Thoughtless

It's hard to blog when I'm finding it hard to think straight. Everything has ground to a halt as I wait. Wait for what will happen next.

It might be a great thing. It might be a huge mistake considering how I am and my natural affinity to things familiar. Even when those things hold nothing new for the future.

I guess that's all I have to say for now.

Meanwhile, here's a random Youtube video I stumbled on. I have no idea what the words mean but it was strangely soothing.

FM2009!!!!!

Sorry. I've been quite busy lately. Not that there's too much to write about anyway. Except for more computer games stuff.

I've been playing FM2009. Let me say that this is THE best PC game to come out this year. This game also has the distinction of being one of the very, very few games that I would buy original.

My FM DVD arrived on Monday evening and I've been playing it like crazy since then.

It's utterly brilliant. The new 3D match engine is fantastic and the new tactical system is both simple and complex at the same time.

I don't have enough words to describe it.

If you're a football fan, buy FM. Seriously.

In other news... There isn't any new news actually. I've been busy preparing for my trip. I had one pleasant surprise. I had planned to buy clothes and things for my trip but as it turns out I already have all those things here at home. Even cold weather gear.

Ok so they're hand-me-downs from my dads more adventurous days but considering how much they cost new these days...

So yeah, the waiting around isn't easy. A lot of crazy thoughts enter your head.

Thank goodness for FM.

Oz

Well, I guess it took more than 24 hours to follow up yesterday's post.

Anyway, I'm going off to work soon. But not offshore.

I'll be leaving for Perth, Australia very soon. Maybe in as little as ten days. I'm going to work on a farm for the next 18 months. Maybe longer if I end up liking it there.

The pay is... quite good. Provided I don't get carried away I could make a hell of a lot of money.

The last few days have been spent doing research and asking around for tips and advise about living in Western Australia.

This is a huuuge deal for me. I've never gone this far away before.

Well, let's just say things will be very different for me very soon. Very, very different.

Today I went to see the placement agency responsible for the trip to hand in my details and paperwork. Things are almost ready and after all the necessary paperwork we are ready to go. There are ten of us in this group. There is a bit of a delay because 7 out of 10 have no passports.

Another thing came up today which could be considered very bad timing. Just as I'm wrapping up the Oz trip, a Radio Operator opening appeared out of nowhere. A pretty good one too from a very reputable offshore services company.

So yeah, unfortunately this caused a bit of a tense moment at home just now. My dad isn't happy at all about me not going to sea. His reason apparently is that it's a waste of all my documents and the courses that I took. I know this. I have plans to pay this back with my Oz job.

Another thing was we got help from a relative for this RO opening. I guess the parental units didn't want to offend them by telling them immediately that I've decided to get another job.

But I have a nagging feeling there is something else behind that. I'm not going to speculate on what it is.

We asked the youngest bro to pick up this job. Hopefully he will move to get it.

That's just the thing isn't it? Such a great moment blemished by bad timing. There you go, me and the dysfunctional unit that is my family...

So why did I decide to go to Oz instead of offshore.

Why wouldn't I go?

Here I have a chance to work in a country I've never been to and earn 300% more than I could if I had stayed in Kuching. Yes, there is that question about cost of living in Perth. I have plans to deal with this. Provided I don't live large this should not be a problem. I'm a very cheap person. Go ask my friends.

The job offer includes accomodation and transport. I have to pay for this out of my pocket but it's not so high.

Minus everything including rent and other stuff I should be bringing home a good amount of cash. Even after all this plus other expenses I put in my calculations, the final number is still more than what I would be making on a rig or a barge.

Plus it's on land and it's not as dangerous. There is no risk of the strawberry/apple/tomato/pear farm going Piper Alpha on my ass.

At the end of the day, the bottom line counts. I'm doing all this for two main reasons. One is money. A lot of it.

Two, is adventure. I'm 35 going on 36 and I haven't really done anything radical or very different.

So after all this at least once in my life I can say that I stepped out and did something with my life...

I hope to God it works out.

Detour

Just as when you think you got everything figured out, life throws in something completely unexpected. You're all set to go down a certain path when suddenly a new one appears out of nowhere.

Usually this is a bad thing. Occasionally, it can be a very good thing. Very good.

I'm talking about work if you are wondering. Something very... interesting is available to me at the moment.

I'll say more when I make my final decision in the next few hours or so. It's not something to be taken lightly.

I've been busy these last few days. Busy gaming.

I've been playing Fallout 3 as I mentioned before. Recently I got my hands on Call of Duty World at War. Nice game but too short. And some parts of it are very infuriating.

I'm also trying out the Football Manager 2009 demo. I love it. I will be buying it for sure when it comes out.

There will be another post coming after this one in less than 24 hours. For sure.

Stay tuned.

Change?

Obama wins. As expected. By me at least.

Ok, this isn't local politics but this is the USA and whether people like it or not whatever happens to USA will affect the whole world.

So, change. What will this do to the rest of the world? Will it help shore up the slowing global economies? This is going to be interesting no?

And I wonder how long will it be before euphoria wears off and his approval ratings drop.

On the home front, nothing's changed yet. I've been spending time playing and finishing Fallout 3 and downloading music. I don't go out much to save on cash. I have enough to live comfortably for awhile but I'm stretching it as much as I can. Doing ok so far.

At the present time, I honestly don't feel like working yet. So I'm not so concerned about getting a new job. I plan to relax and enjoy my free time as much as I can. It's been a long, long time since I've been this free.

I've only applied to a handful of companies so far. I'm planning to widen my search next month.

There's still time before my projected cut off date.

I'm in the midst of change myself. Interesting times...

Very, Very Busy

...not that there's a lot to write about these days anyway. The seven posts in October would be an indication of that.

A lot of cool games coming out in the next few months.

Anyway in lieu of a proper post here is a song for your entertainment. A little ditty call I Don't Want to Set The World on Fire by The Ink Spots.



...as featured in Fallout 3.

Enjoy.

Sunday Bloody Sunday

..covered by Paramore.

Good shit.

Dogfighting

Playing old games is always a good way to spend free time. Especially when said old game used to be nearly unplayable on my old PC configuration when it first came out a few years ago.

I'm talking about Il-2 1946. It's a WW2 flight sim. Actually, it's THE best WW2 flight sim available up to this point.

If you are a flight sim fan and/or a military history buff Il2 will make your mouth water.

Among other things it has over 300 flyable aircraft each with it's own exhaustively researched flight model. Different planes fly differently. Feel the need for speed in your ME262, the world's first operational jet fighter. Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee in your Zero as you fight for the Emperor! Fly the concrete bomber and find out why German troops call you The Black Death. Watched Baa Baa Black Sheep when you were a kid? Fly a Corsair and be a part of the famous VMF-214 Black Sheep. Fight the Japanese air force over Singapore in your Hurricane.

You can fly many countries. USA, UK, Japan, Germany, Soviet Union, even smaller forces like Finland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.

Obviously I enjoy the game quite a bit. Especially now that I can play it will full graphic detail. The game used to lag like a sonofabitch on my old PC. Therefore I didn't play it all that much. Now, it flows silky smooth and looks absolutely gorgeous.

Also worthy of mention is the fact that the war in the Eastern Front is covered. Not a lot of people know much about what happened there.

Another thing, the game has a active community and there are all sorts of mods to download from maps to missions to campaigns to markings for your planes.

So that's what I've been doing. Flying. It's fun. Sometimes I fire up the game, set up a quick mission with no enemies and fly around for fun to try out all the different planes from tiny biplanes to twin engined bombers.

If you like flight sims, you must get Il2. Really. Oh and make sure you have a good joystick.

In other news, my brother is back and after talking to him about work it seems that I'm going to have to wait for awhile before I get a call. It's ok though. I was prepared for this. I can survive for a few months the cash I saved up.

I have a cut off date though and if nothing happens by then I'll be looking for work on land again.

FM2009!!

...coming out November 14th! Oh yeah!

New features galore:-

-press conferences and expanded media interaction! Journalists remember what you say to them.
-3D match engine.
-new transfer system.
-improved financial modeling.
-350,000 players and staff.
-female players can now play as female managers.
-assistant manager now not useless! He will now give you feedback and suggestions about your tactics. Even during a match.
-advanced training! You can now order your players to learn special moves.
-tons more. Watch the videos.

FM2009. Seriously, there ain't no management sim that comes even remotely close in terms of depth and realism.

I'm ordering this as soon as it comes out. Oh yeah, there is also the PSP version too.

Goodbye social life...

Anxious

My damn GOC cert still hasn't arrived. I've tried calling the academy but I haven't managed to get through yet. I did talk to them last week and they said they should receive it in "the next few days".

I can't look for work without that cert! Damn.

Everything else is ready. Last week I went to Muara Tebas to do my seaman book at the Marine Department. All I need now is to get my GOC cert and fax that and the seaman book to this company I'm applying at.

Hopefully I won't have to wait much longer. This waiting is making me think bad thoughts about not cutting it at sea.

I've been talking to my friend who is on his break from offshore work. He's assured me that the job is easy and there is no reason why I shouldn't do well. Yet I'm still quite nervous. Maybe I'm worried about not being accepted onboard a vessel. Or maybe I'm worried about not fitting in.

I worry about breaking and failing.

This is just me being my usual irrational self. I don't do changes very well. Especially big changes. When I do think rationally about it, there is absolutely no good reason why I won't do well.

And yet, there it is. The nagging anxiety is still there.

This is all very stupid. I suppose I would know for sure once I actually get on board whatever barge I'm supposed to be on.

Whatever my feelings and whatever happens, I've commited myself to this. Hopefully a few months down the line I would be laughing at myself for being so worried.

To keep myself busy, I entertain myself in various ways. Like looking at pretty pictures..

Ice Bullets!

Ice cubes shaped like bullets! This is so awesome! I want!

Gentleman of Leisure

...a nicer way of saying "unemployed person".

I haven't done anything worthy of note this few days so nothing to update. The only things I've done this week was go out or stay at home and either watch movies or play games. Been playing Mercenaries 2 lately. Fun game.

It's one of those games where you get to run around and do whatever you like. A bit like GTA. The game is set in Venezuela and you can blow random things up. Sometimes, people will pay you to blow things up.

I went to Nomad BnB aka Ruai with Will and some other people. Second time I've been there. Nice cosy place.

On Tuesday, I helped set up a wireless router/modem for a friend. There are now currently enjoying wifi connectivity in their house.

My GOC cert is not ready yet so there is no update on the job front.

I might go for a drive tomorrow with some people.

Nothing Yet

Well, I did say I was going to update but I spent the last few days basically sleeping and doing nothing other than gaming.

I haven't updated anything on face book yet

It's quite strange to be unemployed.

I was in Holiday Inn Damai on Wednesday and Thursday. Spent most of that time drinking and sleeping. I went home Thursday night.

Last night I hung out with Will and Simon and their missusses at Garden Hill. The JD was excellent. I had a lot of things to discuss with Will.

Today? I'm doing nothing again. I may be nervous about going offshore but this boredom will be a strong motivator for me to go.

Well, hopefully anyway.

I'll see when I feel like updating again.

Home

I arrived home this evening 5 minutes ahead of schedule at 6.45pm. Our flight hit a patch of bad weather enroute from Miri. Apparently we caught a tailwind.

I have some thoughts and many pictures to post.

But I'm rather exhausted right now so those will have to wait.

It's good to be home.

Scary Shit

Well, I finished my course at MSTS. The OPITO approved TBOSIET with EBS and HUET and TSBB modular course. Yes, I've had to deal with many, many acronyms the last three weeks.

By the way, OPITO if I remember correctly is Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation or something like that. TBOSIET is Tropical Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training. EBS is Emergency Breathing System. HUET is Helicopter Underwater Escape Technique (scary shit this one). TSBB is Travel Safely By Boat.

So what would one expect from the TBOSIET with EBS and HUET and TSBB course?

For me, it was fun. And interesting. And educational. And pant shitting scary. All at the same time.

The first day was very blah. Theory. CPR. First aid. All that stuff I already know about but this time I did some practical exercises. So now I officially know CPR. In the afternoon, we did sea survival theory. The instructor was brilliant, this guy called Dr. James. Old guy, extremely experienced. And funny.

The fun part was the 2nd day. In the morning we had firefighting. Honestly, it's the absolute best firefighting demo and training session I've ever seen. They asked us to do everything. We tried out all the major kinds of fire extinguisher and the hose reel to tackle all kinds of fire.

You'd think fire is all the same but nope it ain't. Using the wrong extinguisher with the wrong technique can actually make things worse. And it's not just point and squeeze either. Depending on the fire and the type of extinguisher it's all different. I might go into detail in a future post.

So we tried out all the extinguishers. Water based, foam, CO2 and dry powder. We put out massive fires so hot you could feel them from 40 feet away. This was serious shit and the instructor made that very, very clear.

Beats your usual fire department fire demo any day I tell ya...

The fire sessions were done by Dr James again so we had a lot of fun with his usual shenanigans and mickey taking. We rounded up the session with some hose reel and fire blanket exercises.

Next up we went through the "smoke" house. I say "smoke" in quotes because there was no smoke actually. It was just a darkened shipping container with some corridors, obstacles and rooms built into it. All one had to do was walk through it without falling down or panicking.

It's pitch black and really, really hot in there. Very bad for people with claustrophobia.

We went in solo and in groups. Good session. Ulrick the instructor was a really cool guy and did his job really well.

In the afternoon, the pool sessions. This is the place where all the ball shrinking fear and terror was concentrated.

First up, sea survival practise. The four of us suited up with our life jackets and trooped out to the pool where we were greeted by Richard our instructor and a bunch of safety divers.

After the usual refresher briefing and lifejacket talk, they asked us to jump. Not fun.

The platform was 3.5m high. Normally I wouldn't have too much trouble. It's not that high. But with all the people watching and the lifejacket and my mild fear of heights I nearly couldn't do it.

It wasn't that bad really. I jumped and landed nicely in the water. The lifejacket helps a lot. The jumping technique we were taught helped to minimise the impact of landing in the water.

Once everyone was in the water we formed up into a group. They showed us how to swim in a group and to do it with minimal energy. We then clambered into a liferaft. It was exhausting. Then we swam out into the pool again and we finished off by simulating being pulled out of the water by a rope.

Next was the really, really scary part. HUET.

We changed our lifejackets for another one with EBS, the Emergency Breathing System. Back to the pool they showed us how to deploy our EBS and how to use it properly.

Essentially, you fill the EBS airbag with your own breath and rebreath it when you activate the rebreather. It was ok but I really had to force myself to breath underwater. The natural tendency is to hold your breath so I had to force myself to breath.

Once you get used to it, it's not so bad.

Up till this point I was fine if a little cold and a little nervous. The HUET demo drained all the blood from my brain.

For HUET they use this contraption attached to a winch and a swinging mechanism with in turn is attached to a power winch. This contraption is used to simulate a helicopter cabin complete with seats. You get in the simulator and strap in as you would in any aircraft. There are four exercises.

The first is called the controlled ditch without EBS. They dunk the simulator into the water. You hold your breath for about 7 seconds then you unstrap and swim out the window. Which is quite small...

This exercise wasn't so bad although being strapped in a seat while in the water is quite unnerving. Oh yes, in that kind of situation strap in TIGHT. Tight harnesses snap open when you undo them. Loose harnesses need you to physically pull the buckle apart. Not easy when you're underwater and in a real big hurry to get the hell out.

The second exercise is the same as the first except with EBS and they put plastic window panes in the simulator. Dunk in the water then sit for a few seconds, push the window out and swim out. Easy right? It is.

Except I messed this up twice. The first time, I dropped my EBS mouthpiece into the water and could fill it with air. The second time I unstrapped and then tried to push the window while underwater. This is wrong. You should push the window pane first and then unstrap. If you unstrap first you'll float in the cabin and won't be able to push the window.

The next two exercises was the real ball buster. It's the same as the first two with and without EBS. The same. Except the "helicopter" is turned upside down in the water...

Exercise number three is called the uncontrolled ditch without EBS. Dunk and turn upside down in the water. Sit and wait for the thing to stop moving. Unstrap and swim out. Watch out for vertigo.

This one was very, very unnerving. Being upside down in the water is quite painful with all that water rushing up the nostrils.

Exercise number four is the uncontrolled ditch with EBS. Dunk and go upside down, sit for awhile and unstrap. Swim out.

This one was no problem. By this time, I had gotten used to being strapped into the seat while in the water. The simulator went down into the water and I deployed the EBS. Upside down, unstrap and swim out. It was perfect, Except on the way out I hit one of the safety divers and accidentally pulled his regulator out of his mouth.

We had some final words from the teacher and went off to shower.

The third day was only half day.

Damn, the place is closing. I'll continue this post next time.

Spaces

I'm sitting in the Boulevard Sugar Bun using the KFC wifi. Miri is a lot like Kuching with significantly less traffic. It's a little smaller but like Kuching, it's quite spread out. I get a sense of wide open spaces when I'm in town. Not cramped and "narrow" like Sibu.

It's very, very inconvenient to stay in a place with no internet access. And when you don't have your own transport. Miri would be a lot more fun if I had my own car. The night life looks very interesting and we've been to some really cool places to hang out.

Public transport is as non-existent here as in the rest of the state.

I've been busy doing med checks and getting familiar with the town. Being driver around is ok but I think the best way to get to know a strange new urban area is to roll up the trousers and leg it.

Actually, I have many things to write about but it's hard when I don't have time to myself. When I go home, I'm going to value my alone down time a little bit more.

My sea survival course starts tomorrow and MSTS. I hope time rushes by quickly. I'm tired of being surrounded by people all the time.

Miri

The bad thing about a night bus trip is that you can't see anything. Mercifully, the bus was comfortable and there was almost no traffic. We left Sibu at 11.30 last night.

I arrived in town at 6.20am this morning. Will be here for 2 weeks. My sea survival course will be on Wednesday at MSTS. I'm going for another med check tomorrow.

I'm currently outside this place called Madli's. It's quite nice. The wifi is quick and clear. The nasi goreng kampung special is very nice.

I can't guarantee I can get regular internet connection so updates on this blog and on Facebook will be sporadic.

I'm probably going home on the 30th is possible. I'll be busy that day posting resumes and seeing people about future employment. Can't wait to be home. Got a lot of pictures to post.

I'll update whenever possible.

Done

I'm done with my GOC course. Took the written exam this morning. The results won't be known to us. ALAM (Akademi Laut Malaysia) will issue us certs when our results are finalized.

I know I passed. It was a breeze really. The whole thing has been a breeze actually. I can only hope I can as well when I find work. If I find work.

Where to next?

I'll be leaving for Miri either tomorrow evening or early Sunday morning. Updates will be sporadic. I don't know where am I going to be staying and I don't know if I can get internet connection. Sea survival course will begin some time in the middle of next week.

These last 2 weeks have been fun. We met a lot of cool people. Some of us will become real friends in the future. I hope to see and meet some us again either on land or the high seas.

Heh, me on the high seas.

After the exam this morning, our instructor Mr. Ang advised us to go as far and wide as we can. Get experience. Earn money. Travel and see the world and the seven seas. There is work everywhere. Go for it.

I will. I will try at least.

It's so funny to think about. A little more than 2 weeks ago, I left my old job. Right now it feels like a lifetime ago. How fast things change.

Blind

I went to do my Marine Dept. medical check up just now. I nearly failed it.

See, I wear specs and I haven't changed the prescription for a long, long time. In the morning I went and failed the eye test. Badly. I can see well enough with both eyes open but apparently I'm a little bit blinder with only one eye especially my left.

So I now have new specs. It's pretty cheap to get new specs here in Sibu.

In the afternoon I went back to the clinic with my new specs. My right eye was ok but I still failed with my left. If it weren't for the nurse's help I would've officially failed it. After picking up the results I went back to the optical place and got my left lens redone. The guy was very nice about it. He didn't charge me for the new lens.

So now I'm wearing my redone specs and trying to get used to them. I feel slightly sick.

I'm amazed at how fast it is to make new glasses these days. Last time I had to wait for a few days for my new specs to be ready. Now it takes 30 minutes. That's technology for ya.

The new specs cost me 200 bucks. The med check cost 97 bucks. I'll post a pic of the new specs in Fesbook later.

Fesbook is going to be so very useful.

Oh yes, I didn't go to class today. I didn't have to. Today the boys had their oral and practical assessment. I passed them all yesterday so our instructor told me to take the day off. I think this the first time ever an instructor signed my attendance for me. I did quite well over the last two weeks. So well in fact, the instructor kept telling everyone to go ask me if the rest of the boys have questions.

Hopefully I'll do as well when/if I end up at sea.

We still got the written exam tomorrow morning. Should be a piece of cake but I ain't telling the other boys.

By the way, there are some really cool people in class. And some others not so cool... And some people are really, really dumb...

I've been in contact with my brother and Will over the last 2 weeks. Both of them are at sea at the moment. They both gave me very, very useful information and their assistance will be very, very important during my job hunt.

Next week we go to Miri and MSTS to attend our OPITO approved sea survival course for three days. After that, pass my resume to the company my brother and Will are at. Go there and talk to the HR boss. After that, home.

And hopefully a few weeks after that, wild blue...

I can't wait to get all this over with.

Good Music

Good.