THE GREEN LOGO

      Haven't you noticed how star bucks has taken the place of megamalls , theme parks and fast food chains ? .today star bucks spells gimmick .Suddenly everyone is mad about coffee and is willing to spend a whoing hundered bucks for one tall mocha frappe or one Grande iced coffee , everyone claims its different, its something to die for .Instead of catching a nice flick at the cinema, the Filipinos new idea of fun is to voluntarily park their buns at the cafe shop and gulp all the caffeine they can muster. No one knows exactly why star bucks has become the hot spot , when what they serve is just a foamed version of cheap coffee you buy over a typical grocery store for crying out loud .Oh try pointing this out to star bucks fanatics here and you can expect getting lambasted-to-

death on how little you know about coffee .get ready with the answers like "duh! star bucks isnt just coffee ! they're ground beans and processed chocolate and skimmed milk !what do you know about that?"

    

 They have a point there , though because even in the united states ,when you talk about coffee ,star bucks comes first ,their ingredients are never questionable and if I'm not mistaken star bucks is an established -since-year-brand. In short star bucks is the authority .But it ends there .Star bucks is coffee PERIOD. Certainly not the gimmick place to hangout with of some sort , not convincing enough as an alternative for the mall .this I repeat is the case in the united states.

      But star bucks invades manila and here it becomes an obsession. As you may have already seen, The interiors of star bucks cafes are all designed to create a distinct ambience .Notice the Italian-tiled flooring, to the cowboy-motif wall covering , to fancy shmancy lamps, tables and chairs crafted like those only seen in home magazines .of course who would have missed the complicated bar counter , behind which all the grinders and blenders are displayed as if to remind you they really do process your cappucino .

Me and Starbucks

    

 I mean who can resist frequenting a posh place like this ? Instead of worrying about other important things , The typical Fashionista wannabe teenage Filipino puts on her best dress , and with her fashionista friends goes straight to star bucks where she orders "one tall caramel frappe please!" This takes time to prepare , which is fine to her , she feels rewarded by the fact that the ethical barista would shout her name all across the room by the time her frappe is ready.After she claims it,she heads for the self-service corner where she takes excessive packets of extra sugar ,extra cream, an inch thick of starbucks tissue paper for her souvenir. Then she sits by the front window ,hoping someone she knows would pass by and see her drinking expensive coffee .She takes remarkably small sips in order to prolong her stay , like a real smart-ass

    

 During the entire process there is the obligatory flipping and flaunting of her nokia cellphone ,the constant eruptions of "YEAH" and "sure" here and there .You get the impression everyone in the room, is from the elite society Sector. Pathetic as it is , the Starbucks atmosphere is so contagious that it simply brings out the social climber and hypocrite in one .

    

 You have to admit that the philippine franchiser of starbucks-whoever he is- deserves credit. He's certainly not stupid and sees through us filipinos and definitely knows how to flatter us .Mr Starbucks is aware of the average filipino desire to be associated and considered among the elite because well, in reality , the average filipino is far being that .The average filipino home is less attractive that a place like starbucks, the average filipino meal is without garnishes. The average filipino environment is less comforting and convenient than the service of starbucks. But when inside Starbucks , the average Filipino is instantly made to feel hes in new York , or las Vegas or Paris or anywhere else but in manila - one probable reason why we Filipinos buy this flick .we are total suckers for anything that is western in concept .but Starbucks has gone beyond colonial mentality ;It has become a pure escapism It helps us forget about the harsh realities in life like poverty and chaos , anything that offers oblivion and temporary indulgence sells fast no matter how costly it is.

   

  With their little creativity in repackaging. The Starbucks concept is no longer just coffee , its already a religion in which we Filipinos practically worship that green logo .It is from us The promise of Starbucks very payday 

DOWN TO 5K AND STILL DROPPING

As for the moment things are not going pretty well on my vacation, and within a short span of a month I am having now difficulties in managing my remaining money left. What's worse is that I'm not exactly sure if I can keep the commitment of taking a licensure exam.  Can't really imagine that I had blown off 70k of my leave pay within only less than a month but despite that I had no regrets in spending that money since I used it for the greater good like buying much needed equipment for my next work onboard a ship and repairing some things on the house.

Marina Requirements for COP

Anyway Shortly after my BTU / BTR seminar, I came afterwards on my next objective "The SDSD" seminar. Which I took on march 31st , the SDSD seminar was a totally big joke and I even wonder why this is required at all in the first place. Anyway the good thing that came up during the seminar was that I found out some info on which medical centre I would take the basic PEME for the COP and that getting a COP itself was not that difficult in acquiring compared to the old days ( has no "Assessment" at all) ,simply just file up the documents needed and submit it either on MARINA or on any respective maritime training centre and pay the fee - that's all.

For me , I don't want to go to the trouble of waking up early in the morning and go to marina - so I opt instead to file my COP documents to PNTI, Unfortunately for me PNTI takes about roughly 30 to 40 working days of processing my COP before I could get it (equivalent to our calendar to about two months) , Fortunately I'm not in the hurry nor rushing things .

I guess everything has its downside on those two options available for the COP, I could process it the hard way in MARINA and have it done within 15 days or Process it in PNTI the easy way but sacrifice waiting for almost two months.

In the meantime while I'm waiting for my COP to be released , My latest assignment for now is doing these three objectives.

A.Get a copy of my academic records in my school (for future enrolment in marine engineering course in college, scheduled somewhere on 2015)

B.Renew my SRC card from POEA Office (required and imperative, will be visiting on the latter)

C.Take the Licensure Examination (requires NBI clearance certificate and medical clearance certificate)

COP NAC Room of PNTI

In the meantime while I was busy accomplishing this objective I was preoccupied on other matters on my house, such as my dad was recently hospitalized over breaking his leg bone when he fell off a bike. It was our best decision to put him in the hospital to see what have happened to him since he was already having a nasty fever and chill on the third day after his accident. At first our rough estimate that it was just a dislocated socket , but apparently the x-ray showed a different story and it was much worse. From the looks on the X-ray my dad's bone was totally broken off , (closed facture in medical terms) just a few centimetres off from the hip socket .

Aside from that I was also downloading a lot of entertainment media and storing it on my new HP computer, most of my downloads are documentary videos coming from the history channel and nation geographic channel. I downloaded  those videos using the YouTube downloader program I installed on my LG pc, Aside from that I'm doing modifications on some equipment that I will bring along during my next trip. I have already repaired the safety helmet I will use plus  I'm nearly close in finishing the modified spare coveralls that would be needed.

 For the moment I could say that 90% of the equipment that I will be needing is already completed and I'm already set for the go, the only thing I would worry about now is the weight limitation of 20 kilograms each on both my luggage. Probably my next shipboard work will be the heaviest luggage I'd be bringing along for my onsigning.

PROPOSED EQUIPMENT LINE UP

For the general information on the public , I would be carrying two check in luggage bags and one hand carried back pack. One bag will carry all the equipment I need for ship work , while the other will be carrying all my civilian clothes plus some reserve *support* equipment for the first bag. The back pack that will carry is exclusively limited only for documents and electronic stuff like computers , tablets , cell phone and the like, plus an extra t-shirt, underwear, socks and shorts.

My Dads Injuries (both Internal and external ), X-Ray shows broken bones , eternal is shown above

BASIC TRAINING GALORE

Taken during our fire fighting exercise on the seminar, Im on the far right side in the picture

Updating my documents have already started , I hope I accomplish it soon. First off i found out that BTR / BTU seminar is just only good for two years and will only serve as a remedy to the near obsolete SOLAS / BST certificate that i had. In other words i will unfortunately will take another full course seminar of BT (basic training and successor name of SOLAS / BST) within two years time after this. Now the big question is i should have taken the full course instead rather than op on this.

The BTU seminar started at around 27th Thursday march, The first day was mostly lectures , not that thing that should be taken seriously. I nearly got late though given that i overslept on downloading too many PC games in torrents.

During i was at the training centre in PNTI when i accidentally saw one of my enemies onboard cape tallin , it was "Bull Frog" . It was no big deal though and just snobbed him, were not friends and there's no reason why i should greet him - i can be as bad as i want here on land and I'm not holding back, Anyway going back the first day was very quick nothing more than just plain old school lectures.

The following day of BTU training as this is the actual field training, I arrived early in the morning as the training facility is located in Dasmarinias, cavite and they had a bus waiting in the intramurous campus to take us there. When we arrived the training lectures proceeded very poorly and slowly given that there are at least 300 plus trainees cramming on the training facility, It only picked up the pace at around 10am when we were divided into two groups. One group would go on the swimming pool and received the basic swimming training while the other group would get to have the fire fighting training first.

Before we went to the pool first , my team mates were on some sort of activity called "Smoke Diving" which i understood that we would be going on a small pitch dark room filled with smoke and that we have to make our way out of it. For short we looked more like rats in a maze on that activity. During that activity one of the other teams ahead of us screwed up and thought that were going to "climb" out of the said maze, now the instructor outside the maze , apparently noticed that were taking a while to get out , he went inside and was surprised to saw one of my teams mates actually climbing out of the maze. The instructor shouted "What the hell are you doing over there !! , you're not going to climb out of the maze and this is the exit" . Embarrassed the trainee got down and went to the direction of the exit.

The rest of us ended up giggling when we exited the maze , thinking why the hell would be our teams be climbing the wall

Shorty after I was put on to the first group that would be taking a dip on the swimming pool, wasn't a big deal in jumping on a platform two stories high and landing on the pool, my biggest problem was after the jump ( apparently I'm not a good swimmer ) and some of the life jackets of the training centre are badly worn out which make me wonder if they're reliable on the water.

Made a quick jump and just have to remember to keep my eyes closed so that any fear of heights would be in check. Some of my co-trainee's had problems with this and was very nervous, The next phase as the basic swimming - despite having difficulty in swimming , i never had any problems completing the task - Good thing i had a life jacket on.

Next after the pool was the fire fighting training..

Training was completed the same day at around 1 to 2pm the same day.

The following day was back again to the old school lecture class, The lectures wasn't really that serious and was pointless , since we already knew from the start on what the instructor is lecturing about.

On Saturday , I enrolled for the SDSD lecture seminar for Monday and scouted some areas in kalaw street area to find a training centre that offers a much cheaper cost on seminars, and found a few note worthy candidates , one is MARITAS Training center.

I have no idea why some of my co-trainees have a bad feeling on jumping from a platform and landing on to a swimming pool , Well on my part I'm not scared - just tired on doing the same old shit

HUMOUR OF LIFE AND ALL ITS IRONY

Been here for two weeks now and yet , i still haven't fully adjusted to my surroundings - worse I'm more restless than ever knowing that my deployment back at sea would be much sooner than i actually expect. I was thinking in mind that my vacation would be at least 4 months minimum here and i could easily rebuild and pick up some agenda's that i left behind before going back again. Seriously I find it strange that CSM is giving less priorities to people who are very anxious in going back to work at sea than sailors who are unwilling and plan to stay longer on land. I cant really enjoy my vacation if CSM keeps pressuring me to back to work when in fact i should be staying home for a vacation.

In the meantime i went early in the morning to Career Ship management to get the pay check for my leave pay since I'm going to use the money on a lot of things, well mostly for the remaining supplies that I'd be needing and to cover the cost of the remaining seminar lectures that I'd be needing for the latter.

For some reason i find it doubtful why i even have to take this seminars at all in the first place. However who am i to question such a policy and for all i know - all Filipino sailors will be expecting this kind of make over on 2017 , and their training certificates that dated 2013 and below will be nothing more than just toilet paper to wipe off asses.

I woke up very early to prepare but i left the house late given that i was stalled by my mom's mental health condition for a few hours. I just simple wouldn't leave the house without assuring that mom will be ok and wont go "Beserk" while I'm gone. When i reached Career I quickly went to the accounting booth and pulled out my the check list "Teri" gave me along with my seaman's book I'd. The counter said there's no need to pull it out , she only need's the serial number of my passport document.

While i was searching if i do have at least a passport photocopy left on my bag, I was approached by an O.S. Who happens to previously worked on "Dale" ship. He saw my application form and was surprise to see  it that i came from Cape Tallin, He introduced himself that he said was supposedly be assigned on that ship but on the last minute was put up on "Dale" , replied and said that I'm also assigned on "dale" but was later changed to cape tallin on the last minutes. I had a few small talk with him, not the friendly conversation but simple professional kind.

Few minutes later , the accountant handed me a cheque and it was written that my leave pay amounts to 70 thousand pesos . The cash out of the cheques is in a bank in ermita manila called PhilTrust bank. Figuring out that cheques cannot be encashed without proper identification documents , i decided to go to the reporting to borrow my seaman's book from the company before proceeding to the bank.

At first i plan to go back to my house and call it a day , but i figured its still about 10am and i got a whole lot of time to finish en cashing those cheque. However I saw that the only money left on my wallet at that time is just 20 PHP, if i plan to en cash this cheque and failed m it would be a very very long walk from home (walking from Ermita manila to marikina ain't no joke). In the end i decided it as worth the risk, and this isnt the first time that i had walked on long distance before. To save money i walked southward until i reached LRT taft station then boarded a jeep and dropped off at NBI building in ermita.

Had a difficult time locating Philtrust Bank and the only thing i was sure of is that this bank is located somewhere in maria orosa street, and had to check google maps o where exactly it was located (good thing i had my android tablet with me and my pocket wifi device) . When i browsed the Google map i found it was near Kalaw street and quite a walk from my location,

The Google maps was very useful and that  it gave me at least a hint on where the hell it was located.

Never had a serious trouble encashing the 70 thousand pesos on my leave pay though the bank teller did scolded me for only bringing only a single valid ID document. I hurriedly went to go back home given that carrying 70 thousand pesos in my backpack and walking the streets of quiapo recto is a very bad idea (the place is crawling with pick picketers' , thugs and robbers).

The next few days , i spent some of the money buying equipment needed such as toiletries and "specialized" equipment. It took me some time to locate all the items i needed but it was worth it.  Oh yeah i bought along a "Phablet" as well , since its already scheduled that my corby phone will be retiring.

For the moment most of the money i got will be spent on my retraining and have already enrolled the BTU / BTR seminar at PNTI,. ( A seminar in which has only a life span of only to years) aside from that if i still have enough money , I'm going to pursue taking in an exam on this vacation. Cant miss that opportunity.

Enrollment and registration lobby of PNTI 

INFINITE MISCHIEF

Intentionally didn't log on to the internet for a few days, I figured that i needed some time off from being hooked up all the time on face book  and pay more attention on more important matters.

For the moment, i was busy preparing and sorting out the equipment I'd be needing on my next ship work and I'm almost complete on the list of items that I'd be needing. for the general knowledge of the public , here are the items that i will bring along on my work , These are only additional equipments that i will add on my existing "standard equipment" that i have currently.

Mefenamic Acid 50pcs

 Antibiotics (amoxicillin 500) 50 pcs

Shavers Gillete 4pcs

Panteen shampoo 2 bottles of 70ml

Rubbing alcohol 2bottles

Dextrose powder 1 bottle

Band Aid strips 12 Pcs

Cotton Gauge 2 rolls

Vitamin E 400mg Myra brand 3 bottles

Vitamin C 500mg Rhea brand 4 bottles

Vitamin B Complex 8 Bottles

Centrum multivitamins 2 bottles

Medical Tape 1 roll

DECK EQUIPMENT

Army Parka Raincoat 2pcs

Pad Locks 3pcs

Facemask "MMDA" Type

Garrison Belt 2pcs Black

Foldable Multi tool Pliers 2 pcs

Ear Defenders 1 pcs (ace hardware)

"Soldiers Sling" (from camp crame)

Screw Drivers 2pcs (both + and - )

Gel Pen Black 4pcs

Surgical Gloves 4 pieces

Perla 2pcs soap bars

Brush

Digital Watch 3pcs

Safe Guard soap 4pcs

Quick Glue (or instant glue Brand name "Lock tite")

"Swat belt"(from Marikina letter store)

Card Board box cutters 4pcs

Card Board box Cutter blades

Disposable nylon straps 4 sets (Ace Hardware)

Seamanship Books and publications (from national bookstore)

Room Thermometer

Underwear set (bench brand clothing store)

Its really amazing that i have come along way from the simple bare basic PPE equipment i use during  my deck cadet years to the now "enhanced" modified equipment i currently use. I guess this is the product of all the knowledge i gained on my years being a seaman, On how to survive and last for enough to finish a contract.

In other news related

During my previous time when i was online , I managed to download a lot of documentary films from the National Geographic Channel and History Channel stored on the YOUTUBE website. I used a YOUTUBE downloader program to download these shows since technically the website doesn't really offer a "Real download" option. The main motive why i had to download this shows is the fact that , it will be useful in case i encounter trouble from the people working there and go plan an "Isolation" Tactic like what i exactly did in Cape Tallin. ( Believe me It would be best going solo in case i encounter hostiles). I can never be sure at all if the people on my next ship will be friendly or will pose a serious threat on my stay there but if ever it boils down to the "Isolation Tactic" I'd make sure that my cabin will not be a prison and will have sufficient stock of entertainment media for me to keep me entertained on the duration of my contract,

Either way i should not take any chances and relay all on "good faith", I should keep in  mind that i should watch my back , especially when it comes to my own kind.

In other news related

Currently i had also now finished modifying the safety helmet I'm going to bring for my next shipboard work , all i had to do was simply use a soldering iron (the one used by electricians) , a few flexible garter straps and a few pieces of nylon strap. To better understand what process i

On late night of march 17 , I was surprised to received a phone call from career shipping. It was Mr. Nidoy on the phone and was asking if i have already started out on my training seminars (referring to the BTU/ BTR , SDSD and C.O.C. Renewal). I said i haven't started it yet and was still waiting to get my leave pay first. Apparently based on my conversation with Mr. Nidoy on the phone, Career wants me to hustle up since there is an O.S. vacancy on some ship called Cape Bari and they want me to be there, A.S.A.P. , he added that i should report to the office when i get my back pay. Apparently from what i heard on MR. Nidoy that there is a lot of vacancies for the O.S. Position on different ships.

Had mixed emotions on that kind of conversation given that I'm dead serious in taking a licensure exam on this vacation and that i couldn't set it aside given that if i did , I'd  have to wait for another 36 months total of sea service (roughly 5 ships all in all ) before i could take an exam as PRC licensure examination rule here in the Philippines. Aside from that license issue , I still have to be fully prepared on my next shipboard work , mostly on the supplies part. Anyway i guess I'd find out on the latter what will be my situation when i report back to the office , The irony of life here is that career doesn't put people who are very eager to go work onboard A.S.A.P. compared to people who are "unwilling and wants to have a good vacation first" on their ships.

I wonder what will be the situation on my next ship in career ? Will it have a regular work off days like Saturday or Sunday ? Or will it have a non-stop fight to the finish work environment (no holidays whatsoever) ? Those thoughts fill me with grim knowing that some ships here in career ship management are very cruel and disregardful on people. To make it worse I have to really look out if the people there   I have to be full prepared and ready if the situations falls on that kind of category

TRUCE FOR THE WEARY

Being a Sailor , I mostly Think this is right especially to my fellow pinoy sailors

Been almost a week since i got back home and  a lot has changed on the house while I'm away as if like i was in a different place . The feeling of like "its my home and yet it feels different " scenario , i couldn't explain it exactly but the aura of the house feels somewhat different from what i left off months ago. I am now an alien on my own home and somewhat feel detach on almost everything in my environment,

My place is slightly different from what i got used to know months ago, it's far more messy than it was and most of my stuff (clothes etc) are now in stored plastic cabinets, as if like my whole identity is sealed on those ruins, Aside from that most of the things that i care about are already gone such for example my pet cats. Before my first travel as a sailor i had a lot of pet cats - counting as many as 25 , I had been always found of caring those little animals, i had a cat that has a pure black fur , a cat that has only one eye , a cat that in human terms you would say a pet with disability and has a "Wheel chair"  , Sadly i had been a sailor and most of my cats have been dead now - died for various reasons and Only less than 8 cats have remained now, I'm not exactly sure if the people here on my house are taking good care of them.

I guess that's the main drawback of being a sailor and being far from home for so long, everything and anything that i had cared about will be gone and turned to dust when i  get back , one by one and the worst part is that i wont be able to see it ever again.   

Maybe i guess this is the psychological effect of being away and far from home on a long basis - being detach to the surroundings,

Anyway i should keep away on those ugly thoughts and it will not do me any good thinking about it.

For the moment when i returned and reported back to Career Shipping Office, I was immediately put on the task of "Teri" to take a refresher seminar called BTR / BTU (Basic Training Upgrade / Basic Training Refresher) to replace the soon to be obsolete SOLAS / BST PSSR certificate. I'm not entirely sure if this so called seminars is just a remedy or a permanent replacement for BST / PSSR Certificates that i have or i will take another set of seminars by 2017. Anyway what i do know about the seminars is that all of them (or mostly of it ) will become obsolete by the year 2017 and i have to retake all my previous seminars again.

So far my previous visit yielded 3 task and one updating of a document (Imperative and Priority), and here they are .

1st objective ---- take BTU Seminar on PNTI school  in Intramurous

2nd objective ---take BTR Seminar on PNTI School in Intramurous (pretty much the same)

3rd objective --- take SDSD Seminar on PNTI school in Intramurous

4th objective --- renew C.O.C. Certificate in TESDA

Sub-Objectives are

Renew S.R.C. Card from POEA

Get Amosup I.D. From Amosup office

Get Phil-Health I.D.

Get NBI Certificate

While Optional Objectives are

Take PRC licensure examinations .

In the meantime, I cannot advance and take down this task without getting my Back pay first at Career Shipping Office. To simply say It I'm stuck and going no where till i get the money.

In other news while I'm waiting for my leave pay...

I'm taking the time to upgrade and repair the equipments that I'd be using for my next shipboard work, Aside from buying essential *other* equipment as well. Another thing that i had been doing recently is upgrading the software of my HP laptop to windows 8.1 and been doing a huge download from Youtube videos . I figured that since I'm going to be away again for another 9 months , i had better be prepared again on the Media / Entertainment part - Just in case of prolonged isolation and if the "native's"" on my next ship are hostile and pose a threat.

For the moment I guess I'd enjoy the whole week off before starting again making my move.

Oh yeah i almost forgot , I had been making a lot of discoveries lately and my latest discovery is ... Well i cant tell publicly in here but it has something to do on the folks in twitter. Hopefully i might uncover more in the Twitter website , Seriously it's a big breakthrough i had discovered in years

Stay tune for any updates .......

INTERSTELLAR FLIGHT

Took me quiet a while to get my sense back again after the long trip back home , as expected my disembarkation is on Cartagena, Spain and it was good news that my disembarkation pushed thru on that port. Seriously I'm not yet tired working onboard the ship but the main reason why i wanted to go home is to finally get rid of my enemies there once and for all (as we all know its "Bull Frog" Amican and 2nd Officer Renan Aveda Olis A.K.A "Bastard - O " ).The Disembarkation schedule - In a funny twist of fate will be carried out on two groups , The reason why it will be two groups was because of the fact that four people ( "Bull Frog" Amican, Oiler Rogel , 3rd Engineer Cranz and A.B. Homer) have issues with the European visa (Schengen to be specific, Visa mentioned on my entry "The Hunt for Schengen") . Apparently from what i heard is that these four don't have any schengen visa's yet and processing takes two days resulting that they will disembark on the latter.

A Sample of a PRC Sea Certificate

Unfortunately for me , I'm part of the first group that will disembark and 2nd officer "bastard - O" and Messman Ferdinand are also part of it. Well i don't have anything against Ferdinand and don't hate the guy , But i do despise "Bastard - O" and never liked him around. Anyway for the sake of me going home , as much as it pains me i had to tag along with these illiterates on the course of the trip. Before i went disembarked i arranged  secretly my sea service certificate and went to captain slabada and asked him if he could sign in for my "Sea service certificate" ( a PRC form in the philippines need for a license exam), Captain Slabada signed it and didn't give me any hard time at all and i'm thankful for it. I will be needing this sea service certificate in the long run,

In the morning of March 5th , i was knocked on the cabin door by Messman ferdinand and said it now time for us to leave. I was already prepared a few hours before ferdi knocked and was just simply waiting for anyone to signal me. I woke up A.B. Jay to help me out on my luggages (2 bags , one with 18 kilograms and the other 16 kilograms) , A.B. Jay is very helpful in helping us out and even borrowed the ships cart for us to use in getting the luggage's off the gate.

The cab arrived at about 6:30am and we proceeded to the nearby domestic airport for the domestic flight to Madrid . According to my flight details , my trip to go home will be a domestic flight first from Cartagena to Madrid then international flight from Madrid  to Dubai then another flight from Dubai to manila. Pretty simple instruction indeed, and can't miss it.

During the whole trip , it was definitely very obvious that there was friction as i didn't spoke any word and ignored "bastard - O" , and why the hell would i talk to him eh ? His so called   ship officers position and license is nothing more than just toilet paper here. Only Ferdinand even bother to talk to the guy once in a while.

So what can i saw about the trip ? Well honestly i would be better off travelling alone rather than having these two around, that one is an asshole and the other is a stupid piece of shit when it come to travelling. Seriously i cant explain why Messman ferdinand is so stupid when it comes to travelling on airports - i mean come on !! He's been a sailor longer than me and he should have known more about the in's and out's of an airport and yet he's very stupid when it comes to gates and terminals. Good thing I'm not hanging out with him since there's a huge possibility that I 'd miss a flight with him around.  Glad I'm well aware now that Messman Ferdinand cannot be trusted when it comes to these matters.

The Ipad Mini I gave to my sister (Leftside)

On my short stay in dubai I bought my little sister an Ipad that she's been requesting about (actually it was an iphone) , i couldn't get her an iphone in Dubai given that the cost of a single iphone unit was at around 700 U.S. Plus plus (roughly 31thousand PHP) so i decided that an Ipad would be a good alternative. The Filipina sales person in dubai was very warm and friendly and knows how to make small talk on customers, Being in Dubai airport is a bit at home and there are a lot of Filipino workers there working on duty free shops. I bought the usual stuff OFW presents there aside from the mac - TONS and TONS of chocolates

When we arrived at the NAIA terminal 1 airport, I made no hesitation in ditching out "bastard - O" and Ferdinand and hurriedly went out on the airplane, why the hell would I wait for them ? - never even liked them from the start and there's no exact rule that i should tag along with them any longer.  I finally got rid of them - this time for good !!!

The following day i decided to report back to the shipping office as part of the company policy that every sailor should report back to the shipping office within the 24 hour time frame upon arrival.

I never had any problems in reporting back , and Mr. Nidoy was more accommodating compared to Mr. HO, He just simply asked me a few questions about how long would i be vacationing here and they needed O.S. Positions on other ships, afterwards I'm free to go.

​

NEXT CHAPTER

For the moment I'm renovating some parts of my blog and inserting pictures and giving it "substance". Will post later on for my latest entries. I'm already here in the Philippines and I have the luxury and resources to renovate my official blog .

Please stay tuned for my next entry ........

CAPE TALLIN REPORT

"Filipino Sailors are an interesting kind of people, an interesting mix. Capable of the best of dreams and the worst and most horrible of nightmares "

"Unnamed Filipino Sailor" saying the words to an acquaintance after completing the contract onboard Cape Tallin.

DRAMATIS PERSONA CAPE TALLIN

Igors Slabada (latvian, Captain of Cape Tallin, Returns back on Jan 14 2014)

Gocha Tetrashvili (Georgian National, Chief Officer )

Renan Oveda Olis (Filipino, 2nd officer)

German Jr. Tan Corales (Filipino, 3rd Officer)

Sergey Il'yantsev (Russian, Chief Engineer, Returns back on January 14, 2014)

Ards Jekabsons (Latvian, 2nd Engineer, went back again on November 2013)
Cranz Magistrado (Filipino, 3rd Engineer)

Henerson Patino Gonzales (Filipino, 4th Engineer)

Koba Tsiskaradze (Georgian National, Electrician, went back again on November 2013)

Zacarias Amican (Filipino, BOSUN)

Nilo Pastrana (Filipino, Pump man)
Ronald Hiteroza Caldona (Filipino, Able Bodied Seaman)

Patrick Borres Dondonilla (Filipino, Able Bodied Seaman)

Homer Mallorca (Able Bodied Seaman)

Xerxes Balagso Hall (Ordinary Seaman)

Myself (Ordinary Seaman)

Gil Dalisay Aguro (Fitter)

Gian Silverio Ampong Escote (Oiler)

Donald Reyes Roger (Oiler)

Robert Cervantes Peneranda (Cook)

Ferdinand Penera (Messman)

Valeriy Krasikov (Ukraine national, Captain and successor to Captain Slabada)

Sergey Nagornyy (Russian, Chief mate and successor to Chief Mate Gocha Tetrashivili)

Igor Voytenko (Ukrainian, Chief engineer and Successor to Chief engineer II'yantsev)

Lev Vakhrushev (Russian, 2nd engineer and Successor to 2nd engineer Ards)

Nino R. Lamasen (Filipino, 4th engineer and Successor to 4th engineer Gonzales)

Andriy Obertynskyy (Ukraine, electrical engineer and Successor to Koba tsiskaradze)

Teodolfo S. Liscano (Filipino, Pump man and Successor to P/M Pastrana)

Bryan Y. Monteroyo (Filipino, A.B. Seaman and Succesor to A.B. Ronald Hiteroza)

Richard F. Sano (Filipino, Fitter and Successor to Fitter Gil Dalisay)

Mark S. Aquino (Filipino, Oiler and Successor to Oiler Escote)

Oleksii Voitenko (Ukrainian, 19 yrs old Deck Cadet his dad is Chief engineer Voytenko)

Byron Peter Fourie ( South African, white, 3rd Mate and Successor to 3rd mate Corales)

Jay Rivera Briones (Filipino, Able bodied Seaman, Successor to A.B. Patrick Dondonilla)

Jermonick Maris Del Monte (Filipino, Ordinary Seaman, Successor to O.S. Xerxes Hall)

Jonathan Lubi Olan (Filipino, Chief Cook, Successor to Chief Cook Peneranda)

Evgeny Bezruchko (Russian, Chief Mater, Successor to Chief Mate Nagornyy)

Alexey Shkrygaylo (Russian, 3rd Mate, Successor to 3rd Mate Byron Fourie)

As what have I been writing about since the very start of my journey here, I already have described as much as I can the full details of life being a sailor. That despite the glamorous pictures shown like barbecue parties and such, there is always a "Hidden" story of everything. I have given face on what life of a sailor does, the challenges, the hardship, what a person should need to know, how life is "Inside" in a ship. I have already proven and recorded on this journal how Filipino's treat one another onboard, could be either the best and the worst a person has to offer. I had already shown and recorded how Filipino's here will intentionally and deliberately discriminate one another. That this so called "Filipino Seaman" and "life onboard a ship" reflects a very different society and do not in any way share the same values and moral beliefs we have here at land.

Filipino Sailors are an interesting kind of people, an interesting mix. Capable of the best of dreams and the worst and most horrible of nightmares. They feel so alone, So cut off from the outside world but they're not.

The crux of my journal ends with me becoming a "full fledge sailor" out of the so many student sailors there in the Philippines, my exile and my return, But the revelation is not one of " I am here now at the top " but its implications, Asking myself. What does it mean to be a sailor ? I'm standing at the top among the rest. Was it worth it ? Is this all life is worth? What have i really done ?

FOOTNOTE

I would like to make a space here to say my apologies on AB jay briones and O.S. Del Monte , Earlier on my entries here i was suspicious about them and didn't trust them probably because i thought both of them to be bad guys (given with my distasteful experience with O.S. Hall and A.B. Caldona, their predecessors) , but as it turns out after a two months of investigation they are the good guys .

My sincerest apologies to both of them .... Please accept this as a formal apology if i ever doubted you both guys

FASTEST DELIVERY

February 24, 2014 Monday

" there's a saying that a commander shouldn't leave his soldier even if he lies wounded, half dead , his arms torn off and his sockets and intestines spilling on the mud and being eaten by the birds. However this isn't the military and these Filipino Sailor's do not live on the code of honour "

Ship will be heading back now in Istanbul turkey and head out away from the Baltic area, For the moment it will be on standby near Istanbul, Turkey and await further instruction from the traffic on when will be the time of channelling. For the moment this ship is just drifting nearby the channelling area ( not anchored as earlier thought) and it arrived at around 7pm late at night, probably because its waiting for a schedule on the pilot to arrive.

During the night, i was invited for a drink on A.B. Mallorca's cabin , I didn't turned down the invitation and heard a few rumours about some crew. There was fitter Sano, Oiler Rogel and Pump man liscano in A.B. Mallorca's cabin sharing a drink as well.

From what i heard, A.B. Mallorca is still bitter about the fiasco that three of us were left behind in a US domestic airport  before our joining here in Cape Tallin, saying that 2nd officer "Bastard - O" Renan and "Bull Frog" Amican left their own co-workers to save their own skin and didn't even bother to check out who's missing or not - not exactly what a leader should do in the first place, there's a saying that a commander shouldn't leave his soldier even if he lies wounded , his arms torn off and his sockets and intestines spilling on the mud and being eaten by the birds. However this isn't the military and these Filipino Sailor's do not live on the code of honour 

Another rumour Mallorca added was about 2nd officer "Bastard - O" most recent incident on his previous ship before cape tallin. Apparently from what i heard from his was there was this incident were "Bastard - O" nearly got beaten up by the chief mate. Homer didn't state it very clearly on what was the reason why "bastard - O's "  former Chief mate wanted to beat the shit out of this Dick suckers ass but i could surmise that 2nd officer "Bastard - O" rude ill mannered, unprofessional attitude has something to do with it.  I could only come up with that conclusion based on what i had seen on him and observing based on the known facts,

Anyway I do hope someday he'd get stabbed to death by someone and I'm not going to be surprised one day if that happens. I'm very thrilled if that would materialize one day that someone would teach him a hard lesson. Sadly reality says that if the happens I'm not going to be around to see it.

In the afternoon the a pilot boarded this ship and channelling out of the Baltic resumed, it was only a short 1 hour transit and the weather wasn't that good as expected - a bit of rain showers every now and then. During the transit Me and O.S. Jermon Del Monte was busy taking pictures on the surrounding area, when i heard on the radio 2nd Officer's "Bastard - O" Voice contacting BOSUN "Bull Frog"Amican saying that he can't contact the other deck personnel who has the radio (Referring to me) and he's been contacting it for a long time.

Apparently i didn't heard "bastard - O" yelping over the radio earlier and by the time i answered back , This cock sucker let out a lot of offensive words on the radio - in PUBLIC   AND EVERYONE COULD HEAR. Anyway I just ignored on what he said on the radio and never even bothered by it , after all he's not going to be my problem anymore and the next crew will be the one who will dealt with him. The pilot soon disembark after the radio incident.

Going back the radio was taken away from me and was given to O.S. Del Monte, Unofficially I'm relieved about it as there are no more any unnecessary disturbances on work.

Late at night we anchored off somewhere yet again, I'm not sure what's the name of the place what. I'm very much sure that the reason why we anchored here was that were waiting for another pilot to come by on a transit.

During a day of waiting, My work on the maintenance was helping out "Bull Frog" Amican (along with O.S. Del Monte) in changing the wires on the forward mast and greasing a few wires on the gangway ladder.

While at the anchorage

Cash Advance , always thrilled to hear those words here on this ship. This simply means it "pay day" and i get to choose what amount they can give me. For now the money i selected was 800 U.S.D. And drained my credits there till the only thing left was about 45 dollars on the pay out . That's fine with me that the only left credits I got will be just 45 Dollars, that's the only thing I'd be claiming on my onboard pay when i visit career shipping , 24 hours after i reached the Philippines (aside from the leave pay). I'm more comfortable having my money on my own hands  and near me rather than some company handling it. For the record my money on my wallet now is 1200 U.S.D. Excluding a few Bulgarian leva currency and a few small U.S. Dollar bills that i haven't counted yet.

In other news

 if expecting a pilot , safety harness, heaving line and pilot ladder long with life jacket is prepared near at the gangway entry

According to what i heard this ship's arrival in spain will be on Monday and no word yet on the crew change since it was cancelled off in turkey, only best hope is that Career shipping and CSM would cook up with something to get us out of here.

For the work i was busy helping out fitter sano on removing some metal on the trash bins . Was an easy job and old school - just assist him and put all the trash away and that's .

At about 8am in the morning the following day, before the work starts we were told that the pilot would arrived and so we heaved up the anchor and prepared the pilot ladder . The pilot came and had this ship on channelling for three hours and before the pilot disembark a small pilot boat came nearby to delivery three boxes of smoke's . From what i saw its Marlboro, LM and a new one Dunhill.