In which she wakes

[zeborah]

Haven't blogged much for the last while because "We had another aftershock" gets boring after a hundred iterations.

Actually Sunday night was largely devoid of aftershocks. I mean, there were lots of 3s but who wakes for anything less than a mid-4 nowadays? I slept through a bunch of 4s too, though one around 5am I think woke me up. But between the 3-hour nap in the evening prior, and that 6-hour sleep, I felt pretty good.

I spent most of Monday on Twitter etc, and watching Covert Affairs. I sat on our library's online chat service all day and actually got one taker. (There was an aftershock while I helped them; we commiserated with each other.) I did laundry! (Did I mention we're also allowed to flush again? I approve of flushing toilets.) I boiled water for drinking, washing teeth, doing dishes, and giving to the cat. (The cat came back again in the evening, and disappeared again during a 3.7 just after I went to bed.)

Monday night graced us with a 5.2 and a couple of 5.4s, which sensitised me to the high 3s again so this morning I'm a bit sleepy and inclined to be grouchy to the Someone Wrong on the Internet who's railing that the library stack should have been better secured. (It was braced to delay the domino effect while hypothetical people scramble out. Anyway the books are heavier than the stack and they'd fall whatever you did.) I had an actual shower again and even washed my grungy hair (though of course I had it before Twitter informed us that one should boil water meant for washing the face too. Well, I'd instinctively avoided getting too much water on my face anyway).

Uni is still closed; all libraries are closed. Buses are running again. Mail and garbage collection is going. Domestic flights are going through the international terminal. The Central Business District cordon expanded when aftershocks brought down more buildings, then contracted again. Most malls are open. Rumours that Westfield Riccarton's roof collapsed are greatly exaggerated. Uni students are flashmobbing via Facebook to help residents cleanup. The city's own helpline for volunteers is saying, "Thanks for the offers but actually we've got enough help and resources now." (I heard the US was a bit put out when we declined their help? It's nothing personal, it's just we don't actually need it.) All public buildings including schools are closed until Wednesday. The Christchurch Writer's Festival has been cancelled. One of the welfare centres has been damaged and the people there moved to another one. People are cracking awesome jokes at #eqnz.

Some jerk at #eqnz also says uninsured people shouldn't get bailed out because it's unfair to people who paid for insurance. I. Argh. Trying not to think about him. But dude, seriously, you'd rather that people who couldn't afford insurance now be allowed to starve or turn to crime? You seriously think that "fairness" is worth that cost to society?

But anyway. Sample jokes:

New smoking packet warning: Smoking can cause you to stand outside and get crushed by bricks during earthquakes

Trying not to let the aftershocks get to me. I imagine I'm on the Enterprise and the inertial dampeners are failing.

"One, two, three o'clock, four o'clock rock! Five, six, seven o'clock, eight o'clock rock."

As if the poor people of #Christchurch haven't suffered enough. Apparently #Metallica are definitely still coming

It's a good time to move ugly/unwanted wedding/birthday/xmas gifts from Gran/Nana/MIL to the edge of your shelves, it's an ill wind...

It rained last night but the sun is shining again; plums and peaches are blooming and I think my tiny blueberry bush is putting up shoots from runners. I didn't know blueberries did that.

Comments

[ajk]

The jerk's point is a valid one, though not the way he thinks it is. It's a good argument for making quake insurance mandatory, with income redistribution adjusted to make sure everyone can afford it. Or, in the alternative, nationalize the insurance like basic health insurance is at least here.