Listening to: Caedmon's Call - Coming Home (Acoustic)
shiver
Last's night's patrol was quite eventful. I had the best patrol area - the one with my team's in charge, SI Norman. I get to go visit the CITY in a coast guard vessel! Think about it, literally everyone in my batch is stuck in an army camp getting tortured for a "honor and glory of the nation" and I'm like slacking in the boat, enjoying the view!
When I think about my miserably low pay packet, as compared to the army guys. I think I'm still very blessed. I'm not just paid less. But I'm paid in two things that are worth more than money: Freedom and Free Time. I'm always so broke because I have so many opportunities to go spend money, whereas the army guys are like always so dead tired after booking out to get down to doing any shopping. Ok, the "guy" definition of shopping.
"Hi, do you have blue pants? Sure, brown slacks are fine... *where's my wallet* - *gone*" I think salesgirls just absolutely don't mind serving men in general, cos most of the time, they're much less fussier than the women. What's simple is true. Usually, when mom says we're going shopping for 2 hours. I can expect her to come back in about 4 or 5, since mom will like end up buying other stuff outside of her shopping list on impulse. Oh well, can always use that as an opportunity to get her to "impulse-buy" me some things at the same time - so its not so bad.
I don't understand. I woke up at 10a.m yesterday. I still felt half dead towards 12. The thing is that I can normally go through 18 hours without any problem. So I don't get it as to why my "mind shuts off" around 12 and I become an inanimate dead object.
The crew set yesterday was wonderful. The crew commander was a big shot but doesn't throw his weight around, both literally and insignia-wise. The others were all NSmen. Apart from me, the other two NSmen were highly experienced and adept at settling things on the boat. They're so good that before I proceed to do something on my own initiative, they had already done it long time ago.
I took the 2nd part of the shift, from about 4a.m to 9a.m with SI Norman. So we basically went to sleep first. The accomodation was SO FREAKING COLD! And this is coming from a guy that can tahan cold places! It was SO COLD I couldn't sleep at all for the whole night. Ended up borrowing one of the other SC's sleeping bags to snooze in - and I was cold even through that bag! SO COLD I TELL YOU! I think the temperature was like 8 degrees or something like that!
Shift work with SI Norman is always very fun. He's a chatty guy that loves to talk to people. Since I'm one of those fellas that can rant and rave about almost anything non-stop, basically, our conversation lasted us from 4a.m till about 8a.m. I did doze off twice at the radar - too tired since I had hardly any sleep! Yet, he understood and didn't mind. What'a nice guy!
SI Norman is such a nice guy. He even bought the entire crew set dinner - some high class murtabak at Arab Street. Not cheap since it was like 4 bucks a piece. I didn't eat the dinner he bought for me, since I had already brought food from home, intending to have it for breakfast. Apparently, the other two guys on duty greedily gobbled up my share!
So it ends up that SI drops me off at Clifford Pier to guy buy the Newspapers and some Kueh from the sundry shop! Power man! The customs and immigration (Now known as the ICA - Immigration and Customs Authority) policemen just gave me weird stares. Obviously, I was out of my league walking on land in my uniform with a gun to boot!
I got the kueh from this stall. It is directly opposite the stall with a yellow acrylic stall banner label. The kueh is REALLY GOOD! Tastes better than most of those chinese kueh you can buy at the market! Solid stuff! Especially the Pandan one. They had chocolate, cherry and durian flavours as well and they're quite cheap at 50 cents a piece. Not to sticky and oily as well.
After getting breakfast, I just happily jumped back onto the ship from clifford pier. The customs policemen are damn slack I tell you. They're reading newspapers when I was at the pier. Supreme Chao Keng man! Well, that's police work at a boring place in the CITY for you. The pay is also quite good at 2600 for a SSGT.
After that, it was just a quiet time drifting on sea eating breakfast and then heading home in record time. If I can do patrol with SI Norman, I would. He's not just a nice guy, his patrol boat returns the FIRST to the base! Double Perks I'd say. And with his rank, no lowly ranked (READ: CPL and SGT) first gunners dare to throw their weight around his presence.
Coast Guard. Rocks!
injustice, ingratitude, impatience
impulsive, irrational, irrelevant
so I am
in the light
of eyes wide opened
to my freedom
shiver
Last's night's patrol was quite eventful. I had the best patrol area - the one with my team's in charge, SI Norman. I get to go visit the CITY in a coast guard vessel! Think about it, literally everyone in my batch is stuck in an army camp getting tortured for a "honor and glory of the nation" and I'm like slacking in the boat, enjoying the view!
When I think about my miserably low pay packet, as compared to the army guys. I think I'm still very blessed. I'm not just paid less. But I'm paid in two things that are worth more than money: Freedom and Free Time. I'm always so broke because I have so many opportunities to go spend money, whereas the army guys are like always so dead tired after booking out to get down to doing any shopping. Ok, the "guy" definition of shopping.
"Hi, do you have blue pants? Sure, brown slacks are fine... *where's my wallet* - *gone*" I think salesgirls just absolutely don't mind serving men in general, cos most of the time, they're much less fussier than the women. What's simple is true. Usually, when mom says we're going shopping for 2 hours. I can expect her to come back in about 4 or 5, since mom will like end up buying other stuff outside of her shopping list on impulse. Oh well, can always use that as an opportunity to get her to "impulse-buy" me some things at the same time - so its not so bad.
I don't understand. I woke up at 10a.m yesterday. I still felt half dead towards 12. The thing is that I can normally go through 18 hours without any problem. So I don't get it as to why my "mind shuts off" around 12 and I become an inanimate dead object.
The crew set yesterday was wonderful. The crew commander was a big shot but doesn't throw his weight around, both literally and insignia-wise. The others were all NSmen. Apart from me, the other two NSmen were highly experienced and adept at settling things on the boat. They're so good that before I proceed to do something on my own initiative, they had already done it long time ago.
I took the 2nd part of the shift, from about 4a.m to 9a.m with SI Norman. So we basically went to sleep first. The accomodation was SO FREAKING COLD! And this is coming from a guy that can tahan cold places! It was SO COLD I couldn't sleep at all for the whole night. Ended up borrowing one of the other SC's sleeping bags to snooze in - and I was cold even through that bag! SO COLD I TELL YOU! I think the temperature was like 8 degrees or something like that!
Shift work with SI Norman is always very fun. He's a chatty guy that loves to talk to people. Since I'm one of those fellas that can rant and rave about almost anything non-stop, basically, our conversation lasted us from 4a.m till about 8a.m. I did doze off twice at the radar - too tired since I had hardly any sleep! Yet, he understood and didn't mind. What'a nice guy!
SI Norman is such a nice guy. He even bought the entire crew set dinner - some high class murtabak at Arab Street. Not cheap since it was like 4 bucks a piece. I didn't eat the dinner he bought for me, since I had already brought food from home, intending to have it for breakfast. Apparently, the other two guys on duty greedily gobbled up my share!
So it ends up that SI drops me off at Clifford Pier to guy buy the Newspapers and some Kueh from the sundry shop! Power man! The customs and immigration (Now known as the ICA - Immigration and Customs Authority) policemen just gave me weird stares. Obviously, I was out of my league walking on land in my uniform with a gun to boot!
I got the kueh from this stall. It is directly opposite the stall with a yellow acrylic stall banner label. The kueh is REALLY GOOD! Tastes better than most of those chinese kueh you can buy at the market! Solid stuff! Especially the Pandan one. They had chocolate, cherry and durian flavours as well and they're quite cheap at 50 cents a piece. Not to sticky and oily as well.
After getting breakfast, I just happily jumped back onto the ship from clifford pier. The customs policemen are damn slack I tell you. They're reading newspapers when I was at the pier. Supreme Chao Keng man! Well, that's police work at a boring place in the CITY for you. The pay is also quite good at 2600 for a SSGT.
After that, it was just a quiet time drifting on sea eating breakfast and then heading home in record time. If I can do patrol with SI Norman, I would. He's not just a nice guy, his patrol boat returns the FIRST to the base! Double Perks I'd say. And with his rank, no lowly ranked (READ: CPL and SGT) first gunners dare to throw their weight around his presence.
Coast Guard. Rocks!
injustice, ingratitude, impatience
impulsive, irrational, irrelevant
so I am
in the light
of eyes wide opened
to my freedom
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