New place? (and a trip to Jordan!)

What's new?

I have a prospect for an apartment! I'm still not sure whether I'll take it, it's not EXACTLY what I've been looking for, but is so close and the position and price are so great I might take it. 

It's a one bedroom with a tiny kitchen and a separate large living room. It's got a bathroom of course. 

Separate from the apartment there's a sort of storage area under the apartment with two separate rooms. One is small, one is really big but they are not heated. They do have electricity and one room has a faucet where I could install a sink.

What's missing? I'm missing a spare guest room. All the other rooms are there. The question is, how often will people be coming to stay with me? How much do I really need a spare room? Could I scrum up a way to use the basement storage space as a studio space and a spare room?

The other downer is that there's no balcony and no garden. There's a courtyard that is a common area, where people store bikes and mopeds and stuff but it's surrounded by walls, direct sunlight would only get in at high noon. 

There are other more secondary problems, the apt is on a main rd, the windows open out onto the road except for the bedroom which is on the courtyard. The basement windows are at sidewalk level and cars park there, exhaust from the cars would leak in if they were kept open.

There are so many things to factor in, I have a hard time figuring this one out. They need an answer by next week... At the latest, there are others interested.

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In other news bf and I are going to Jordan for the Christmas holidays. I've always wanted to go to Jordan to see Petra and the desert, ever since I saw Indiana Jones and the Quest for the Holy Grail. We're leaving on christmas eve and leaving Jordan on the early morning of the 1st of January, so no Christmas and no New Year's celebrations for us. I kind of prefer it that way, no hassle, no worrying about gifts or anything.
I'm super excited though. I'm just a little worried about the cold nights, but other than that I'm gung-ho.

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