Same cabin....
May 05, 2005
May 02, 2005
Pirate Press - Window Wiper Zen
Window wiper Zen
When I came onboard 3 weeks ago, my superior did advised me to try not to use the window wiper so as to reduce the windows from being scratched.
The windows have been coated earlier with a layer of wax to reduce rain drops from clinging on too long; this was also partly of the reason hence not to use the wipers.
This have led me to think, what use of the wiper is when it is not to be used in the first place?
I remembered a similar incident before when I first purchased my digital camera two years ago.
The screen have a protective plastic film over and I did not remove the plastic film immediately due to the fact that I was trying to protect the display screen.Many did asked me why the plastic film was removed, as it obscured the ability to see the pictures clearly.
Much later I realised that the screen would be scratched during its lifespan, then no matter what I do to protect it, the result would be the same.
Indeed the pictures DO look much better after the plastic sheet was removed.
Everything in life have its place, have its purpose.
Obscure its inherent nature and you would never see it shine.
My friends out there, have you removed your plastic film yet? *smiles*
When I came onboard 3 weeks ago, my superior did advised me to try not to use the window wiper so as to reduce the windows from being scratched.
The windows have been coated earlier with a layer of wax to reduce rain drops from clinging on too long; this was also partly of the reason hence not to use the wipers.
This have led me to think, what use of the wiper is when it is not to be used in the first place?
I remembered a similar incident before when I first purchased my digital camera two years ago.
The screen have a protective plastic film over and I did not remove the plastic film immediately due to the fact that I was trying to protect the display screen.Many did asked me why the plastic film was removed, as it obscured the ability to see the pictures clearly.
Much later I realised that the screen would be scratched during its lifespan, then no matter what I do to protect it, the result would be the same.
Indeed the pictures DO look much better after the plastic sheet was removed.
Everything in life have its place, have its purpose.
Obscure its inherent nature and you would never see it shine.
My friends out there, have you removed your plastic film yet? *smiles*
Pirate Press - Marathon madness edition
29 April 2005
Just ended the marathon madness run of KaoHsiung, Hong Kong and Shekou.
For those unaware of where this Shekou (meaning Snake Head in Chinese), itis a little north of Tuen Mun.From Shekou, one can see HK on a clear day, barely 30 minutes of steaming by sea.
Kaohsiung came, KaoHsiung gone. Amidst the trail of betel nuts spat-residue,I was unfortunate to be on duty, therefore my Taiwan visit as mentioned in an earlier entry came true, i.e. stuck on the ship.
So the half-bucket-Hokkien-speaking me was reduced to devouring the pastries brought onboard FOC by the agent. So much for the sights and taste ofTaiwan.
The port vicinity is that-ever-so Taiwanese; low level buildings clutteringthewaterline with brandishing neat Chinese signs over official buildings and the distinctive flavour of Hokkien hangs in the air.
The Taiwanese stevedores were as well, speaking in their lingua franca that makes them soTaiwanese.
Came Hong Kong, gone Hong Kong. Arrived in HK waters at 0330, crawled into bed at 0500 only to crawl out 45 mins later. Having no particular location to head out to and desperately in need of sleep, my afternoon in HK was spent in bed, listening in to the local airwaves on my mobile. Made the few calls here and there and tucked myself into dreamland.
It was a mad rush to Shekou, afterall it was only barely 2 hours later after standing down after departing HK at 0100, I crawled out of bed as usual to finish off for the night crawling back to bed at 0400 and again jolted outof bed, LATE for my duty at 0605.
Stepped ashore in a local's vehicle with his first question:
'Where are you from'
'Singapore'
'You want sexy girl, good sex and massage?'
'No, thanks'
- End of conversation -
The ride ended up in the shop of this driver, where there were a couple of dolled up, dressed up in revealing dresses gals came out of his shop.
The invisibile warning signs were all over - SKIP THIS PLACE.
I went along to another shop, sort of a rojak mix of karang-guni with Best Denki/ Harvey Norman,with the self-proprietorship shops in Chinatown or Serangoon. Electronics were indeed pretty cheap, that said after looking around the scene of pirated authentic electrical items are stacked up one upon the other. There were Penasonic, Sonic etc etc... you get my drift.
With tired soles and legs, my aching physique was more in need of a pairwell-trained hands than the earlier offer. A 50 yuan (SGD 10) for 2 hours did wonders for my aching legs. Some might be wondering where did I get all sore and tired from.
Here are some explanations:
My ship is 323 m long, from end to end.
That is 6 swimming 50m pools, placed end to end, with a breath across of 42m; barely touching the 50m mark again.
One walk from forward to the stern (aft part) takes a good 3-4 min at slowpace.
Multiply this by an estimate of 10-15 walks in 1 hr and multiply this again by 12 hrs and you probably can understand why I seem to walk faster than most people when on shore.
Add in the factor of a very lousy pair of hard-rubbered cheap-skate safety shoes and you would understand my predicatement for crying out loud.
323 * 20 = 6460m
6460* 12 = 77520m
77520m = 77 km (approximate)
77km * 3 days = Very sore legs and aching soles. :(
Of course, all figures must be taken with a pinch of salt. Afterall it is an estimate of how much I have to walk. Period.
At this point of time of entry, the ship is already steaming full towards SG
and I can get better reception on the shortwave band, listening to Capital958.
It is THE only source of news I can get while in the open waters. In case some are curious,
I can get faint reception when in the Pacific and thereception is already getting better off the coast of Vietnam.
So much for now. Pay day tomorrow! Yippy!
Just ended the marathon madness run of KaoHsiung, Hong Kong and Shekou.
For those unaware of where this Shekou (meaning Snake Head in Chinese), itis a little north of Tuen Mun.From Shekou, one can see HK on a clear day, barely 30 minutes of steaming by sea.
Kaohsiung came, KaoHsiung gone. Amidst the trail of betel nuts spat-residue,I was unfortunate to be on duty, therefore my Taiwan visit as mentioned in an earlier entry came true, i.e. stuck on the ship.
So the half-bucket-Hokkien-speaking me was reduced to devouring the pastries brought onboard FOC by the agent. So much for the sights and taste ofTaiwan.
The port vicinity is that-ever-so Taiwanese; low level buildings clutteringthewaterline with brandishing neat Chinese signs over official buildings and the distinctive flavour of Hokkien hangs in the air.
The Taiwanese stevedores were as well, speaking in their lingua franca that makes them soTaiwanese.
Came Hong Kong, gone Hong Kong. Arrived in HK waters at 0330, crawled into bed at 0500 only to crawl out 45 mins later. Having no particular location to head out to and desperately in need of sleep, my afternoon in HK was spent in bed, listening in to the local airwaves on my mobile. Made the few calls here and there and tucked myself into dreamland.
It was a mad rush to Shekou, afterall it was only barely 2 hours later after standing down after departing HK at 0100, I crawled out of bed as usual to finish off for the night crawling back to bed at 0400 and again jolted outof bed, LATE for my duty at 0605.
Stepped ashore in a local's vehicle with his first question:
'Where are you from'
'Singapore'
'You want sexy girl, good sex and massage?'
'No, thanks'
- End of conversation -
The ride ended up in the shop of this driver, where there were a couple of dolled up, dressed up in revealing dresses gals came out of his shop.
The invisibile warning signs were all over - SKIP THIS PLACE.
I went along to another shop, sort of a rojak mix of karang-guni with Best Denki/ Harvey Norman,with the self-proprietorship shops in Chinatown or Serangoon. Electronics were indeed pretty cheap, that said after looking around the scene of pirated authentic electrical items are stacked up one upon the other. There were Penasonic, Sonic etc etc... you get my drift.
With tired soles and legs, my aching physique was more in need of a pairwell-trained hands than the earlier offer. A 50 yuan (SGD 10) for 2 hours did wonders for my aching legs. Some might be wondering where did I get all sore and tired from.
Here are some explanations:
My ship is 323 m long, from end to end.
That is 6 swimming 50m pools, placed end to end, with a breath across of 42m; barely touching the 50m mark again.
One walk from forward to the stern (aft part) takes a good 3-4 min at slowpace.
Multiply this by an estimate of 10-15 walks in 1 hr and multiply this again by 12 hrs and you probably can understand why I seem to walk faster than most people when on shore.
Add in the factor of a very lousy pair of hard-rubbered cheap-skate safety shoes and you would understand my predicatement for crying out loud.
323 * 20 = 6460m
6460* 12 = 77520m
77520m = 77 km (approximate)
77km * 3 days = Very sore legs and aching soles. :(
Of course, all figures must be taken with a pinch of salt. Afterall it is an estimate of how much I have to walk. Period.
At this point of time of entry, the ship is already steaming full towards SG
and I can get better reception on the shortwave band, listening to Capital958.
It is THE only source of news I can get while in the open waters. In case some are curious,
I can get faint reception when in the Pacific and thereception is already getting better off the coast of Vietnam.
So much for now. Pay day tomorrow! Yippy!
Pirate Press - KaoHsiung pep talk
24 April 2005
A few more days and I would say goodbye to one month of my contract. One down, five to go.
Indeed time seems more inclined to pass in a shorter span of time here at sea than being excruciating slow rate back in SG. Of course no pun intended to those of you all back home *gives a Cheshire cat smile*
Reaching KaoHsiung tomorrow and I have just plonked down in front of my laptop after my duty hours-night snack-laundry run and penning this entry off before I start to procrastinate.
A few hundred more miles and I can start singing 'Mei Hua Mei Hua man tian xiang...'Of course you might be anticipating what I would be up to when ashore in KaoHsiung but then I hate to disappoint you folks back home.
Arrival at 4pm and probably I get to start the first watch from 6pm to 12am. So pray thee, besides the nocturnal saunas with *ahem* extras; KTVs with some obasans or some makan stalls or some "Pin-nang Xi-shi"s still operating at this time of the night, I gather I would be better off in my bed.
Sorry fellas, until I get the changeover to 12-6 shift or when some additional officer can take on 4 hrs so that each of us get 8 hrs off, I suppose the Green Island here is out of my reach. Pretty much a wet blanket is it not? *twiddle thumbs*
Perhaps some of you there might not have an idea of my working hours. So just keep your eyes open:At sea, when the ship is running full steam from one place to the other, at present my watch hours are from 8-12 (morning) and 8-12 (evening). This is the 3rd Officer's hours.In port, when there are only 2 junior officers (namely 2nd Officer and 3rd Officer), we split the day and night into 6-12 and 12-6. The so-called "work" does not stop until the whole cargo operation is over. With an additional officer, we all can breathe more easy when we do only 12-4, 4-8 and 8-12 respectively.
However as with the usual nonsense, going ashore means sacrificing sleep time for the sights and sounds ashore and having to crawl back to continue on for the next 4 or 6 hours. With bleary eyes and much weary body, we attempt to stay alert supervising the cargo operations.
Catching up with sleep then becomes the next most important priority when the ship sails off. Hence forth, the major proportion of my time onboard goes to, of course, sleep.
Yes yes, this bed-lazing bugger have a tendency to crawl out of bed most of the time. The snooze function on my mobile hence become important; it allows me another 5-10 mins before I HAVE to really wake up. *Laughs*So much said. 1am now. Time to hit the sack. See? I told you I love to sleep. *chuckles* I got to crawl out again at 7.15am
Pirate Press - Pacific catch-up edition
16th April 2005:
Days have passed by so fast that I could barely catch up on my writing,erm... typing.
Well, the initial days of awe and shock were taken over by drooping eyes and
a much-fatigued body.
On top of everything, the days did not pass by with an hour lost for the next consecutive nine days. At least I could take a breath in Long Beach, I thought I could initially,until the newly joined officer (who got on at the same time as I did) dropped some nonsensical bombshell about not feeling well and wanted to resign.
Rather lame if you asked me. Anyway, the working hours got down to12 hours a day, with a break of six hours in between. My hopes of seeingUniversal Studios have to be shelved off until further notice.
Five days passed by and off we cast off the ropes and headed back into thePacific. A little rock and roll got me bogged down, green with seasick. The terrible episode of 10 hours ended rather quickly with plenty of lying down.Previous remedy concoctions include downing a can of beer to make me tipsy enough and enough to send me to dreamland; however this option is struck offdue to religious grounds.Now back on my two sturdy sea-feet and back to the keyboards.
Now is getting some payback, as I get an hour more each day *rubs hands gleefully*and *punches hand in the air* more time for my favourite pastime, zzzing.With plenty of food, erm, more of snacks purchases in the convenient Walmartback in Long Beach, I have enough tibits to last me way till SG. But as the mouth or rather, the stomach is bottomless , I will have to procure more snacks whenin Shekou, PRC, Port Klang and SG. I do have a nice little fridge in mycabin where I can stock up my soya bean drinks, a must-have supplement in my veg diet these days.
Days have passed by so fast that I could barely catch up on my writing,erm... typing.
Well, the initial days of awe and shock were taken over by drooping eyes and
a much-fatigued body.
On top of everything, the days did not pass by with an hour lost for the next consecutive nine days. At least I could take a breath in Long Beach, I thought I could initially,until the newly joined officer (who got on at the same time as I did) dropped some nonsensical bombshell about not feeling well and wanted to resign.
Rather lame if you asked me. Anyway, the working hours got down to12 hours a day, with a break of six hours in between. My hopes of seeingUniversal Studios have to be shelved off until further notice.
Five days passed by and off we cast off the ropes and headed back into thePacific. A little rock and roll got me bogged down, green with seasick. The terrible episode of 10 hours ended rather quickly with plenty of lying down.Previous remedy concoctions include downing a can of beer to make me tipsy enough and enough to send me to dreamland; however this option is struck offdue to religious grounds.Now back on my two sturdy sea-feet and back to the keyboards.
Now is getting some payback, as I get an hour more each day *rubs hands gleefully*and *punches hand in the air* more time for my favourite pastime, zzzing.With plenty of food, erm, more of snacks purchases in the convenient Walmartback in Long Beach, I have enough tibits to last me way till SG. But as the mouth or rather, the stomach is bottomless , I will have to procure more snacks whenin Shekou, PRC, Port Klang and SG. I do have a nice little fridge in mycabin where I can stock up my soya bean drinks, a must-have supplement in my veg diet these days.
Kids' talk
15 April 2005
Called up to my little nephew and nieces the other day while in Long Beach.
Me: Hallo.... how are you?
Oliver: Shushuuuuuuuuuuuuu *yelling at top of his voice*
Hazel: Shushuuuuuuuuuuuuu *did a similar rendition of her brother
*Oliver: Shushu, what are you doing?
Me: I am talking to you.
Oliver: Shushu, shushu, do you know what I am doing?
Me: No, I don't.
Oliver: Shushu, I am sleeping and also talking to you. You know?
Me: ....... *Rolls eyes up*
Hazel did not talk much, apart from yelling and trying to yank the phone away from her brother.And after a while, they said goodbye and I hanged up.
It was nice to hear their voices after these few weeks of never-ending work onboard. Their innocent antics could keep me in stitiches after a while.
Laurel has really yet to talk much, apart from saying byebye and calling for her Daddy, Mummy, Jiejie (the maid), Popo, NaiNai, YeYe.
Although my Kor and DaSao have tried their best to coax her to say Shushu, no luck as yet. I guess I have to wait for a little while more. *smiles gleefully in anticipation*
Called up to my little nephew and nieces the other day while in Long Beach.
Me: Hallo.... how are you?
Oliver: Shushuuuuuuuuuuuuu *yelling at top of his voice*
Hazel: Shushuuuuuuuuuuuuu *did a similar rendition of her brother
*Oliver: Shushu, what are you doing?
Me: I am talking to you.
Oliver: Shushu, shushu, do you know what I am doing?
Me: No, I don't.
Oliver: Shushu, I am sleeping and also talking to you. You know?
Me: ....... *Rolls eyes up*
Hazel did not talk much, apart from yelling and trying to yank the phone away from her brother.And after a while, they said goodbye and I hanged up.
It was nice to hear their voices after these few weeks of never-ending work onboard. Their innocent antics could keep me in stitiches after a while.
Laurel has really yet to talk much, apart from saying byebye and calling for her Daddy, Mummy, Jiejie (the maid), Popo, NaiNai, YeYe.
Although my Kor and DaSao have tried their best to coax her to say Shushu, no luck as yet. I guess I have to wait for a little while more. *smiles gleefully in anticipation*
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