Laser Shows And The Like

Well I'm here in Christchurch getting settled in to my job as a crack repair specialist for National Facilities Management. Here are some of the things I've done since the last post!

Jack and I were up on the swing stage two Fridays ago. Every now and then a tourist would come by to witness the destruction of Christchurch and we'd cat call them or yell not to pay the parking meter. The way we figure, if people just started paying the parking meter willy nilly then a precedent would be set for the rest of us to follow. It was a normal day as they go in Christchurch. Find a crack in the concrete, grind it into exposure and then fill it with epoxy resin. This process is much easier said than done mind you. Then something strange happened.

A few van loads of people rolled up. This was more than our usual social interaction allowed for and we didn't really know what to do with them. There were about 50% attractive females in the group so yelling down in a tasteful manner was called for but there were just too many for that. It was an overload of the system! With me being engaged and Jack having a steady girlfriend we decided that our best course of action was to observe from afar to figure out what the deal was.

They looked like College Kids as we know them in the US. Reasonably clueless as to what they were doing and more interested in the social gathering than the task at hand. Deciding we required information that could only be done by close reconnaissance we moved from level 16 to level 5 and started working down there where we could be closer to the action. Then the clock struck 12:30 PM. Time for lunch. We went down and met up with the other NFM boys to decide what we were doing for lunch. Since it was a Friday and we had all recently been paid Burger King was in order. We piled into the Oddity and headed off. Coming back with our Whopper Jr. burgers and fries we realized that the place we had left a sleepy construction site was now a bustling ant hill of worthless university students! Wading through the confusion I asked one of them what was going on. He said it was a meeting of architects from five major universities around New Zealand. They were getting together in the City Centre for a convention in which they would put up non permanent structures centered around lights.

Basically they were designing a giant light show party!

We were excited because, in one way or another, when you look at the City Centre of Christchurch you can't help but be a little sad about how it is a ghost town. This was going to be at least something that we could all go to although we weren't exactly keen on how we'd have to go to work to see it.

Jack and I worked the rest of the day watching them put up their temporary structures. Most of them were just sitting around while a couple did the work. Any one of these kids would have done the Virginia Department of Transportation proud. At 5:00 PM we clocked out for the day. Since we had recently started doing Saturday work we would be there during the finishing stages of the setup for the party.

I got to work on Saturday morning to the sight of new cranes that weren't our crane. There were also lots of workers that didn't appear to be working. They seemed a lot like the people on the inside of the building in that respect. "Try to look like you're working at all times. That way you never have to." I had heard one of the uni students say. We worked all morning watching the students in curiosity as they put up their structures. At noon we all clocked out and I went home for a nap.

That evening I went out to get a Domino's Pizza. You can get a large Pepperoni for $5 which is a steal for food over here. You can also get a Margarita pizza with cherrie tomatoes and pesto for the same price. I like to pretend that it's the healthy option. I picked up one of those and went out to the City Centre just to humor them. I was greeted with throbbing techno music that would have made Mike Futrell giggle like a school girl. The University of Auckland was going no holds bar with that.

Lights of the University of Canterbury next to the Pacific Tower.

My flatmate Glen had not thought anything would come of a bunch of uni students building this stuff. I had to go get him to see his mistake. I got home in a frenzy. "Glen come see!" I exclaimed. We got in the Odyssey and headed back down to the City Centre. We got there and a bunch of people were walking in from a long distance away. I knew better than that. I pulled the mighty AWD Oddity into an abandoned construction site. over a busted water main and parked. "Nice" Glen said in the way only Glen can. We got out to the pounding techno of Auckland right as the sun set. There was my building, the Pacific Tower, with lights all up and down the front of it. These were residual from the giant lighted beams coming out of the Canterbury University light show.

We walked around and saw all the other lights. There was a good kiwi band going in the atrium right outside the cathedral. Other than that it was purely a light show. There was very little music or anything else. Some of the displays were cleverly interactive and served beer or food. Some had little kids playing on them and others soared 50 or 60 feet in the air. There were all sorts of lights used in all sorts of ways. It was something any architect would have been proud of.

More lights outside the Quest building in Christchurch. 

There were some problems that the University students couldn't have accounted for. Christchurch is a city starved of what every city should have. There is no vibrant night life or bustling city centre like there had been. The old city had the cathedral in the very center as a symbol of everything Christchurch. The old cathedral was sitting there within view and deprived of all the light in it's decrepit state. It is beyond salvage. Clearly the city council wanted to keep people from rekindling the old Save The Cathedral initiative. That being said, it would have been better if they had lit the thing up like a Christmas tree for this occasion.

The other problem was the massive crowd. There were choke points in the area where people were just standing. They weren't able to move due to the sheer number of people there. To me this demonstrated the need for a place for the people of Christchurch to gather. They were starved for something to be going on to celebrate. When these unknowing university students put on their lights show it gave the community exactly what it needed. A release from the hum drum life in Christchurch which is not usually a sad or boring place.

That being said, the whole thing was very interesting. The next day at work I realized that there was now an open area through the Red Zone on Gloucester St. After the celebration everything was just a little more open in the Red Zone. Cars now moved through the area in a normal traffic pattern. It just went to show that the people of Christchurch needed something more to focus on than the fact that their city was in ruins. People needed concerts, beach parties and the like.

If there was ever a case for the Arts being taught in schools this is it. People here need the arts to stay sane. The people in Christchurch need things to keep them going while they rebuild. If not the arts then it would appear drugs may take hold. There is already evidence of this around the city. Canterbury Crusaders games also help. The rugby team has quite a following in the city.

Last night I was reminded of this when Glen came in and said "So we're going to the rugby tonight ay?" I said we'd be criminal to not go and off we went. The Crusaders were playing Auckland so Glen had issues. He had formerly lived in Auckland so he was cheering both ways. I myself am a dedicated crusader.

We got our tickets to the game and entered. I went and got fish and chips right off the bat since I was really hungry. I got to my seat right as the National Anthem was sung. It was interesting since first it was sung in Maori then in English. Then like any other sporting event they called the starters for either team as they came onto the field. There was no booing for the Auckland team which I also found interesting. As the game started it appeared that Auckland would hold their own. They scored 10 unanswered points before the Crusaders ever got a try. Then Canterbury took off. Auckland scored a three point penalty kick then the Crusaders scored 38 points in tries and penalty kicks.

The sunset over the port hills was absolutely beautiful and the light coming into the stadium was of the most soft red and purple. The little kids sitting in front of me took an interest in my accent as did their parents. They asked if I was Canadian as most people do.  I proudly responded that I was a Virginian as I always do. At first I thought covering up my nationality was the way to go but not here. The kiwis would rather you step up as what you are then worry about what they think. You'll win more respect being a proud American than a meek one.

Glen and I left the game early to beat the traffic and were surprised when we got to the car. This being the last home game of the year, there were fire works after the game. The launcher was about 100 meters from our car. We watched the fireworks which burst in red, the primary color of the Crusaders. Then we drove home and I fell asleep to a good kiwi movie.

Even though my job is very difficult and my hours are long I'm managing to have fun around it. Even work it's self is great. I am looking forward to being away from this job, however, to see the rest of this amazing country.

The adventure marches on.

Swing Stages

I have been working in Christchurch for a while and I must say it suits me quite well. I wake up every morning at 6:00 AM and get ready, usually talk to Ellen a bit, then go to work at the Pacific Tower. This is the building on which my friends and I are working. I've still been working everyday with George. It's interesting because, although the earthquakes were almost two years ago, the Pacific Tower  is one of the first buildings to go back online. That makes my crew one of the only ones in the town with any real on the job experience. This means we may be able to stay together as a crew after December. I am left with a choice if this comes to pass. Go elsewhere or stay in Christchurch? I may be able to get more interesting work in another place but I like my crew. We can go get a beer after work and it feels a bit like home.

By the end of the first week of working I found a flat. It was a little place in the suburb of St. Albans. The people living with me were older people but all of them were very fun. Writing for the blog has become more difficult because I have less time to think. I'm usually on the swing stage with George most of the day. I usually work 9.5 hours in a day. We are doing crack repair in the side of the building. This involves a lot of power tool use. It's difficult to hold drills and grinders over your head all day and come home awake.

It just so happened that on October 16th one of my flat mates mentioned an All Whites game in Christchurch. The All Whites are the national soccer team in New Zealand. We decided that we couldn't have the All Whites coming to Christchurch and not go. That would just be a travesty. We got off work and got ready to go to the game.

Going felt like going to one of the VT football games. We went in and it turned out we were right behind the goal. The game was the All Whites vs. Tahiti. The Tahitians were favored to win the game. In the first couple of minutes the All Whites had scored a goal. This was unfortunate since we hadn't found our seats by then. I was sad when the All Whites then seemed to go cold. That being said, they played very good defense and kept Tahiti out of the goal. The overhead lights went off right as halftime was supposed to happen.

The weather was being very typical Christchurch. The nice warm day gave way to the very cold windy night. It was a nice cool evening to watch soccer. I noticed that the Kiwis were about like Hokie fans. There were plenty of snarky remarks along with jeers to the ref. A couple of yellow cards later there was a corner kick. The cross came in beautifully and the head ball bounced off the goalie. Then all of a sudden an All White swooped in and scored the goal. The whole stadium went nuts. People blew air horns and vuvuzelas. This was very well received but not quite as much as when an All White came down the center of the field. He placed a kick to the top right corner of the goal and landed the shot perfectly. A keeper's nightmare. The crowd went absolutely wild.  People were jumping up and down and doing what I heard people around me calling the "earthquake". Basically they were banging their feet on the bleachers making a loud noise.

Coming home we talked about the awesome goals during the game. It was nice to be at a big game again. This was a playoff game for a spot in the 2014 world cup. The whole thing was apparently a very big deal. I was just happy to go to a public event with lots of happy people around.

I'm sorry this isn't a longer post but I am having a hard time staying awake. I'll try to do a little better on the next one.

Job Hunting in ChCh

Well I’m back in Christchurch. The hostel I stayed in my first night back was abysmal so it’s just as well that Alice emailed me and told me I was staying with them. I was happy to oblige. Alice is a very good cook although she won’t always admit it. She’s one of those people who “throw it together.” The problem with this theory is that everything she throws together is great. The Shanks-Main family has been gracious enough to let me stay with them until I find a flat. This serves two purposes. I have a wonderful supportive group of people around and it keeps me out of trouble. I also get to talk to Lindsey about his rope techniques.

The first day I was in Christchurch was the day for finding a job. I got an interview for Tuesday the second of October in the construction line. Construction was a moderately interesting choice because it meant that I would get to participate in the rebuild of the city. Another couple of farming jobs came up as well. I went and interviewed for one of them. It was a dairy farm in a beautiful part of the Canterbury plains. When I was there I felt like I really wanted the job. I even offered to take a pay cut but after this I realized that not everyone had been interviewed yet and the owner took it as a slight that I asked him to consider me for early placement in the job. Obviously this did not pan out.

The next day I went into the construction office and accepted the job. The job was not on rope, which made my parents happy. I would be based on a swing stage. It was basically a long, outdoor, elevator. It’s good because the pay was good because I had rope skills, but it was also safe. I even still got to rappel in the weekly emergency drills. 

The first day I showed up at 6:30 AM. I was inducted in the atrium of the building by the foreman and given a harness, hardhat, and orange jacket. I have to admit I was a little excited on a romantic level about the job. I was going to be a part of the effort that would bring the first building in the city centre of Christchurch back online. After two years since the last big earthquake many people were frustrated and had given up hope somewhat. The people of Christchurch were getting very weary of their town being in shambles. Our getting the building back in action would mark a turning point for Christchurch.

There was a big mural of a Phoenix on Colombo St. that I could see on the way to work. It set the tone for how the town was going. They weren’t rising yet but they were fighting hard to get back. Helping in that made me feel like I was in a special time and place.

Walking into work was a very surreal experience. The first thing I noticed was the large atrium of the hotel. Instead of tourists it was full of jack hammer men, cleaners, heavy equipment operators and my people, the high ropes operators. This was odd because the various shops had all been converted into offices and lunchrooms for workers. It looked like a scene out of a dystopian story. Honestly the first thing that came to mind was a zombie movie but with no zombies.

I received orders to go do training on a rappel device and commence work after this was done. My partner and I quickly did the rappelling, which was fun more than anything.  We were busy taping up windows all morning. Another twenty something year old and myself were working on this high rig doing industrial construction work. I always imagined workers as grizzled old guys but many of them were just like me. We made dumb jokes like normal but we were on a scaffold with the best view imaginable. I realized I was one of the only Americans to see the Christchurch cathedral since February 2011. The cathedral was a landmark of Christchurch before the quakes and it was sad to see it in such a dilapidated state. Some of the people here are laboring under the assumption that it can be fixed. They may be right but it looks pretty dismal to see it in the middle of all that construction.

We went down at 10:00 AM to take a break. There was a little food trailer across the street. The guy running the trailer was wearing the fluorescent vest like us. I wondered about that. He didn’t have to do that. He was well beyond the cordon. I got my chicken and went to the break room, which was in an old ice cream shop. After the half hour there we went back up. I noticed lots of people driving past the building and lots of people walking in to see what we were doing. Then I realized that they were watching. It was a very surreal feeling. The people here would never tell you they wanted the building to be done but something seemed to be gravitational about it. If we could get it open by February I would feel much better. Incidentally so would the owners because that was when the insurance would stop paying for the project.

With the windows covered we came down (did I mention this is as safe as an elevator?) to get grinders. These were to find minute cracks in the concrete. We would then go back and fill the cracks with rosin. This sounds boring but with another twenty something guy on the swing stage with you it’s actually hilarious.

For three days we hung on the east face of the building working and cutting up. Eventually the name of our swing stage became the “Speed Stage.” We did all the things required of construction workers such as eating at a food cart and catcalling at girls that we couldn’t actually see due to the two hundred yards between them and us.

On Friday tragedy struck. They kicked us out of the atrium between our building and the one next to us. This was a problem considering all of our gear was there as well as the smoker room. Smoker room is the name of a kiwi break room on the construction site. Never once did I actually see anyone light up in there. The smoker room was what had been a café before the quake. Now workers on break inhabited it. When the high ropes crew had a break it became a mad house. We were all younger men who were keen to do the things younger men do, i.e. act stupid. Our boss Gene was fun too. He was always making goofy jokes and then laughing at them. He was a really nice guy but he was stressed because the company was treating us like dirt.

None of the site managers could do anything about it but the general upper echelon of managers decided they didn’t want us mingling with the people on the other side of the job. Obviously this was stupid but our site managers were insistent they had nothing to do with it. Most of them are good guys so I was inclined to believe them.

Saturday we’re going to have to work to get all of our gear out. We don’t know where we’ll be moving and the general frustration was noticeable. The pace of work slowed considerably in the afternoon due to general low morale. That in its self was entertaining. Much like losing at a Hokie basketball game. You don’t like it, but you grin and bear it.

The end of Friday was a familiar comfort. George (my swing stage partner) and I went down to the pub after work. We sat around much as Phil, Ray and I did on a Friday night at the London Underground back home. Just shooting the shit about work and all the other stuff people talk about in pubs. It was a pretty nice place but it kind of felt like the Applebee’s of pubs. There were fluorescent vests everywhere in the place. It wasn’t nearly dark or dank enough for my tastes but it was comfortable enough. We had a good time sitting there talking sipping some dark beer, which was decidedly not Guinness. George mentioned his dad had a 31-foot racing sailboat. His dad was out of the country at the time. When he gets back George said we might go for a sail. The adventure continues J