Time

February 22, 2011

7:20am Monday, 21, 2011

Cell phone alarm goes off.  I don’t want to get up and go to Franz Joseph today.  Lay in bed until 7:23.  Get up and get breakfast. 

7:55 Must get in shower NOW in order to get to bus stop by 8:30am.

8:19 Walk out front door to bus stop to catch bus to Franz Joseph.

8:38 Bus pulls out of Fox Glacier heading for Franz Joseph.

9:05 Arrive in Franz and get off bus near hostel.  Walk around town and finally decide to get groceries at the store and walk out to the glacier and have a picnic in the rain.

9:30 Walk out of Franz Joseph and head to the Franz Joseph Glacier Access Road carpark.

10:24 Arrive at car park.  Use bathroom.

10:31 Begin walk out to Franz Joseph Glacier terminal.

11:37 Return to carpark and find a rock to sit on and enjoy my lunch.

11:48 Begin another walk.

12:10 Finish walk and start another one.

12:55 Finally decide it’s time to walk back to town.

2:00 Go to bookshop and buy a $10 book.

2:20 Find cafe and order a large latte which literally comes in a small bowl!

3:30 Discover I’m hungry and order chips (fries).

4:20 Decide I’ve been lingering in the cafe long enough and it’s time to check into hostel even though I really don’t feel like staying in Franz.  I just want to go home to my bed!

4:35 Checked into hostel by a very rude girl.  Go to dorm room and remember a question for the staff.

4:44 Walk out of hostel saying to myself, “I can’t stay here.  I won’t stay here!”  The answer to my question had been so rude and demeaning and I just wanted to go home.  Walked to bus stop to see when the bus left for Fox Glacier.  Couldn’t find a time so walked to Information Center.

4:50 Woman at the Eye-site couldn’t figure out what time the bus left Franz for Fox.  Left info center and went back to wait for bus, hoping it would come soon.

4:55 Waiting at bus stop for bus.

5:17 Another girl asks me if I am waiting for the Intercity bus.  “Yes” I say.  “I think it’s late,” she says.  “It was supposed to be here at 5:05.”  Girl walks away.

5:25 Bus finally arrives.  I get a free ride back to Fox Glacier

6:00 Arrive in Fox.  So happy to be back.  Chris asks me to work the dinner shift.  I say no.

6:08 Get on facebook to see if my mom is around so I can tell her I’m not in Franz Joseph.  Start facebook chatting with my sister instead.  See picture of my nephew.  He’s wearing a “Big Brother” t-shirt.  Ask my sister if she’s pregnant.  She is.

12 Midnight Finally go to sleep.

Monday 22, 2011

9:26 am Wake up without an alarm clock. Get dressed. Brush teeth.  Go to town to mail hostel key back and get groceries for breakfast.

10:00 Go to Maureen’s house to watch TV and eat breakfast.

10:30 Watch (500) Days of Summer on TV.  At some point, felt shaking, but ignored it.  It wasn’t strong enough to be anything.  Could have been my imagination.

12:55 Head to work for the one o’clock meeting.

1:15 At Caroline’s house when Cookie rushes in with panic on her face.  Exclaims that there was another massive earthquake in Christchurch.  We go to Cookie’s to watch the news.

1:22 Back at my house find text message from Jessica in Christchurch.  She’s okay.  Roads are bad.  Everything really shook.

Deep breath.  It feels like the last 30 hours have been crazy.  So much.  So much emotion: worry, fear, celebration, joy, sadness, fear, worry, peace.  Time to take another deep breath.  It’s going to be okay.