving thing started because when I moved to Berlin on a research grant after graduating from university, [October 2009] I was actually tight on money, and the cheapest most charming place I found was a temporary with a mid-month move-out date. I started doing escorting work (ie, not needing to be tight with money) mid-December-ish...but by that time, I'd agreed to rent a friends' flat for a few weeks while he was on holiday...and then by August, it made sense to rent a very nice place where I could take incalls, and then I extended my stay in Berlin three times.

And anyways, moving from sublet to sublet and neighborhood to neighborhood lets you stay within 15 km2 and still really travel, you know what I mean? Living outside the ring in the middle of a bunch of parks down the road from the best borek shop and the best asian grocery store in Berlin, not so far from Junfernheide Teich (amazing...check it out if you get a chance) is very different from having a window that looks onto Schlesisches Tor, which is very different from living in the depths of Neukoelln.

But having moved 18 times in thirteen months, I am very excited to be stationary. Right before boxing up and storing and preparing for an extended holiday, I signed a one-year lease on a spacious, refurbished one-bedroom with a view.

Too stressful. Much too stressful. From now on, I'll let p.m. jaunts out to hotel suites in the west satisfy my wanderlust.