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.