Diary 25-11-2011 [Our Ref:EXF03215]

Pacific Ocean
2350 Hrs.

Last few days have seen my workload rise, thanks to the news about the Internal Audit to be conducted from Dec 11 to 16. When I survive this trip to the fareast, I will have just one more fareast trip to encounter, and after that I can go home. I have glanced at the port schedule copy on my desk more than usual these past few days. I guess the Pacific may have this effect on seafarers.
We are still crossing the pacific ocean, and will reach Yokohama on the 3rd of december, around 6 AM. There has been no vessel traffic for the last few days.
By the way, the hard disk that I bought at Balboa is not working right now. I thought I could fix it, but then I gave up after two days of trying. Im planning to take the hdd back to the place where I bought it and ask for a refund. I am doubtful of receiving one since I may have broken the warranty when I opened the casing of the hdd.
The headset that I bought turned out to be a handy piece of equipment, eventhough it was not operated using wifi, like I thought.
Mom and Dad came across this nicely placed land for sale in Bharathi nagar last week, but I felt the land was a little beyond our budget. They agreed and so, we have dropped the project.
The coming week is going to be busy, since I have only 7 days till we reach port and then, its going to be one port after another for the next two weeks. I might as well get some good rest now.

Diary 20-11-2011 [Our Ref:EXD29040]

Location: Pacific ocean. 24-36N 130-57W

A few things have happenned since my last post. One of my batchmates, Vasanth, has joined the ship at Balboa. Thanks to him, Indian onboard are having Puli Kaichal mix and Pepper rasam for lunch. Moreover, he has brought with him the latest movies released after my sign on aboard this vessel.

My life is going on as usual, that is, not so good but not so bad either. Ive been seeing one of the senior officers work and I have been wondering about my future and what I should be, say, in the next 5 years. However, thats for another post.

We have news about an Internal audit and an Annual safety survey and so Im getting things done here as much as possible each day. Though Im concentrating on these, my main concern is my lack of experience in handling such events. Some people I know are just too casual about not being experienced, but I can't be that way. But then, I cant do much anyway either.

The Harddisk that I bought in Balboa is not working and I made the stupid mistake of opening the case, which will make my warranty void according to company rules. I still wonder what I was thinking when I opened the protective case; I have never fixed a hard disk before.

That concludes today's day. There are 20 minutes more for the watch to complete and then, I believe I would fall asleep easy thanks to the heavy work today.

Diary [Our Ref:EXF20610]

Off the coast of Mexico
Proceeding to Balboa

Its been quiet since the departure from Lazaro Cardenas. The Captain here is about to sign off in Balboa and so Im trying to complete all the paperwork signatures as soon as possible.

I have also taken up some stock counting to assist the Chief Officer. Apart from this, I just updated the gen. arrangement plan with some latest data and wrote to the company about the shore based check of the EEBDs onboard.
WILD has been updated.

Today morning, I read on the ship's mail that the internal audit will be conducted between 11th to 16th december. The person who is coming onboard to conduct this audit is none other than the same person who conducted it on my previous ships. So its 2 out of 2 for me with regards to Internal, External audits and Annual safety surveys.

ETO Ram is about to sign off in Balboa. The Indian onboard will be lose strength as my friend Vasanth is joining the ship at the same port. We have asked him to bring as many tamil movies and food items as possible. So for a few days after Balboa, the tamilians onboard will probably have a hearty meal just like their friends back in Chennai.

For the last two days, I have tried and succeeded in forwarding facebook updates and twitter to my 'text only' email service which I can access while at work. This has been an interesting experience, ie, getting facebook updates and twitter updates once every hour. My inbox looks a bit crowded now though.

I have also been browsing through many blogs by Indians and I feel I have not been writing as much as I could write if I apply my mind on it. There are few uncovered topics still left on the internet and there are still a few who could not get what they need, from the internet. It would be a nice idea to cover these topics into blogs of my own.

Ship Visit [Our Ref:EXE25824]

On ships, we dont get many visitors. Nowadays its even a bigger rarity thanks to the insanely quick turnaround we make at ports. Sometimes we stay for just 5 or 6 hours.
The reason I brought this up: We had our ship visited by 6 beautiful Mexican girls working in the terminal. Sounds unreal? Check out the pic below. They were nicely dressed up for the occasion in uniform white shirts and black pants with port authority safety vests just adding to the smartness.
I showed them around(guys here on the ship are still jealous that I got the chance, but unfortunately for them, the visit happenned during my watch, which is 6-12AM, for those who dont know). They did not speak English, so everything I said had to be translated by the agent. The height of the event was when they asked me to demonstrate the operating of all the bridge equipments(which incidentally is my forte). They were delighted to use the equipments themselves as they took turns.
One of the girls wanted my mail id and I have given it to her future references. But from my experience, I have seen most of these one time acquaintances during ship visits never lead to further conversations.

Ram's diary [Our Ref:EXD29891]

06/11/2011 05:39:18
Off the shores of California

My day today did not start well. I awoke at the ringing of the phone to find that its already 8 AM, the time I take over the watch from the Chief officer. I brushed, rushed up to the bridge and took over. The Captain and Chief officer offerred to wait till I got my breakfast, but I refused. I guess my pride wouldn't allow it. Or just that I realised they were just being polite.
No traffic was there during both my watches. Though I may not be able to say the same tomorrow, as we reach port tomorrow night(sunday night). Saturday afternoon went well. I designed my blog for around three hours and then read A's blog for another hour.
Then I watched 'Pirates of the Caribean' part 1 after dinner. This time, I was watching it along with the Captain, Chief Engineer, third engineer and two other guys of the same rank. The conversation in between the scenes was quite amusing.
I called Mom and Dad, as per my usual practice of calling them on sundays. I came to know that Mom is going to be incharge of a voters id process on sunday. I also came to know that apart from them, there was noone else in the house, since the house owners had left the place to go to Kerala for some medical reasons.
Its right now 11.45 Pm and Im ready to go to bed. I may have a long day tomorrow and I wish to be ready.

Why I dont like Facebook now [Our Ref:EXF23243]

Being a regular internet user myself, I thought writing blogs would be simple. Not so much. I had another blog previously, but I used it only to follow the blogs of other people. The main reason that I started to blog is because I grew tired of facebook. Most notifications received are either game requests or that you have been tagged in a photo. When I access the photo, I see that its not a photo of me(why are they gonna do that-putting up my pic in their albums?) but a tree or a list stating that Im 70 percent compatible with them or Im their dearest friend or soul mate or such weird things.
I dont even want to get started on the status updates.
'having coffee'(as if I care if its not coffee)
'finished coffee'(you've got to finish it anyway)
'enjoing rain-having coffee'
The worst ones are those which talk about relationships or about extremely obvious things that it makes me quote Robert Downey from Sherlock Holmes, "Good Lestrade..Now we have a firm grip of the obvious".
Sometimes I do enjoy a video or two or an occasional pic. But then, among the 5 page long feeds, things that interest me are extremely rare.
There is also this extreme gender discrimination which irks me. Girls are often showered with likes and comments for some posts which, I believe, are pure nonsense. Boys on the other hand, often post stuff that have already gone viral. This means you get the same video, say, a dozen times and the comments by friends on this video another dozen times.
Eventhough Im tempted a few times, to delete my facebook account, I fear the implications of doing so, since keeping this account virtually costs nothing and if in the future, you meet someone and they say 'Ill find you on facebook' when they leave in a hurry, then it may feel a little stupid to have deleted it before.
I know someone who deleted his facebook account and as of now, he does not regret it. I hope I get the courage someday to get rid of the facebook monkey off my back.

Kannadasan [Our Ref:EXE30903]

I am currently listening to songs written by Kannadasan. Its a little depressing thanks to the long pacific journey. One song made me look at things differently. Its 'mayakama kalakama' and specifically the words 'unakum kizhe ullavar kodi, ninaithu parthu nimmathi nadu'. It means that there are millions of people who are less privileged than you are; think about them and then seek inner peace. These words brought a soothing sensation to my heart, for it is true. There are many who would do anything to be in place right now. While I still would go for more, I must respect what I already have.

Last five entries from my diary

30/10/2011 20:48:18
Its been a while since I wrote. Everytime I start, something comes up which needs my attention. This time, its the monthly due items which are to be completed before 31st. Except for a few items, they are all done. So now, Im free to write to you until next week, when my ship reaches the next port.

6 days have passed since I wrote to you. A few interesting things have happenned in the meantime. My lucky pen broke, I experienced a large roll which single handedly pulverized the entire ship, I saw the movies 7g rainbow colony and Deivathirumagal(it is strange because of the fact that I watched it with people from 3 different nationalities who did not understand tamil) and so on. 

4 days ago, I leaned over the chart table to pickup something and heard a cracking noise. Sensing that it came from my pocket, I searched it to find my lucky cello gripper pen in two pieces. At first, I was upset, but then, for some reason, I pulled out the refill and started writing what was in my mind. When I finished I was surprised to see that I had written 7 A4 sheet papers in 1.5 hours, about just a broken pen. This, I believe, is my first long article. I will put it in my blog when I have the time.

Day before yesterday, around 23.45, a sudden huge wave pushed the ship all the way to 30 degrees to startboard(right hand side is called starboard, left is called port). Things started flying around on the bridge. I switched the light on and secured the things immediately. I then got calls from everyone asking what happenned.  I found out that in most of the cabin, unsecured items were thrown off the table. Things in my cabin were ok, since I had cleared up most of it, due to bad weather.

The rolling still continues, but its much better now than it was yesterday.

The day before the rolling, I watched Deivathirumagal with a few of my friends(2 korean, 1 filipino, 1 guy from Kolkata and 2 guys from Chennai). I was surprised to find everyone, even the guys who didn't understand the dialogues, in tears during the court scene where the girl is sent back with her dad. I learnt that language is not a barrier when it comes to expressing and being affected by emotions.

Onto today's news. Dad is now in Vandavasi on the occasion of grandpa's brother's 16th day function. He is also attending Periyappa's retirement celebration and party at Thiruvannamalai. Mom is at home as she does not have anymore leave.

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25/10/201114:04:12
I was a little busy yesterday. Nothing important happenned yesterday. The fixing of ballast tanks is still going on as per schedule. The Chief officer is a little busy. 

Today we received the new dmi advice during my watch. So I saw the captain change the route on the ecdis. It was a good learning experience. I have updated WILD regarding this.

I had my last 'ready to eat' yesterday. Today I told one of the filipinos about deepavali(which is tomorrow, as you already know) they told me that it was unfortunate that I will go hungry on deepavali. it turns out tomorrow is the day we advance our clocks by 3 hours. I still havent figured out how the working hours are going to be.

today I also managed to get some sleep in the afternoon and then went on to complete some of my monthly items. 

I heard from armando that there is a good shopping mall in balboa. I will try it out when I go there next time. I have also asked for 400 dollars cash advance in balboa. I already have 650 dollars now(including the ones that I lent) and so I will enought cash to buy anything at balboa. I was thinking on the lines of a new electronic device like a music player that I can use on the bridge.
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23/10/2011 12:49:06


Still weary from my long watch yesterday, I started today at 12.15 in the morning. Then I was involved in a mooring operation which lasted till 01.30 AM. It didn't go well. The mooring rope fouled itself on one of the winches and I had to fix it. It was fixed eventually, but only after a long struggle. Then I slept till 6 AM.

The departure was also a nightmare. I was sent to the forward mooring station where it took almost one and a half times the normal time to let go all the mooring lines, due to a delay from the shore crew. I was on watch till lunch.

After lunch, I watched Murugesh play angry birds for some time. It reminded me of the time I was addicted to flash games during my idle period in 2010. I left later and then went to sleep.

I had vegetables and egg for dinner and then relieved Sudheer at 1800. It seems the Chief officer will be busy hereon with the Korean repair team. I hope this 6 hour watch does not become a regular affair.

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16-10-2011 14:27:00


My ship just docked at a port called Yantian, just a few miles away from Hong Kong. I had too short a port stay at Hong Kong to go ashore and to my utter dismay, arrival here is on a bad time and hence I wont be able to go ashore here either. My friends are going out here though. So it would have been just another day over here with absolutely no surprises.

I just talked to my dad over skype. My mom is right now on election duty(remember the local body elections in Chennai?). She has to stay at the election centre along with the voting machines. Our family knows someone in Madhavaram where my mom is and so Im guessing she will visit them and stay at night over there. 

When I called Dad again to let him know I couldn't reach mom, he was on another call with Elumalai uncle. I wonder what they were discussing.
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15-10-2011 12:52 
Hong Kong Anchorage


This is my first entry onboard this ship. I have started to blog, thanks to the comparitively faster internet onboard this ship. When I first saw the blog interface, I could not figure out why someone would have to click on a particular post to view, since most internet users are not sure what they wish to access(hence the facilities like 'stumbleupon'). So I decided to use the static page facility, which is, after all, a garland of posts once its formatted well. I dont think anybody would follow my blog in the near future and so, not worried that the enthusiasts may not be well informed about changes made by me to my blog.

Life is not good enough to be called good, but its not bad enough to be called bad either. Stepnica is now my home, and my home is right now at anchor off the coast of Hong Kong. There is speculation onboard about when we will reach Hong Kong, since no expected time of arrival has been informed to us by our agents.

Just watched Michael Madana Kama Rajan movie on my laptop, with one of my friends onboard. It turns out that classics can be watched any number of times without being bored, if there is company. 
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My First Post-A passage from Ignited Minds

05/11/2011 04:47:24
I start the blog with a passage from Ignited Minds by Dr. Abdul Kalam. I read this passage on 24th of jan when i was totally desperate abt not being on the ship again due to the inconvenience created by one of my own college mates. I had just got off the phone with Senthil, who is currently enjoying his time as 3rd officer in an Executive Ship management vessel, though I could sense some sadness in leaving the company. This phone call had just instigated the pent up anger in me abt not being able to use my time wisely. Then I read a random chapter of the above book which turned out to be below.
"For the society to prosper there are two important needs. They are: prosperity through wealth generation and cherishing the value system of the people. The combination of the two will make the Nation truly strong and prosperous"(Note that he used caps N for National...such is the patriotism).
In this chapter Kalam emphasises the need for value based education and the importance of parents, teacher and guru in such a system. The thing that most interested me was the below passage:
From Abdul Kalam's Ignited Minds:
Chapter 4, pg 70, Learning from Saint and Seers:
"I always tell the young to dream. This message comes from the understanding that each one of us has within ourselves the ability to create the circumstances for success-to attract, so to say, to ourselves what we desire. When as a child Einstein first saw a compass he was fascinated by the way the needle moved whenever he changed direction. Watching the needle became an obsession with him as he tried to understand the invisible force that moved the compass needle. Where was the force located? Who controlled it? Why did it always work? What was it made of? Were there places where it didn't operate? It is of course the magnetic energy of the earth that keeps pulling the compass needle, a tiny magnet, along the north-south axis of the earth's magnetic field. But is that all there is to it?
We can easily see the magnetic field at work, but cannot detect it with our senses, even though it is everywhere on our planet. Logically then, it is in us also.
Similarly, our planet is in a perpetual state of motion as it goes spinning through space. Everything on the planet is a part of this movement, even though it appears to us that we are motionless. I am on the planet and thus part of the energy that moves it. The energy that is the very essence of the planet is in me.
Dyer argues that we can use this universal energy to bring to us the objects of our desire, because what we desire is also in us and vice versa. It becomes a matter of alignment and will that allows us to tap into this force."