Quick Updates...

I was only away for one month and when I came back... here's the news I received so far:

One friend is posted to Bangladesh to work for one year and option of indefinite time... a promotion for him and with overseas opportunities... not that Bangla is best of a choice but still overseas gives wider exposure..

Another friend managed to secure a job that brings him to San Francisco for 1.5 years... damn!!!.. it's San Frans you know... I wish I had this opportunity too. I sincerely wish him all the best and hope that he can find his niche in silicon valley. On another note... gives me a reason to visit San Francisco now.

Yet another friend was posted to Philadelphia to work for 2 years... arghh... why's everyone getting the overseas jobs??? I am so jealous!!

And another is in Hong Kong for one month for a short stint.. still better than nothing!

and while I was in London, my friend told me that he's going to Shanghai for 6 months and perhaps longer as his wife found a teaching job in an international school in Shanghai.

Ok enough of the overseas jobs.... next is usual wedding and births.

One friend has given birth to a boy... and my close buddy in melbourne just informed me that she will be going for induction next friday and probably be giving birth by end of next week... Gosh...I'll be godma finally!

When I came back from UK, my mum told me that my cousin from JB is getting married in September. Another cousin who's younger than me is getting married in October and another cousin in December.

and a uni friend..... who called a couple of days ago telling me that his wedding is in October and I have no excuse for not attending as my race starts in November. Even when I told him that it's the same day as my cousin's, he said that I have to attend cos everyone will be attending. It's gonna be a uni-hostel gathering for us...geez.

lastly... my dearest friend in Paris is also getting married next year... looks like I have to save up to go to Paris... I liked the idea tho...and I hope it's a wedding ceremony/party in a chateau.

ooohhhhh... it's too much for me to take....

Life onboard

In cockpit... waiting for action otherwise it's sitting in the cold, chatting, eating and looking out for sailing vessels...

That's the bunks that we live in. I'm only staying there for 3 weeks plus... can't imagine living in here for 11 months for round the world....urghh

















View from top of the mast... that was not me. But I was left up there on the mast for half an hour by my team mates...whilst I try to fix the radar deflector.

And... this is "Uniquely Singapore" in action....

that's all folks... more later!

Ocean sailing is tough

It's been a long time since I last blog... it was all the work and sailing that took away all my time. Yeh yeh...It's a lie.

Well, I have been sailing almost every weekend since I met the Uniquely Singapore Clipper crew and I've just returned one month of training in UK. My verdict.... ocean sailing is very tough and I made it. I'm pretty proud of myself for surviving the tough training.

Why tough? It's physically tiring and mentally challenging. The hard work of sailing - changing sails that weigh 5-6 times more than me whether in the day or night, grinding those loaded winches, getting drenched while on the deck, moving swiftly on deck with the boat heeling to an angle; the challenge of living together with 17 crew and our skipper within a confined space - all that snoring which can be extremely melodious, those smelly socks/shoes that are lying every where, all that differences in living habits, temperaments and personalities and diet habits; the dreadful wind chill and cold of ocean - cold beyond description until you personally experience it; the torture of seasickness and not being able to sit in the cabin to rest. The worst of all is overcoming seasickness in cold... you are torn between sitting on deck for fresh air for seasickness and the need to keep warm in the cabin. Let's just say that I had seasick and had to be on deck and yet it was so cold that I wanted to stay in the cabin. Naturally the best cure for seasickness is sleeping. Unfortunately I don't have the luxury to do that otherwise it won't be fair to my team mates. I can't possibly be sleeping throughout the whole sail when your team members are doing all the hard work and suffering in the cold.

26 days flew by very quickly. The actual race will yet be another test for my determination and perserverance. Now that I'm back in Singapore and sitting at my desk in office, I miss the days of sailing. Being away from reality is always welcoming and tempting... and being back in office and home is dreading. After 3 weeks, I still can't adapt to the normal life.

On hindsight, what I miss most.... is both sailing and living together with the crew. The Singaporean and international crew were a fantastic bunch of people. It is the team work and togetherness that helped me to survive the trainings and I believe this team spirit will help us all survive the race. The CREW, the jokes, the nonsence, the drink parties, the dances, the cheers, the funny things that happened during sails etc formed the fond memories and these are all that I remembered.

Look out for more updates and photos of my sails...

Post birthday blues

For some strange reasons, I could not sleep last night. I was pretty much awake most of the night and perhaps caught a wink at dawn. My brain juices were rather active and keeping me awake. Lots of things came to my mind... there bits on sailing like on the strategies that I could get more sponsorship, the challenges onboard for that 2 months, the inter-personal challenges onboard especially under duress; there were bits on work; and there were bits on my birthday.

Oh I'm yet another year older.... not dreadful cos it's just a number but it's how I spent my life. Nothing beats having a fantastic bunch of friends with me and definitely am very happy that my close buddies are still spending the day/weekend before with me.

.... and I just wish my birthday wish will come true...

Work is piling

ARGhHhhh....Help!..... my work is piling and my head is just hurting... today had been really a bad day at work.

So I decided to blog to rest my brain and not to think about all the solutions needed for the current issues ....... sigh...

Give me a break man!!!!!!!

A step before dreams come true

it's good news... to sail and become Singapore ambassador...

So it looks like I have to find ways to get that 16K just to sail one-leg.

dear mama and papa... how am I going to raise this amount?

To sail or not to sail

I just attended the STB grant interview last Saturday. I can't say whether I can pass the interview and be offered the STB grant. There were over 80 applicants fighting for 21 places. Even if I am offered one place I still have to consider whether I can afford to fork out another 16K... this amount to cover air fare to Liverpool twice, air fare to joining port, accommodation, part of the training cost, clothing, insurance and other miscellaneous expenses. That's a lot of money...

Looks like I have to find a sponsor. So the whole trip will all depends if I can find a sponsor or best of all... strike lottery during this Lunar New Year...

who knows what will happen.... I think of the money matters when the STB list is announced. just keep my fingers crossed.