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.