A few days ago the media gently delivered some oh-so-calming news to the shattered nerves of Cantabrians. They were very subtle about it:
It seems that a bunch of seismologists broke out their earth analysing gear and excitedly concluded that NZ is even more fault-ridden than anyone had previously thought. They told us that the fault that moved on Feb 22nd had, until then, not so much as shifted a butt cheek to relieve pressure in 50 million years. That would make us kind of unlucky then.
To conclude, we were given some pretty depressing statistics about the likelihood of another big quake and then reassured that earthquake forecasting is still a very inexact science. Wonderful.
Right on cue, this morning Mother Earth delivered a nice little reminder that she is still in the mood to act out:
That's a 5.5 at 9am (and just to add drama, there was just another jolt *right then* as I'm typing). This morning's quake was a bit alarming because it was quite long and seemed as if it might be building up to something. The rafters were creaking. It was a 'cat scatterer', which is my barometer of quake size. The EQC apparently agree that it was more than decent.
In spite of the fact that I feel acclimatised to my quaky city, I still found it hard to focus on a major Health of Communities assignment that is pending. Ironically, it is about earthquake recovery in my suburb. My motivation was already flagging a bit due to making a serious attempt at cutting back my excessive caffeine consumption.
We decided to head out, grab a caff'd espresso (ahhhhhhh, instant mood adjustment) and do some serious shopping:
Yeah, that's me. Perfect Housewife.
(for sure, The Programmer does not love me for my housewifery skills).
We also took stock of our earthquake supplies. It's easy to get complacent and as we have been drinking our filtered water as fast as we can filter it (the R.O. system is ultra slow), I'm devoting the next few days to stockpiling the H2O. I hope that everyone in Christchurch has learned about hoarding water. Don't worry if people think you are nuts, just do it. Even if you develop a water hoarding disorder, this will only make you the most popular person in your community if we get another biggie.
In spite of the fact that I feel acclimatised to my quaky city, I still found it hard to focus on a major Health of Communities assignment that is pending. Ironically, it is about earthquake recovery in my suburb. My motivation was already flagging a bit due to making a serious attempt at cutting back my excessive caffeine consumption.
We decided to head out, grab a caff'd espresso (ahhhhhhh, instant mood adjustment) and do some serious shopping:
Yeah, that's me. Perfect Housewife.
(for sure, The Programmer does not love me for my housewifery skills).
We also took stock of our earthquake supplies. It's easy to get complacent and as we have been drinking our filtered water as fast as we can filter it (the R.O. system is ultra slow), I'm devoting the next few days to stockpiling the H2O. I hope that everyone in Christchurch has learned about hoarding water. Don't worry if people think you are nuts, just do it. Even if you develop a water hoarding disorder, this will only make you the most popular person in your community if we get another biggie.
We also stocked up on firewood, batteries for the torches and things that make life less trying if the power goes out, like wine (essential post-quake nerve settler) and chocolate (essential post-quake pick-me-up). Sorted.
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