And the rains kept falling.

I am at work and it is 4am, so I may finish this later at home but will make a start. Being busy continues in 2011 but I am pleased to say, being down to one job, even though I worked 103 hours last fortnight, is a dream compared to working two jobs, both ends of the day. I have been able to work extra hours as we had two extra girls in over Christmas who went back to family this week and we get two new boys tomorrow for an undetermined time. We have had them in for respite twice in the last week, and first impressions are that it will make for interesting dynamics with the others already here. Watch this space, lol.

On the home front, I am still unpacking, sorting and sifting. Yesterday I wanted to use my external hard drive to take stuff off my laptop which led to my office and part of the garage being cleaned and straightened today. I have ended up with numerous cords, plugs,etc with each electrical purchase so part of the sort today was to try and match cords with appliances. I managed all the obvious ones and still have a small shop's worth left over. If I was feeling truely anal I would pull out all the booklets that came with said appliances to match what should go with them, but can safely say, that is not going to happen in the near future. I figure if I haven't used them in the last two years, how important are they. I am however, going to put them in various snap lock plastic bags so they are all sorted properly - just in case I should find out what they are for, lol. Out of all this, the cord I was actually looking for was not to be found - spit, snarl. I do however have my ipod charged, my nz ph charged, one small external hard drive sorted, (not the one I wanted though), the camera and the video camera sorted and all recharged woohoo.

Since the move and major unpack I was aware the tripod for my camera was missing. It has been percolating at the back of my mind for the past three weeks and as I have continued to clear boxes, it was nowhere to be found. I remembered I had packed it with my shoes in a bag, and of course, no shoes either. Procrastination and general inertia had prevented me from ringing up the removal folk and ripping their ears off for losing said articles. I had not got to the point of putting a word up to St Anthony (patron saint of lost things) as though he has come through on many occassions for me in the past, (and usually within the day I might add), he let me down when I misplaced the lens cover of my camera -( still nowhere to be found after several months now!). In the midst of the search for the lost cord, I took down the last two Christmas light decorations at the front door which necessitated a trip to the garage to retrieve the boxes that they came in to preserve them for another year. That necessitated building some shelving that had come apart (garage sort of shelving), lifting boxes of papers and books etc onto shelves, plus tent and small barbque, then moving a washing machine in front of another one, when lo and behold, I noticed a large cardboard box with a laundry bag, suitcase and plastic file holder in it. Eureka, as I opened the suitcase, there was my tripod, leather boots and shoes, woohoo again. A narrow save from becoming a harpy towards the removal people. St Anthony did get a thank you by the way for the save as a bonus as in one on credit, lol!

Between work and unpacking for the past two weeks, I have been caught up in the compulsive viewing of the floods in Queensland and now Victoria. It would seem it is Australia's turn to be the New Years disaster hotspot and no less compelling than the tsunami reporting or the bush fires of yesteryear. Western Australia has not remained untouched with Carnarvon being declared a national disaster zone the week before the Qld floods and an arson lit bush fire south of Perth which was devasting for families who were evacuated for days before they could return to their homes and farms that were reduced to ashes. There have been other reports of smaller fires here and there throughout the state that have been deliberately started and words fail at the horrendous toll these fires take on the communities where they have been lit.

With the floods in Qld, we are talking floods of biblical proportions - 75% of the state was under water last week and declared a national disaster. I woke up on the first Monday morning to watch "Sunrise" to the devastating news of the flash flood that has taken over 20 lives. It was very emotional watching when Grant Denier - the usually very bubbly weather presenter, broke down saying, they were meant to report the weather, and they couldn't warn them. I sat there with a lump in my throat as the unbelievable pictures of torrents of water wooshed through various towns. One of the first people lost in the floods was found 80k from where he was last seen. I tried to get my head around that one and thought that is like from Hamilton to Waiuku and it doesnt seem possible. Tragedy after tragedy unfolded - the parents who got their toddlers onto the roof but perished themselves, the four year old boy swept away as he was being put into the rescue boat and the 13 year old boy who insisted the rescue people take his 9 year old brother first, only then to be swept away with his mother before his rescued brother's eyes. Then there was the rescue folk - the helicopter pilot visibly emotional for the ones he could not save, and the chap who rescued the 9yr old - absolutely heart wrenching stuff. They say that there is over 160,000 homes that have been flood damaged and though the clean up has begun, there are still flood warnings in Brisbane as they wait for the king tide to come up the river. The dam built after the floods in '74 were working at 240% capacity at the height of the floods, - the week before it had been at 17% capacity.

The public response has been huge from the very beginning and the state has taken on a war time battling attitude as it copes with the blows to its infrastructure, communities, and its people. There has been responses from around the world - immediate aid with rescue people from NZ, messages from HRH, Prince Charles, President Obama to name a few. I have had people on one of my face book games comment that they have heard about it as far away as California. There will no doubt be huge enquiries as to why this event occurred is such a major way, some communities may never be rebuilt due to the low lying nature of where they are - cold comfort to those who have lost everything. Many were not covered by insurance after previous floods, and today they were talking about a disaster levy to cope with such things in the future. As we go into the third week, most people I talk to are disaster fatigued, and are over the continuing reports of the losses, but for those involved, the updates are crucial. When you see the amounts of rubbish as the houses are stripped of everything just about apart from framework, there is another story to be told. The mud left behind is phenominal, and they say the stench of rotting vegetation, mud, and rubbish, the removal of all the above and possible disease outbreaks is the next thing to tackle. Every building involved has to be recertified by an electrican before it can be inhabited again. The list goes on and on.

The gloom about the Aussies losing the Ashes in cricket to the Poms kinda got overtaken by the floods, but there is much national nashing of the teeth at the Aussi cricket team's failure - much like what the All Blacks went through a couple of years ago as they rebuilt their team. At the moment, the Australian Open in tennis has taken over TV and there has been some brilliant matches played. I watched Federer win his second match today - his first match against a French guy was so close, I had to go to bed, in case Federer didn't win, lol. Great news to wake up to that he had. Tonights big upset was Venus Williams walking off after her first game which she lost to her opponent with a leg injury. A young Australian player goes up against Nadal tomorrow so will be watching that - if I am awake.

On the homefront once again, I have a boarder - Jude's grandson who is a 17 yr old apprentice. He seems a nice lad though with my shift work, we do not touch base often. A couple of his mates have turned 18 in the past two weeks so he has been out a fair bit - so far so good, lol. Have restrained from making any comment except to ask if he was driving one night or staying the night (assuming there was drinking involved). Have said he can have his mates around but the same rules apply as they did for my boys - anyone drinks, they do not drive, anyone throws up, they clean up (I did say they would get their nose rubbed in it heh heh) and would not be welcome again. He seemed ok with that so we will see. Jude still comes and stays a couple of nights a week so is keeping a weather eye on him too.

I have taken the plunge and booked my tickets home!!!!!!! I am flying out of Perth on the 10th April and coming back on the 27th. I got an Air NZ flight straight through from Perth which is my favourite choice, but am coming back with Qantas doing a stop over in Sydney for a few hours. I did look at Virgin Blue who were slightly cheaper, but I like getting something to eat, and the movie if I want - in relative comfort. I am hoping to hitch a ride to Perth as Jude is having a 60th birthday on the 9th and have booked a flight back from Perth to Geraldton on my return. Great news this week has been that Qantas may be starting flights into and out of Geraldton which will give some competition to the monopoly that Sky West have at the moment. The costs are rediculous currently for an hour flight which is the same as Auckland or Hamilton to Wellington. The cheapest I think I have done Hn to Wtgn is $49 and I have seldom paid over $100 whereas the cheapest flight I can manage to Perth is just over $200 - rock on competition.

It's time to go and do some more work before the kids wake up as it is nearly 6am.
And oops, delayed posting but another one coming :):):)