I came across this email I wrote to my friend Nora 17 years ago today.
Hong Kong, 10th April 2003
I am trapped. The schools have been closed since sometime in March and will be closed for another fortnight and I am going barking mad. The weather is shite, truly disgusting, pouring rain and mist every bloody day. The TV is on the blink just when I thought can it get any worse than this?
This morning I am hungover and pre-menstrual so I am a little tense. The government have ordered all the schools to be closed. They are scheduled to be re-opened on the 23rd April assuming they get this SARS flu under control and that does not look likely. Hong Kong is deserted as everybody has pissed off home or Australia. Neil suggested I take kids to Ireland but I can't face the journey and it's so bleeding expensive. And I'd have to do it all over again in July. I am prepared to keep going so long as there is an end to it. If they postpone the return of school again I don't know what I will do.
The kids are coping well. Thomas watches Ireland's Italia 90 World Cup on DVD, Joe and Conor thrash each other. I get them to do their homework every morning for a few hours and in the afternoon we meet up with the few kids that are left behind. There is a Japanese family on the 21st floor and the two kids have been cooped up inside for the last two weeks, poor things. All the other Japanese families have gone home but their mother works so they can't leave so easily.
Neil bought a new TV after the other one died - it was a wedding present so after 14 years it deserves its rest - and it's great. The clarity and colour is wonderful. All our videos are wrecked from the humidity of Singapore so we are tossing out Thomas the Tank Engine and gang.
Neil had the flu last week. He came home from work on Tuesday and would not come into the house. He went straight to the doctor who told him he had flu but not SARS. He stayed at home the rest of the week but separated himself from us by camping in the study. Wednesday he rang me on his mobile to say he was feeling breathless which is one of the symptoms of SARS. He rang the doctor who told to come in for an x-ray of his chest. I herded the kids into our bedroom while he bolted for the door. While he was gone I planned my will with the promise to sign it this time and trying to work out who in his family I would tell first. I couldn't ring anybody in this time zone in case I scared people and couldn't ring home in case I worried people there. But then Neil rang to say he got the all clear and was on his way home. I then rang my sister in Cork who hadn't even heard of SARS but said, "There is still a war in Iraq, isn't there?"
All the major airlines have cancelled flights in and out of Hong Kong and most countries in the region are placing people in quarantine if they have travelled from Hong Kong. It did cross my mind to go back to Singapore as we have loads of people to stay with and the boys would love to catch up with their friends but that is out of the question as Singapore is so stringent with their own measures.
I took the boys to Stanley Market yesterday for a haircut. Only Conor was willing to do it and now looks like a Marine and should be in Iraq. I went out last night with two Canadian women, Jennifer my neighbour and her friend, Cathy. We went to a bar called Alibi where for the equivalent of 24 Euros you can get two margaritas while having your nails manicured. The first drink was so strong I had my nails smudged before I finished it. We ended up having three drinks each and falling out of the place. After Singapore drink is very cheap here. We might make it a regular event but I hate being hungover. I'm too old for it.
My 40th birthday was last week sometime. I was dreading it and considered throwing myself off the balcony before the event so that my death cert would say I was still in my 30s. But we don't have a balcony. On the morning of my birthday I woke up with three cold sores on my upper lip and just thought, "Fuck it, welcome to old age." I willed them away over the course of the day - mind over matter - by taking loads of multi vitamins. I've done that before. My sister thinks I'm a witch. It was also the Hong Kong Sevens weekend and a bunch of us met up everyday to watch the rugby.
Neil organised a helicopter ride around Hong Kong for us and the boys. It was amazing. We saw the whole island in less than 20 minutes. I was a wee bit nervous flying in a plastic bubble with my entire family. Conor the thrill seeker was nearly hanging out the door. Now that I am on the other side I can say being 40 is not so bad. Somebody said that when you are 40 you can tell the world to fuck off - I thought that was when you turned 90 - and that you suddenly don't care about peer pressure any more. I'll come back to you on that one.
I must go now and supervise the boys' homework and take more Panadol.
Have a good day,
Geraldine
Hong Kong, 10th April 2003
I am trapped. The schools have been closed since sometime in March and will be closed for another fortnight and I am going barking mad. The weather is shite, truly disgusting, pouring rain and mist every bloody day. The TV is on the blink just when I thought can it get any worse than this?
This morning I am hungover and pre-menstrual so I am a little tense. The government have ordered all the schools to be closed. They are scheduled to be re-opened on the 23rd April assuming they get this SARS flu under control and that does not look likely. Hong Kong is deserted as everybody has pissed off home or Australia. Neil suggested I take kids to Ireland but I can't face the journey and it's so bleeding expensive. And I'd have to do it all over again in July. I am prepared to keep going so long as there is an end to it. If they postpone the return of school again I don't know what I will do.
The kids are coping well. Thomas watches Ireland's Italia 90 World Cup on DVD, Joe and Conor thrash each other. I get them to do their homework every morning for a few hours and in the afternoon we meet up with the few kids that are left behind. There is a Japanese family on the 21st floor and the two kids have been cooped up inside for the last two weeks, poor things. All the other Japanese families have gone home but their mother works so they can't leave so easily.
Neil bought a new TV after the other one died - it was a wedding present so after 14 years it deserves its rest - and it's great. The clarity and colour is wonderful. All our videos are wrecked from the humidity of Singapore so we are tossing out Thomas the Tank Engine and gang.
Neil had the flu last week. He came home from work on Tuesday and would not come into the house. He went straight to the doctor who told him he had flu but not SARS. He stayed at home the rest of the week but separated himself from us by camping in the study. Wednesday he rang me on his mobile to say he was feeling breathless which is one of the symptoms of SARS. He rang the doctor who told to come in for an x-ray of his chest. I herded the kids into our bedroom while he bolted for the door. While he was gone I planned my will with the promise to sign it this time and trying to work out who in his family I would tell first. I couldn't ring anybody in this time zone in case I scared people and couldn't ring home in case I worried people there. But then Neil rang to say he got the all clear and was on his way home. I then rang my sister in Cork who hadn't even heard of SARS but said, "There is still a war in Iraq, isn't there?"
All the major airlines have cancelled flights in and out of Hong Kong and most countries in the region are placing people in quarantine if they have travelled from Hong Kong. It did cross my mind to go back to Singapore as we have loads of people to stay with and the boys would love to catch up with their friends but that is out of the question as Singapore is so stringent with their own measures.
I took the boys to Stanley Market yesterday for a haircut. Only Conor was willing to do it and now looks like a Marine and should be in Iraq. I went out last night with two Canadian women, Jennifer my neighbour and her friend, Cathy. We went to a bar called Alibi where for the equivalent of 24 Euros you can get two margaritas while having your nails manicured. The first drink was so strong I had my nails smudged before I finished it. We ended up having three drinks each and falling out of the place. After Singapore drink is very cheap here. We might make it a regular event but I hate being hungover. I'm too old for it.
My 40th birthday was last week sometime. I was dreading it and considered throwing myself off the balcony before the event so that my death cert would say I was still in my 30s. But we don't have a balcony. On the morning of my birthday I woke up with three cold sores on my upper lip and just thought, "Fuck it, welcome to old age." I willed them away over the course of the day - mind over matter - by taking loads of multi vitamins. I've done that before. My sister thinks I'm a witch. It was also the Hong Kong Sevens weekend and a bunch of us met up everyday to watch the rugby.
Neil organised a helicopter ride around Hong Kong for us and the boys. It was amazing. We saw the whole island in less than 20 minutes. I was a wee bit nervous flying in a plastic bubble with my entire family. Conor the thrill seeker was nearly hanging out the door. Now that I am on the other side I can say being 40 is not so bad. Somebody said that when you are 40 you can tell the world to fuck off - I thought that was when you turned 90 - and that you suddenly don't care about peer pressure any more. I'll come back to you on that one.
I must go now and supervise the boys' homework and take more Panadol.
Have a good day,
Geraldine
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