spent the weekend scuba diving! saturday AND sunday.. haha.. 1st day, 1st site was the Joseph L Meek, aka, the Liberty Ship. The Joseph L. Meek is a 480 foot long Liberty ship built in 1942. Liberty Ships were used to transport troops and cargo to the Allied Forces in Europe. In 1976, she was removed from service and sunk as an artificial reef by the Department of Commerce. The Joseph L. Meek now rests in 90 feet of water seven miles out of Pensacola Bay. The ship sits upright with her sides rising 20 feet off the bottom. some pics.


met a bottlenose dolphin on the surface..

on 2nd thought, no pics for liberty.. vis was bad..
2nd site on saturday was found by accident.. we were looking for 'Fish Haven' and dropped anchor.. we hooked onto something, thinking we were there.. went down and found out we weren't.. could be part of the 3 barges wreck nearby, washed away from its GPS coordinates by hurricane ivan.. we just named it 'The Secret Wreck'.. some pics


sea cucumbers aren't as abundant as in malaysia..


can someone ID this fish for me?


took this with the flash off.. drastic difference..

went home at just about nightfall.

day 2.. 1st dive... THE USS ORISKANY!! I'M PROUD TO BE THE 1ST SINGAPOREAN TO DIVE THE LARGEST ARTIFICIAL REEF IN THE WORLD! The Oriskany is a decommissioned 888' long aircraft carrier. It was sunk by the US Navy on May 17, 2006. more here.. http://www.pensacoladivecompany.com/oriskany_pic_page.html

some pics

USA, POW MIA, AMBJ (Amberjack). flags flying high underwater.


me, in the bridge of the Oriskany. the captain of the ship used to stand here.. imagine..


me, standing on one of the many catwalks on the 'Island' of the ship.


just one of the many ladder wells on the Mighty 'O'.


this is melinda..


i'm OK..


part of the ship on the way up.


the ride back..

so glad i got the underwater housing for my camera..

chiyu

its scuba on saturday again.. 2nd straight saturday that mike and i boated out to explore the blue beyond.. (and procure dinner as well) got a triggerfish this time.. i kinda have mixed feelings about fishing and spearfishing.. on one hand, i try to conserve as much of our natural assests as i can, on the other, having fresh fish on the table and the thrill of the hunt.. i've come to a compromise (i think). well fishing and spearfishing is fine, as long as lives are not wasted.. if one were to catch a fish, they should make sure they eat it.. all of it.. (i.e. not just the fins if you catch my drift). and of course, not break the laws enforced by the local wildlife, fish and game department..

anyways, class starts again.. my 1st day as an offical strike fighter student amounts to 01 x big headache.. all that math! bleah.. but still beats doing charts though.. having my 1st event in 3 hours.. and i'm still kinda lost.. hah.. oh well.. good thing my 1st sim is with capt trosclair.. so not too bad..

funny how sometimes when you talk about something, someone overhears and concludes that you are talking about him/her and then makes a big fuss out of it? well if you are that certain him/her, i apologise for making 'sweeping generalisations' of certain people, which invoked you into thinking that i am an idiot.. i'm usually not a confrontational/aggressive person but.. if you can't handle the programme, change the fucking channel! the world does NOT revolve around you and your footnote existance.. so there. i could go on but hey.. there's not point going on about it..

sarcasim is the ultimate form of 'belittlement'.. or at least the most fun one.. but it really still does hurt. both ways i'm sure.

chiyu

the verdict is out.. lets see..

matt roberson - strike eagle
jeremiah king - strike eagle
dan hettenbach - strike eagle
ben fillipini - strike eagle
ben reust - prowler
'wheels' wheeler - prowler
jason cabbage - prowler
jesse rangel - super hornet
dan gauvin - super hornet
sara donnelly - super hornet
caleb coon - super hornet
myself? haha.. - fighting falcon lor..

they were nice enough to give me a sealed envelope even though i know what was inside.. haha.. most of them got what they wanted, less caleb and gauvin.. well all the air force guys are happy with their selections.. class starts again on monday.. hah.. how fun..

chiyu

its 11pm and i just got back home.. night reattack flight today.. my check ride. this means i'm offically done with the strike core and moving on the the strike fighter core syllabus.. i'm free tml.. my class is having their selections on friday.. that is, they find out what aircraft they'll be flying in the future.. air force guys going B-1s will be winged, F-15 guys will stay in for another 2 months.. navy folks going prowlers will go onto the T-2s for about 1.5-2 months while F-18 peeps will be staying through the entire syllabus with me! got news from sis and mom that dad will be discharged tml.. or today, singapore time.. it irks me sometimes to hear of people complaining of how dreadful their parents are and how much they hate them.. honestly, i find these sentiments unneccasary and immature.. these last few years allowed me to understand how much my folks have sacrificed for me and i think its high time that i repay them.. dad going into surgery made me even more aware of how fragile life and everything revolving around it is.. you may hate your mom or dad today but if the day comes when they are taken away from you suddenly (i pray not), i promise, you'll hate yourself for the rest of your life for not cherishing them.

chiyu