BACK AGAIN TO ACTION

Things have made a different turn of events, and it seems that things are getting close for me. Currently I'm trying to scrape off every resource money I could get my hands on and things are not going well on that plan of mine, Apparently on the part of the "Human Fallibility" issue on were they're not paying their debts back.

 

For the moment, there's a possibility that my stay here in the Philippines will be prolonged for another month, given that dad's operation is scheduled somewhere on the third week of May (way far too long than initially intended). Worst part is that dad is going to be confined earlier and at least two weeks before his said operation, I'm not exactly sure if we do have both the manpower to maintain daily task here at home and at the hospital.

 

Another problem that resurfaced is the pressure coming in from my current shipping company telling me to report soon and take the medical exam ASAP. I'd report back as soon as I can and will fix the remaining document (SRC card) on POEA along the way. Currently The only thing holding me back on accomplishing this is  my problems with the money. I guess it will be best that I should leave everything behind. As for my planned licensure examination, apparently this is going to be put on hold again for several years, I wasn't planning that it will be put on hold but the circumstances showed that it would be unwise to take the examinations now because of financial constraints - and I never foresaw that this would be my case now. Maybe I'm to be blame on the money management part.

 

In other news ….

 

Due to dog related issues which my sister pet shiatsu is constantly chewing off power cords from my electronic equipment , I had finally decided to move all my equipment downstairs to prevent any further damage from her dogs. I'd had to take this steps to make sure that those dogs stay out of my PC's power cords - PERMANENTLY !

 

Anyway speaking of equipment .

 

All of the necessary programs needed on both of my computers have already been loaded up and ready, all of the multimedia files have been loaded and are get to go on both HP and LG PC. I already have enough stored multimedia file here on my laptop to last the whole duration of my trip , As for my working equipment, I had already fitted and finished the spare special coveralls I'd be bringing along for the trip. In addition all of the essential medicines and special equipment have already been put on my check-in luggage's, although it's not 100 percent that all needed equipment's have been bought , I could at least say that I had achieved at least 92 percent objective on the equipment's needed.

 

In other news

 

As predicted the moment I started reporting to Career shipping , the process of being deployed early went on a very fast rate. I reported to career shipping last Friday April 25th and had no problems , and it was convenient that "Mr. Nidoy" was the person who debriefed me and not "Mr Ho" - as he is more friendlier. We just exchanged a few words about the briefing and told me that I should get a recommendation on promotion at least on this voyage and the next to be promoted as an A.B. , After that he dismissed me and said that he's going to put me to Captain Galang's Office

 

Once inside Captain Galang didn't mention anything on me except the part on which medical Clinic I would prefer to go on medical, I mentioned first is physicians clinic but Captain Galang said that it would be more convenient if I should go to maritime medical clinic instead. That was the only thing that captain galang mentioned and "Mr Nidoy" then said that my papers will be forwarded to the medical department and I should wait my name to be called there.

 

Was waiting on the medical counter when unexpectedly I saw Mess man Ferdinand , waiting also on the medical counter as well.  Had a small talk with him and found out that the mess man who replaced him at Cape Tallin met a nasty accident 5 days after we left and was sent home, From what I heard the new mess man fell from the provision crane all the way down to the provision store and suffered a nasty horrible internal bleeding. Aside from that I heard the O.S. Xerxes Hall is back again re-applying in the company office , apparently from what I heard on Ferdi , O.S. Hall met an accident on board and just got out of the hospital. Honestly I don't give a shit on what happened on O.S. Hall , never liked the guy during my time in cape tallin and was definitely a vicious blabber mouth.

 

As for ferdi I heard from him that he's having problems on the medical , I didn't specifically on what it was but I think it's just a minor issue. Left ferdi after the small talk and went to the medical counter to get my slip. The schedule I got was on the 29th of April, Tuesday

OFFICIALLY BROKE

Congratulations  !!! After being here in the Philippines for more than a month, I am now officially broke (though technically I'm not). It may seemed to be all of a sudden that I have spent 70 thousand pesos in just roughly half a month but money goes really fast these days if I'm not careful in spending it wisely - well I did spent it wisely for the most part and that technically I still have at least more than 20 thousand pesos in savings (which unfortunately I couldn't use at the moment given that I lend it to my younger sister). In spite of this , believe it or not I am happy that I am broke compare to the time when I have all the money and working at sea.

 

For the moment , The only thing that is holding me back in being at sea again is the licensure examinations. I'm still very much hell bent committed in taking that exam and getting that piece of plastic card as much as possible, That card for me is vital and is the key to my retirement on this god forsaken , god awful shitty maritime industry. Lest I don't get it soon , lest I can't retire early and have to bear with it.

 

Yes it is true that's my real intention on why I want to get a license, contrary to some people that they get their license to "expand" their career in being a sailor, mine is that I want to get a license to end my career once and for all. I figured that the plastic card is the key to my retirement and my only ticket out of this.  I want to get the license and end my career as a sailor for all the right reasons.

 

They say being an active and practicing sailor is a blessing (and sort of a gift) given that there are so many student Filipino sailors who really want a piece of sea life on board but are never given a chance at all, They say I'm lucky that I made it in becoming a full fledge sailor. - well I beg to disagree on what they say , for me this is a curse - a nightmare, this so called blessing and gift - they can have it back and I want no part of it !

 

In the meantime while I'm still struggling to get a license , I just have to endure more of this enchilada.

 

For the moment this is my objectives for next week , after this holy week

 

*Get SRC card from POEA

*Get TOR records from previous school.

*Get NAC Certificate from PNTI

*Get AMOSUP ID card in intramurous manila

 

Optional objectives

*Get NBI Clearance Certificate

*Get PEME medical certificate

*Pass application form for exam in PRC

IT'S BEEN A WHILE

Finished up my latest business on my seafaring career, and just finally got another copy of my transcript of records that will be released on the 25th of April - No thanks to my beloved School PMI colleges . Wasn't really hard in getting one really just simply have an affidavit of loss and four hundred pesos and that’s it.

I went there at about 1pm on Monday and immediately proceeded on the registrar room now relocated at the new building of PMI campus and prepared my affidavit of loss along with my old seaman's book as an I.D. , I didn't wait too long on the line in the registrar and when I came up I was asked by the staff on which date did I made my TOR (transcript of records) a BS. I said I couldn’t remember the exact date but only the year which is 2012. It only took her a couple of minutes to check on the school records before calling me back and giving me instructions to fill out the form and go to the accounting office for payment.

Went to the accounting office in the above floor and payed 380 PHP for the recopy of my TOR, then went back to the registrar and gave the receipt, the staff told me that my TOR will be released by 25th of this march and gave me an office number and said to call up this number if I'm in doubt of the release date.

ITS BEEN A WHILE

2012 was my last visit with this school, and back then , I recall that my school was in trouble over some licensing issues with the education department and to make it worse. One of the three buildings on my campus literary burned down, and it was the main building (the largest of the three) that caught fire. The two things that happened was a big blow on the school and sent a thousand students fleeing and enrolling on nearby maritime school.

During that time if I remember the school even inaugurated the newly built simulator room a month before the fire broke out. Sadly all that remains now of the room is just dust and ash 

Two years later, There isn't much change going on in PMI - But I think little by little it's starting to recover. The Main building is still burned out and abandon but maybe someday it might be rebuilt.

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