Ears back

A sharp jolt woke us this morning. I'm definitely not a fan of the shallow quakes less than 5km from home. At least it was nearly time to wake.

Work is a pretty negative environment for a number of reasons at present. I set myself a few personal goals today and feel good about what I achieved.

The buildings used by the student association and various shops are unsafe from quake damage.

The students association has initiated a winter market for a few hours on a Wednesday. Stalls sell food, vintage clothes, jewellery etc. Other attractions include a double decker London bus transformed into a chocolate bus and some pretty cool sounds.

But the winner for me is the woman with the donkeys. They are wonderful animals and I suspect very wise too.

(He looks mean with those ears back but really he loved me scratching his nose).

Oddly I'm moving from sniffles to a sore throat. I thought the development sequence was the other way round. It won't stop me heading off to watch a documentary with my neighbour - "5 days in the red zone". Five days spent in the centre of our city after the earthquake.

It may well be confronting but I feel positive about it. I think it's something I need to see. All part of processing and integrating what has happened.

My friend Dr B spent several hours inside the red zone yesterday helping a friend salvage stock and fittings from his business. Apparanetly Manchester St (one of the main city streets) now has a distinct rise in it.