In which she walks

[zeborah]

Be it known that from approximately Styx Mill overbridge to approximately Eastgate is approximately 3.5 hours on foot.

(Maybe a bit less; I didn't take the absolute most direct route. I also actually took four hours because I stopped halfway to chat with a friend.)

Greeted lots of people as we crossed paths. Some people can smile and ask directions whether such a bridge or such a shop is open. Some people chat as you walk along together. Some people can't smile. And some people have their head down and the brim of their cap pulled low. There are more of these latter two groups the further south-east one goes (though around Bealey Ave was particularly painful), but the former groups are everywhere.

I didn't take many photos this time, mostly because I couldn't be bothered taking off my backpack to get the camera out. Photos I might have taken otherwise:

• the cordoned roads south of Bealey Ave. A cordon consists of: a bit of police tape, a couple of traffic cones, a couple of plastic deck chairs, a couple of army folk, and a police person. Some of them even have a police car.
• The sign on someone's fence offering "Free water, boil for 3 minutes, help yourself" next to a garden hose.
• The bridge where I wondered if I was allowed/safe to cross it. I approached quite carefully, and the army guys on the other side with the police tape didn't start waving their arms in panic, so I guessed it was okay. I was glad there wasn't a quake while I crossed, though.
• The sign offering free sand and bricks.
• The houses with walls missing. Well, actually, no: I appear to have an instinctual policy that I don't take photos of people's houses.

I did however take a photo of Fitzgerald Ave along the river, which is munted. (If you don't know what "munted" means, take a guess and then multiply that by lots. Or just see the photo.)

Anyway I came back to my house and discovered I have my landline again! Also power! And internet! Moreover there's a water tanker about ten minutes' walk away! (but I won't make use of that today; am still going to my parents' for the evening and Mum's driven out to her work near the airport, taking all the family's empty bottles with her).

Bonus material: photo of my peach tree on Saturday in the middle of having its delicious peaches picked.

Oof, enough typing; off now for my final walk of the day.

Comments

[karenhealey]

Yay, landline! Yay power! Yay internet!

[dendrophilous]

Those look like great peaches.

I'm glad to hear you have power and internet and nearby water!

[coraa]

I've been thinking about you and hoping you were all right. I'm so glad to hear that you are, and that so much infrastructure stuff is working at your home.

Will continue to think good thoughts for you. :)

[keieeeye]

Come on now everyone knows that the definition of munted is "in the state of being a munt".

[ajk]

Good news – it always makes one feel better. :-)

Re good news, earlier this week I was reminded of the old saying, "no news is good news". In my case, it was more like, "no news is anxious news". And that reminds me again that I am glad you are okay and able to communicate.

One of the smaller buzzwords of my profession has recently been "leaky abstractions". We try to abstract away the details and to present a squeaky clean platform built upon five elephants, but every abstraction sometimes lets the ugly truth through. It seems even the modern world is a leaky abstraction – all it takes is a couple of puny quakes. (Using "puny" here advisedly – the Big One is still awaiting, as you have reminded us occasionally.)

Oh – the news on the radio says there's been a surge in criminal activity in Christchurch. Is it really so, have you seen it? (I think you mentioned a looter earlier, but it sounds larger than that.)

[zeborah]

The Alpine Fault would at least be farther away - though the quake would last a lot longer...

I don't know about a surge in crime one way or another. Sometimes I'm sceptical: if you steal someone's tv in normal time it's a burglary, if you steal it when they've evacuated it's looting. It's more vile and hurtful, but in itself it's not a quantitative surge. Some things (the theft of power generators powering landlines - fortunately those jerks have been arrested - and people breaking cordons/curfew) are more obviously related to the quake. And of course the lowlife I saw.

But I've only seen the one guy looting, whereas I've seen dozens upon dozens of people being awesome. And anyway, the latter's what I prefer to focus on.

[caper_est]

Also, being awesome is seldom News, especially if dozens and dozens of people are doing it. I think your scepticism is bang on.

And if curfew/cordon-breaking per se is to be not only dealt with, but used for the profitable reporting of a crime surge - well, that's virtually defining the problem into existence, isn't it? If more things must be criminal in the aftermath, then more crime there will be. But "Life surprisingly normal under great stress; people bear and forbear and Carry On," is not a permissible narrative, except I suspect under a few conditions where it is wildly untrue, Colonel.

[caper_est]

Fiddlesticks! That wasn't supposed to be posted yet!

I wished also to say that I am glad to hear there are now utilities, and peaches, and awesomeness. Best wishes again to you, and also to your neighbours of Christchurch in general.

[zeborah]

Thank you!

[zeborah]

But "Life surprisingly normal under great stress; people bear and forbear and Carry On," is not a permissible narrative, except I suspect under a few conditions where it is wildly untrue, Colonel.

Yes to the exception: inside of Christchurch (and to only a slightly lesser extent New Zealand), that actually is the predominant narrative, because it's the one people need to hear in times like this. The vast majority of stories and interviews here are about the heroic search and rescue workers, and the heroic guy who belayed 14 people to safety, and the heroic woman who counsels traumatised people and recently got trapped and rescued herself, and the heroic Australian police who are foregoing the comfort of carrying guns while over here.

Overseas, of course, there's the distance that lets/requires the media to play up the Shock! Tragedy! angle instead. Which is why Antti-Juhani's heard of this surge in criminal activity and I had to stop and think about what it could possibly be referring to. (On further reflection, there's also scam artists saying "Hi, I'm collecting for Christchurch, please entrust me with your money." But if it weren't for #eqnz they'd be plugging some other recent disaster into the gap in their script so I don't think that can be much changing the numbers either.)