Earthquake - you didn't know?

I have had time to compose my thoughts on this and reflect. Here I go:

Surprisingly I was in Christchurch for the quake. My job often takes me away from home for long periods but I was home after a 6 week tour of duty and working at my old haunt in Cathedral Square.

One minute I was involved in everyday, jovial banter when the thunder hit and I commando rolled under the desk I was sitting at. I was literally thrown about like a rag doll and had to grab onto the leg of the desk or else I was going to be flung around. My personal cell phone is still somewhere in that pod at work. The scale of destruction hadn't quite set in at that point. A colleague pointed out bits of High Street that had fallen down but my office was relatively intact. Only once we got out and saw the Cathedral spire had gone and the windows had shattered in our building had it quite set in. And then another bloody aftershock it while we were dazed in Cathedral Square itself. Someone pointed out that we had better move away from the Chalice that was menacingly standing alone amongst the carnage.

The walking home bit really set it off. I walked north with another two colleagues down Manchester St. I saw first hand the PGC building. The roads were a mess with liquefaction and debris. I waded through knee deep water just getting through St Albans park. The street that I live in is relatively unscathed although several streets away are flooded. I have only ventured into the outside world once since and walked to Merivale to get some fresh air - or should that be fresh dust - as that was all there was. The same can't be said for other people. Traffic was busier at 11am that day than the normal 5pm work rush to get home. What are these people doing? Why are people using copious amounts of petrol queuing up for 1 hour just to get petrol? Our infrastructure is world class. There are ports north and south of Christchurch. Deliveries will come but it will take time. Why are people stockpiling at the expense of others who toil away during the day to remove the silt etc and get our precious city up and running again?

What will happen to this magnificent city? I won't be leaving it. We will rebuild and make this city better than what we had.

I am done writing.

In respect to those that have fallen I will not be posting any pictures. There is nothing new I can add to those photos elsewhere. Words can't really describe it. I almost certainly can't.