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

Still doesn't seem real

I arrived in Christchurch on Wednesday 1st September to prepare for my mother's 80th birthday on Saturday 4th September. The rest of the family was also beginning to arrive - we had about 40 family members in town for the celebration and were planning a lovely afternoon tea for mum - complete with cucumber sandwiches & scones with jam & cream... Little did we know going to sleep on Friday night after trying on party clothes that out plans out be changed - not just a little, but completely and utter changed.

4:36am 4th September 2010 - we were awakened by a 7.1 earthquake - one of the biggest quakes to hit NZ. Definitely one of the biggest to hit a major centre. It was certianly one of the scariest moments I have ever experienced. I think that the fact that I was with family certainly helped a lot. Probably one of the stupidest things I have ever done however was jumping in the car and going to check on my mother at 4.50am - I had no idea what the roads were like but I just needed to get there... it was very bizarre however to see all the cars coming in the opposite direction - might have had something to do with the fact that I was going towards the beach and they were coming from it...but at 5am you don't really expect to see about 250 cars coming at you one after the other!

Luckily, apart from minor house damage, all the family in Christchurch is safe and sound. There has been so much damage but for them to all be ok is awesome. Sadly tho the aftershocks are still coming and causing some concern as the weaken already weakened buildings. Some of central Christchurch is beyond repair - meaning a lot of the older buildings cannot be fixed and are now being completely destroyed for safety reasons.

Its hard to think of Christchurch ever being the same again - there will be a pre-earthquake and post-earthquake Christchurch. I know that the people of Chch will survive because NZlders are those kind of people. Still its hard to see a lot of those places that I grew up around or worked near have now gone or are as good as. Its a very sad moment for a very beautiful city.

We ended up having just having a family thing at my brothers farm - we all went different ways because some of the roads were not opened - I think thats one of the hardest things. You go along your normal life and then realise something is out of whack when you turn the corner onto a road you have driven down hundreds of times just to find it closed or to find a building you use to frequent a lot is now damaged... it puts a lot of things into perspective.

The shops down the road from my nephew - Corner Edgeware Rd & Barbadoes St

Brooke, Aimee & Taylor standing on Avonside Dr - opposite to where my parents use to live

Church down the road from my nephews - Edgeware Road

The dairy I use to frequent - usually on my way to work on a Saturday

I am not one to use the word 'surreal' (thank you Adam Hills!), but the 24 hours that followed were some of the most surreal of my life. You felt like what had happened wasn't quite real and you kept asking yourself and those around you whether or not it did actually happen & you didn't dream it. I will certainly never forget the feeling when I realised what was going on. I am so thankful that 1) my family were all ok and their houses were pretty much all ok & 2) there were actually no fatalities. As much as it is sad that we have lost some amazing buildings & homes - you can always rebuild those. People - not so much!