Over seas, from coast to coast, to find the place I LOVE THE MOST....

:: ACT I ::


The glow of a night sky that is all clouds and no stars.
The wind blowing. Softly enough to make you want more, hard enough to whip people's long unruly hair in other people's faces.
The muffled roar of the impolite planes that keep interrupting the conversation.
The dark horizon lighted up by ships..20 - no, 25, 30, maybe more.
The swirling, foaming waves rushing up the breakers and falling back, only to charge up again like some die-hard military clan from Red Cliff.


There is something magical about this place...sitting on the breakers...


something in the melody of the seemingly disorientating sound of crashing waves that calms and soothes the weary soul after a long hard work day....


something in the moment that makes you wish time could stand still for just abit, to sit back and drink it all in...


where am I?


:: ACT II ::


The rock of the boat. the smell of gasoline. the chatter of 16 divers. the familiar clang of nitrogen tanks. the Johnsons' baby shampoo for the masks. the thrill of anticipation running through the veins.


There is something intoxicating about this sport... something about being in a whole different world of silence, far far away from office and all its work-related stresses, spending time with beautiful creatures and corals all about you, with no one to trouble your ears with mindless chatter...


something about the noisy yet cheerful bubbles as they rise around you with each breath you take...


Where am I?


Yup, you've guessed it.


Redang.


And because pictures are worth a thousand words....

The Redang Island Jetty! Here's where we arrived Friday night (7 Aug), docked during the dives, and departed on Monday (9 Aug).

Da hunks...

Our group of leisure divers...on a dive boat on the way to dive sites, Divers are always HAPPY!!!:)

Coral..fish..diver...coral...fish...diver...

Cassandra, Alicia, and I...awaiting our turn to giant-step into the water!

the amount of fishes there were incredible...

Sorry? What did you say? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!

Justin taking a backward glance...and almost turned into a pillar of salt...

More fishies...

"You can stay under my umbrella, ella, ella...."

Ascending with the bubbles...

One of my favorite pics of the weekend...the under-the-surface view of waves crashing against the rocks!

Divers hovering between 10-15 meters...

Dive buddies!

Lorraine & Alex & dinner

Proof that our DM Justin DID do SOME work over the weekend...log book details, anyone?

Ben, my brother, the DMT, the COOL DUDE...(they all define the guy in the orange shirt.....)

Sunrise

The beautiful beach

We always have such awesome times diving together!:):):)

**She hates it when the walls have ears...if you were awarded the right to Busy-body, nobody told me about it....*

Time for Saying Goodbye

Saying goodbye, going away
Seems like goodbye's such a hard thing to say
Touching a hand, wondering why
It's time for saying goodbye

Saying goodbye, why is it sad?
Makes us remember the good times we've had
Much more to say, foolish to try
It's time for saying goodbye

Dont want to leave, but we both know
Sometimes it's better to go
Somehow I know we'll meet again
Not sure quite where, and I dont know just when
You're in my heart, so until then
Wanna smile, wanna cry
Saying goodbye

La la la la la la la la
It's time for saying goodbye

~~~

A friend stepped into my life...
So randomly and for so short a time...
Yet the memories left behind will always be special...
And somewhere, sometime, somehow...we shall meet again....
Till then, may God's hand cover you and be with you always...
Adiós, mi amigo ... Voy a extrañar!

Hello. I am Emily. I am an Emergency First Aid Responder. MAY I HELP YOU???

1. Enter the room.

2. Spot a ‘victim’ lying motionless on the carpeted floor. (He must be such an unlucky DUMMY to get there in the first place lor!)

3. Assess the situation - Eyes looking up, sweep left to right, checking for lights, fan, any unusual objects. Anything unusual? Then look around at eye level - cabinets? smoke? gas? TV? power cables? See Justin sitting on the stool and Yi Ren standing by, expectant spectators. Feel the instructor’s eyes on you, assessing YOU. Finally, sweep the ground – any unusual objects on the ground? Near the victim?

4. Approach the victim. Tap him on the shoulder. Address him and check for any response.

M: What’s his name???
Eugene: His name is Achthar.
M: Why must be so chim name one!

5. Put the hand to the jugular vein, the ear to the victim’s nose, and look at his chest for any movements. (If there really was any movements from the dummy, I will be the FIRST to get out of there bah!!!).

6. Upon confirming the unconscious, unbreathing state of the victim, contact EMS for medical assistance.

M (looks up at Yi Ren): Call for the ambulance!
Eugene: What’s his name?
M: Er…Yi-Ren! Call the ambulance!
Eugene: Please.
M (pai-seh, addressing Yi Ren): Oopz...Please?

7. Proceed to give rescue breathing and chest compressions. 4 cycles. Doing the chin lift, cover the nose and blow into the dummy’s mouth, watching his ‘chest’ lift. Do it again. Change position to find the point of contact on his sternum and proceed to give 30 counts of chest compression. Adjust position according to instructor’s guidance. Force yourself not to think about the onlookers. CONCENTRATE. Don’t lose count. Repeat. Again. And again. For 5 consecutive minutes.

8. At last, 32 rescue breaths and 480 chest compressions later, sit back and look up at the Instructor inquiringly. And have him give you a high-five of “Well done” for getting 4 cycles done below 5 minutes.

Hey wellz, you know what? Maybe it wasn’t that bad after all. Despite the stress of being the ONLY girl in the group of six who are undertaking the EFR course…and being in the only-slept-3-hours-per-night-for-the-last-three-days mental state… It actually was quite fun. And tomorrow is Part II, when I shall play with the bandages and slings and what-nots.

In other news, I got to eat an Elephant Snail for the first time!!! Talk about exotic delicacy. Don't talk about expensive.

All my dear friends are going back overseas after their summer break! *wails* Well, to be more exact, all of the two of them. But I will miss them anyway. It is not often that you find friends with whom you can connect at such a deep level, with whom you have the freedom to share thoughts and ideas without fear of judgement or criticism, who will take a portion of your heart back to the States with them... Take care, J & A, till we meet again...

Enough words for one entry... time to get back to work!

**She needs a special Stay-Awake Potion... In more ways than one...**

The Compromise.

All morning the war has raged
T'wix fierce Sleep and weak Awake.
For Awake to win is vital
Yet Sleep puts up a struggle
Unwilling to be defeated
But yet it must be! for abit.

Awake is mustering all her power
For Sleep had lunch in his favor
And used it to his advantage
To gain an upperhand on stage.
In turn Awake is using caffeine
And blasting Sleep to smithereens.

This hapless human, the battlefield,
Is begging the warriors for a truce
But neither is willing to give in
For both are desperate to win.
If only Sleep were satisfied
To reign as King of Night
And save Day for the Queen
It would be one compromise
Where everyone would win!

**She needs to squeeze in time to study her Rescue dive manual..**

You know you have a cold when...your nose is redder than your cheek.

Something tells me I should be clocking a bit more hours of sleep than what I have been getting.

Something..probably that THING in the middle of my face that has been dripping irritatingly like a spoiled faucet all morning, and collecting 'blessings' from the colleagues around me with each ahhh-chooo...also commonly known as the Nose....

Somehow the calendar which I tried my best to keep clear for the last few weeks of repose is rapidly filling up again. Not to mention last week's amazing dive trip over the long weekend (pictures to follow soon!). And the midnight suppers. And the after midnight excursion to see the meteor shower which is supposedly viewable in East Asia. Well that is, we wanted to see it. What we did see upon reaching the Yishun Dam at 2AM was a beautifully clear night sky with a half moon grinning at us and barely a star in sight...and certainly none in the process of falling. Sadded...I did so want to catch a lucky star...

And now I have a 500-page book to add to my list of distractions - Left Behind. It is probably a dangerous idea to get started on a long series of very thick books just when I'm supposed to be concentrating on successfully completing my Rescue Course in two weeks time, alongside a zillion other things that are on my To-Do list for this month, but...BUT... ah, any avid book lover knows the thrill that comes from holding in your hands a book fresh off the shelf, with the smell of newness still sandwiched between its pages...the joy of knowing it contains a million black smudges on beige paper, more than enough to provide ample food for thought or beguile a sometimes wearisome MRT journey to and from work...

I do feel a little more refreshed after the Essence of Chicken and Vit B Complex which someone so thoughtfully gave me last night though, and the thought that it is Friday - the last day of the work week - does wonders in cheering up the most weary spirit. So what if FX management wants us to come in at 8.15AM and stay till 7PM for the coming two weeks till the end of August? I'm not going to need to worry about that for the next two days. And I don't intend to...

Weekend, here I be!!!

**For some reason, her mind refuses to focus on her work...**