Happy Freakin New Year

I am thinking of proposing to the Govt to change the New Year to March...

I said to everyone who wished me a Happy New Year on Jan 4th when we went back to work, "I don't say happy new year till March because bad things always happen in January & February".. Well to say bad things have happened is a little big of an understatement...

First there were the horribly floods in QLD including Brisbane, then came Cyclone Yasi... and to be honest I didn't really understand how people could be so upset - I mean sure, I was sad to see some of Brisbane CBD under water, but at the end of the day I was "we can rebuild"..

Then came February 22 2011.. a day that will be one of the worse days ever... Chch, my beloved hometown was devastated by a massive 6.3 earthquake. Yes this comes 5 months after a 7.1 quake hit Canterbury on my mums birthday, but this one was closer to Chch and shallower meaning a lot more damaged and sadly this time loss of lives - mostly because the quake happened at around lunch time on a week day.

I watched in shock from the safety of my office in Brisbane as the news unfolded and just how damaging the quake was. Luckily my mum was ok and my family & friends all appear to be ok, but then I saw images of the iconic Chch buildings such as the Cathedral, The Press building, the Bascilica & the Baptist Church. Not only that but buildings that I knew - the CTV building being one of the most damaged and one that my friend use to work in and knew people who still did.. a lot of those people have been lost.

I know that its stupid but the first thing I thought when I heard the news is "I need to be there now".. people were (& still are) said there was nothing I could do... Don't you think I know that!?! I am under no illusion that I wouldn't be any use but for me its a case of if I am not there I don't believe it... even tho all the images prove me wrong. I also know that if I am there I am in more control of my emotions. Adele reckons its coz I am a control freak.. haha I think in part it is the reason. Having been in the Sept quake and not there for this one, I know that I would rather be there.

Everyone is different.. I think most people would want to get out of the city rather than go towards the city.. I guess it is a control thing for me...

I am absolutely guttered that this has happened to my town. I love Christchurch so much & would go back there in a heartbeat. In the words of Scribe: "I'm from Christchurch, my home in this earth". Chch will always be my hometown and I am so proud to be a One-Eyed Cantabrian.. born & bred!! It has such a special place in my heart and to see the city go through this is so heartbreaking.. to watch the images & see the photos I can't even begin to imagine the terror that everyone was feeling... I just hope they know that they are not alone.

After it happened so many of my work colleagues & friends contacted me to see if my family was ok... You really appreciate your friends & family in times like this.

I know that Chch will pick itself up again but it will take a lot of healing and time. Chch people are resiliant if nothing else. They are strong and prepared to do what it takes to make the Chch as gorgeous as it once was... yes it is sad that we have lost some beautiful old buildings that have been there since the city was settled in the 2nd half of the 19th century. These buildings have been through a lot, including several large earthquakes... it is so sad to see the rubble.

You do have to wonder if they will come back from this... I like to believe that we can but it as I said, it will take a long time and the city of Christchurch will never look the same again.. but it will always be my home.

The Christchurch Cathedral, the earthquake has caused the steeple & most of the tower to be destroyed..
this is the symbol of Chch that many overseas people see, seeing the damage has caused alot of heartbreak,
especially since after the Sept quake it was still standing and a lot of people said if it was destroyed,
it would cause untold devastation throughout the city.

The Baptist church which was damaged in the Sept quake has been completely decimated

The historic Timeball Station on Lyttelton Harbour has been severly damaged
with part of the back coming away from the building

The Catholic Bascilica has been badly damaged with pretty much the whole
of the right hand side now rubble in the car park

Dreams

Ok, so for the last two nights I have been dreaming about family members - its all very weird..

The first one, I was at the old house that I grew up in and my mum, sister & dad were there. My sister was trying to do something with my hair. I went outside and dad was watering the garden - he had the sprinkler going and the cat (which wasn't actually our cat but in the dream it was), was actually running through the sprinkler and dad told me to get it away from there because it shouldn't be doing that. I managed to get it away but it was just running around the backyard & thats when I noticed it was raining... at which time I wondered why dad had the sprinkler going in the rain... just a side note - my dad passed away in 2008.

The one last night was a little more involved and I can't really remember what was going on but I do know that my mum, my sister, my nana, my niece Aimee, her daughter, my great niece Courtney & her mother were all there... my nana passed away in 2005...

Like I say.... weird

The Diabolical Masterplan

Ok so here it is... the diabolical masterplan - unfortunately I don't have any minions to help carry this out... I gotta get me some minions!!

Right so my long service leave becomes available in February 2014 - so pretty much 3 years today! The plan is to work at QUT until my long service leave kicks in - maybe a couple more months and then leave. This part of the plan changes all the time - not sure if I will leave & get my LSL paid out or whether I will go on LSL and still accrue leave whilst on leave and then get a pay out at the end...

Either way I will be intitled to 65 days LSL. I predict that I will have approximately 30.89 annual leave days owed to me - thats with taking 2 weeks leave this year & 3 next year. Which means I would get approximately $17338 as a payout amount if I leave at 31/01/2014. Obviously the longer I stay the more I get, but that's pretty much the amount I am going with at the moment.

So the plan that I have in my head at the mo is that I work until maybe September 2014 and then leave heading over the America. My friend Gailene is renewing her wedding vows in Vegas in October 2014 after a trip to Disneyworld Orlando, so I am thinking of meeting them in either Vegas or Orlando.. but either way I know people in Sacremento, Vegas, just outside of Houston, Louisana & Buffalo so I am pretty sure I will find plenty to do... of course I will end my US trip in NYC and then fly to London where I plan to stay for a good month, doing day trips to Canterbury, Brighton, Bath, Oxford, Cambridge etc and then head to Edinburgh for a week and Dublin for a week. I would really like to head to Denmark for a little bit of time too oh and Germany.

So yeah the plan would be to leave Brisbane in about September 2014 and probably be away until about late January 2015 - I would love to have Christmas in England. Then I am thinking of heading back to Christchurch to live.

I have to be honest, I am a little over Brisbane but I want my LSL and I only have 3 years to go so I am sure I can last for that long. The other thing is that I am paying off a debt that will be paid off in about October 2012 and that means that I will have at least 2 years of saving that will help too (thats the plan of course!).

There is just one fly in the ointment... by the time I get back to Christchurch I will be 42! Holy crap!!! 42!!!! That is old! I am hoping that I will be able to pick up work easily enough. I don't mind temping to be honest - I mean my last two jobs came from temping so its not like I won't be use to it. Also - sounds morbid, but I hope my mum is still around then. Not that it is a necessity that she be around but you know, it would be nice to be able to be there for her... 3 years is a long time and a lot can happen in that time.

So yeah... there it is... my big diabolical plan! I am actually really excited about it - the travel to the UK especially.. I have been back from my trip for over 2 months and it now seems like a lifetime a go... This trip I am planning would definitely be a trip of a lifetime tho and it would really let me see a lot of places and tick them off my list.

Plus... I love the planning :)