Up and down, the rollercoaster goes ...
My family doesn't seem to do quiet. Or simple. Or straightforward.
As our trip to New Zealand gets nearer, so the tempo seems to increase and the time available to get things done decreases. Our checklist has become a checklist of other checklists:
Airport transfers - here, there and everywhere. Are they too expensive in Hong Kong dollars? Pounds Sterling? New Zealand Pesetas?
Suitcases - big enough? Not too big for this airline? Not too shabby and unfashionable? Forget that - will they survive the baggage handlers bouncing them off the runway or using them as skateboards down the luggage carousels?
Currency - how much is enough? How do I get the best exchange rate? How do I avoid getting ripped off? Why does NZ money look like it's from the Monopoly boardgame?
Children - how do we keep them entertained for 28 hours of flight? How do we stay sane for 28 hours of flight? How much sedation are we allowed to administer before we get arrested for child cruelty?
More recently, my concern has been about swine flu. It seems there is little or nothing we can do to avoid it now. I don't know how I can avoid exposure to it when there have already been cases at the kids school, both have had a temperature and flu-like symptoms in the past week, my wife is now showing the same symptoms, and I'm on the train twice a day with people coughing and sneezing.
Of course the governments and airlines have all reacted with varying degrees of swiftness and competency, ranging from the fatalistic to the downright paranoid and anal. The last thing I need is for one of us to have a sniffle or a cough during our trip, and ending up being quarantined somewhere for days on end.
With only 11 days before we fly out, the clock is ticking and the nerves are jangling.
