A Lil’ Bit of Pampering

At the time of posting, there’s no better thing beside than having a 1 1/2 hrs of head/shoulder and foot massages at DeSense Health Care @ The Mall. Was opting for full body massage but tummy was full so it’s totally out of the reckoning. Earlier on in the afternoon, finally managed to watch The Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian movie. I know that was kind of late to mention about it but generally it was the kind of movie your kids will fancy to enjoy. A bit slow in story development but overall a great one to watch with the family. Oh by now the leg massage almost done … got to sign off for now.

Back To Virtual Civilisation

Finally it’s a sense of elation being back onshore after more than a week offshore during my last Fairley shutdown campaign. Being deprived from the usual daily dose of internets plus an environment swarmed with waters can drive you nuts. The best unlikely entertainment comes from playing Monopoly PC game and best of all …. thrashing trainee engineers in table tennis game for the umpteenth times ..he.he. So teaching them valuable construction engineering stuffs are nothing compared to our sheer show of prowess in ping pong LOL … I must say we generally had enough of our mundane engineering profession and desperate to get the best out of nowhere.

On board construction barge, the only net communication comes in the form of a measly GSM 14 kbps connection i.e, almost 2 kilobytes per sec.  That’s just good for emails and you can almost forget about surfing the internet world unless you’ve loads of patience.

Barge operation is on 24 hrs mode with dual shifts and certainly my utter respect to those spending long weeks offshore and exposing themselves to hazardous environment on regular basis.  I’m sure they’ll be truly missed by their families and it breaks your heart thinking of their predicament. No money no life.  Got money also no life …..

Watch Out What You Consume

It was just recently when my workmate was making a joke out of his appointment with JPMC to do stress test till it was discovered some potential problems with his arteries blockages. It was a massive blow considering that balloon angioplasty doesn’t help and he requires a by pass surgery in two weeks time. He was athletic and it really caught us by surprise.

Another friend who was hospitalised more than a year due to major organs failures finally call it a quit. He resigned tho’ he was offered light duty work.  His current medications including injections which cost $5k monthly and he’s considered very lucky since medical service plus medicine is free in Brunei. What would be his situation if he’s not a Bruneian ?.  You do the math !!

That was just the tip of the iceberg and there are more to it actually if we start looking at it critically and with conscience.  Simply,  if we can’t maintain good eating habits then be prepared for it.  When it happened then it’s certainly no turning back …

12 Years of Loyalty

This really caught me by surprise and by many miles hehe.  Time sure flies very fast and I don’t quite imagine that DST has been my mobile phone carrier for more than 12 years.  It started as early as the pre GSM time back in 1996 and when b.mobile propped up with her 3G,  I decided to stay put and rather wait till the 3.5G finally breaks thru’.

During those days it was Analogue-AMPS system and what truly fascinating about this system was the ability to eavesdrop telephone conversations thru’ the phones (selected models only) which can function as a scanner as well. I must admit that was a pretty cheeky thing but it was fun at the expense of others’ privacy LOL…

My first phone was the bulky motorola startac altho’ it was cooler than the brick sized ones.  Total cost of ownership incl. getting it registered was close to the tune of $2k.  Still cheap considering the cost was almost $5k during the maiden inception of mobile phone service.  However that was still expensive by today’s standard and it was considered a luxury to own one.  The reign came to an unfortunate end when I left the phone on the car roof and well the rest was history huhu.

Stormy Nights

The unusual strong winds these few nights were pretty scary.  Last night travelling back along Lumut you can see the BLNG flare moving in a totally horizontal direction.  Such unbelievable spectacle that we probably won’t be seeing for many many years.  The satellite image suggested that Brunei is at the tail end of the Category 4 super typhoon Rammasun and I just can’t imagine how are those within the storm’s eye will fare. The tail end effect is expected to be lingering till Saturday and the sooner it lasts the better. 

Assassin’s Creed

Not so much into gaming these days but this pose is sure “assassinatingly” cool but that doesn’t mean I’m seconding indiscriminate assassinations .. duh.

Solacing With The Sunset

I rarely went back from offshore late evening and probably today is somewhat exceptional.  Enjoying the sunset while cruising back to shore with fast crew boat to me brings special moment which is not to be missed.  It makes me feel liberated and work plus life problems just ease away unabated.  I guess sometime we tend to underestimate what nature can offer in abundance to alleviate our daily work and life pressure.  So refreshing that I’m typing this post at almost 1 am he.he … got to go …. otherwise not enuff sleep …

Go! Broadband

I guess this time the change is revolutionary.  The last time when I got excited was during the inception of the GSM system way back in 1996.  Adrenalin rush wasn’t there and not even kicking in when the 3G thingy was introduced by BMobile and I felt like I was out of date for not giving the 3G a wink or two.  So I’ll probably be dropping by the Jerudong Park Amphitheatre tomorrow to find out the much touted 3.5G.  I’m sure I’m not alone and my workmate took his leave today just to get his nose dirty during the roadshow.  I thought he was joking till I found out he wasn’t around at office today LOL … yeah might as well go for it!