Day 7 - Northern Hays KS

I decided to say that we are now in "northern" Hays because today we switched hotels and had to cross under the overpass of I-70 to the northern side. Thought it might give our situation a little color....

Today we woke up to my computer alarm with a relatively new Sigur Ros song. Speaking of Sigur Ros, everyone should know that a movie is coming out on Earth Day entitled, "Earth." It's all about life. Not human life, but nature and all that (animals, plants, geography, rocks, etc). The camera work looks amazing, like the quality of National Geographic photography in video form. The Sigur Ros song "Hoppipolla" will be featured in the movie, so you know that the producers knew what they were doing.

Back to the story of our day. We grabbed yet another continental breakfast on our last free day at the Holiday Inn. Paul's brother gets a family discount at Marriot Hotels so we decided to grab a $100+ room at $35 at the Fairfield Inn which was maybe a half a mile away. Another reason that we chose this hotel chain is because they have very popular breakfast buffets. Apparently the sandwiches in the morning are fantastic. We carried about a thousand bags each (Paul's ten-pound weights in one of my bags) under the overpass and finally claimed our new room. Our first operation, like excited children, was to explore the swimming area. The hot tub was so hot that we could only stand it for a few seconds at most, so I eventually just took a seat and did some reading. Then Paul and I worked out in the adjacent room for awhile, not too long.

There's a silly and ironic thing about hotels. I don't know if I mentioned this yet, but if I did, it's worth noting again....There is so much potential for community in hotels. I mean, after all, they are giant buildings created to house people living close together and running into each other. However, the big wigs in the business capitalize on the western concept of "personal space." Rooms are really created to have all that you need: beds, desks, lights, bathroom facilities, etc. The televisions magnetically keep you in your own area, as to not be bothered by others. We like personal space. We like privacy. We like self-sufficiency. Moving images of people on screens give us easy relationships. We can watch the person and evaluate everything that they do inside of the television at their expense, but they will never ask anything of us. These concepts kind of hurt the community aspect of life at hotels, but they certainly please the managers making some green.

I didn't really connect with many people at the Holiday Inn, no one but staff for sure. Here at the Fairfield Inn, however, I already talked to some other guests staying. We talked on multiple occasions and it's nice to know that there aren't just human machines going through the routines of hotel life, ignorant and self-absorbed. Then again, maybe I'm the arrogant one.

I haven't spent enough time explaining Hays, Kansas. It's economy is largely based off of the interstate. On the north side of town, you have a Wal-Mart, a few gas stations, a truck stop, bus stop, some restaurants, and about 12 hotels for kids like us who break down and like their options for shelter. In the middle of town, there is the aforementioned shopping center and movie theatre. The residential area containing a handful of churches is located on the south side of town, which we have not explored, due largely to laziness and lack of motivation. Like I said, we westerners like our space and comfort and privacy. I'll admit it. I do also, sometimes.

If you know me well, you know that I am cheap, but for dinner I created a few excuses in my head to support Paul and Mike's decision to order pizza (only Domino's and a Chinese Buffet two miles away were open today). I told myself that since we aren't driving to Denver now, we might as well spend that money that we would on gas on pizza. I mean, hey, it's Christmas anyway. I don't know. When I eat food or pay for things I just feel really convicted, especially if I am cared for regardless of my purchase. We still have a full box of Raison Bran, a cup of Ramen, some Doritos, etc. Paul says like $15 can feed 30 people in Zambia for a year. Or maybe it was $30 can feed 15 people. Either way, why shouldn't I sacrifice a meal for that? Our meal was over $15 after paying the tip. I have seen desperate poverty first-hand. It's comfortable for me to put that behind me and pretend that it's all fairy tale. That's why I need to live with the oppressed. I need to push myself (and it's not like I wouldn't enjoy it). For the sake of empathy, to keep Christ's words out of meaningless sermons and to put them into action. Real love and real living.

For Christmas, our day was relatively uneventful. We did take it upon ourselves to go out and do something, so we saw yet another movie in Hays. I think the whole town was there, about 50 vehicles in the parking lot. The movie we saw was Valkyrie, the one about an attempted assassination of Hitler. I enjoy the movies and sometimes after seeing good (or bad) movies, I consider becoming a producer some day. Maybe in my next life....

We rerouted our trip, and honestly, I'm more excited about our new plan. Instead of hitting Seattle after the new year, we're going to Salt Lake City and then coming back through Iowa. It sounds strange, but for some reason I've always wanted to experience Iowa. I mean, what a cool name for a state. Seriously. It's not like I haven't seen cornfields....but still....

I've worn the same two pairs of underwear and the same two T-shirts and the same pair of pants since we've arrived here. I know we weren't planning to stay this long, but I'm just hoping that I don't start to chafe and that I can get to a place where I can do some laundry without paying.

God willing, tomorrow will be our last day in Hays and then we can drive all night until early the next morning to the Grand Canyon. Please, God? Please? Please UPS or Fed Ex or whoever is supposed to deliver these stupid coils? What a pain machines and technology and efficiency and mechanical things can be. Yes, a blessing, if approached correctly. But often, I think that they are equally a curse.

So now I'm sitting in this comfy chair (didn't have a chair in our room at the Holiday Inn) listening to Anathallo. It's a great new album, and you should have a listen. However, I am not wearing my onesy to bed tonight again.

I know there's a lot of pessimism encircling me concerning Hays, KS. This is simply due to the fact that we broke down here and could be somewhere else. It's not that Hays isn't beautiful. I want to make that clear. Apparently Denver is not ready for me to arrive. Maybe the world would implode if I showed up in that town. Maybe it's best that I was here over Christmas. It will be a Christmas that I won't forget, strangely enough. In the future, I will think in retrospect of this place and appreciate it more, being away from it.

Also just wanted to mention that the weather here was fairly nice. About 50 degrees today with a refreshing breeze. I walked outside this morning and felt alive wearing just a T-shirt. Guys with chemical imbalances and more-artistic-than-mathematic minds like me tend to let things like soft winds and fresh outdoor scents bring out very honest emotions. The thing is, I've been off of mood-altering medication for at least a month and a half (besides that one day), so the winds that once promoted free-spirit optimism are now the same winds that present a nostalgic sense of brokenness and loneliness.