The countless aftershocks from the Christchurch earthquake have meant many a sleepless night for some. I, on the other hand, am one of those who just doze through most of the aftershocks. To be honest, it’s worrisome, as evidently my need for sleep is overpowering my need for self-preservation. Nonetheless, it’s an excuse to get out of Christchurch for the weekend; a sleeping trip.

It’s as though Lake Tekapo knew our plan, as we were greeted by a calm gloomy Sunday morning. It felt so… tranquil.

That, my friend, is apparently a salmon. I didn’t even know that when I took the photo. Anyway, you can’t possibly miss it when you pass through Rakaia. That salmon ties in nicely with the Salmon Tales Cafe that we visited for brunch today.

As you might guess, it’s yet another fish and chips for me. I went for the large size, which filled me up really nicely. I believe there’s also a salmon option, but I couldn’t quite imagine salmon and chips. That’s just ain’t right. Anyway, the fish and chips was rather average. Service was good.

The voucher was for 25 percent off the total bill; up to NZD 35. We saved NZD 23.40 this time.

Official website: Salmon Tales Cafe

I finished badminton, went for supper at Ancestral, got home, showered, prepared a gift for someone’s birthday, and finally went to bed around 2:15 am.

*slept like a baby*

I was suddenly woken up by violent shaking, and sounds of objects falling over. The unlatched closet doors were making very unnerving noises that is fit for horror movies. It took a while for my sleep-deprived brain to work out what it was—EARTHQUAKE! On the hindsight, my reaction after realising it’s an earthquake is idiotic. I simply laid in bed waiting for the earthquake to stop. It was dark, and it felt like forever. I didn’t even bother opening my eyes. In case you are wondering, the proper reaction should be to get under a door frame, or a sturdy table. In my defense, I didn’t realise the earthquake was that serious. The fact that I was under-dressed that night also contributed to my decision to stay in bed.

After the tremors ended, I got dressed and went to switch on the light to check what had fallen over. Took me a few flicks of the switch before I realise that we had lost power. That’s alright because I had a torch nearby. I opened the door and in the hallway was my flatmate. Luckily I got dressed first. A quick check around the house revealed that there wasn’t much damage at all. In fact, only a few items had fallen over. No breakages. I exchanged a few txt messages with friends about their situation.

I checked my phone to see what time it was. Initially, I thought it’s around 5:40 am. But damn the analog clock. It turns out it’s actually around 4:40 am. At this point, I didn’t realise just how little sleep I’ve had. I guess the adrenaline is making me wide awake.

I can’t possibly go back to bed after such a strong earthquake. My curiosity got the better of me and I decided to wander outside to see if there’s anything interesting. It was really cold. Turned out the power was out in the whole neighbourhood. When I looked up at the sky, it was incredibly clear. The bright stars and the crescent moon was a sight to behold.

I stayed up for an hour in the lounge, beside the door, just in case I needed a quick exit. I now realise just how tired I was. I decided to grab my polar fleece blanket and camped out in the lounge with my flatmate. I had my down jacket on just in case. For some reason, I decided that it’s important to have my camera bag with me. So, I did.

I didn’t get much sleep at all. By now, the sun is already coming up. I decided the lounge floor really isn’t that comfortable and decided it’s safe to move back to my bed.

After a few more hours of not actually sleeping, I decided to head over to my parent’s place. My flat is definitely under-prepared for a disaster. With no radio and power, I felt rather uninformed about the whole situation. The drive from my flat to my parent’s place was quite interesting as none of the traffic lights were working due to the power cut. It’s basically a test of your defensive driving skills. Slow and courteous seems to do the trick. I didn’t see much earthquake damage along the way. There wasn’t much traffic on the road though. I got to my destination without problem.

At my parent’s place, there was no power either; but at least there was a functioning battery-powered radio, tuned to an appropriate radio station. I started getting a better picture of the earthquake damages. I also learned a lot about what to do in an earthquake. Maybe it was more of a refresher, but definitely one I desperately needed. Thankfully, the day is warming up nicely. I was really impressed with how well the cellphone networks performed throughout the whole event. A few of the cell towers were running on backup power but I never lost cellphone communication.

*an unknown amount of time passed*

The street lights came on. Everyone was frantically flipping switches expecting power to be back on. Maybe frantically was exaggerating. Anyway, the power to the house is restored not long after. The first thing we did is to switch on the TV. It was a very strange feeling watching the news. I was really surprised when i saw the full extent of the earthquake damages on the news. The city centre was badly affected.

Christchurch residents are labeled as earthquake victim; which means I’m also an earthquake victim. However, I didn’t feel like I’ve been that badly affected. I mean I was a bit shaken, but I was unharmed and had no property damage. While being an earthquake victim may sound interesting, it really isn’t. The state of emergency meant that we are not allowed to go into the city. We had to cancel our typical lunch plan and prepare something at home instead. Luckily, we use gas cooking so we could still have a cooked meal.

*I was bored, so decided to head back to my flat*

When I caught up with my flatmate, I found out that Chopsticks Restaurant in Fendalton hasn’t been badly affected and was still open for business. We decided to head there for dinner. Partly, so that we don’t stay indoors for the whole day. The place was filled with people, as though the earthquake had never happened.

After dinner, I went back to my parent’s place. I was becoming increasingly aware that I was very much sleep-deprived, having slept around 2 hours in the past 24 hours. I finally decided to head back to my flat to sleep. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I was out like a light.

I felt like having something French for lunch. I’ve seen the Le Tour De France voucher before and thought this would be a nice day to try it. Let the French flag guide you if you’re not sure where the place is. The interior decor definitely have a very French feel to it. There are several paintings of the Eiffel Tower. Considering the name, I expected to see a few cyclists but there were none while we were there.

We ordered escargot, as in the photo above, for our entree and I ordered the duck breast for my main. The food was great. I particularly enjoyed the combination of duck breast and orange. I saw crayfish on the menu but the price… let’s just say the voucher wouldn’t cover it. The staff are really friendly; complete with French accent.

The voucher was for one complimentary main course when another main course of equal or greater value is purchased; up to NZD 25. We saved at least NZD 15 this time.

I have St Pierre’s sushi fairly regularly; partly because their sushi is available through a takeaway shop close to my work place. I like their sushi. At one point, I was having their sushi almost weekly. They have quite a wide variety to choose from. My favourite is the one with the crispy chicken.

The voucher was for one complimentary regular size sushi pack (8 piece pack) when another regular size sushi pack (8 piece pack) of equal or greater value is purchased; up to NZD 8. I saved about NZD 6 this time; but would have been more if I wasn’t short-changed.

If you’ve read my blog, you may well realise that Coffee Culture is my regular coffee stop. I had an Espresso frappe. I don’t usually have frappe but thought as the sun was out, it was a good time to use the frappe voucher.

The voucher was for one complimentary frappe when another frappe of equal or greater value is purchased. I saved NZD 4.90 this time.

Official website: Coffee Culture

The Bog Irish Bar, as the name suggests, is an Irish bar. The first thing I notice after I stepped in the bar is a board hanging on the wall with the definition for bog, which could either mean a wetland, or a toilet. The interior decor fits my impression of an old Irish bar; not that I’ve been to Ireland before. The place is understandably quiet as it was lunch time.

The menu is what I’d expect of an Irish bar too. Hearty meals come to mind. I ordered a St Paddy’s Melt—a rump steak with melted cheese. The steak was alright. Nothing spectacular but does the job of filling me up. I originally wanted some tomato sauce to go with the steak. However, the cap popped when I tried to open it; putting me off. It could probably be explained by some temperature difference but I wasn’t confident about my theory. Moving on. I expected the staff to be Irish so as to provide a more authentic Irish experience. One of them definitely isn’t, the other could possibly be; so I suppose that’s good enough. No fault with the service though.

The voucher was for one complimentary main course when another main course of equal or greater value is purchased; up to NZD 35. We saved NZD 19 this time.

Official website: The Bog

Now, Oderings Cafe definitely deserves a photo. However, I don’t have any that does it justice so I won’t put one up. Instead, you’ll just have to visit the place instead. Oderings Cafe is attached to the Oderings Nurseries Garden Centre in Barrington. The place is nicely designed. It even has a couch beside a fenced pool. I wouldn’t even have known this place existed if not for the Entertainment Book.

Unfortunately, I’m not so impressed with the food. I had fish and chips, as you’d probably guessed. The fish was way below par for the price I paid. Having said that, they would probably have done better with more traditional cafe food. The iced coffee was alright though; and the service was good. Nonetheless, if you’ve never been, it’s worth checking out even if it’s just for a coffee.

The voucher was for 25 percent off the total bill; up to NZD 20. We saved NZD 15.20 this time.

Official website: Oderings

Last Train to India is the only Indian restaurant I know of that opens for lunch on weekends. Most Indian restaurants I had wanted to try are closed at that time. I really like how the place is decorated.

Last Train to India offers a lot of exotic curries that I’ve never seen anywhere else. We ordered a couple of curries off the express lunch menu, and one off their standard menu. If you are not after the exotic curries, then definitely go for the express lunch menu. They are about half the price and the portion size is about the same. The main difference is how your food is presented. Also, the curries on the standard menu do not come with rice. Plain rice is NZD 1 extra. The curries are good. They are quite different compared to ones I’ve had at other Indian restaurants. As always, just when you think there is not going to be enough curry for your rice and the naan bread, you end up with leftovers. The service is good.

The Gold Card offer was for 25 percent off the total bill; up to NZD 25. We saved NZD 13.50 this time.

Official website: Last Train to India

Warning: This blog post contains spoiler for the movie Inception.

I’ve just seen Inception on Xtremescreen and I really enjoyed it for a few simple reasons:

• It taps into real world experiences. For instance, why is it that you never remember how a dream begins?
• It does not depend on a lot of technologies that does not currently exists. The key piece of technology that has yet to be invented is the dream machine.
• The key technology is well explained when the girl, who was recruited to be the architect, is first given the opportunity to experiment with the system.
• It involves clever use of the key technology by attempting to layer the dreams. The idea of using a totem to differentiate between reality and someone else’s dream is neat.
• It kept the viewers in suspense; wanting to find out what actually happened to the wife.

All of this makes 150 minutes seem like 5 seconds. I like movies like this because it makes you question reality, the way that Matrix did. Now, how can I be sure this is not a dream you ask? Simple. I’m still worried about my assignment, and have to go to work tomorrow. As much as I hate them, I suppose they keep me grounded in reality; my totem in a way.