In which she defaces public property

[zeborah]

I think I ended up doing a reasonable amount of work all considered; just with one glaring hole because I started dozing off trying to read the background information about it. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

At one point in the afternoon I jumped out and ran outside because there were posties cycling along the street. I got a letter! It was a bank statement about the state of my mortgage, but it was pretty exciting. I suspect there must be a pile of mail stockpiled somewhere else because, while I'm not a great correspondent I do usually get more than one piece of mail a fortnight. Consequently I'm not sure I really trust the service just yet; it may go off and on a bit, like the water.

After logging off for the day I drew up an "earthquake map" of the local area, showing water, portaloos, dairies, supermarkets, foodbanks, ATMs, showers, laundry, doctor, pharmacy, library, recovery assistance centre, etc, including the free phonebox which'd be handy for the helpline numbers and other tips. (I missed out petrol stations because I couldn't see any nearby at all, and ended up deciding if people have cars they've probably already driven far enough to find somewhere.) Finished just in time to rush down to Warehouse Stationery where they were discussing where the nearest supermarket was. When they saw my map they asked if they could keep a copy themselves and ran my copies off for free. I then went back home again to cover them with clear sticky plastic (normally for exercise book covering) then stuck them on the posts at the main intersection where people wait for the pedestrian crossing lights. While doing that I chatted with a student who's been having to check his email at the Recovery Assistance Centre to find out what's happening at the uni.

(People keep talking to each other so much! Except for the occasional person desperately avoiding eye contact, like the woman I saw weaving along with a sleeping bag / quilt under one arm. :-( )

I was feeling a bit worried that the map might be ridiculously too little too late, but while I do wish I'd thought of it a week ago, and keep thinking of things I could have added, I think there still are plenty of people desperate for information.

In other cool news, the dairy right by that intersection reopened today. From sheer happiness I popped in to get an iceblock, but those are being delivered tomorrow. They do have fresh bread and milk though, which is the important thing.

Also, I may be in love with The Sandbaggers. It's certainly going to define my recovery from this quake as rewatching Yes Minister defined my recovery from September's.

Comments

[green_knight]

It's not too late - one person already loved it. Also, in the immediate aftermath, people probably just coped - ate the contents of their freezers, shared with friends, bought whatever they could, did their business in a hole in the garden, worried about friends and family and structural stability. Now that the first shock is over, they worry about doing a proper foodshop, ATMs, and such - and your map will do a lot of good. You can always update it when there's a major change.

Also, you could post it online.

[zeborah]

There's better maps online already; those who need the information just won't have any net access (though I included the link to the best site just in case).

[starlady]

I just finished S1 of The Sandbaggers recently, and it's pretty amazing.

[annathepiper]

The earthquake map is an awesome idea. Good on you for doing it and I hope folks find it useful.

[(Anonymous)]

I think that's great what you did with that map. Up here, we never find out until the crisis or mess is over, and -then- we get information.