Spotlight on NZ

Beating the swine flu blues

Frances Manwaring | 10 June 2009 | 2 Comments

I'm a major fan of virtual technology solutions.  Well, to be honest, my advocacy borders on obsession, but that's another story.  I was therefore ecstatic yesterday to stumble upon another reason why going virtual is a GOOD THING.

A friend dropped into my office.  She and her family are on their way to Malaysia for a holiday, via a change of planes in Melbourne, then a brief business stopover in Singapore.  Apparently, travelling from swine flu-infested New Zealand via swine flu-infested Australia to Singapore, which is not similarly afflicted, means that their chances of doing anything in Singapore other than get stuck in a holding pen until the can be sent on their merry way to Malaysia, are remote.   The best laid plans of mice and men eh?

Anyway, that got me thinking.  Why bother?  It's all so hard these days, what with the hassles of all that additional security, now the prospect of having your temperature taken at every port of call further adding to the enjoyment quotient. 

Think about for a moment. If you stay home, you avoid getting contaminated by your fellow New Zealanders.  If you use virtual technology to build and maintain internatioanal relationships you don't have travel plans to get de-railed, or cancelled meetings with irritated international business contacts and minimal disruption to your life.  Much better for the planet AND you get to spend more time with your family.  I rest my case.

Tags: Swine flu, travelling from New Zealand, virtual technology, Singapore, going virtual