Where's an extreme makeover when you need one?

Old lease sign on the inside,
red sticker on the outside

It was a weekend of contrasting cities.
On Friday night I went to a parent get together for Lucy's homebase (class). At one point we talked about February 22nd. It was the first time we had talked about it as a group and with Lucy's learning advisor (teacher). I learnt a lot more about just what it was like for Lucy on that day and what was going on the minds of those right with her.
On Saturday we joined a big queue to go onboard the US Globemaster - an enormous plane, heading down to the ice on the Monday. The US army guys were amused about how many people turned up to view it. Apparently they have never had so many in Christchurch come to one of their open day events.
Later on Saturday I flew out to Wellington and Sunday I was down on the waterfront. That afternoon was the Canadian, All Black game and fans of both sides were decked out. It was busy, exciting and entirely different to the World Cup experience in Christchurch. Not because we cannot have fun down here; the arts festival events I have been to, have been well attended and everyone was in a happy mood at the globemaster open day.
But there is an underlying weariness in Christchurch. We do get up and go to work and school and preschool, each day like before. It is a busy place but it is definitely not the same Christchurch of fourteen months ago.
I am not the same. On the Wellington waterfront I went to the toilet in one of the public toilet trucks. While in the cubicle, the door started rattling. I can still see the lock banging against its holder. I wasn't afraid but I became aware, that I had completely frozen and was just staring at the lock, waiting to see what would happen next - would it get bigger? Should I prepare? Then my brain caught up with what my body was up to. It was just somebody walking up the outside steps onto the truck. My body reacted without any thought from me. It was a strange thing.
Back here, as we landed in the city of fences, shipping containers (I never knew they had so many uses) and cones, I felt the weight fall on all of us.
I have been thinking about one of those episodes of extreme makeover, where in two days they complete a rebuild. But even just starting would be difficult - insurance would be the first hurdle.
Insurance seems to be especially hard if you are building or renovating. The easiest way around the problem currently is just to steam ahead uninsured. After the September quake there was the opinion that not having your house insured was insanity and only for the foolish - the quake being the proof. Now it seems the most logical solution to the current problems. How quickly things change here.
Almost everyday there are new consequences of the quakes. We have water restrictions about to start this week, for the first time in thirteen years. People, near abandoned homes still deep in liquefaction, are worried about the ongoing dust and how bad it will get with nor'westers this summer.  Even though we are fortunate to be mostly back to normal life - it is still thing, upon thing that keeps pulling us back to being quake town residents.

Visit to the Memorial Service

Lucy and I attended most of the Memorial Service. Lucy was disappointed she didn't get to meet Prince William and that she wasn't on tv. Here were my impressions of the service, if you didn't get to make it along.
A lot of people went! For all the negative chat beforehand, when our bus pulled up, it was already three-quarters full and everyone was going to the service. I felt a little underdressed in my jeans and sweatshirt. Women were dressed in skirts or smart trousers and men were wearing shirts. This was not another concert in the park, it was a memorial service.
Once off the bus we walked into the park. As we approached the Park Terrace corner of North Hagley park, we heard a bellow, at first Lucy thought was an elephant but then over the loud speakers came "Toia Mai Te Waka". This song is about pulling your canoe up and is often used in powhiri to welcome guests. I found it surprisingly reassuring. The voices rang out so strongly of a people that in the past have lost many more whanau to the arrival of such things as infectious diseases and fought much bigger battles, than what our city was currently facing. They were still singing out strongly after all these years and Christchurch will too.
Before the service started, they showed the fourteen minute video of the severely damaged central city. Everyone was quiet. It was eerie to sit in such a large crowd in silence for that length of time. People got really irritable if anyone broke the silence, I still haven't quite figured out why.
The organisers had billed this event as a family event but unfortunately for us the video wasn't so great. Lucy hadn't seen too many images since walking out of the CBD on the 22nd. The video reminded her of that day. Her behaviour went downhill after that. She became belligerent and rude. Later we talked that perhaps it is better to cry than to misbehave. I guess the kids feel emotions and then don't know what to do with them.
One of the musical acts was Dave Dobbyn singing Loyal. Whatever you think of the song, I found it sad at the service. Only a few months ago we had Band Together in this same park. Everyone was laughing, talking, singing along and eating hot dogs. At the service, everyone just sat in silence until he finished playing. How much the mood of the city had changed in just five months.
There were many different religions represented in the service but there were more Christian traditions. After all it is New Zealand's background and often how we mourn. The Lord's prayer was said. I thought so many people all mumbling the Lord's Prayer in low voices, was a little like the hum of an approaching aftershock. Everyone gathered together made that sound.
We were under a clear blue sky and a very hot sun. I couldn't help but look around the crowd and wonder if everyone had sun cream on. In the wake of such a big change in the city, little things like sun cream can seem trivial but how much skin damage happened that day, that could lead to melanoma? Sometimes the world can seem a very cruel place.
Lucy and I left early and walked back into the Botanical Gardens. A couple asked if I could take their photo in front of some of the trees, just starting to show autumn colours. It was a lovely shot of a happy couple surrounded by the beauty of nature.
Many of the world's cities are near or on faultlines because they offer us so much - beautiful, rugged mountain scenery that I love and groovey stuff like gold. Apparently someone has worked out that on balance, the benefits for humans living near faultlines outweighs the nasty earthquakes. Sometimes it just takes awhile to see the beauty again.