Sailing on wed-thurs~

As forecast, i would be sailing on wednesday, and (phew, thinking about it now just gave me a bout of 'going into the sea-sick phase, of shaking around even though i'm on land' feeling.

Anyways, the shore-leave timing was 10pm, so i showered and got everything ready at 9:40, and set off for the ship.

Reported to RSS Independence again, expecting to see a few familiar faces this time around and i did. Reported to Coxn and was directed to the gun bay. Was joined by 5 ndu and another nsmen medic who was asked to join us last minute.

Didn't really talk to the ndu guys much, but the nsmen medic Patrick, happened to be an accountant, and is quite friendly. He told me he took an accounting degree in Australia, then continued to study for a few more years before he landed his job now in AMD as a financial planner... no i don't quite remember his exact post but something to that effect.

I was telling him about my plans to venture into accounts or management, and he said that going into management is like getting a degree in admin, because its very general, and getting a degree in accountancy would however pay more, since its more specialised.

Understood that, and we chatted a bit more, before the ndu people joined us, and then we got our mattresses up, and tried to sleep. That was after our briefing, and at around 11+pm.

Well, since this was a firing exercise, we were woken up quite a few times as they needed to do things IN the gun bay. Suffice to say we got a bit of rest, though interrupted.

We were feeling the effects of the sea when the ship set off, though it was much worse in the morning where we had to move to the multi purpose hall when they were shooting. The sea state was starting to get bad, and after that we just went back to sleep.

We didn't dare to eat breakfast you see, lest we .. you know, throw up. Continued sleeping til about 1pm, where we decided to have a bit of lunch, which was porridge, by this time the ship was rocking very horribly, and they called it sea state 4.

Sea states are catagorized from 0 - 9, 0 meaning non existant, and 9 being the worst. While 4 might sound mild, you need to try it to believe it.

When i raise my leg to take a step, its like my leg is raised higher, and when i lower my leg, expecting to touch the ground, i have to lower it more instead. It feels a bit like matrix, or maybe an illusion type of feeling.

We spend most of the time lying down, as walking could be quite a nightmare. Lying down minimizes the feeling of well, the rocking, and sleeping takes our mind off things.

Though i had to focus several times not to vomit. The pressure was really bad. And eventually we asked for some marzine from the Coxn.

Marzine is a pill designed to combat sea sickness. I believe it takes effect a few hours later, but i think it really helped.

At the end of it all, when we reached base, it was raining pretty badly, and i'm glad i got some umbrellas from home sweet home. Bade goodbye to the rest, and went back to the med ctr at around 10+

A sailing i won't be forgetting anytime soon this one..

15th Dec - An interesting week - 2nd sailing trip - Part 3 -

When we got back, i just showered and went to bed, though it was a bit challenging to shower in a very enclosed stall. But i made do with what i can, and i survived.

I found my bed, and settled into it. I didn't sleep that early, around 12+ i believe, cause it was ... kinda cold. Think i'll bring something along for my sailing next time to combat the chills.

I woke up at 7:30, then washed up and changed. All of them changed too, into their no.3 dress. Seems they were going to take a couple of photos, and guess who ended up being the camera man?

Though i did get a picture taken in the end, with the RSS Independence as my background, isn't that cool?

Didn't do anything much until the army medics arrived, there were about 12 of us in the gun-bay, while the doctors were in the dining hall.

I managed to chat up with them a bit, and learnt a bit of how they spent their time in Balai, we shared food and a few laughs as well.

By the time we reached Tuas, it was around 12:45, and Provost finally came at 13:30 to check our stuff. Phew.

By the time i reached TMC, it was around 14:40, and boy was i tired.
Right, by this time i also managed to find out that everyone's massage was a bit different. Some had a bit more sexual activity injected in, while some were limited to er, touches. Mine was pure though. *nods*

I was able to get the afternoon off, instead of on monday, and took the cab home with Raymond and Jason.

I was so tired that i just bathed, cooked some noodles(i didn't eat anything the entire day 'cept for some hello panda biscuits), and slept from 4:40pm to 1:45am.

14th - 15 Dec - An interesting week - 2nd sailing trip - Part 2 -

After that, we cleaned up and shore-leave was given again for all who wanted to go.
That was at around 8pm G-time.

I was actually pondering whether to stay or to leave, but in the end i decided to go. Since some of the others whom i clicked with for a while are going anyways...

Hence we changed, and the 3 of us decided to wait for the Coxn's batch, which were the more 'exciting' batch to be with. At the guard post, just before we left, there were some people who actually recommended us a massage parlour.

After talking for a really long time, i took the motorbike(the rest got the car, 7 of them actually), and then we eventually settled down at a parlour.

We sat there for some time, negotiating the arrangement. Some of us were more adventurous, and wanted more than just a massage. So they left for their own activity.

Most of us stayed behind though. The rate was 10,000 Rupia? for an hour, and we got to choose our own massager, which were all sitting down infront of us.

Ah right, perhaps i should explain the layout of the shop. After we opened the door and entered, on our left are some chairs and couches for us to sit down. On our right was the cashier, and on the top left of the shop were a lot of chairs, where about 12-14 er, ladies were sitting.

We got to choose our own massager, and then we went up to our own 'private' compartment. We were then told to un-dress, and stripped to our undies, we towelled up and laid down face first on the bed.

(of course i said we were on our own private rooms already. Its just a small room with a mattress, a pillow, and a curtain as the exit. There's a light on the wall as well.)

That's where i stayed in for the next 50 minutes. It was a full body massage, and they did the legs, then thighs, then back, body, fingers, toes, and even the head. While it was really interesting, it was not quite what i expected. Especially the part where they massaged my thighs, it was really really ticklish. I was tensing up and trying so hard not to laugh, and thankfully i succeeded.

I was the first to end, and while i was dressing the lady actually showed me a gesture, which i declined. Right, all the while the lady was trying to tell me stuff, just that i didn't understand, which i felt was a big turn-off. hmm~

So it happened that i ended 10 minutes before them, and i spent that time sipping my ginger tea and watching Shaolin soccer on tv.

The rest came out slowly, and they only got plain water. Why? Why did i get the ginger tea? Could there be a hidden meaning behind it?

Annnyways, we settled down at the coffeeshop nearby, got a drink, and then left back for home. (Figuratively of course.)

That was around 11+ G time.

Alright, now its time for me to get some dinner. Its 9:20 now. Yawns.

14th - 15 Dec - An interesting week - 2nd sailing trip - Part 1 -

I'm sailing on RSS Independence this time, and i'll be alone, not to mention there's actually a port-of-call(which means we'll actually be landing on a country/island).

Went to TMC, took my MOP(medical orderly pouch), my 'luggage', a box of condoms(bet you didn't know its compulsary for to bring it when you go for 'shore-leave' in a port-of-call), and went to the ship, which happened to be right at the very end of the wharf.

Phew, it was really hot and i was sweating buckets when i reached.

This time, i was directed to the gun-bay, which i stayed there for quite a time, reading my book and watching my 'Friends'. Eventually i mustered up enough courage to talk to a ship crew, and things slowly took off from there.

We got to Balai in a couple of hours, and basically there was no shore-leave initially, but somehow it worked out, and we were able to get an hour for us to walk around.

One thing i forgot to mention, Balai is an island in Indonesia, close enough to Batam, and the time difference is 1 hour, which is called Golf time. Hotel time would be SG timing.

The first group left at 12:45pm, and returned at 1:45pm.
I decided to join the 2pm group. We walked the streets, and i bought some tidbits to bring back, not to mention some hello Panda, and some red bull at the end. Oh yea, some Gum too.

The streets weren't anything much to walk. But being in Indonesia, the people are predominantly malay, though i did see a few chinese around. And they looked rather pretty too(was it just me?).

The streets were really hectic and busy with activity. Motorcycles were everywhere, not to mention vans(which i later deduced to be their main mode of transportation, sort of like Cabs. You flag one down, negotiate a price with them, and then take a ride. How did i figure out? They were honking all the time! One might thought they're crazy, but if you put it in SG Taxi terms, when they honk at you, asking if you want a cab or not, it all makes sense right?)

Motorcycles - You see families on it, 4-5 people on it, babies on it(with their mothers of course), and even kids riding it! I saw one who's probably around 12. Imagine my brother riding a bike in that hectic street. woo.

Oh yes shops! There were actually quite a lot of shops selling stuff, and some nice and decent ones selling bags, clothes. But they weren't quite in the mood, and i wasn't either. The weather was killing us, and our long sleeved coveralls didn't really help.

And yea, we attracted quite a lot of stares. Guess that's normal huh. However, some of us felt that they were hostile. I wouldn't know, i just think its normal, though i won't walk alone.

Later at 3+pm there was a volleyball match between the natives and us. 3 teams, one of them ours, one of them theirs, and one of them was mixed. Their team easily won first, and the mixed team was third.

Wow. I must say i'm really impressed at how some of them played, you could see that they've really trained and are skilled at it.

Later in the evening, at around 7pm Golf time(the sun was already nowhere to be seen), they had a mini celebration dinner at the top deck of the ship. It was to commemorate a wonderful year of sailing for them.

The food included lots of fried stuff, fish, chicken, sotong, prawns, some veggies, and a soup by the chef of the ship.

There was ice-cream for dessert, and some cake(which i didn't take. Didn't feel like cake. haha), for the people who's birthday falls on November, December and January.

I must say, each ship really feels like a family on their own, and i'm really really glad to be able to partake in this close-knitted family, even if its for a couple of days.

11th Dec - 12th - An interesting week - First sailing ever -

Monday - 11th Dec

First day of my first sailing trip.
I'll be going onboard RSS Punggol, together with Tomithy as my OJT sailing.

Well first thing we did was to report to the Coxwain of the ship, and then to check the medical supplies/stores, making sure that its not expired/fallen into disrepair.

We were then shown our own beds, which will become the place we stayed in the longest.

It was during this time, that i saw how sailing can be hard. Harder than chionging in the outfields perhaps. (Not as a medic of course.)

First of all, our jobs are just to provide medical coverage, in case of any emergencies or medical incidents happen, we're there to make sure everything is all right.

Hah, speaking of that, 3 'incidents' happened. A serviceman with a eyelash which fell into his eye, one who fell on his hand, and another who suffered a graze on his hand.

We did what we could, used eyedrops, which were fortunately in their medical chest, to attempt to rinse out the foreign object, taped 2 of the fingers together to form a splint, and cleaned the wound.

That's it for the medical part. The rest of the trip was spent:-
1) Reading (7 habits of effective Teens. Heyy.. its a good book)
2) Sleeping. (I'm not used to having so much rest actually, and so much 'free time'. Not to mention i didn't sleep well the night before. bleh)
3) Watching Animes. (I converted some one piece, bleach & death note inside)

That's pretty much what happened for the first trip. I did help out with the chef a bit.

Oh yea, i realised that i don't eat much when i'm sailing. Just don't feel like eating. Not to mention feeling kinda tired too. hah..~

On the 12th Dec, we reached base at about 6:30pm, then called a cab home.

Tomithy innocently engaged the cab driver in a 'what kind of merc cab is this', which turned out into a very complex conversation of 'What is good, what is bad, what is life' kind of conversation.

Omg.

=_=

And that's pretty much for the first sailing.