And Another Thing...

One month on...

(References to "today" in this post actually refer to "yesterday". It seems I don't have the automatic post scheduling thing quite sussed out yet).

The more I look at our chimney sitting in the driveway, the more amazed and grateful I am at how far it travelled sideways before landing. By my calculations, about eight feet. It's a potent illustration of just how strong the sideways shaking was - apparently off the usual scale, and several times stronger than in the Japanese earthquake. Of course, in Japan they have other problems. If the chimney hadn't travelled so far sideways, it would have come crashing through the roof into our living room, and done far worse damage.

The sign proclaiming Sydenham is open for business has been taken down. I guess it didn't seem appropriate now that Sydenham is - well - closed again.

I went to the physio today. She is back in her usual clinic at a (sort of) local leisure centre, but the gym and pool are not yet open. Maybe next week. On the other hand, she told me that the city's main Olympic pool may not be able to be rebuilt at all on the same land, as the land is too damaged.

The local library on the other hand is open. In fact it is almost the only library in Christchurch that is. (Hurray for well-designed modern buildings). Which means that the car park is full, and all the streets surrounding it are full of parked cars. I'd walk there, except there is the small matter of the Achilles tendon, which is the reason for being at the physio in the first place. It's finally improving, so I may be able to get to the library in a week or two.

I stopped at a dairy on the way home and looked over the rack of magazines. Oprah has a feature on how not to go shopping when stressed. No problem around here. Finding a shop that is open, driving through heavy traffic taking twice as long as normal, and fighting for a space in the car park or indeed on any street within a few blocks of the mall is all far too much effort to go through just for impulse buying. (Thank goodness there is at least a supermarket open not too far from here).

Gerry Brownlee, our Earthquake Recovery Minister, wants to get the message out that Christchurch is open for business. Yeah right. Perhaps he would like to discuss that over a coffee in the City Mall? (Likely to be cordoned off for a few months to come).

My daughter's blog post on how to survive: I particularly liked the last bit.
The first year: You want normality. This may be in short supply. Salvage what you can and adjust to the rest.