naming ceremony

yoohoo. our ship's naming ceremony was really tops. everybody dressed up in full blues. a little bit of trivia : though our uniform is called blues, its actually black - trousers, blazer, tie. the blazer has the decoration of our rank at the cuffs. everybody looked just fab. u gotta wait for the pics cos am boarding ship tomorrow. will post it later. the director of my company flew in for the ceremony. after the initial formalities, we had the coconut breaking ceremony. the koreans were confused. they dint understand why we wanted to do this. the director explained the significance of offering prayers and breaking coconuts. we went on board to the fo'c'sle (thats short for forecastle deck, pronounced "foxil", its the raised quarter deck right in the fore end of the ship) then the director and the top guns of my ship each had a go at it (plenty of top guns on board, but i am the only hotshot!). the director decided to explain once again the funda behind breaking coconuts. later on, the director had a guided tour of the ship. then off we went to Admiral Hotel, best in town, which had earlier catered to us during the sea trial, for the luncheon party. wonderful hotel. delicious food. what do you think the director talked about during the lunch. coconuts, ofcourse.
take a look at the menu (six course luncheon)
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smoked salmon w/ mustard sauce [ Wine : White, Chardonnay, Prahova valley ]
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minestrone soup
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fresh fruit salad in season
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king prawn and roasted halibut w/ saffron sauce [ Wine: Red, Chardonnay, Prahova valley ]
fried rice, baby corn, cherry tomato, chung kyung che (dont ask me what that was)
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apple pie
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coffee / tea
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Impressed. i should think so.
well, anyway, i am afraid i wont be able to blog as often as i would like to. sailing out on 18th. next stop Singapore. estimated time of arrival -- 26th morning. am also trying to get a blogger pro account so that i can mail in my blogs. will take time i guess.
tomorrow we have an oil major survey. Royal Dutch Shell's officials will be inspecting the ship and will endorse our ship for trading at Shell's terminals. and the next day, we are expecting people from British Petroleum and Somar Elf. we are kinda busy preparing. while the top management people are discussing what to do for the survey, we junior officers are discussing what to do with the helipad. cricket is an option. my company though indian hasnt provided a bat or a ball. what a shame, my colleagues feel, cos in India cricket is a religion. i prefer tennis. yeah, there are times when i was hooked onto xtreme sports / activities. almost went for a bungee jump while in mumbai. chickened out actually cos i saw one of those "world's most amazing videos", where the bungee cord breaks and the poor chap ends up covered in plaster of paris.
whats on my mind now ? wanna go to new zealand and try out Zorbing on the mountains. thanks to lord of the rings trilogy, we had a 'ring-side' view of the amazingly beautiful countryside.
well, so long then.

a quickie

thats it.
we're going onboard tomorrow. we have a few oil major surveys for two days and finally we sail out on 18th.
oops gotta go. will post details this evening. going out for chow-chow. japanese food this time.

i am a believer

" ... then i saw her face
now i'm a believer
there's not a trace
of doubt in my mind ... "

is there anyone who doesnt believe in love at first sight. ( hey, who's the smartass who said 'the blind ones' ) i certainly do. thats what happened ...
it all started after my sea trial
just finished the sea trial of my ship. the ship's official delivery date has been postponed to feb 17 and the naming ceremony is on the 12th. this ship will be called M.T. DESH SHAKTI. now what would u expect from an indian company. the sea trial went well. ship could float. the food was good (catering was taken up by a wonderful hotel). the machineries performed well initially. the food was a mixture of korean and western cuisine. and then the problems started. the food was good though. one by one, the machineries were found to be lacking in specifications for optimum performance. loved the creamy dessert. they made me work almost 14 hours a day. i gave the chef a compliment. it was tough working after a break of 10 months. did i mention the food was good.
well, screw the sea trial, on to more important stuff ...
am now back in my hotel. korea is still cold. temperatures still in negative. occasional snow showers. if aamir khan were to be here, he'd say "thanda matlab ko ko korea". still u cant stay in all the time. sure went out to the nearby supermarket. thats where i saw her. absolutely stunning. i had never seen anyone so beautiful in a very long time. she was an indian. occasionally i bump into someone indian on the roads. but never someone so amazing. i cant remember what i did after i saw her. could feel the heart beat faster. could feel a fuckin lump in my throat. why does that happen. it took me a while. the words ringing in my head " ... you are just so good to be true, cant take my eyes off you ... " . u know, i am like that. i dont know why but most of the times i like to just admire from a distance. why am i scared. what am i scared abt. denial. maybe. had to do something abt it. thought i'd at least give her a compliment. just one problem. what do i do abt her husband and the kid in her arms.
oh man, this was just so difficult. but i wanted so badly to talk to her. at least i tried. walked up to them. as she saw me coming, there was this instant smile ( it killed me ) that lasted the whole time. said hi. they were also happy to see another indian. the husband spoke, said he worked for the daewoo shipyard. she just smiled. ( oh please say something, anything at all ) no such luck. the man started moving as we spoke. i can take a hint. i dint expect him to be happy abt meeting me. though i was talking to him, my eyes were on her. she kept smiling. how come a woman like her got married to a lousy guy like him. i was feeling jealous at the same time. they moved on. before she got into her car, she turned to look in my direction, the smile intact ...
is that a sign. i think she liked me. i want to believe that. oh so desperately. oh man, she's been haunting me all day. do u think i should go to the supermarket today. she might drop in again.
( sigh )
( deeper sigh)
( even deeper sigh )