…has officially ended. Well at least for me it has. A tad dramatic I know, however the last time I posted on here was before the February 22nd earthquake that rocked and devastated the city I lived in and loved. 188 people dead, 2 of which I knew. I know what most people will think though, comparing the numbers with Japan its a pretty pathetic effort on our behalf. The point I wish to make though is that while Japan had to contend with tsunami’s and a nuclear crisis, at least they have an economy that can sustain such things. They are the third wealthiest economy in the world, with the US being at number 1. Little old New Zealand though teeters on the edge of third world, more so since the economic blow we have received from two massive earthquakes in less than 6 months.
The knock on effect of something like this is incredible, and unless you have lived it yourself, you can’t even begin to understand. Insurance companies are now in crisis because of the millions, if not billions, of claims that have been made since the earthquakes and subsequent violent aftershocks. We, as a nation, are struggling to hold our heads above water and some days it feels like this is the moment we will sink. The world goes on around us, oblivious to the daily tribulations we face as individuals, as families, as a city and as a nation.
For me personally the effects have been great both emotionally and physically. After the September 4th earthquake (a 7.1), I had an emotional breakdown of sorts. Initially after the first earthquake I didn’t sleep for 72 hours. I was too terrified to sleep in case another earthquake of that size would hit and snatch me from my sleep. With every subsequent aftershock, which were frequent and violent, I sat and wondered if this was another large earthquake coming to finish us off. Every aftershock would send me running from the house, assuming the foetal position on the driveway, and crying hysterically. The decision was made that I should see a doctor, who promptly put me on a course of diazepam and sleeping pills. I even left the house I was living in to go and stay with a friend for about a week, who’s house barely moved in the aftershocks. That was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make. To leave my partner, my mother and my little brother. I was torn because I didn’t want to be in that house any longer, but I wanted to be there to protect them from mother nature.
Fast forward a few months and we had moved house, because I no longer wanted to live in a two storey house. We had found a huge lovely old villa over in Cashmere, one of the more posh suburbs in Christchurch. The villa was so huge that it meant that my Mum and Brother had their own lounge, two bedrooms and a bathroom. We had our own lounge, two bedrooms and a bathroom, with the kitchen shared. It was fantastic because we could live together to cut down costs, but we also had our own privacy. Life was moving along at a nice pace. Things were getting back to normal slowly, I was working with the pain clinic to get my CPS managed, study was going better than it had been, and I was set for this new year ahead. Everything was moving along as it should be and I was finally becoming at ease with what had happened, and was no longer terrified of the “odd” aftershock we were getting.
In 30 seconds on February 22nd, that all changed. I don’t want to go into great detail here as I plan to actually write a biographical account of all that has happened in the wake of both of these earthquakes. But I will say that everything I had planned for the coming year of my life has been completely changed. I refused to continue living in Christchurch so made the difficult decision to move back to the only other place in NZ that feels like home. And that is the Kapiti Coast, more specifically Paraparaumu. For any of those readers who live outside of NZ that is in the North Island, approximately 45 minutes north of Wellington. My university studies I’ve put on hold as I feel I am not in the right head space to give it my all. I also now need to work up here as living costs are more expensive, and with CPS still not completely managed I know I cant both study and work. However the bright star in the oblivion of darkness is that now I have made the decision to concentrate more on my writing. I also feel more inspired to write than I have in a very long time, so I must seize this opportunity.
I will continually place new material for you to read, as well as continue with these generic blog posts about life in general. I hope you enjoy the journey with me and would appreciate feedback on my written pieces. It’s a dream to one day become published and perhaps this may just be the beginning.
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