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Variable access
May. 22nd, 2011 08:24 pmWhen I have anxiety dreams, they tend to have similar tropes without being the exact same dream: I am trying to make it to some form of transportation (usually a plane) before a strict deadline and failing; I have just discovered I am enrolled in a class I haven't attended all year, and the final exam is that afternoon; I am wandering around in public in an insufficient quantity of clothes, or looking for a toilet (actually, last night, I was attempting to tactfully critique an imaginary right-wing politician's preparation of hot-and-sour soup, but that's not really a recurring theme). Anyway, the first two variants of these tend to involve a lot of packing, or sorting through things, all the while knowing (in the dream) that the point of no return is approaching.
So. Yesterday, I had fifty minutes in my house, with a safety rep, to get out what I could. I think the house won't be destroyed, and I think even if it is we should get access again, but I don't know any of these things for sure. And it all felt very familiar, right down to the way it all started off seeming perfectly achievable, and suddenly I had three minutes left. Fortunately, I did not then discover I was only wearing a T-shirt.
There were the usual bureaucratic accompaniments; we had to make lists of what we wanted to get out (although no-one asked to inspect these), I had to get a photo pass that could only be issued at 8 am (although, due to work, I had asked for the house access slot at 1.30 - two units in the complex were allowed access each hour), I could only have one person with me (and due to a communication mix-up, he couldn't actually come into the house, and had to stand outside the door taping boxes together and stacking the trailer), hard hats and high-vis vests, and the slightly more sensible safety briefings. The safety person told me to work top-to-bottom in the house (it's on three stories), but after I sent down a box full of games and paperwork, an additional safety person showed up and said, "Vitals *first*" in an emphatic fashion, and I did a five minute bit in each room to get the list things before heading back around.
I got everything on my list, including my mattress (the one in the rental is doing horrible things to my back), although there was a bit of an argument with the additional safety person again when getting it out meant blocking the stairs briefly. I took all the obvious expensive portable items - one of the other units got burgled that morning - and although there's some jewellery left in there, it's not like I could find it. Doing the list items took me about thirty minutes, and then in what was left I had "books and manga" written down; I grabbed some specific titles that I knew I wanted, but with over 2000 books in the house, it's really hard to even start to tackle them, or know what to prioritise. It was easier with the manga, but even then I flailed a bit - hard to replace? fun to read? haven't read yet?
I filled two cars and we stuck the mattress on the trailer; I remembered the TV remote just before the deadline (I already had the TV) and then had to go hunting around the sofas for it. The safety person carried stuff down for me, which was great. One of the people in the slot before me had tried to empty her entire house, and run out of time despite having about five people taking things away. I haven't done a lot of unpacking yet, as just shifting things over and wrestling the mattress into place took most of my energy (I love my mattress, but it is not the most wieldy thing ever. On the other hand, two nights on it has almost completely undone all of last week's back pain).
Anyway. It's three months since the earthquake. I have a ridiculous number of EQC claims in (from the two big quakes, and the Boxing Day aftershock), and no inspections. I've had to move yet again, despite thinking that buying a house would finally put an end to my six year streak of moving at least once a year, and although I can still walk to work there is no longer a CBD for me to walk through. I am generally doing okay, anxiety dreams and real-life mimics aside, but the limbo parts of this are irritating at best.
So. Yesterday, I had fifty minutes in my house, with a safety rep, to get out what I could. I think the house won't be destroyed, and I think even if it is we should get access again, but I don't know any of these things for sure. And it all felt very familiar, right down to the way it all started off seeming perfectly achievable, and suddenly I had three minutes left. Fortunately, I did not then discover I was only wearing a T-shirt.
There were the usual bureaucratic accompaniments; we had to make lists of what we wanted to get out (although no-one asked to inspect these), I had to get a photo pass that could only be issued at 8 am (although, due to work, I had asked for the house access slot at 1.30 - two units in the complex were allowed access each hour), I could only have one person with me (and due to a communication mix-up, he couldn't actually come into the house, and had to stand outside the door taping boxes together and stacking the trailer), hard hats and high-vis vests, and the slightly more sensible safety briefings. The safety person told me to work top-to-bottom in the house (it's on three stories), but after I sent down a box full of games and paperwork, an additional safety person showed up and said, "Vitals *first*" in an emphatic fashion, and I did a five minute bit in each room to get the list things before heading back around.
I got everything on my list, including my mattress (the one in the rental is doing horrible things to my back), although there was a bit of an argument with the additional safety person again when getting it out meant blocking the stairs briefly. I took all the obvious expensive portable items - one of the other units got burgled that morning - and although there's some jewellery left in there, it's not like I could find it. Doing the list items took me about thirty minutes, and then in what was left I had "books and manga" written down; I grabbed some specific titles that I knew I wanted, but with over 2000 books in the house, it's really hard to even start to tackle them, or know what to prioritise. It was easier with the manga, but even then I flailed a bit - hard to replace? fun to read? haven't read yet?
I filled two cars and we stuck the mattress on the trailer; I remembered the TV remote just before the deadline (I already had the TV) and then had to go hunting around the sofas for it. The safety person carried stuff down for me, which was great. One of the people in the slot before me had tried to empty her entire house, and run out of time despite having about five people taking things away. I haven't done a lot of unpacking yet, as just shifting things over and wrestling the mattress into place took most of my energy (I love my mattress, but it is not the most wieldy thing ever. On the other hand, two nights on it has almost completely undone all of last week's back pain).
Anyway. It's three months since the earthquake. I have a ridiculous number of EQC claims in (from the two big quakes, and the Boxing Day aftershock), and no inspections. I've had to move yet again, despite thinking that buying a house would finally put an end to my six year streak of moving at least once a year, and although I can still walk to work there is no longer a CBD for me to walk through. I am generally doing okay, anxiety dreams and real-life mimics aside, but the limbo parts of this are irritating at best.
