Wicked Hostel, Calgary

Lately I've been concerned about finances for this trip, as Canada is very expensive compared to the states; it's probably comparable to Europe.  After sleeping late this morning to rest up after the exhausting, yet fun-filled, time in Banff, I was just relaxing on the hostel sofa when one of the young men that works here asked if I could fix the flooring problem.  I agreed.  Four hours later and the bulge in the engineered flooring was removed and repaired.  Having to use tools that weren't designed for the job made it interesting; however, the end product was neat and clean and as soon as the glue dries the small gap won't be noticable.  One of the benefits of doing this favor is that I'll be staying a few more nights here in Calgary.

Calgary's Regeafest is happening this weekend and it is something I would enjoy attending.  There is something primordial, soothing, and healing about Regea music for me.  Thus, five nights in Calgary altogether.  This means I'll have to spend less time in other areas in order to make my way to NYC for the Uptown Express concert on September 9th.  A woman from San Francisco area arrived today so she could attend the Regeafest as well, so I asked if she wouldn't mind an escort.  It will be interesting to have someone to enjoy the music with.

The Wicked Hostel here in Calgary is very new, Jeff, the owner, is still putting things together.  He's very friendly with a calm, gentle energy.  The hostel has some very colorful paint - hot pink to funky blue.  The atmosphere here is one of fun, especially since it is located just across from the Calgary Stampede Park.  There are some people who are residing here for short periods for either relocation or vaction-work experiences.  Chloe, the 18 year old Australian, assisted me today, along with Luke and Will (a few of the others staying here and working).  Chloe is a delight, very friendly and outgoing.

People move about, some sleeping, some cooking, some reading, and others browsing the Internet.  One young man found a Gay Calgary magazine on the table and set about making fun of it.  I was tempted to say something but soon realized from listening that he was just having fun with the guy that had the magazine and not being rude.  Ops, the glue between the repaired flooring boards has dried and reduced in size, so now I'll have to get some colored caulk and fill the area so it won't cause any problems.

Thoughts whirl inside my head as I watch the various characters here go about one thing or another  What are their stories, why are they here, and who are they?  Most of the ones here helping Jeff don't seem to really know anything about construction, but they work at it until they find the solution.  In time I'm sure Jeff will slowly begin to get things together and will have a very nice hostel.  I really like his food cubbies for guests to store their food.

I'm a bit more rested now, so tomorrow I hope to explore the city some.  There seem to be a good number of parks and other things to enjoy for free.  For now, more rest.