Miserable bus, lovely hotel room

I had a miserable bus ride yesterday.* A 3-hour trip took 5 hours. We were crammed in like sardines and I couldn't move my arms for all that time. It was filthy, hot and muddy. The windows were fogged up and I couldn't see the gorgeous countryside. I tried to block the entire wretched experience out of my mind even as it happened. It reminded me of the good old days of travel in the Middle Kingdom, and made me realize that some of those good old days were really not good at all. Some were very third-worldish. My mind had done me a favor by helping me forget, but I blew it by reminiscing via re-enactment. There was no other way to get where I was going though.

But today* is better. I'm in a coastal city now. I can see the Pacific Ocean from the window of my gorgeous, clean and spacious hotel room.

I ran next door to meet someone at Starbucks this morning in the pouring rain. When I got back at lunch time, it was still raining hard.

When I stay in a nice hotel, I am always torn between seeing the sights of the city or spending time in the hotel room to soak up a relaxing environment...to get my money's worth.

Today, God made the decision for me. The rain was too hard to go out. I put on my pajamas, got my Kindle, and read nearly 300 pages of a 550-page novel. Heavenly. I can't remember the last time I had time on my hands to relax like this.

I'll be back in my own place soon. After weeks on the road, I am ready for some clean outer clothes. The ones I have must be filled with enough germs, dirt and bacteria to infect a major city.

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*When I say "today," I am talking about the day I wrote this, not the day I posted this.