Mother Nature - January/February 2011

We've been away for a while.  Actually Brown and Orange and I haven't gone anywhere, we've just been away from here.  I would apologise, except to apologise means I've done something wrong.  I've done nothing wrong, it's Mother Nature who has gone wrong, really really wrong.

You may recall that Brown and Orange and I live in Brisbane, Queensland Australia. Brisbane is the greatest city in the world.... except when it isn't.

Here's some great things about Brisbane:

Brisbane has lots of parks
Brisbane has a sub-tropical climate
Brisbane is a pretty city at night time
Brisbane has lots of bridges
Brisbane is big enough to have lots of things to do, but small enough to not be crazy scary
Brisbane has some great pubs
Brisbane is full of friendly happy people
Brisbane is built on a great river that snakes through the suburbs
Brisbane is close to the best beaches in the world
Brisbane is close to the hinterland hills
Brisbane really is great

Here's some not so great things about Brisbane:

Brisbane has a sub-tropical climate
Brisbane is built on a great river that snakes through the suburbs
Brisbane does flood, in a massive way

Unless you've been living in a cave for the past 3 months, you would have heard that Brisbane flooded.  It wasn't a flood like when your washing machine fails and it spills water onto your floor and you have to mop it up.  It was a flood of mammoth proportions. It was scary, very scary.

My work store room was flooded. Thankfully we had 5 hours and everyone on board to get 25 pallets of books and other electrical equipment, using only one lift (elevator) up to higher ground.

That day it was pouring with rain.  That's wrong, it wasn't only pouring, it was bucketing down, it was so bad that when I left home I wore my rubber boots to work.  I'm glad I did. By lunch time everyone was worn out, we all made a decision to close up and go home.  At the same time all of Brisbane decided to do the same thing..... mass evacuation of the city! Crazy scary!

It was weird.... it happened on a Tuesday.  Initially I was told that we would not be back to work until Friday.  Then I got a message that it was going to be Monday, then I got a message that it would be Wednesday....

I felt very detached and depressed.... I woke up on the next day and it was a beautiful day, hadn't seen the sun for weeks due to rain for weeks and weeks before.  And at the same time my beautiful city was flooding. The river devastated the masses. Yet all I could do was watch it on the tv because everyone was meant to stay off the roads.

I signed up to volunteer with the cleanup, but at the same time I had a tree of doom to sort out, a tree that had fallen in my yard and onto part of my house.

And then cyclone Yasi happened.... it was a cyclone of mammoth proportions in northern Queensland, it was scary, very scary.  I have friends who lived though it and have heard and read the stories.

I do love living in Brisbane, it has been an eventful start to the year... now that it's April the weather is behaving and I'm looking forward to a nice calm winter with little dramas.... hopefully!