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yeahh im finally back from my Maiden sail with RSN. I was onboard RSS Endurance, the exact platform in the picture above. It's one of the 4 largest ships in our navy, and I was kinda lost inside on the first day..
The cabin that we stayed in was below the water level, and it was quite inconvenient to climb up and down, especially when the steps are so tiny and cramped!! The whole place was like a maze oso.. so many passageways leading here and there, and we'd try to avoid places like "officers' country" which means officers' messes.
Actually, I can say that i've learnt really really a great deal during this 3-day-2-night stint, and i've seen for myself how everything that i've been learning in the past 2 months are put together in a ship. Our cohort was just visitors to the ship, and our role was just to witness and watch how the ship's crew carry out their operations. But hey, all 80 of us were all-shacked-out by the 2nd day, only due to loss of sleep. I really can't imagine how we would all take it in future, when there'll be loss of sleep + a hell lot of duties + alot of odd jobs + under scrutiny of seniors and officers.
But i must say describe a little on SOuth China Sea. We were quite fortunate that we were travelling at the time of year when the sea is at its calmest. We only experienced Sea State 1 or 2. (its a measure of how choppy the sea is, 1 being very calm). I heard from one of the crew, that last year when they sailed across the south china sea, at a time when the sea was really wild, it was approximately sea state 5, and the ship was really pounding up and down. It's quite unimaginable la, given the sheer size and mass (6000 tons), we would think that it'd be very stable right? But at that time, "the ship's crew were practically all vomitting!!". Wow. Talking about vomitting, some of us in our cohort actually did. And the thing that's stupid is, vomitting bags are actually TRANSPARENT. U get to see the entire yellowish brown substance that ppl throw up. SO what's the big deal if the bag is made of high-quality? It can actually influence the ppl around to puke as well lor.
Ok, abit about the south china sea. i went up to the fox'cle (the top front part of the ship) on the first night, and i was surprised to see that there was NO land mass and NO ships or vessels in all 360 degrees. And the feeling's scary. All around was empty and dark, except for the bright moon. It feels as if you are sailing to nowhere and there's really nothing in sight. Imagine if you fall overboard, it would be so scary la..so dark + cold + the thought of seeing the only ship in sight to be cruising further and further away from you.... lol. But i think the only regret was that the moon was just too bright. Otherwise, the entire night sky would be fully covered by stars and it would be so easy to count shooting stars, like how we did back in ocip sabah.
Oh ya, i was quite delighted to see the Horsburgh Lighthouse as well. If u've never heard of this, you would definitely recognise this alternative name: Pedra Branca. Yes, the small rocky outcrop that SIngapore and Malaysia had unsettled dispute on, and which had since been brought to the international court. This lighthouse has been one important landmark that our navy ships look towards for navigation. And since very very very long ago, this lighthouse has been under the charge of the navy, and ppl were sent there to do guard duty. Im not sure if this is still the case today, but at least my course commander was once part of the guard duty personnels at Horsburgh.
Actually the ship's quite a scary place to be in. AS what an officer says, if you compare army and navy, perhaps army is abit more xiong, due to outfields+chiong suahs. But what is the worst that can come to an army soldier? Injuries that result in downgrading. But for navy personnels, the probability of deaths and major injuries is very very much higher. Look, even the closing of the heavy watertight door can cause broken fingers and major fractures or concussions and injuries. It needn't elaboration to talk about what would happen if a ship out at sea experiences Flooding or Fires or Collision or Explosion. Or if you fall overboard. Or if during operations, the helicopter landed off-track and smashed onto ppl. And the list goes on. Lives are quite helpless when out at sea, but thankfully stringent checks are always done, unless negligence comes kicking in. (and here comes the almost daily repeat of the tragedy that involved RSS Courageous and ANL Indonesia some 3 years back).
In conclusion, its really a BIG eye-opener to be able to sail on this LST (Landing Ship Tank), as not everyone has the chance, not even some navy officers. ANd we've even got the chance to witness how operations are carried out in certain sensitive and out-of-bound key areas. But its also a little discouraging to see the roles that i would be playing in future. Sai-kang + lots of duties. ANd most importantly, getting bullied by the seniors and the officers. Luckily im only an NSF.
人生是黑白的.
10:16 PM <3
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oops, i didnt win the final match. And actually i didnt watch till the very very end. But at least i kept myself on the chair until 4am, after the full 90 mins. (But obviously you would know that i'd have dozed off.) Then i really couldn't tahan to watch the extra time & penalties. But can't blame me, cos im really no soccer fan.
today i went to buy Tanya Chua's compilation album. 5 new Songs + 20 older ones. Its a very worthwhile double-cd. And ALL her 5 new songs are damn nice, ESPECIALLY , , , and . EH? I've actually named all 5. Then her older songs are very very very much those that i wanted to be included in the album. So, my mp3 player would most probably be repeating her songs for the next 2 weeks. (at least until SHE takes over).
im glad that this week will be a short week.......................:
Tuesday: Book in + Take a big exam + Do a short ppt presentation
Wednesday to Friday: SAILING for the first time in navy. I'd be uncontactable, since i don't have roaming service on my phone. But i wun set foot on any country la, just sail to somewhere in the middle of south china sea. Then i'll come back home and enjoy the weekend!
人生是黑白的.
10:49 PM <3
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actually im blogging now to kill some time before the final match between italy and france kicks off.
Im no soccer fan. i don't play soccer. i don't read about it. i know nuts about it. i duno the players. i dun watch, unless its some major soccer event like this one.
But since a high percentage of the population (both worldwide and local) will be watching, i just feel that its not right to be left out. Furthermore, i've placed bets on this match. And no, this isnt the first match that i've betted anyway. this should be the 14th or 15th already. Win or lose, i'll only reveal after the match.
many schools will start lessons late today, cos of the match. Some schools are starting as late as 12noon and 1pm! ANd some offices will operate later today as well, to let thousands of ppl benefit from the flexibility that they boast of. And interestingly, some of my army friends get to book in by noon today, rather than sunday night, due to some gracious officers they have. How fortunate.
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i feel sad for mr brown. I had been looking forward to his weekly column with TODAY since last year (or was it 2 years ago?). And to be very frank, mr brown is the only reason why i look forward to reading the free tabloid. I love his columns, his witty comments and the humour within. I love the way he tackles local issues, the way he pokes fun at our country's govt, people, etc. It never fails to tickle me and keep me entertained.
But i don't understand why last week's S'poreans are fed, up with progress! actually drew such a drastic action from the govt. in my opinion, that column was really harmless and i believe readers are smart enough to read, smile and put it aside. The way the authorities wrote and published a public letter only goes to show that they don't really have a sense of humour. And more importantly, mr brown has only spoken what some of us Singaporeans may have to say, regarding cost of living and taxi fares etc.
"It is not the role of journalists or newspapers in Singapore to champion issues, or campaign for or against the Government. If a columnist presents himself as a non-political observer, while exploiting his access to the mass media to undermine the Government's standing with the electorate, then he is no longer a constructive critic, but a partisan player in politics."
of course, i wouldnt know the stand mr brown takes when it comes to politics in singapore, but i believe that he has no intention to make use of the media access he has, to campaign the government. obviously that would be something that he, as a public columnist, knows very well about. sigh. but whatever it is, i'll continue to support him and his regular "browncast". He isn't Singapore's no.2 blogger for nothing.
given this hiccup, i guess we're still a long way from freedom of speech, a long way from eased censorship, a long way from political bloggings.
人生是黑白的.
1:28 AM <3
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it wouldn't feel good to know that you're "NOMINATED" to do saikang. Much worse if you know that it would be on a SUNDAY, which is today.
but then, i realised its no usual saikang. At least not those that u need to work so hard and get nothing in return.
Look, its "high-class". We're supposed to be dressed in long-sleeve shirt, in some sort of business wear. And im supposed to help out in F&B at the istana. And i was quite happy to realise that during the 8 full hours at the place, i was only required to work for half an hour, and very slack oso! Just push one trolley with 3 other people for about 200m. THAT'S ALL!!! So the rest of the waiting time was spent admiring the area, reading newspapers, listening to mp3, chitchatting, sleeping, eating, etc.
ANd wads best: i got to eat the food on the reception table, just that those were leftovers. But who cares anyway. On top of that, i'll only need to report back to camp on tues morning, which means i've 3 nights spent at home!
I guess so many others would be envious of me, especially world cup fans. Cos i have the luxury to watch the finals match, unlike those sleeping away in camps. yoohoo.
人生是黑白的.
11:18 PM <3
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yeahh im finally back from my Maiden sail with RSN. I was onboard RSS Endurance, the exact platform in the picture above. It's one of the 4 largest ships in our navy, and I was kinda lost inside on the first day..