The early bird...

...gets told to bugger off. I mean, seriously... when I'm still in my dressing gown, what makes you think I'm ready to start a garage sale? And no you can't have a look around at 7.30am when all the signs/ads etc say 8.30am start.

But still, they & their ilk try it every single time. Oh well, as downsides go, that's a pretty easy one to deal with :)



Today was the perfect day for a street-wide garage sale - blue skies, balmy temperature and barely a breath of wind. Just the best autumn weather we could have wished for, which made the whole morning rather pleasant (ignoring the early visitors). Not every house joined in but there were enough garage sales up & down the street to make it a worthwhile effort for all involved.

We made more than a few neighbours and shoppers happy with our coffee rig... and even managed to sell a few bits n pieces. And then after we'd closed up & had lunch, many of us who'd been selling all morning went & chatted at the organiser's house for a large part of the afternoon. Definitely a great way to meet & greet the neighbourhood.

It's been a busy week and my deadline is fast approaching but there have been a few things lately that are worth commenting on. Best news this week: Roger Sutton's appointment to lead CERA, the earthquake recovery authority. He is an excellent local business leader and this news alone has made a lot of locals very happy.

Another NSS moment: survey reveals people want low-rise buildings in the rebuilt CBD. Now that's a surprise ;p

The true scale of the damage is only now becoming apparent to many people. New footage has been released that shows more of the carnage in the CBD. It seems that an early estimate I'd heard - that about 70% of the inner city's buildings will have to come down - is not far off. Calls are being made to open up a walkway through the red zone so that people can see and grieve for themselves but I can understand the caution. We're still getting aftershocks (one rumbled through just before) that are capable of dislodging masonry and bringing down already damaged buildings. Who wants the responsibility of safeguarding the public in the event of another big one? As much as I too would like to see it all for myself, I value my life a little more highly and will stick to looking through the barricades.

The Ideas Expo is on this weekend... thousands went through today - we're gonna cruise over for a look tomorrow. And then next weekend is TEDxEQChch... w00t! Can't wait, should be a great day and I fully intend to come away crammed full of amazing ideas and a big ol' helping of hope.

Speaking of which... one of my students shared a link to this video. Plenty of sentiments in here that all of us in Shakeytown need to remember: every day is another chance and we will rise up, we will make it through this time of darkness & despair.