And Life Goes On

Just over a month has passed and life is close to being back to normal. Yes, the ground is stiff cracked and broken and torn. And yes, I am constantly finding breakages and warping that I didn't find earlier, but for the most, the earthquake of the 4th of September seems like a long distant dream.

Okay, that is a gross exaggeration. It is neither long distant nor dream like. And it is just as unforgettable with the (so far) 1580 odd aftershocks to remind us exactly of  why we trip when walking down the driveway not remembering that the concrete has shifted or why the dog is decidedly jumpy at any small noise or sudden movement. If the aftershocks were not reminder enough, it still seems to be a popular topic of conversation - hell, I am guilty of doing just that right here am I not?

But for all that the landscape and a beautiful city is forever changed, it would be incredibly foolish to not realise the earthquakes for the benefits that they bring: The aftershocks for the quiet (and yet still relatively vocal) reassurance that they pressure in the fault lines is not building up in preparation for an even bigger disaster, nor yet shifting toward the alpine fault; and the damage sustained itself for the sheer economic boom that it has created.

For the last.... year? eighteen months? all we have heard about is the economic recession and the global credit crisis. But now? It is a good time to be in the trades. Every other vehicle that you see on the road seems to be a builder or a plumber or some other form of contract worker. The jobs vacant adds are inundated with positions for surveyors and engineers. I don't see this changing much in the near to mid term future. The rebuild is not going to happen over night. And as the wealth spreads out from the trade sector, the others will benefit - the building sector has always been the first to feel economic change after all.

Community spirit has also benefited. Neighbours who up until this point had never spoken two words to each other, are caring for the welfare of those around them. Levels of voluntary work has increased. People on the whole, despite frayed nerves from night after night of interrupted sleep, seem more tolerant, more understanding. But perhaps that could simply be due to seeing things in a different light. Taking things for granted for example now seems like a thing of the past - how ever temporarily that may be.

It seems that for years we have had the civil defence adds on TV telling us to be prepared for the day that nature fights back and so many people - myself included - ignored them, choosing to believe instead that either such a thing would not happen, or we would have plenty of time to plan later. But time is one thing that we never have, nor can ever have enough of. We should not only be prepared for such things, but we should take all the opportunities we can, while we still can.

Because life and time carry one whether we are paying attention to it or not.

So this is it. The last rant I shall spend on the earthquake. I shall put together an emergency kit (and have already promised never to mock my friends that have always had them ever again). I shall do the things that I have always meant to do. Time shouldn't be wasted - it is finite and precious.

From here on out, I am going to live while I can, no more wallowing, no more moaning or whinging on the campaign of 'oh poor me', because while being single, and searching for a job may suck completely, there are many, many things that are worse.