Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Occhi stanchi

I went to a Tupperware party last night, which doubled as a bit of a house-warming party for the Frompsons. I even bought some Tupperware, basically for freezing and reheating leftovers. I really wasn't planning on buying anything but there you go.

My birthday planning is going well, I will be 28 on the 2nd July, and I am organising breakfast and dinner on the 2nd, and brunch on the 3rd. I love when my birthday falls on a weekend. I also love dining out with friends and family. On the Sunday I plan to go to the Armageddon pop culture expo after brunch, though I don't know how much of an event it will be, having been rescheduled and reorganised from February's earthquake. I invited like 65 people to dinner on the Saturday, at the moment it looks like I could end up with about 20-25? Biggest birthday ever! Even my 21st only had 12 or so people. I didn't plan for a big 21st though, just a quiet evening out.

I broke my pokermanz, I got greedy and cheated to get more masterballs, now my tm case is corrupted. I can start again and make better decisions now though. Like not cheating.

I haven't made any gamerscore progress for a few days, though the last achievement I got was 100G so that should tide me over. I should do things like find all the damn feathers in Assassin's Creed II, the flags in Assassin's Creed, drive a car 750 miles in GRiD, drive a total of 1000 miles in DiRT.. these are all such tedious goals though. Perhaps I'm better off starting fresh with Mass Effect 2, or giving Fallout 3 another chance. I'm in a bit of a gaming funk but it feels more positive than usual, as if I have too much to choose from, rather than no motivation to play.

We had a 5.4 magnitude shake last night at 10.35pm. It was a lurcher rather than a jolt. It's been four months since February's 6.3m. We had more shakes all through the night, everyone was a little bleary-eyed this morning. I think after June 13's shocks, people were subconsciously waiting for something bigger to follow the 5.4, so sleep was almost impossible to come by.

Despite being tired constantly, I feel pretty good about life. I've stopped saving for a little while, just til after my birthday, so I have a bit of extra cash to spend, I'm getting out there and being more social than I'm used to, I think it's all working for me. Life is what you make it, and if you sit around feeling sorry for yourself... it's a pretty crappy life to be giving yourself.

Stay safe.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Silencio bella

Life has been an interesting journey for me lately. Connecting with new people on twitter, going out for drinks with them, it all feels a little alien to me. I spend so little time at my computer anymore. I look back and think of the hundreds of people I used to interact with every day. Over time I think I closed that group down a little, to maybe ten or so who could still impact on my life. I was spreading myself too thinly. From that handful though, people were whittled away until there were about for people I'd even bother turning the computer on for.

The beauty of that small number, is that I know I don't have to talk to them every day. I know that they are there for me if I need them, and they know I am there for them too.

I wonder if I am trying to fill a void, by all this social activity, or am I just trying to be normal? I think I am trying to find out whether this is something I like doing, something I can afford to do. I think I struggle with finding a balance between recluse and overdoing it.

On the other hand, I've set myself a gamerscore goal on my 360 for the first time in ages. I want to get to 81000 by July 31. It's an arbitrary number, but I've been in the 70k region for ages and I want to break out. I basically need 50g per day between now and then, but I think I've done 500 in three days heh.

All of this, I think, is a bit of a distraction from the shakes. The less I have to think about them or anticipate them, the better. I just hope no more buildings fall down around me. If we can avoid that, I think I can make it through anything.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Terremoto

This afternoon at 1pm, Christchurch was struck by a 5.5 magnitude earthquake. I was sitting at my desk when it hit. It only really takes a second to ascertain the course of action you need to take. Most of the time I sit stoically at my desk and ride it out, albeit with incredibly heightened senses and tension throughout my whole body. This afternoon though, I just grabbed the desk and pulled myself under it. I landed on my elbows, which stung a bit, pulled out my Tab and let twitter know I was still alive, as things crashed off the desk around me. It's impossible to describe the movement. It's unlike anything else. The earth is moving violently, but it takes everything with it, so you somehow get a sense of staying where you are, while also being tossed around in a clothes dryer.

A 5.7 to 5.9, I guessed, with it bring the strongest I had felt at work for sure. 10 minutes later the scientists triangulated it out, 11km southwest of us, a 5.5m. And so proceeded checking in with family, friends, checking breakages around work. Dad went home to sort out the alarm going off, reports came in of one or two buildings coming down, but no deaths. Adrenalin was still racing through me, heart pounding.

At 2.40pm we were hit with a 6.0 magnitude quake. Under my desk again, this one felt more like the clothes dryer was on the back of a pickup truck driving along a rocky riverbed. I was really concerned that the concrete slabs our building is made of would just fall to pieces. Once the shaking stopped, we once again assessed damage, compared notes, got what we needed and decided to close for the day. Power had also gone off by that stage. Like February, the culdesac began to fill with muddy brown water, as the process of liquefaction began again. The roads were in a lot better shape than February, but there were still many sections too flooded to traverse, or too uncertain where huge sinkholes could be in the rising water.

It took us a bit more than an hour to get home I guess. Many many detours later, I get to check through my own belongings at home. My 42" tv had fallen forward off it's trolley and was resting upside down, held in place by the cords in the back of the unit. It has a small scratch or two, it's probably not worth the hassle of replacing it on insurance though. A few ornaments chipped and my games all over the place.. but in the grand scheme of things, I'm once again very lucky.

We got our power back on around 7pm I guess, which means we didn't have to brave a 1°Cnight without heating, and I could go and play some xbox and forget about the day.

Thankyou to all those who have shared thought, word and sympathy today, it really does mean a lot to know that you care.

The sandman comes...
Hopefully he keeps the quakes away.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

L'inverno sta arrivando

The days are getting very short. Soon enough it will be dark when I leave work at 5pm. Winter is coming.

My Kiwisaver account has been doing nicely over the last 3 years. It is a government initiative to get people saving; I put 4% of my weekly wage aside and that is invested in 'safe' portfolios. If I don't touch it, I should have $400,000 by the time I retire. I like the look of that.

In the meantime, I feel like I have two savings goals left. I want to buy a good D-SLR camera, probably a nikon d50 or similar. I do also want to learn to drive my car. That's more of a motivational than monetary goal. Then lastly, I want to save up a few grand, then travel through ireland, france and italy. I yearn to breathe that ancient air. New zealand is so young geologically, politically, socially. I want to stand in the colosseum, to see the ruins of the terme di diocleziano and caracula, cross the ponte di rialto and ponte vecchio. To see the towering cathedrals of Chartres, Nimes, Rouen, to spend a night at Mont Saint Michel. To stand at the cliffs of moher, to see the giants causeway.. just to breathe the air and taste the food and hear the people.

My feet are itching.

The sandman comes.