Time for a New Routine

OK, here I go again. Complaining about all the noise. But really, it's quite something. Knowing that this is temporary not only from an inevitable construction-time perspective and also from a contract perspective, does help though.

Do the locals even hear it I wonder? Is it simply background noise to them after years and years of continuous construction all around them? It's not like you can completely escape it anyway (unless you go hiking) because there is so much construction everywhere but right now, it really feels like the worst noise in the whole city is focussed around Bamboo Grove. Of course that is my perspective only though...the girl who just returned from a week in a quiet classroom, focusing on meditation techniques.

I have tried turning up the volume and playing up-beat music with a very loud beat to drown out the sound of the various bits of machinery currently being used in the vicinity. It helps a bit but I'm not actually keen on having non stop music and loud music at that, continuously playing but I remind myself that it's heaps better than the alternative and I am enjoying re-aquainting myself with my music collection, I have to confess. Until someone is trying to reach me on the phone, like this morning and there is absolutely NO chance of me hearing that under the cocophony of other sounds. They managed to get through during a lull in soundtracks in the end.

Anyway, this morning it was all too much. I had plans from lunchtime onwards and was hoping to remain home until then but I had to de-camp sooner. I'm now in Starbucks in Central killing time before my lunch appointment. Very pleasant it is too. I really should do this more often. I have internet connection, quiet background music and of course the chatter of people meeting up with friends for coffee...but that is not a bad sound at all. And I get to drink coffee too. I think I feel a new routine coming on. Maybe I could do a tour of coffee shops (that offer WIFI) in Hong Kong.

Is Hong Kong bad for your health?

Hong Kong's air pollution reaches record levels

My view from the apartment today. Somewhere beyond the high rise apartments and the greyness are some beautiful green mountains but I have not seen them for a while.

So, we all know that I tend to "go on a bit" about the grey sky here and I've more than hinted at my concern about the pollution levels. I try not to think about it, but some days I can feel it in my hair and on my skin. A part of me also wanted to believe I was over-reacting, simply missing the clear blue skies of Ottawa or even the UK for that matter, because the UK has nothing on this amount of grey or worse case scenario, perhaps I was suffering from a touch of SAD?

Yes, all the grey has been getting me down a bit lately but lets face it, that's just a response...a natural one, but something I can do my best to pull myself out of, if I really want to. What I feel more powerless to do is to affect the exceedingly high pollution levels that have been recorded over Hong Kong these last few days. Apparently levels have reached a record high. That's not good. The air looks polluted and it seems it really is; very polluted. So much so that even the government are warning people not to go outside. Last night I received an email from a local hiking group informing us of the situation and strongly urging us not to go hiking for the next few days because the air quality is currently so bad, that it is actually dangerous for our health. So suddenly, by default, hiking is now bad for us here. I find that quite shocking. I did have plans for today involving the outdoors, but I've since changed them as a result of this news and more to the point, the fact that since yesterday morning, even before I'd seen any article or snippet of news on the latest situation, I found myself feeling short of breath, a bit wheezy and coughing for no apparent reason after my morning in Causeway Bay. Today I feel like heeding the government's advice and staying home. Having said that, I know that the air in the apartment is somewhat dodgy too because our air purifier has been telling us so since the weekend. We had been wondering why it was on Red...now we know!

I know I can't stay in forever and that this is another response to a situation. As wonderful as life is, it is full of dangers, many much greater than air pollution, but we are free to make conscious choices and today I choose to avoid the great outdoors in the hope that at the very least, my itchy throat and irritating cough do not get any worse.