Nick MacKechnie
#8 wire kinda guy.....

Walking a mile in someone else’s shoes… #EQC #CHCH #EQNZ

Sunday, 10 June 2012 21:56 by Nick MacKechnie

It’s easy to become busy with life and the challenges that it brings and discount opportunities to stop and reflect. As I look back over the past few years and consider where I was on 22nd of February 2011 I appreciate that things could have easily turned out differently for my family and I. On the day of the 6.3 earthquake I was in my office in High Street. I was running late for a lunch date in the Cashel Street mall, which upon reflection possibly saved my life.

The magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the Canterbury region at 12:51 pm. The earthquake was centred 2 kilometres west of the town of Lyttelton, and 10 kilometres south-east of the centre of Christchurch, New Zealand's second-most populous city. It followed nearly six months after the magnitude 7.1 Canterbury earthquake of 4 September 2010, which caused significant damage to Christchurch and the central Canterbury region, but no direct fatalities.

The earthquake caused widespread damage across Christchurch, especially in the central city and eastern suburbs, with damage exacerbated by buildings and infrastructure already being weakened by the 4 September 2010 earthquake and its aftershocks. Significant liquefaction affected the eastern suburbs, producing around 400,000 tonnes of silt. The February 2011 Christchurch earthquake was a powerful natural event that severely damaged New Zealand's second-largest city, killing 185 people in one of the nation's deadliest peacetime disasters.

Our serviced offices shook violently; I remember vividly looking out the window and seeing flying bricks from surrounding buildings, dust then poor visibility with the sound of screaming from those in our building. Once the initial earthquake occurred, people grabbed their personal belongings and were out the door to check on friends and family. I was the last person out of the building, making sure that everyone was out. As I stood on High Street the din of sirens was surreal. We have all watched war-time movies where you hear your heart beating and that is the only sound you hear, I was steering in disbelief of what lay before me.

To my left there was a steady stream of people flooding from the Cashel Street Mall area, many with blood, in shock and some just standing still. I reached out to a few to encourage them to follow the crowd out of the city as it was the safest place to be. There were obvious signs of the destruction that occurred with building parts scattered across the road, verandas on the ground, cars flattened and abandoned. As I walked and looked to the right I saw the old ANZ Chambers Building (Corner of Lichfield/High) on the ground, with the dome upside down in the middle of Lichfield Street, across the road Reuben Blades (Corner of Manchester/Lichfield) suffered the same fate and there was carnage everywhere.

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It dawned on me that everyone was out of our building but my laptop and personal belongings were still there. I made the call to go and grab them and head home. As I entered the building, I saw superficial damage, Shaun (our building owner) had made significant investments a few years ago to restore our historical building and it stood up well to the challenge.

Back on High Street now I decided I would see if there was any way I could grab my car (as it would be a long walk home), it was parked in the Pavilion Car park on Bedford Row.

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As I turned the corner it was very clear that this wasn’t possible, so I continued down to Madras Street following the crowd. As I turned left I saw the CTV building gone… The police had just arrived and were taping off the area.

Before

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After

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The CTV Building was the headquarters of Canterbury Television (locally known as CTV) and other companies. Located in the Christchurch Central City on the corner of Cashel and Madras Streets, it became one of the symbols of the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. More than 100 people lost their lives in the building; more than half of the earthquake's fatalities occurred when this one building collapsed.

I stood there in disbelief that a large building like this can simply disappear. I headed up Cashel Street and around the block towards Moorhouse Avenue as there were too many people and streets were becoming cordoned off by police. I ran into a few people I knew – it’s interesting that a familiar face can make you feel calm in this type of situation.

I was starting to get sore carrying my backpack – A few days prior I had dislocated my shoulder for a second time in a month and so I decided I needed to start my long journey walking home. Eventually after some hours I made it home.

Many things have happened since that horrid day, including over 10000 aftershocks which still manage to sneak up and surprise you today. A small number of people have had houses repaired, Over 6000 houses have been red-zoned by the government with the majority still sit in a state of limbo as EQC, Insurance companies, Council, contractors etc. deal with the interpretations of law/eligibility, new building codes/consent etc.

On April the 18th 2012 the Minister for Earthquake Recovery Gerry Brownlee announced a new Christchurch Central Development Unit, stating it would be given 100 days to prepare a "Blueprint for Action", so time will tell once this report is delivered.

About midway through last year I was feeling somewhat sorry for myself – My house had in excess of NZ$250000 worth of damage, my office was stuck in the red zone (and still is) and there was little sign of progress in terms for repairs from the 4th of September 2010 earthquake to this great city.

I remember going to a house warming of some friends who lived in the Eastern Suburbs, their house was in the red zone and had been red stickered. They purchased a house over my side of town and they were settling into their new place. As their guests arrived the conversation quickly changed to focus on the impact of the earthquake on their lives and the frustrations they were having with EQC, Insurance, lack of answers etc. It’s really easy to move on if you’ve suffered minor damage. For most of us, the biggest single investment we have in life is our home. It’s a place where we go after a hard days work to relax and enjoy our family time. It’s very hard to do this when there’s a constant reminder of damage in your house.

I needed to kick myself in the pants to appreciate the things I did have, versus the things I didn’t. It’s often easy to take things for granted or not appreciate friends and family until you no longer have them. I decided I wanted to spend Christmas 2011 away from ‘shakes’ and do some soul searching. After some scouting about, I chose a place that I had always wanted to visit –Vietnam. Itinerary 

I flew from Christchurch to Auckland/Bangkok, had a few days there, and then onto Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon). The 10 days I spent on the Intrepid Journey tour was exactly what I wanted and needed. What awesome people, culture and food.

On the 23rd of December 2011 while I was in Hoi An, Vietnam, Christchurch was again rocked by a series of 6.0, 5.0, 5.4 and 5.0 earthquakes. I now had an appreciation for hearing this awful news and being so far away. I felt useless being so far away, ironically it’s similar when you live in city and you’re in survival mode. Needless to say reconnecting with the family over Facebook was the only medium available as phone networks were again impacted.

On the way home I spend a few days in Bangkok and decided that I would go on a train journey to look at the flood damage caused in the Thailand floods in July.  I guess I’m the sort of person that likes perspective and I could empathise with the impact this has had on their lives, city and country.

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The impact to this area was still very real with the stain line from the floods still visible on buildings and ruins. I guess this journey has taught me a number of things, the key reinforcements for me are family family family, friends friends friends. 

This brings me back to present day. Whenever I have colleagues from work visit Christchurch for the first time since the quakes I’m always interested in their response. I guess the reality is that unless you’ve seen the devastation here it’s very hard to comprehend. Every week there’s buildings coming down in the city, and we’re starting to see empty lots in suburbs as badly damaged houses are removed.  I guess it’s easy to become frustrated when people ask “Hey, so are things getting back to normal?”. There’s a new normal in Christchurch, one which involves removal of the old and damaged to make room for the new and exciting. People ask because they care and I appreciate the fact that people are still asking.

I continue to see this as a great opportunity to build a world class city with world class infrastructure as the barriers and obstacles that we were once faced with have changed. We are seeing elements of progress, a lot of the buildings in the Central Business District have been removed, we are starting to see driveways/fences repaired and it doesn’t take too long when talking to people around you to hear of houses being repaired. This is going to be a long journey, one that our kids and future generations will benefit largely from – I’m fine with that. 

Live in the moment, plan for your future and make the most of the friends and family you have about you. The spirit of Christchurch is alive and well and we continue to be well supported by the rest of our nation. Kia Kaha.

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Owning your digital media..?

Wednesday, 14 March 2012 04:42 by Nick MacKechnie

Hi All,

I was reading a few articles online last week and came across an article on ComputerWorld about Christchurch Tech companies and how they were responding to getting back to work after the Christchurch Earthquakes (It’s over a year old now).

The photo in the article was the thing that caught my eye, I recognised the photo. It was taken the day of the February 22nd earthquake as I exited the building on my journey home. There was no reference to who took the photo. I looked through my photos to confirm, and sure enough, I had taken it.

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I decided I’d reach out to Computerworld, as this picture must have been taken from somewhere I posted it. I filled out the webform on the contacts section on the ComputerWorld website to ask Editor about the photo. A week later, I had no response (people can be away, busy etc.) so followed it up with Direct Message via Twitter yesterday.

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I would have to say that I was somewhat disappointed in this response for a number of reasons including:

1. The age of the article isn’t relevant.

2. Simply taking it down doesn’t excuse taking others property (If I was asked, and acknowledged that would have been fine).

3. How can an publisher not have an audit trail/process for tracking these types of things?

4. Thanks for the apology…

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Customer Service – @mercuryenergynz @powershop

Wednesday, 14 March 2012 02:41 by Nick MacKechnie

Hi All,

I always find these types of situations interesting. I’ve been a Mercury Energy customer for around 5 years (since I moved back to Christchurch from Auckland). I really had no dealings with them other than receiving my monthly bill/paying the monthly bill.

After the September Earthquake, my house had a fair amount of damage which meant that I had to move out for ~20 weeks while repairs commenced. Three months into the repairs I received a phone call from Mercury suggesting that I should close my account as I hadn’t used any power and I was still receiving a monthly bill for 'access’ to it. I explained my situation and as such, my account was closed (temporary power was on while repairs were going on for the builders etc.) – That’s great customer service in terms of them contacting me, not sure why it takes 3 months of 0 rated power to trigger this however.

When it came to reconnecting power, you’d expect this to be a no brainer, right? Smile My house was fully rewired to bring it into current day compliance and I had the meter moved outside (why wouldn’t you if you had the chance). The sparky did 99.999% of the work and I had to pay a $195.50 fee for a contractor from Mercury to come and ‘check it’. This was a very very quick job. The first bill I received included the ‘relocation fee’, plus the temporary power bill from the building company which was overdue. This left a foul taste in my mouth as I couldn’t understand why I was liable for their bill (took me in excess of 3 months to have that refunded), and for the amount of time and effort, $195.50 to ‘check’ my meter was installed properly seemed over the top.

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This brings me to current day. I received a letter from Mercury a few weeks back detailing how Mercury had maintained pricing for x years and they were putting it up prices (we all have to earn a living). I’ve had a few friends talk to me about Powershop, the rewards for ‘referring’, the ability to buy power today for tomorrow, being able to login to a website to understand your usage etc. so decided to sign up yesterday.

My phone has rung a few times today from a ‘private’ number, Mercury eventually got hold of me today. They were letting me know that they had received a request from Powershop on my behalf to change. They offered me a $200.00 rebate if I was to stay. Their records indicated I had been a customer for 6 months (incorrect, clearly no history is kept when you disconnect power) and the requests to have the spelling of my surname corrected on a few occasions has been ignored). It’s not just about money, it’s about looking after the customers you have today so they will continue to be yours tomorrow. If you take a step back and look at what’s beginning to happen in Christchurch with recovery/repairs on houses, this scenario is likely to become more common. I understand the requirement to check meter installations etc. on houses (Heath, Safety, looking after the power grid), I wonder if the $200 rebate would be a better way of rewarding exisiting customers vs. trying to wave a carrot when some have decided to move away.

Interesting…

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The New Adventure – Update 05 #EQC #CHCH

Monday, 29 August 2011 01:35 by Nick MacKechnie

Hi All,

It’s been a challenging year for us all in Canterbury! The anniversary of the 4th of September 2010 earthquake is only a few days away, and it’s the eve of moving back into my house ~15 weeks after repairs commenced. Over the past few weeks the house has been fully painted inside and out, carpet and pvc planks are down, kitchen, bathroom and toilet are in and driveway has been poured.

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There is still some touch up work to be done, clean up outside/gardens and my office in the garage needs to be gib stopped and painted.

There are a heap of people to thank for making this process and situation easier to deal with and work through - Many thanks to:

Falcon Construction (Project Managers and Builders – No job was too small or a hassle, Great builders on the ground and many laughs), Lumley Insurance (My Insurers – Rachel!), Mainland Claims Management (Lost Adjusters – James!),  Ireland Group,
Westpac (My Bank – Andrea!), Campbell Electric (Fully re-writing the house - Keith and Jason), Laser Plumbing (Fully re-plumbing the house - Drainage, Plumbing),  Simple Solutions – (Painting inside and out), Faulks Investments (Concrete Removal, new driveway etc), 
Placemakers (Supplying all the bits and Ben for his help with the kitchen design), Carpet Plus (Carpet and PVC Planks), Heritage House
Re-levellers (Re-piling the house, safely lifting it up an down Smile), My personal interior
design co-ordinator Smile, Murray Cameron (Cabling advice, your patience and a heap of termination Smile) and the Earthquake
Commission (Kimberley in Wellington, you rock!)

So I guess this brings my commentary to a conclusion. For me the purpose of documenting was to help others and hopefully put minds at ease – There are so many people in the Christchurch area who will venture down a similar path to restoration – It’s the friends and family around you that get you through this, offering places of refuge, a coffee and a laugh. I also must thank the many friends online who have followed the progress and of course the outstanding support from employer and work colleagues.

 

The New Adventure – Update 04 #EQC #CHCH

The New Adventure – Update 03 #EQC #CHCH

The New Adventure – Update 02 #EQC #CHCH

Video - Lowering house onto the new ring foundation and piles

The New Adventure – Update 01

Fight or flight – Christchurch #eqnz

More photos are available here.

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Pay it forward?

Saturday, 13 August 2011 03:40 by Nick MacKechnie

Hi All,

I’m not sure how many of you have seen the movie Pay It Forward, I enjoyed the movie and the concept. Last Thursday I was heading out to the Speight’s Ale House to catch-up with some friends for a drink. I parked the car and as I walked towards the bar I was approached by a middle aged guy who was asking for some help. He and his wife had finished dinner, went to pay and couldn’t find their bank cards (left them at home), however they have enough cash to cover the meals. The next predicament was that they had very little gas in their car, and they lived in Hororata which is about 25 mins out of Christchurch. I popped into a local store and offered $40 to assist – I would like to think that if I found myself in a similar situation someone would help me out too.

Christchurch has been through alot in the past 12 or so months, and as a community it’s had a profound impact on people and the way we interact. People are talking to and checking up on neighbours, the friendly nod/smile on the street etc., which is probably typical of Christchurch of old. I didn’t really think twice about offering to help and at the end of the day it wasn’t a large amount of money. He was most grateful and said he’d be in contact to sort out paying me back.

A week has past now, and clearly as I’m commenting on this I haven’t heard anything from the couple that drove a flash BMW Smile. I’m a little disappointed more than anything else, and if I find myself in the same situation I will always help and hope that someone's word means something Smile.

Nick.

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The New Adventure – Update 04 #EQC #CHCH

Thursday, 4 August 2011 21:36 by Nick MacKechnie

Hi All,

It’s been eleven weeks since the restoration of my place started, I’m on the home stretch! I’ve just returned from the US for work and a heap has happened including a heavy snow in Christchurch.

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Gib stopping is completed - new internal doors/frames, skirtings and doors are done and the second coat of paint inside is completed.

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The driveway has been pulled up, compacted and ready for the new driveway to be laid. Trenches dug, conduit and cables have been pulled between the house and the garage for networking and power.

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The roof has been fixed (tiles moved and cracked plaster etc.) and it is now ready for painting.

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The ring foundation has been plastered and the main stairs have been boxed and concrete poured.

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Both front and rear decks are completed and work has begun on the painting of the exterior of the house.

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So the next few weeks should see the house fully painted inside and out, new door handles and locks installed, new kitchen, bathroom, laundry and toilets areas installed, flooring installed, power/Cat6/Satellite/UHF cabling terminated, garage office gib stopped and painted, drainage ‘stuff’ and reconnection of power to the house done, and the driveway/paths re-poured. (I’m sure my simplistic view is … simplistic.. )

None the less, great progress and the end is in sight!

Previous Posts

The New Adventure – Update 03 #EQC #CHCH

The New Adventure – Update 02 #EQC #CHCH

The New Adventure – Update 01

Fight or flight – Christchurch #eqnz

More photos are available here.

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The New Adventure – Update 03 #EQC #CHCH

Wednesday, 20 July 2011 04:08 by Nick MacKechnie

Hi All,

It’s been nine weeks now since the restoration of my place started. I’m at the stage where all the preparation work has been completed and now visual progress is being made.

As part of the process of picking up the house, lowering and bracing there were some rooms that weren’t being touched from a builders perspective, I elected to attack these also as there was no better time to do this. On top of the bedrooms, lounge and entrance way, the bathroom, laundry, toilet and kitchen have been fully gutted so that all external walls can be insulated and re-lined.

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My house was built in 1951 and as such is full of solid rimu. The downside of this is the building methods of the day were that timber wasn’t bone dry when installed and over time the timber dries out and the walls are no longer straight. A few days were spend skimming the walls and packing where appropriate to correct this.

When it comes to repairing houses and renovations, the question I have asked myself on a number of occasions is where do you stop in terms of the things you do. I’ve probably spent more than I intended, however I’m certain that the final result will be worth it. My house colours were ‘colourful’ and dated, I’m very happy to have chosen a nice new neutral colour scheme that I will ‘colour’ through artwork and furniture.

The weatherboards on the north side of the house where the lounge extension was suffered some damage, so these needed to replaced. I also used this as an opportunity to move the power metre outside as the house needed to be fully re-wired as well as plumbed.

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The ceiling stud height was 2.7 metres so I elected for the installation of a new Rondo ceiling. This is basically a form of suspended ceiling where the gib is attached to rails and lowered about 25mm.  There were some external weatherboards that needed replacing around the rest of the house as they were damaged when the house was picked up (and stairs removed), and some holes around the kitchen and laundry where the old external vents were.

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Yesterday they completed the re-lining the house – new walls and ceilings were installed.

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Whilst work is going on inside, the builders started attacking the outside Smile. I had an existing deck at the front of the house which was removed prior to picking up the house, the replacement one is a slightly larger and at the back a new 54m2 deck is being added.

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The remainder of this week should see the decks completed and the gib stopping happening inside.

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Nick.

Previous Posts

The New Adventure – Update 02 #EQC #CHCH

The New Adventure – Update 01

Fight or flight – Christchurch #eqnz

More photos are available here.

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The New Adventure – Update 02 #EQC #CHCH

Thursday, 30 June 2011 05:16 by Nick MacKechnie

Hi All,

It’s been just over 6 weeks since work commenced on my house, it’s been off the ground for almost four weeks so I thought I’d continue to report on the progress and learnings. First job after lifting the house was to remove the old ring foundation and clear the way for the new foundation. I opted for the speed block ring foundation as it’s stronger and once it’s plastered will look original and in keeping with the age of the house.

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On Monday the 13th of June, Christchurch experienced two more large earthquakes which again devastated the eastern suburbs of Christchurch. It took me 1.5 hours to drive the normal 10 minute journey to go and check on the house. As you can see the house/ground clearly moved, the supports were now looking suspect (to my untrained eyes), so I called the construction company who quickly had this addressed. I’m not sure how much confidence it gave me seeing how it was braced, but with the subsequent aftershocks the house continued to stay up Smile

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Whilst the house was up on blocks, there was no better time to address under floor insulation (previously there was foil there) and sort out my CAT6/Satellite/UHF and speaker cabling for the surround sound in the lounge and for the front and rear decks. Falcon Construction installed 50mm polystyrene blocks under the floor.

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The speed block ring foundation was completed and concrete poured – The first thing you worry about is whether they put the thing in exactly in the right spot, and wonder if its moved much during the subsequent aftershocks. I was talking to the foundation guys and they said “if the house has moved, we put the house on rollers and move it, it’s a pain, but we’ve done it before, just takes time.”

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Murray and I spent a few days pulling cables under the floor, in the ceiling and mounting flush boxes around the house. It seemed like the time to do it while it was off the ground, however spending hours under the house was a little un-nerving at times.

Below – This is the patch panel where all Cat6/Satellite/UHF/DSL/Phone cabling will be terminated and the lounge where the TV and appliances will go.

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Below – Cabling into the lounge as well as the tidy cabling under the house.

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With the ring foundation finished, the next phase was to re-install the jacks in order to lower the house - this is done by hydraulic jacks as per below.

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Below – Termination of the hydraulic cabling to the jacks and laser levelling/checking the height of the piles. Most of the concrete piles have been subsequently removed and replaced with large wooden ones.

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Below – Concrete piles removed and replaced with wooden.

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The house was slowly lowered today onto the new ring foundation and piles, there were many creaks and groans as it lowered but we got there safely. So now the inside work begins - It seems surreal and now exciting to have the house back on the ground. I’m sure like many in Christchurch who are going through this, or will, it’s a great opportunity to replace a lot of things internally/externally and update parts of the house that need work – I have a whole list, (and if you’re like to donate a bunch of cash, happy to accept your donationsSmile) so game on!

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House is now level.. look at that Winking smile

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More photos available here.

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Fight or flight – Christchurch #eqnz

Friday, 17 June 2011 07:02 by Nick MacKechnie

Hi All,

I suspect that many of us in the Canterbury region have been navel gazing and contemplating life since the aftershocks/quakes on Monday. It left me with a sense of anger and frustration more so than the previous events in September and February. Although things have been far from normal since February, an element of normality was there with those that could returning to work, roads being patched, water becoming safe to drink, many having working sewerage etc.

Our children are our future, and when these types of things occur, it encourages you to checkpoint and consider if I’m doing the right thing by them in terms of the present and future.

Here’s a few thoughts I have:

Children are resilient and their needs are simple – a roof over their head, food, drink, people around them that love, support and care for them. So long as these basic needs can be met, the kids will continue to be happy and deal with things as they come along. The opportunity for us as parents is to be as honest as we can about the changes, and install confidence in them that things will get better.

These kids I believe as they grow up will be something very special. They have had to deal with change, fear, uncertainty, disruption and adapt (some better than others of course).  I believe what this creates is a individual who becomes less fearful of the unknown who is better armed to deal with the present and through the journey we have ahead of us, sees possibility and opportunity - I look forward to them entering the workforce. The only barriers we have are the ones we put up, equally I think they will challenge decisions of old, validate or encourage and drive change.

I was listening to More FM this morning, the crew were driving around the eastern suburbs offering small gifts of cash to those so badly affected. The last gentleman visited was badly damaged in the September quake (and still hasn’t heard or seen anyone from EQC) as they drove up the driveway, all you could hear was pouring water. The water up the drive was over the wheels on the 4WD vehicle. Since Monday 60000 litres of water had been drained from this street with the aftershocks subsequently bringing it all back. It’s soul destroying hearing these types of stories, and I’m positive there are many more like this that have not yet been reported.

I know a few people that have left town since Monday. There is NO shame in this, if it’s the right thing to do for you and your family, take the break, collect your thoughts and do what’s best for your family. A home is something you go home to after work and want to enjoy on the weekends. The psychological damage of going home to a house that reminds you of the damage across the city has a huge impact on the headspace people are in, as well as your ability to relax. I also understand the sense of feeling trapped – People with damaged houses still have commitments in terms of mortgages which can make it harder to make decisions about staying or leaving Christchurch.

The road a head won’t be a short nor easy one, I’m optimistic and excited about the future for Christchurch and see a wealth of possibilities in terms of a new city with  world class infrastructure that offers opportunities for the young and old. It’s about making smart decisions now with the future in mind for not only Christchurch, but look at how we can leverage this for the greater good of New Zealand.

Nick.

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The New Adventure – Update 01

Wednesday, 8 June 2011 04:03 by Nick MacKechnie

So it’s been a few weeks now since work commenced on repairing my home. I’ve been extremely impressed with the speed at which progress is being made – In two weeks my possessions have been packed up, carpet, fireplace and gib removed in the lounge, hallway and three bedrooms, insulation installed in the walls (can’t wait), front deck removed, and the house lifted ~1.5 metres off the ground. WP_000557WP_000555

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Currently the team are removing the ring foundation, piles and concrete steps, replacing and then lowering the house down again. It’s quite surreal seeing your place lifted off the ground and realising the ‘home’ that once was will be quite different once it’s a home again. I’m using this opportunity to make some alterations to the house which I’m quite excited about, as well as re-cabling for cat6, fibre, satellite, UHF, home entertainment as well as for the front and soon to be new back deck.

While I find myself ‘homeless’ for a while, my mind tends to wander and consider a few things. Every time I travel out of the city and connect with peers and customers, people are always keen to check in to see how things are going. I really appreciate the questions and thoughts of the kind folk asking.

I would imagine that it’s quite difficult to get a sense of perspective as to how things are really going on the ground versus the snippets in the press. We all deal with things differently and are at different points in understanding the impact of these disasters on our friends, family, employers/employees and our own personal home situation.

The thing I’m cognisant of is focusing on moving forward – we can’t change the past, it is what it is, so let’s learn from these disasters as well as the good, bad and ugly in order to make well informed decisions for our future as well as the generations to come. I see this is an awesome opportunity to build a world class city with infrastructure that will enable us create new opportunities for not only Canterbury but New Zealand.

I was fortunate enough to attend TedxCHCH a few weeks ago and really enjoyed the presentation by Art Agnos, the former Mayor of San Francisco during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake – If you have a few moments, have a look.

People who know me, know that once I have a destination in mind, it takes a bit to deter or slow me down. My thoughts go out to those who are less persistent, don’t have the know-how, the elderly who may be simply waiting for *something* or don’t want to ask for help. If are looking for help, please checkout the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority website -  http://www.cera.govt.nz/support-and-assistance.

I’m really fortunate to be in the position that I’m in with repairs underway - there are many that have less clarity around what’s happening, or have seen little or no progress.  If I can be of help to anyone, feel free to reach out.

Nick.

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