aviate, navigate, communicate, checklists and scuba.

2008-11-22T14:23:00.002+08:00

picture of the week..

2008-11-20T01:43:00.002+08:00

some pictures from red flag 09-1.. apologies for the lack of updates.. again..

marvel and i hard at work..

shaka!.. goofing off in the jet.

zoomed out.

RED FLAG

this was from yesterday's LGB (Laser Guided Bomb) drop..

some things to look forward to..

1) camping trip over thanksgiving weekend
2) all them sales over that weekend
3) visiting good friends over the december holidays

santa's coming so you better behave..

chiyu

2008-09-23T11:07:00.002+08:00

hola..

i don't think anyone's been bothered with reading this junk anymore, simply because i haven't been consistent at all with updating this space.. it's not like when i was in pensacola, where blogging plays a big part since it is pretty much my only avenue of updating all those at home about what's been going on here. life's pretty hectic here. but i'm much happier than i was while working in singapore. i'm glad we actually get treated like human beings.. it is also rather cool returning home each day, to an apartment that you furnished and 'designed' from scratch. my very own bachelor pad.. all i need now is to bring bachelorettes in from time to time.. haha.. i kid.. or am i?...

chiyu

2008-08-16T02:40:00.003+08:00

i have arrived safely in arizona.. in a town just a tad west of Phoenix, called Goodyear.. just in case any of you wants to mail me..

2100 North 145th Ave Apt 2130
Goodyear, Arizona 85395
USA

the weather here is hot as heck.. hovering in the low-mid 40s in the afternoon, then falling to about 30ish at night.. i'm downing bottles of water like a thirsty whale. i'll put up pictures once the internet in my apartment comes 'online'.. meanwhile, i'll just have to use the computer in the community lounge.. or take my laptop to the pool area where there's free wifi.. i'm staying at Adiamo Palm Valley, a nice gated community about a 10 mins drive from work.. similar to one of them condos you find in singapore.. all's ok so far.. a little bit of heartache after buying my car.. a 2005 nissan xterra.. but it's all good.. really love that suv.. and it can't be found in singapore.. so.. extra sweet.. aiight.. that's all for now..

chiyu

2008-06-01T18:01:00.002+08:00

aiight..

in 56 days, i shall be embarking on another phase of my life. onward to the pc2 detachment all the way in arizona. nope, it's not gonna be the same as in pensacola but i'm sure it's gonna be way better than present. there are many things that i am reluctant to leave behind though, mainly my family and friends. i've kinda settled down back home but i guess it's time i'm uprooted again and planted at another plot.

apart from that, nothing much has been going on in my life. i've come to realise that i'm not doing very much with it. my passion for scuba diving took a backseat ever since my return to the country. nope, i haven't lost the love for being able to breathe underwater and to be able to explore this underwater realm that we understand so little about. it's just that big boy responsibilities have kept me terrastrial for a while. there isn't going to be very much scuba at all in arizona and i'm a little perturbed. gosh how i miss the way the hair on the back of my neck stands when a bullshark pops out from beyond the murky curtain, or how my heart raced as mike and i decended into the dark wreck in search of new adventures and discoveries, 10miles off shore, at night. that was living life.

these days, i seem to spend more time at work than at home. something that i've always dreaded. something that a younger me would never allow. to allow work to take over my life. so what if fighter flying is what i do? i used to enjoy it, even look forward to it. but that was a while ago. in another world, with the US Navy.

no one really gets satisfied with his own life is there?

56 days. so near, yet distant.

Good morning starshine, the earth says hello
you twinkle above us, we twinkle below
good morning starshine, you lead us along
my love and me
as we sing our
early morning singing song

chiyu

2008-04-14T22:48:00.002+08:00

as my 23th year comes round the corner, i've realised that.. i'm old.. a birthday has become just another statistic to me.. i miss how i used to look forward to my birthday each year.. but that doesn't mean i do not have a wish list..

1) to ORD.
2) swap my car for a golf gti
3) or an audi r8
4) relive my time in pensacola
5) scuba dive the world
6) twice
7) spend more time with my friends and family
8) 5 day weekends and 2 day work weeks
9) to ORD. oh wait. did i say that just now? well just to be sure.. to ORD.
10) to find her.

impossible i know but hey.. a man can always dream.

chiyu

2008-04-09T00:13:00.003+08:00

now that i officially have no life, i shall start with this again.. yes yes.. how many times have i said that 'it's been a while' etc etc.. updates.. i'm still an osprey warrior, progress has still been slow.. nothing much to get excited about these days.. just a whole bunch of 'working for the weekend' bullshit.. come to think of it, even my weekends are weak!

i really wanted to write something here.. but i can't. there is nothing worth mentioning. i find that scary. and sad. i've kinda become 2 dimensional. gulp. holy shit.

chiyu

2008-04-06T01:13:00.002+08:00

Colbie Caillat's 'Bubbly'

2008-01-20T16:26:00.000+08:00

updating my blog has somehow fallen off the scan in recent days.. mainly because of work.. and the lack of things to blog about. life has become bleak.. i am turning into the very person i have always tried not to be. someone who is unhappy.. work sucks big time.. never would i expect this.. i can't reveal too much coz of all that govt watching and listening thing.. but one thing i can say is.. my job isn't all it's cracked up to be.. i was sucked in by the 'propaghanda' ever since i was a kid.. i feel cheated.. and abused. i'd very much like to strike back.. but the consequences are too large for me to take.. i really wish things would turn for the best. only time can tell.. meanwhile, i've taken a defensive/jaded view of things.. hopefully it'll numb me until the time comes..

chiyu

2007-11-29T20:10:00.000+08:00

all tricked out.

all tricked out.

it's the end of the year. almost. almost surreal that i'm where i am at.. work's been ok.. but could be better. done with afst, unfortunately.. this means my 'holiday's' over and real work begins. really wish my working or 'office' environment would improve much more.. went for gfet yesterday. gradual onset to 9Gs, rapid onset to 8Gs for 30 secs and rapid onset to 9Gs for 15secs, all with combat edge. hurt like hell.. i'm still suffering the after effects.. but i'll live. social life's been a wreck.. or rather.. non existing.. it's all work and work for me. probably get to jump on some back seat rides next week or the week after. mixed feelings about that. 1stly, i gotta know all my shit by then.. 2ndly, i get to fly again.. on a grey jet this time.. looking for a better piece of sky in the near future.. one that's not all dark like it is now.. as they say 'at the end of the storm, there's a golden sky, and the sweet silver song of a lark'..

chiyu

2007-11-11T14:16:00.000+08:00

If it takes forever, i will wait for you
for a thousand summers, i will wait for you
till you're back beside me, till i'm holding you
till i hear you sigh, here in my arms

anywhere you run to, anywhere you go
everyday remember, how i love you so
in your heart believe what in my heart i know
that forever more, i'll wait for you

the clock will tick away the hours one by one
and then the time will come
when the waiting's done
the time when you return and find me here and run
straight to my waiting arms

if it takes forever, i will wait for you
for a thousand summers, i will wait for you
till you're here beside me, till i'm touching you
and forever more, cherish your love.

chiyu

2007-10-13T18:16:00.000+08:00

i've been updating my blog less and less regularly these days.. so here's a little update..

work: since my return to singapore, i've been posted to 140 sqn.. life in a local fighter squadron sure is different.. it's so so different from being in VT-4/86.. the culture, the philosophy.. good/bad? well.. how 'bout 'different'.. i miss pensacola and all the 'carefree' moments that i have, all the grill-offs, scuba and chilling out with dear friends.. but at the same time, i am glad to be back, spending time with friends and family.. i'm currently in ocs, going through afst.. something all air force officers will have to go through.. and i, being an ex ground pounder, am no different..

home: home's always the best place to be.. much has changed.. new furniture, new tv etc etc.. but the same old family is what's important.. one thing i've learnt from my time in the states is that family is very, very, uber important.. and i strongly believe in showing my care and concern towards my family..

social: glad to be back, hanging out with them familiar faces.. great to be back with my dear whom i've not seen for ages.. zhen's always been there for me, whether she knows it or not and i thank her very much for that.. all my bros, all the boys i've grown up with.. its always swell to be hanging out, talking rooster with them.. some things never change.. and they shouldn't..

others: i've bought my 3rd car.. its no mustang or monte carlo but still, this car's been great to me.. proud owner of a black suzuki swift.. all in all, this past couple of month's been one huge change after another.. lets hope it keeps turning for the best..

ps.. i have no idea what happened to my flooblebox thingy.. i'll try to fix it.. when i have the time/motivation.. haha..

chiyu

2007-09-18T00:22:00.000+08:00

yes yes... i haven't updated for a while.. was busy with tons of things, ie, moving back to singapore and reporting to work.. i'm now based in 140 squadron, tengah air base.. being the 1st wso to be trained in 140, under the new syllabus.. oh well.. enough about that.. some hard winging and party pics..

david kopp and i

laura and i

sara and i at the winging party, the oar house. that's dan gauvin's hand violating me..

barbara, fabian and i.. love them germans..

so dear and i went to the zoo on friday.. and this is the only picture in which i don't look (hey.. this is the best i can do not looking like a dork.. so gimme some slack here.) like a dork

chiyu

2007-08-22T01:44:00.000+08:00

it took a while but i'm finally there.. wings of gold upon my chest. i compressed the video so the quality really isn't as good as it actually is..

some pics here..

back from the flight.

silly grin on my face..

our 2 instructor pilots

it's official..

soaked in ice water and bottles of andre..

the juniors, alvin and darren

my bfm buddy, james.

sean and i..

feels good.. august has been good to me..

chiyu

2007-08-13T09:25:00.000+08:00

military aviation isn't as cool as it seems. no where in 'Topgun' did you see the aviators studying their FTIs, preparing their charts or get downs/pinks sheets/IPCs or FPCs. no, i'm not saying that military aviation isn't cool. i'm just saying that its 'coolness' has been misrepresented. most singaporean men (and some women) would understand what i mean. you watch saf advertisments. i am amazed at how good they are! soldiers, divers, aviators. looking cool as hell. looking, cool as hell. but when you really get down to it, you'd think to yourself,'hey.. this wasn't what i signed up for.. i wanted to storm buildings and take out enemies.. not sign 7 extra duties for the oil stain on the armskote book..' when you walk out to your aircraft in the morning, the wind doesn't always blow, nothing is in slow motion, and the topgun music definitely, positively, does not play in the background.. believe me, i've lived it.

chiyu

2007-07-27T01:55:00.000+08:00

so there we were, sitting on the ramp.. it was warm, but a nice scattered cloud cover laid over the field, shielding us from the fury of the sun. weather's been crummy lately.. well, since when has it ever been great in summer? the plane captain climb up beside me, assisting me in plugging the g-suit and O2 hoses in, and especially, helped me hook up the top left shoulder koch fitting, which has always been a bitch. my instructor hopped on in the front soon after, the plane captain assisting him after he was done with me.. i reached aft and right, flipping open the map case to pull out my kneeboard and charts.. there wasn't much to bring aboard really, at least not as much as i had to bring onboard the T-39 and T-6.. i strapped on my kneeboard and soon after, the ICS crackled to life.

'ICS check, test fire lights'

i flipped on the O2 switch and latched the right bayonet fitting of my mask.

'Loud and clear, 4 fire lights, running down the wings..'

i took a couple of deep breaths as i ran the fuel gauge down, ensuring that we have our wings full of gas..

we did our standard checks and started the right engine. the plane captain was standing on the starboard side, fore of the aircraft, 2 fingers in the air, shaking back and forth vigourously.. the hand signal for running up/starting engines.

'thumbs up from the plane captain.'

i hear 2 clicks over the radio - roger that..

i flipped on the UHF to obtain ATIS and soon after, once our 2nd engine's been started up, our clearance. i glanced over at aircraft 811, my dash 2 gave the thumbs up..

'Razor.'

'2'

'Razors, our clearance is as follows, cleared for the NPA 550 as filed, 1 DME right 150 maintain 3000, expect 1-0 in 10, departure button 6, squawk 7332. no questions, button 3'

'2'

we checked into ground for taxi clearance. the wind was coming in from the south so i kept on the right of the taxi way while -2's diagonally behind, on the left. we taxied to the hold short line and switched to tower, while checking each other's aircrafts out, making sure both are in the appropriate configuration for takeoff. thumbs up all round.

'Tower, Rocket 213, flight of 2, takeoff IFR..'

'Rocket 213, winds 180 at 8, cleared for takeoff runway 7 right, switch to departure'

'Rocket 213 cleared for takeoff 7 right, switching.. Razors button 6.'

'2'

the winds are almost at 10, the wind sock's just about straight horizontal.. my instructor gave -2 the '8' hand sign.. looks like we will be doing an 8 sec interval go vice a section go.. we taxied onto the runway and started running up the engine..

'warning and caution lights out, engine instruments looks good, good PT 5, i'm ready..'

'here we go'

the aircraft lept forward, charging down the runway..

'40.. trim and flaps holding.. 75.. 100'

the aircraft bloomed upward.. we cleaned the aircraft up.. i placed my left hand over the cowling, leaned forward and looked over my right shoulder.. -2 just got airborne.. shortly after,

'2's airborne'

'Razor'

'2'

here we go..

chiyu

2007-07-17T00:48:00.000+08:00

got back from key west today.. supposed to come back on sunday but the weather was crappy over homeplate so we flew 1 leg into MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.. Key West is paradise.. loved it there.. especially the tittie bars.. gotta be the best in America.. went snorkelling in its crystal clear waters.. regretted not bringing my scuba gear.. sigh.. didn't take much pics in Key West though.. kept forgetting to bring my camera out.. here's a stupid vid on the return leg..

bad weather on the way back to homeplate..

the combat edge..

was low on LOX on our return leg.. so we flew without our masks on..

chiyu

2007-07-13T07:54:00.000+08:00

hey there lasses and lads.. its off to key west tml.. yes, that's the very south of the florida peninsula.. for my FAM 1/2.. and 3 on the way back.. wonder what there is to do at key west.. think most of the stuffs are on another island from where NAS Key West is.. anyways.. there isn't much we can do in the aircraft, having only 1 UHF radio, a dodgy tacan, no gps and over half a century of history behind each aircraft.. after this weekend (and if i do well enough to pass these flights), i'll have 9 flights left! 3 WEPs and 6 BFMs.. just realised, after this weekend, i'm 1/4 through the T-2 flights! yay.. things to do (start doing).. (1) sell my car(s)! (2)start packing and sending back stuffs that i don't use/have the time to use anymore, eg, PS-2, wii, weird clothes, books.. i'm reluctant to send my scuba gear back now as i still have intentions to dive pensacola a few more times.. time to go do flight planning stuffs..

chiyu

2007-07-08T12:48:00.000+08:00

hola~ it is the 7th of July.. this means i am 54 days from my winging ceremony.. probably means i'll be getting my 'soft wings' a week or so prior to that.. 57 days from leaving the United States of America.. so far, i am loving my stay here, with the US Navy playing my host, with USAF/USMC bretherns as companions as well.. its kinda 2 sided.. i'd love to get done with flight school and earn my wings (and move on to more training back home).. on the other hand, i love this place.. well.. not just pensacola, but the entire country.. it's so different here.. so diverse.. unlimited things to do.. i thoroughly enjoy the freedom i have here.. something which i'll never have again once i leave. a couple of random pics..

the T-2 Buckeye. learning to fly this airborne relic now.

a section of the winflir after an event. hah.

chiyu

2007-06-25T10:16:00.000+08:00

i have my final T-39 flight tml.. the USAF guys in my class are winging tml.. but i still have the T-2 Buckeye to fly.. oh well.. so we went camping at the blackwater river state park.. pretty good fun i must say.. being one with nature and all.. haha.. some pics..

kayaking on the river..

alvin poses.

our campsite.. we rented the tent on the left.. i bought the one on the right from sports authority.. for $25..

dinner.. US combat rations.

cooking soup at night..

caught a turtle! i believe its a Gulf Coast Smooth Softshell..

closer pic..

that's all for now..

chiyu

2007-06-10T00:14:00.001+08:00

yikes.. i haven't updated for a month.. too busy with all this air to air stuffs.. i'm done with conversions now and am 1 flight from completing advanced 1v1s.. had 2vX ground sch yesterday.. so i flew to new york for fleet week.. nothing beats flying for free.. well.. even though i had to fly myself there.. pics!

view from my aircraft of an F-18 on the hold short line..

New York metro.. the subway!

in central park..

still in central park.. haha!!

that famous fountain in central park.

yes, still in central park..

ground zero.

ground zero..

view from the empire state building.

us on the empire state building.. from left, dave, eli, me, justin, jeremiah.. justin came down from west point to meet me for dim sum..

night at times square..

that's all for now..

chiyu

2007-05-14T22:05:00.000+08:00

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

2007-05-08T21:58:00.000+08:00

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

2007-05-05T05:50:00.000+08:00

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

2007-05-03T11:58:00.000+08:00

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

2007-04-30T01:18:00.000+08:00

its a sunday and yes, its a working day.. meeting my Personal Advisor to give me some runs in the sims.. need to fix my cars.. my mustang 1st.. something broke in my alternator and FODed (foreign object debris) it up, making a sickening grinding sound when the engine runs.. still runs, but making a heck of a noise.. i'm sure its not good for my engine either. saturday was spent well.. met mike at 630 to pick up our tanks from mbt divers.. drove into base, with his boat in tow and launched.. headed 22 miles off shore to the Avocet.. its a 2,640 ton, 247-foot clam shell dredge built in 1943 is one of the largest wrecks in the area.. The top of the third deck wheelhouse rises 68 feet from a depth of 115 feet. The vessel was sunk as an artificial reef in May of 1991.. the visibility wasn't too good near the wreck but decent enough to dive on.. mike was spearfishing (for our dinner) and i was his spotter.. saw lots and lots of giant barracudas on the way down.. amberjacks were swimming around the wreck but they were too small to catch (36inches by law).. it was a deep dive.. we were at about 100ft (about 31m) for most of the time and only had 20 mins of no-deco time tops.. 31 mins bottom time was all we clock thanks to the depth.. came up empty handed.. chilled on the boat for abit before heading to our 2nd site the Navy barge.. it was sunk in 1993 as an artificial reef approximately 9 miles SSE of Pensacola Pass.. depth of about 90ft.. given our 1.5hr surface interval, we had a no-deco time of just over half an hour.. the moment we reached the wreck, mike poked at me and pointed into the blue.. he then raised his arm, flattened out his palm, pointed it vertically up and placed it on his forehead. shark. i peered over and spotted a 6 footer.. sharp snout, sandy in colour, big triangular dorsal fin.. sandbar shark.. we initially thought it was a bullshark (which wasn't uncommon in the area..) but its snout wasn't flat like a bull's so.. yeah.. a fully grown sandbar shark.. just when there's something great like this to see, i forget my camera.. left it in the car.. crap.. it swam away, into the blue.. we headed along the barge and came across an 'outcrop' formed by the stern of the barge and the sandy bottom.. mike spotted a large red snapper but couldn't take the shot as it was fast.. but managed to shoot a grouper.. seconds after the shot, as mike was pulling in the line, i tugged at his fins.. he looked back at me. i raised my flattened palm to my forehead and pointed behind him.. he turned and what he saw made him drop his line and back off.. the sandbar shark was just inches from us.. it then darted off once again, into the blue.. mike reeled the grouper in and we headed to the top of the stern.. he hooked our catch to an abandoned anchor to firstly, avoid contact with the shark's teeth and secondly, to free his hands to reset his speargun for another fish.. the shark appeared again, coming from a totally different directing.. it came near our catch and darted away again.. such a beautiful, magnificent animal.. my love for shark was always missing a link.. of being face to face and experiencing the water with them.. the only shark that i've seen prior to this was a tiny dogshark at the pulau aur house reef.. this sandbar shark was WAY bigger than that, interacting with us (or at least our catch).. this reinforces my passion for these majestic, powerful kings of the ocean.. the shark knew we were hunting and had a kill. it was swimming/circling us just beyond visual range and then coming in close to check as out time and again.. you feel so small, knowing that you are just a stitch in the fabric of life, just a speck in the natural world.. we were the only divers at the barge. we had the whole place to ourselves, just mike, me, and the shark.

we retrived our catch and headed back to the anchor we dropped.. mike was low on air and thus, we made our acsend, back to the boat where sean was watching the boat and enjoying the sun on the calm surface. on our way out, one of the remora which was shadowing the sandbar shark decided to mingle around us instead.. at 1st thought, 'if the remora is here, then the shark must be...' i glanced at mike. he had the grouper hooked onto this bc.. mike saw the remora as well and looked at me.. he had the exact same thought.. we scanned the blue beyond as we managed our controlled ascend and safety stop at 15ft.. the shark was no where in sight, much to our relief, and to me, a tinge of disappointment as well.. such a miracle of nature, top notch predator of the ocean.. designed perfectly for its purpose.. well.. at least we are having fish that night..

chiyu

2007-04-28T00:38:00.000+08:00

High Flight

Oh, I have slipped the surly
bonds of earth and danced the
skies on laughter-silvered wings.
Sunward I've climbed, and
joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split
clouds, and done a hundred
things you have not dreamed of -
wheeled and soared and swung
high in the sunlit silence.
Hovr'ing there, I've chased the
shouting wind along and flung my
eager craft through footless halls
of air.
Up, up, the long, delirious,
burning blue, I've topped the
windswept heights with easy
grace where never lark, or even
eagle flew.
And while with silent,
lifting mind I've trod the high
untrespassed sanctity of space,
put out my hand, and touched
the face of God.

2007-04-24T04:10:00.000+08:00

it was my birthday weekend.. the 2nd i've had here in the US of A.. the boys gave me 2 happy tree friends dvds.. cool stuff.. haha.. and they messed up my cars..

my poor monte carlo..

back of my mustang..

mustang.

mustang again.

spent some time at the beach too..

fooling about on the beach.

retard. but in borat's words, 'very niiiice...'

my minds currently on my dad now.. he's going for a heart surgery on wed (sing time) for a valve replacement op.. doc says its a 99% success rate but an open heart surgery is still an open heart surgery.. things should be fine.. wish i was there by his side though.. pls keep him in your prayers.

chiyu

2007-04-15T23:49:00.000+08:00

strikes are done.. air to air stuffs' on my platter.. really complicated and tough shit but.. oh well.. beats having to do charts.. haha..

been staring at this for a while.. looks easy enough on first look but applying it later is a pain in the arse..

lead shot video.. bleah..

chiyu

2007-04-01T13:20:00.000+08:00

headed over to vortex spring (http://www.vortexspring.com) with the guys today.. it was about a 1.5hr drive there.. weather threatened in the morning but thankfully, all was fine..

16th/17th wso fighters.. from left, sean, daren, alvin, myself..

all geared up.. here's a rundown.. dive compass on me right wrist, dive rite 1st/2nd stage and gauge, zeagle scout bc, deepoutdoor 'the office' front pouch (akona dive hood rolled up on the base of the pouch), wekona 'blackie collins' dive knife on bc hose, ralftech 'wing power' 3/2mm wetsuit, camaro dive gloves, mares nemo dive comp on left wrist, 2 quicksilver rashguards (under wetsuit), [out of frame] scubapro jetfins, c-tech dive mask..

one of the most common fish in the spring.. the blue gill..

looks familiar? its a carp/koi! (i don't know if there's a difference.. overprice/over-rated fish in my opinion.. nasty eating machines.. like the luohan.)

freshwater green eel..

me, in one of them caverns in the spring..

what happens when you only have 1 set of gear and 2 divers? share! (disclaimer: i am not advocating unprofessional/unsafe usage of dive equipment. divers should have their own set of gear on each dive. picture was taken in a controlled [kinda], supervised [kinda too] environment..)

on our way home.. only in the usa..

more later.. ciao..

chiyu

2007-03-29T10:47:00.000+08:00

got more stuffs for my neverending scuba quest..

this is 'the office' from deepoutdoors.. attaches to the front of my bcd.. retails for usd70.. guess how much i got it for... USD2.95!! from scuba.com! haha!

how it looks like attached... and in my scuba.com t-shirt..

decided to put my safety shears, smb, slate and any other extra stuffs i might find useful..

back of my scuba.com t shirt..

bought myself a new mask (left) diverswarehouse..

chiyu

2007-03-23T09:04:00.000+08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVSDCYbpjEY
this video was made by my juniors after api.. pretty much highlights what we (myself and men/women from the US Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.) did during their 1st 6 weeks of their aviation career.. every single US Navy/Marine pilot/NFO and Air Force WSO goes through this course (not to mention other foreign wsos from saudi, s'pore, italy, germany)..

chiyu

2007-03-19T01:45:00.000+08:00

after low levels. its been strikes for me.. flew the vr1031 for my strike 1 with CAPT Rowley on wednesday.. didn't think i did such a good job but apparently, he thought i did well.. weird. composite ground school on thursday. which means i am now legible to do my composite sims and after that, my composite flights.. spent my friday afternoon/evening over alabama, louisiana and mississippi on the vr1024 for strike 2 with LT Sikorski.. fast and furious, ready to hit the weekend.. sucks that weekends are always so short.. flying with CAPT Hodgin and the CO on monday.. 6am brief.. bleah.. somehow, i don't feel as confident to hit this check ride as i did other check rides.. composite flights.. some says it easier since we are just about unrestricted with regards to what to do and where to fly, as long as they are within FAA (federal aviation administration) rules.. but at the same time, i've got to work around 'threat areas' by using mountains, gorges and what not.. awesome.. so long as i don't freeze up and get totally disoriented, comps should be fun.. its been hard and heavy on the workload but hey.. the faster i go, the faster i get my wings! but it'll be great to have some time off once in a while.. i hate sundays.. and mondays even more.

chiyu

2007-03-11T02:39:00.000+08:00

so i'm done with my low level flights.. its been a while since i was up front, watching the tree tops blow by just below my boots. as compared to radar nav flights, time seems to compress way further. even though each leg (radar and low levels) are of about the same duration, LLs always start and end so quickly. all your senses are tingling, your eyeballs dart back and forth, side to side, trying desperately to pick out that darn 300ft tower you used as a checkpoint.. the birds.. the birds.. http://www.usahas.com/ we use the USAF's aviation hazard site to give us a heads up of bird 'density' on a VR route.. apparently, the birds don't check this web site before they leave their nests do they?.. coming up next for me would be my strike flights. combination on air nav (flying up high, making my way to my route entry point on time.. or at least within the +-2mins window), radar and visual navigation (making my way from the route entry point to the target).. i'm advancing at a pretty decent pace.. but i'd rather have a little more breathing space.. fly away.

chiyu

2007-02-28T14:26:00.000+08:00

its the 28th day of feb. i've been stationed in Naval Air Station Pensacola for 323 days. time flies huh? and exactly a year ago, i was still the ag1 of 6th Division. and the year before, i was a young 2nd LT in OCS. a year before, a chao recruit in BMTC. another year before.. the year before.. you know what i really miss? i really miss band. i miss those days where we would sit together and make music. i miss going over to dover market for lunch on saturdays.. and playing soccer till the late afternoon after band practice. i miss going back to fmss in the evening and hanging out with fellow bandsmen, supper at crystal jade. watching garrie kick the stupid soccer ball and breaking the window on the 1st level below the band room at the holding school. listening to casey and aaron argue over just about anything and then laughing at them. how October made us wet our pants, and how the esplanade resounded with our passion and journey. i miss those days.

chiyu

2007-02-24T04:59:00.000+08:00

this is sad.. no scuba again this weekend.. stupid weather.. really eager to do some cold water diving and to test my u/w camera housing and my dive computer.. landed at about 8pm last night.. 1st leg out was riding a comp5x out to chattanooga, tennessee.. twas an awesome ride though the turbulence was much to be desired.. valley dodging at 500ft was a real eye opener.. took the high route back via meridian, mississippi for the PAR back at Navy Pensacola. good flight all in all.. not scheduled on sat, sun and monday.. 3 day weekend for me.. but sadly.. no scuba.. sigh.. oh well.. looks like i'll be spending that time working on my low level charts.. and maybe start on my strike charts.. why no scuba??? stupid weather.

chiyu

2007-02-20T13:47:00.000+08:00

i finally received the stuffs i ordered online.. the digicam housing.. http://www.fantasea.com/product_details.asp?id=221
my 1st dive computer..
http://www.mares.com/product_detail.php?id=72&region=USA
was supposed to go scuba on sunday.. but sadly, the weather wasn't good so twas cancelled.. disappointing.. but.. oh well.. looking forward to testing my new equipment(s).. back to work after the long president's day weekend.. sucks but.. in order to attain my wings of gold, work must be done.. rumour has it that some of us wso ftrs in pensacola would be heading straight to idaho to convert to the F-15SG after our course.. not sure how true that is but.. i'd definitely want in.. even if it means i'll have to stay in the states for another half a year (there about i guess).. fingers crossed.. out and in to randolph air force base in texas tml.. hope it turns out to be another uneventful flight (uneventful is good).. till next time..

chiyu

2007-02-08T12:53:00.000+08:00

having my RST-0 tml.. my 1st 'flight event' in vt-86.. and the year.. shouldn't be too bad.. life is real different in 86.. nothing's clear to me anymore.. there's always doubt when it comes to SOPs, rules and regulations (relating to flight that is), comms, briefs, procedures.. but i guess the only way things will work out is through time and further experience in the squadron.. trying to get a cross country to New York or Denver or something.. somewhere interesting.. maybe over the presidents' day weekend.. just a random thought.. about not only how i've changed, but how my environment and life's changed.. lets start with a nice 'cardinal' number.. 10 years ago..

1997: 12 year old kid coping with PSLE.. it wasn't a scarring event but vivid nonetheless.. i remember supplementary classes on friday afternoons, before which we would head over to the secondary school for 'western' lunch prior to class.. i remember band practices.. and camps.. friends that are so dear to me (you guys know who you are).. arguing over what aircraft the air force should purchase, concluding that pratt and whitney made the best aircraft engines in the world (hey.. we were young and ignorant)..

1998: coping with teenage life and trying hard to survive in a totally new environment (namely school).. i remember the 1st day of school.. a sad sad day.. but us sec 1 students were not too sure about what was going on.. twas our 1st day of school.. also the 1st day of school after the silkair MI185 crash where 3 of our school teachers perished.. lots of tears (from those who knew them), lots of confused students (the freshies).. band was a blast.. but the highlight of the year, our 110th anniversary performance at kallang.. countless rehearsals, friendship forged, these memories will always cherish..

1999: doing badly in school.. always hovering about at the bottom of the class.. mom was concerned.. very.. i was still heavily involved with various activities in school.. experienced my 1st taste of bgr (in a very weird sense).. if it were to be made into a movie, it'll be a very sweet one(more so due to the almost child like innocence)..

2000: 3rd year in secondary school.. its the year 2000! how exciting.. decided that i should stop being a bottom feeder and start working hard (harder) academically wise.. work paid off and i managed to move up the 'pecking order'.. transited to wearing pants as compared to shorts in school.. flew for the 1st time.. to thailand in march and new zealand in june.. this must be one of the happiest year of my life.. doing alright in school, friends were great, 2 overseas school trips in a year! what more can a 15 year old ask for.. sure precious memories!

2001: O levels.. another giant to slay.. 16 year old, raring to go.. visited sabah for a geography trip.. unforgettable.. kota kinabalu, kinabalu national park, keningnau, tuaran river.. tried to study hard (but procrastination got the better of my as usual).. did badly for my prelims.. all 25 points of it.. put in a tad more effort and squeezed a 14 for my Os..

2002: spent the 1st 3 months in JI.. boy did i have a blast! skipping classes, going for movies in our various school uniforms.. orientation was really fun.. put in 100% in class (those that i didn't skip).. well actually, i only started skipping classes when my O level results came out and that i was sure i wasn't going to stay in JI for the next couple of years.. moved on to JJC.. life in jj was a blur to me.. got attached really early into my new school (like 2 weeks?).. which turned out to be a bad thing in the end since i really neglected my friends in college.. (sorry all) i wish i could have been much closer to them.. i guess that probably explains why i don't have many friends from college..

2003: the A levels was a pain in the butt.. juggling the management of the college band, relationships, studies.. one big swirl.. and of course the painful breakup which affected me much for a couple of months.. i grew up this year.. i look at the world differently.. i wasn't the happy-go-lucky chiyu i once was when i was younger.. i was still a happy lad.. but not the oblivious kid i left behind.. i entered national service at the end of the year..

2004: life in the army.. it was tough.. but looking back, i was all worth it.. i put in 100% in bmt, putting my all in all tasks, be it weapons training or PT.. graduated as platoon best/company 2nd after those 16 weeks (i was from PTP).. got picked up for ocs and pressed on.. CRMA exchange (thailand), exercise starlight (taiwan), jungle confidence course, some of the most memorable events in my military career.. receiving that badge at the end of jcc.. feels almost as good as getting my bar on the shoulder..

2005: got my commission in jan, felt what it was like to love and lose again, another year in ocs, doing all kinds of things.. from filing paperwork to platoon assualt courses to live firing.. opened up a new horizon for me.. found my 1 true love.. scuba.. got my license in june and never looked back.. i decided for sure that i do not want a desk job in future.. after years of waiting (since 2003), the airforce finally got back to me about the application i put through in late 2003.. left ocs for air force school in december.. good times.. good times..

2006: off to tamworth, australia for airgrading.. i was a pilot trainee! but i flunked out.. for the very 1st time, i felt how i was like to see your dreams crash and collapse in front of you.. it didn't taste good.. there were tears (some).. but its funny how things work out in the end.. i came back to singapore and spent a couple of weeks in air force school.. doing.. nothing at all.. was posted to HQ 6 div as the assistant G1 to serve off the last 3 months of my national service.. life wasn't all that bad there.. not great.. but not bad either.. got a call from the recruitment centre.. they needed an officer who've gone through airgrading to head over to pensacola for flight training.. not as a pilot.. but as a wso (ftr).. i jumped on it.. as long as i can fly.. this also means if i get through this, i'm just about guaranteed a seat in the F-16.. i haven't regretted that decision (well not yet at least)..

present: over half way through flight school with the US Navy.. how many pple get such an opportunity.. i am thankful that i was presented this chance.. from a dumb kid to an aviator (and airhead).. life works in mysterious ways.. who'd ever predict that..

RST-0, here i come.

chiyu

2007-02-06T07:00:00.000+08:00

random pics again~

rice tower and chinese takeout box.. how come i've never seen this kind of packaging in singapore??

my work table.. funny thing is, i never ever work on this table (not that i do alot of work~ haha).. except when working on the laptop.. usb printer (HP) underneath.. bought that for $30 from walmart.. pretty decent.. and yes, this was taken after spring cleaning/packing..

my babies!! 2 quiksilver rashguards, ralftech wing power 3/2mm wetsuit, scubapro jetfins, tigullio bright with ralftech mask strap, unidive snorkel, ralftech shield power booties, camaro dive gloves, prodive smb, zeagle scout bcd (dive knife, board/pencil, dogtag, whistle, hose manager, octopus holder attached..)

chiyu

2007-02-01T02:37:00.000+08:00

flight school has enough work in itself to keep me sufficiently busy, even on the weekends.. clock simulator hours, doing up charts, classes, studying for this week's test etc.. and it gets alot worst when you have a seemingly unquenchable about of random administrative chores/errands to run on top of all that work.. what's most annoying is, these random tasks distracts me, greatly.. so much so that even as i turn in at night, i'll be jolted wide awake by thoughts of/worrying about these errands.. you know.. that feeling of unease.. but alas, i can only blame myself for procrastinating.. i could have done all these earlier, when i had more time but no.. i had to procrastinate.. procrastination's my biggest weakness and problem.. always waiting till the last minute when i absolutely have to complete these tasks.. so this is my 'new month's' resolution..

studies have shown that 'people who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions.'

The following shows how many of these resolutions are maintained as time goes on:

past the first week: 75%
past 2 weeks: 71%
after one month: 64%
after 6 months: 46%

(thanks wikipedia)

i do hope i at least make the 46%.. so.. less stoning for me.. and more working..

chiyu

2007-01-29T12:12:00.000+08:00

more random pics..

my new hp pavilion dv6000

this was taken on new year's eve at marina, after dinner at jack's place, celebrating jack's birthday.. from left kaiwei, qiyang, jack, frank, zhongwei, edgar.

patches.. from top, left to right, name tag, rank (flight suit), flag, VT-86 patch, wso (ftr) patch, VT-4 patch, VT-4 friday patch.

got this from simone.. he's heading back to italy on wednesday after completing his training here..

professional bullriding at the pensacola civic centre on 12th jan.. the cowboy trying to corral the bull back into the pen after its been 'ridden' on..

thats all for now..

chiyu

2007-01-24T09:35:00.000+08:00

its back to work for me.. 1st 2 weeks in VT-86 is fine so far.. feels so different to be a sabrehawk.. warbuck days are over and its on to greater and better things (i hope) bought myself a new laptop for USD900.. HP Pavilion Entertainment Notebook with intel core 2 duo.. way cheaper than in singapore.. yay.. nothing much's been happening lately.. done with radar planning/Low Level/chart making classes.. T-39 NATOPS class (yes.. again) started today.. its the 2nd time i'm doing this class since the americans fly the T-1 in intermediates while the internationals go straight onto the T-39.. good deal for us.. haha..

chiyu

2007-01-08T09:55:00.000+08:00

so i'm back in pensacola.. my stay in singapore was way too short.. plus i was bedridden for 3 days there.. so.. bleah.. so many things not done, so much food not eaten.. so many pple not met.. oh well.. see ya in 6-7 months.. we dropped by hollywood, calif while transiting in LA international.. some pics..

in front of The Chinese Theatre, Hollywood.. you know.. that place where the stars stick their hands in the concrete?

tom hanks'..

kodak theatre.. where american idols are made.. lots and lots of movie awards were given out here too..

guinness world of records museum

el capitan movie theatre.. how fancy..

nicole's..

chiyu

2006-12-18T10:19:00.000+08:00

just got back from cross country to charlotte, NC.. some pics.. really really busy preparing for the last 3 flights.. mon - wed.. some pics from the trip.. elaborate more later.. prob when i get back to singapore..

observing the flight from the aft seats..

the image on the radar scope..

the workstation at the aft..

charlotte downtown from the aircraft on finals..

my foam finger and i at the bobcats stadium.. my 1st nba match~

boston celtics vs charlotte bobcats..

the crowd.. final score, celtics 106, bobcats 100

sunset.. just another day in the office..

chiyu

2006-12-08T13:47:00.000+08:00

just some random photos.. of 'life' in PNS.

16th wso.. mustang men.

automobile security and ignition activation and deactivation device. car keys.

superman pan pizza and chicken strips from papa johns

my car plate.. no 4D numbers here sorry.

my mustang from the side..

okie dokie.. hmm just about midnight now.. its friday, 8th Dec 06.. which means.. 13 days before i leave Pensacola! haha.. can't wait.. lets see.. T-39 flight prep review and test tml.. followed by 2B47 at griffith's hall.. then fam zero at flight line.. christmas dinner at night.. at the museum of commerce.. should be a tie and coat event.. hopefully we can do without a coat.. coz i don't have one here.. and looks like its a lil too late to go pick one up.. 8 flights to go.. before finally, i take a flight without having to do a jet card or chart.. or filing a DD175.. most likely going to charlotte for another cross country.. what's with instructors and charlotte man.. my 2nd time there.. hah..

chiyu

2006-12-02T14:21:00.000+08:00

T-39 ground school has officially started.. so far, it seems that it is was easier than the T-6.. its the 2nd of Dec.. counting the days to stepping on home soil again.. its been a bit since i last blogged. reason being, absolutely nothing happened. was pretty much on lull, waiting to class to start. pissed off that me cell phone's screwed.. my singapore one.. somehow when i switched phones, most of the numbers in my sim card was transferred onto my phone memory (i dunno why or how).. and now, my phone's screwed up.. can't turn it on.. despite switching batts. dabnabit.. goodness knows how many numbers i've lost.. its been pretty warm for the past few days (relatively speaking).. hovering at about 75 degrees F.. thank goodness (or maybe not) the weather turned cold again.. close to freezing reported.. 18 days to go before i leave for home.. can't hardly wait.

chiyu

2006-11-26T02:40:00.000+08:00

flight school has screeched to a halt.. not just because of the thanksgiving holidays.. we were supposed to be done with VT-4 by the time the xmas hols comes around but guess we might be 2 weeks behind schedule.. nonetheless, i'll be back in singapore from the 23rd of dec to 4th of jan.. its been shopping shopping shopping for the last few days.. so far, i've spent like.. USD$300 on gifts? and i'm still not done with gift buying yet.. my goodness.. i got myself a pair of nike shox lethals from the nike factory outlet over at Destin.. got it for only USD$30! what a bargain.. i spent thanksgiving at garth's place over at govt blvd with the other singaporeans.. this is offically my 1st thanksgiving dinner.. american style.. there was even an 'all american' turkey fryer out at the yard.. fried turkey.. yum.. we headed out to seville quarter again after dinner.. eric, kara, joe, rob?, garth, his brother, the twin chicks and the sings.. we all left early for some reason.. guess the crowd wasn't as happening as they hope it to be.. looks like its back to the books for me.. for now.. 28 more days.. 4 more weeks.. hey ho..

chiyu

2006-11-16T07:37:00.000+08:00

some pictures from the Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show held at my base over the weekend.. (ie 10th - 11th Nov)

the AH-64 Apache Longbow and i

the F-14 Tomcat retired 2006

the US Navy's EA-6B Prowler. Used by the Marines as well.

the T-2 Buckeye.. the last aircraft i'll be flying here before getting my wings.

Gene 'Mr Airshow' Soucy and Teresa Stokes. both seasoned veterens in the aviation entertainment field.. this aircraft is the Showcat. yes, there is a lady on the top of the Showcat.

The SkySoldiers. flying the US Army's AH-1 Cobra.. they are the US Army's aviation demostration/aerobatics team..

the United States Navy Flight Demonstration Team. aka the Blue Angels.. note the tight diamond formation.. this is as tight as it gets man..

chiyu

2006-11-07T02:17:00.000+08:00

so i was at seville quarter (SQ) on friday night.. and am still pretty sure clubbing and drinking ain't my cup of tea.. what i did enjoy was the piano room.. 2 guys playing the piano on stage.. nope, not playing classics or contemporary piano pieces.. but satire, parodies and impromptus.. they'll invited guests on stage and make fun of them, with the audiences' participation of course.. extremely funny.. SQ's one of pensacola's most happening club.. but compared to singapore, this was nothing.. haha.. but one thing remains the same.. the smoke, the booze and the noise.. something that i really dislike.. 1) my clothes stink of cigerette smoke. 2) too much drinking makes peope behave like idiots. 3) painfully unpleasent.. to me, booze really is an aquired taste.. i've tried drinking many times and each time reaffirms my dislike for it.. i always wanted to learn to appreciate this highly appraised beverage but why its highly appraised? i think i may never know.. i'm hoping to finish up my formation flights soon.. this week i hope.. really hope.. bleah.. can't wait to start T-39 ground school.. less than 50 days before i head home.. yay.. oh ya.. i bought another car.. a red ford mustang.. dream come true.. haha.. even though its not the newest of mustangs, its still a mustang right? haha..

2 cars at age 21! ford mustang on left, chevy monte carlo right.

from the back.

2006-10-28T23:42:00.000+08:00

i'm bored.. so this is gonna be long.. since i'm in the midst of vnav and stuff..

a typical day in the office..

-brief with instructor-
-head to paraloft to grab my g-suit, harness, helmet and mask-
-walk over to maintainence to sign the aircraft out-
-walk out to the apron-
-approach the aircraft and remove chocks and bungee cord on prop-
-climb aboard, checking for generator off, ignition and starter norm, ejection seat pin and cfs pin is installed, iss to solo, 'off, normal, normal, 2 pins and solo'-
-pre-exterior checklist-
-exterior check-
-strap in-
-cockpit checklist, engine start (auto) checklist, before taxi checklist, brakes check-
-switch to channel 1 on rmu to get atis-
-switch to channel 2 on rmu 'clearance buck 310, ifr to npa 622' "buck 310 cleared to npa 622 as filed, i dme pass the tacan turn right 150, maintain 3000, expect 10 thousand 10 mins after departure, departure freq 270.8, squawk 2310" 'buck 310 cleared to npa 622 as filed, 1 dme pass the tacan turn right 150, maintain 3000, expect 10 thousand 10 mins after departure, departure freq 270.8, squawk 2310'-
-switch to channel 20 on rmu 'base buck 310' "go ahead buck 310" 'buck 310 taxi outbound, aircraft side number 73' "roger 73, have a good flight"-
-taxi out to runway-
-switch to channel 3 on rmu 'ground buck 310, taxi with information Bravo' "buck 310 taxi to runway 7 right, altimeter 2997" 'taxi to runway 7 right, altimeter 2997'-
-reach the hold short line, conduct overspeed governor checklist, before takeoff checklist, switch to channel 4 on rmu 'tower buck 310 take off ifr' "buck 310 winds 090 7kts, cleared for takeoff runway 7 right, switch to departure" 'cleared for takeoff runway 7 right, switching buck 310' switch to channel 6 on rmu-
-departure brief, elapsed timer hack and lineup check-
-pcl max, 85kts rotate, 2 positives 110, gears and flaps up-
-'departure buck 310 passing 1000 for 3000' "buck 310 radar contact, climb and maintain 10 thousand, cleared direct TRADR" 'buck 310 passing 1500 to 10 thousand, cleared direct TRADR'-
-ops check-
-passing 4200ft 'departure buck 310 cancel ifr' "roger buck 310, squawk vfr, frquency change approved" 'buck 310, squawk vfr, switching'-
-'sir, turn right 260, climb and maintain 6500ft. i'm switching up to channel 15, squawking 1200'-
-switch to 123.65 on vhf 'anniston radio, anniston radio, buck 310 with you on 123.65, anniston radio' "anniston radio, go ahead" 'anniston this is buck 310, requesting the weather, winds surface to 3000 and altimeter for the Mobile area' "buck 310, we have broken at 7000, scattered at 11 thousand, visibility better than 10 miles, winds are 080 10kts, altimeter 2998" 'roger, thank you very much and have a great day' "you're welcome, have a safe flight"-

after all that, i haven't even started on the low level vnav route yet.. what fun..

chiyu

2006-10-27T08:43:00.000+08:00

i'm in the midst of vnav.. ie visual navigation.. 3 flights down, 3 to go.. supposed to fly an out and in to mobile downtown over at 'bama but.. cancelled due to weather.. but flying tml though.. provided the weather holds out.. fingers crossed.. visual nav.. what's that all about u may ask.. well.. i'm just starting off with it on the T-6 so we operate at about 2000ft.. high, considering we do it at 500ft on the T-39.. 2 more weeks before T-39 ground school.. another step closer to finishing up.. go go go.. 57 more days before i head home for the hols.. haha.. looking forward to that.. 2 weeks back at home will do wonders for me.. once again, i stand at this point of the road where i look back at the past and realise that alot's happened this year.. especially how i've progressed from api to vnav.. felt like yesterday.. but its long gone.. how i used to struggle with aerodynamics class to how i struggle with spotting my targets on a vnav route.. when i wake up every morning (esp recently since winter's rolling in) feeling 'a long long way from home~ and i miss my lover so~ in the early morning run~ when the cold wind blows~'.. army dudes will understand this.. formation flying is just a week away.. lots of studying to do.. feels weird now since hongye, raj and jermaine's back in singapore.. but soon.. soon.. i'll be joining them back home.. when the cold wind blows..

chiyu

2006-10-18T09:13:00.000+08:00

i know i know.. real late on the previously promised update.. but i've been disgustingly busy mah.. i'm done with I-nav on the T-6.. now its on to vnav.. visual navigation.. just had my first flight today and boy was it disgusting.. my performance that is.. its cool flying so low and getting to actually 'bomb' my target but the amount of preparation needed for each flight, as well as workload during the flight is just disgusting.. -_-" sigh.. anyways.. about my cross country to charlotte.. the reason why i head up with LT Martin is that he was my 'on wing' when i 1st started flying here so i've flown several flights with him.. plus, he's a pretty nice chap so.. why not? we headed up there mainly to attend a funeral.. well.. he did at least.. his grandma, more affectionately known as 'farma' to them passed on a month or so ago and was cremated.. that weekend was just a family ceremony for them.. i spent most of my time up in charlotte with his family.. the 1st american family i got to meet.. and boy am i glad i met them.. this is something i've only seen on tv.. they were like the nicest bunch of people i've ever met.. they were really hospitable and from the way i saw them interact with each other, i'm really sure they are a very closely knit family.. they welcomed me into their home like i've known them for years.. his other grandma, more affectionately (again) known as 'mimi' to them really struck me in terms of her personality and care for her family.. she's over 80 years old and still drives about in her car.. she treated me like i was her very own grandson.. (yes.. i do realise i'm of a different colour).. what remains unforgettable was when she told me to 'visit your american grandmother when u have the chance'.. she even asked for my email/mailing address so that she and the rest of LT Martin's family can write me.. aww.. haha.. despite the low temperature at in charlotte, i remained warm at heart.. i'll take a trip up to charlotte again any day..

chiyu

2006-10-10T09:34:00.000+08:00

just got back from Charlotte, North Carolina.. some pics for you..

that's me in front of the Charlotte Bobcat Arena (NBA)..

from left, me, LT Martin, Grandma, Aunt Trisha, Alyssa (Josh Martin's sister) and Miss Elaine (His mom)

the aircraft i fly in.. the T-6 Texan II.. check out the rainbow!

LT Josh Martin and i..

that's me..

some of my instruments onboard.. reaching 25000ft..

me again..

tired now.. will update more later..

chiyu

2006-10-03T06:14:00.000+08:00

Day 174

time flies.. sometimes, too slowly, and other times, to fast.. i've been here close to 6 months and it seems like another kajillion years before i head back home.. on the other hand, kes and aleah have already gotten their wings.. kes, safely back at home, aleah, getting ready to leave for whidby island for Prowler conversion.. it seems so surreal.. people you see every week moving on with their lives while you are standing at the same old street corner, watching the world go by.. i guess this is how the world (or at least my world) looks like from the bottom up.. in another week and a half, 3 more, or should i say, the last 3 wso ftr trainees will be arriving and i will be taking over steven as the I/C as he pushes on for his final leg of the race.. 10 days ain't alot but yet, it seems a distance to me.. for now, i worry about hitting my point to points, making sure i interpret the approach plates correctly and remembering all my inflight procedures.. who knows, several months down the road, i'll be worrying about where to take the guys when the hurricane evac is issued.. or even further down, who can i swap sdo duties with.. life is one big worry.. well enough of my gripe-ing.. lets move on to the more exciting stuffs.. eh.. hmm.. i haven't got anything for that.. did i mention i was going to court next tuesday? for a speeding ticket? haha.. that's fun~.. eh.. how about i'm starting VNAV ground school tml? erm.. ok.. so much for being on the 'highway to the danger zone'.. yeap.. i admit.. its not all 'danger' and 'excitement'.. that's just an illusion the military likes to pull.. yes, i do get my frequent dose of vitamin 'G', i do see the world from the top down sometimes, i do get to wear green pajamas to work each day and my office is 20000ft above the ground but it IS hard work.. very hard work..

chiyu

2006-09-27T00:42:00.000+08:00

yeah.. so i haven't updated for over a week.. busy leh.. lets see.. it was scuba again on sunday.. (the 17th) this time, to the tex edwards barge.. its a large, intact deck barge which was intentionally sunk in 1982 as an artificial reef. It lies in 65 feet of water about 6 1/2 miles east of Pensacola pass.. it was my bc's virgin dive.. boy do i love my zeagle scout.. the only problem was.. the scubapro twin jets i was using.. a $300+ pair of fins.. a piece of crap.. lucky for me it was a rental.. i miss my jet fins so much.. the twin jets kept trying to float to the surface.. so awkward.. the next dive site was the Three Coal Barges.. In 1974, three 300-foot long coal barges were sunk to form an artificial reef.. the best part of that dive was the huge school of Great Atlantic Spadefish! they were too shy.. i swam up to them.. close enough for them to brush by me as we swam.. i was actually swimming in the midst of the school! i felt totally enclosed by the school.. each of them are about 2ft long.. this i guess.. is what they mean by 'being one with nature'.. watched 'flyboys' late sunday night.. pretty good show, coming from an aviator.. haha.. not sure if its in singapore yet.. the show's about the lafayette escadrille in france during WWI.. more specifically, the handful of american aviators in there.. ground school and sims are over for me.. its off to flight line again.. its to tearing up the skies again.. we're dangerous..

chiyu

2006-09-17T12:32:00.000+08:00

its been 2 weeks of bumming about for me.. too short.. but if its any longer, i'll take me forever to get my wings.. its about another 100 days before i get back.. should be enough for me to complete intermediate phase and vt-4.. its off to scuba again tml.. i got my own bc.. brand new zeagle scout for USD$250.. that's just under S$400.. way cheaper than if i were to get it in singapore.. haha.. good deal.. back to work soon.. lets get it on.

chiyu

2006-09-03T23:39:00.000+08:00

alrighty.. pics up.. headed for yes you guessed it.. SCUBA! Patrick and i embarked on the 'Down Under' 20 miles off the gulf coast of Alabama.. sweet.. did 2 wreck dives.. 1st was Pete's tide.. a small cargo ship which sank decades ago.. next was US Navy Tender YDT 14.. a US Navy ship that was sank to build an artificial reef in april 2000..

Me on the left.. Patrick floating about on the right.. lots of silt.. visibility was about 30-40 ft..

a giant barracuda in the ship's bridge..

a pair of butterfly fish on the deck..

the ghostly silhouette of the YDT 14.. its a relatively new wreck thus the lack of coral growth.. but the sea urchins and fishes are already in abundance..

US Navy..

Pat on the right, me on left.. on the ascend from the safety line..

me goofing around on the safety stop.. depth 15ft..

the lovely thing about wreck diving is the history involved.. i could almost imagine the sailors walking about on deck, bringing up the anchor.. and the captain giving directions to the first mate on the wheel.. but what remains now is the rusted, coral and urchin covered wreck of what used to be.. a transition from man to nature.. fasinating..

chiyu

2006-08-31T06:57:00.000+08:00

i've learnt that how well you do is totally instructor dependent.. no, i'm not saying that hard work doesn't matter.. i'm just saying that even if you work harder than you peers, if they get a generous instructor and u get a very stingy (with grades) one, you'll never do better.. but such is life and life ain't fair.. i just had another cancelled flight due to sigmet (significant metro).. its the tail end of summer and thunderstorms pop up all over in the afternoon.. its the labor day weekend up next.. and what's in store for me? well... SCUBA!! at long last.. i just purchased a brand new zeagle scout bc online.. cost me US$250.. which is a pretty decent price for a scout.. its the lightest and most compact bc zeagle has.. i don't like too many things hanging about me when i dive and plus a heavy bc is a bitch to lug around.. i don't intend to go into technical diving (due to the nature of my job) so i guess a light bc should do just fine.. hopefully i get my bc before my trip this saturday.. mbt divers only have USS Orkisany trips this weekend so i'm heading over to scuba shack down on south palafox st.. can't wait.. but meanwhile.. i gotta clear my end of bloc tml 1st.. bleah..

chiyu

2006-08-28T08:15:00.000+08:00

i had to live with the agony of having to reformat my laptop. without the ability to backup all that was on my hard disc. i knew i should have been more careful when using my laptop but unfortunately, plain laziness stepped in and messed it all up. so all photos, work, mp3s, games.. gone.. the army taught me one important thing.. 'lan lan suck thumb'. and i remain true to that.. no point crying over spilt milk.. labor day weekend's just round the corner.. scuba's on the schedule.. i headed to MBT divers out the front gate (of NAS Pensacola) and spoke to the shop owner.. USS Oriskany dives on saturday and sunday.. but i think i'll pass that for now since non of my peers here is experienced enough to make such a difficult and deep dive.. and besides, i'm not all that familiar with the conditions here so i figured it'll be alot safer to do an easy checkout dive before i 'dive' right in to the Pensacola scuba scene.. its been over 4 months since i last breathe from a regulator (not including from my mask when i'm in the aircraft) and i'm craving for some.. nothing like a dose of compressed air.. more flights to go before i can taste the alluring favour of air from a tank.. i can hardly wait..

chiyu

2006-08-23T12:53:00.000+08:00

Because I fly

I laugh more than other men.
I look up and see more than they.

I know how the clouds feel,
What it's like to have the blue in
my lap,
to look down
on birds,
to feel freedom in a thing called
the stick . . .

Who but I
can slice between God's
billowed legs,
and feel then laugh and crash
with His step?

Who else has seen the
unlimbed peaks?
The rainbow's secret?
The real reason birds sing?

Because I Fly,
I envy no man on earth.

2006-08-18T05:59:00.000+08:00

A day in the life of 1LT Chia Chi Yu, Training Squadron VT-4, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.

0715 - Rise and shine, feeling all groggy and sick.
0745 - Drive to Griffith Hall.
0800 - Flight Planning Examination in Learning Resource Centre.
0930 - Fly TP-13 at 2B47.
1130 - Lunch at A&W in base.
1330 - Primary instruments prep for simulators I2001 - I2004.
1600 - Drive home.
1615 - Catch last 15 mins of Spongebob Squarepants.
1630 - Bum about.
1700 - Prepare for tomorrow's Simulator Flight I2001.
2300 - Lights out and God bless America.

yes.. this is essentially how ground school is like.. but when i start flying again.. haha..

chiyu

2006-08-17T11:17:00.000+08:00

Day 127, NAS Pensacola

well its been 127 days since i last watched the sun set in singapore.. coming to Pensacola has indeed been a learning experience for me.. it's an essential path for the career choice that i have made but on the other hand, it's an important eye opener for a frog in a well like me.. america has such a fix on the world and coming here, even better, working as a 'member' of the United States Navy allows me to better understand why certain things are as they are.. i'm not saying i agree with everything (heck.. i think this country is as messed up as any other country) but at least i have an insider's view of things.. yeap.. small and insignificant but.. an insider's view nonetheless..
NAS Pensacola.. home of every single naval aviator.. pensacola wings of gold, topgun, behind enemy lines.. F-14s, F-18s, every single aircraft with the word 'NAVY' printed on its fuselage.. their pilots and flight officers have been through the gates of Naval Air Station Pensacola.. to me, it's strange because i've only seen these people on screen but now, i'm walking the same road that these men and women had taken in the past.. at some point in time, they were struggling with Point to points, turn point procedures, jet logs and other components of the course.. in fact, i'm starting to associate myself more closely to the United States Navy then the Republic of Singapore Air Force.. shoulder to shoulder with the naval aviators we see on the media.. i guess america is the only place in the world where its military is so.. well.. adored.. i suppose the american war machine is one that consistently gets into some fray while the rest of the world merely plays soldiers.. yes.. wuss.. just playing dress up.. so i guess they deserved it.. oh well.. we can't all be winners..

chiyu

2006-08-14T10:30:00.000+08:00

alrightie.. busy busy busy.. its all about jet logs and DD 175s these couple of days.. been spending lots of my time working on charts, filling out jet cards and DD-175s.. its not the coolest thing in the world to do but i kinda enjoy it somehow.. weird i know.. but i think its just fun measuring things off charts and doing timing, fuel, speed, distance and a whole host of other stuffs required before an aircraft can even leave the ground.. well.. most of my buds have started school by now.. another chapter of their lives.. really happy for them but at the same time, i feel kinda weird.. looks like i've strayed off the beaten path and started bashing through the think foliage in search of another road to hop on.. but to me, the important thing is to live without regrets.. even though things may seem bad and fuzzy while i'm going through something, i've learnt that so far, everytime i'm through with a bumpy phase, i look back and find that things aren't that bad and if i were given another choice, i would take the same road again.. which is a good thing i guess.. no regrets.. its another week of work on the 2B47 simulator this coming week.. the 2B47 is a little both with a computer screen depicting aircraft instruments.. then with the help of my charts, approach plates and whiz wheel, i key in direction, speed and altitude inputs (after tons of calculation and mental work) and try to 'fly' the route in real time.. its like flying in an aircraft with the canopy blanked out.. in other words, 'flying blind'.. its something so new to me.. i never knew so much was involved in instrument flying.. so much for my years on flight simulators on the PC.. hah.. national days over.. missed all those fireworks.. i love fireworks.. even though i get to shoot them in the sky in the great state of.. Alabama (we can only set off fireworks in florida on 4th of July).. alabama's only a 20 min drive so its not that bad.. and one thing i learnt.. fireworks don't fly high.. not even those we see over the national stadium on national day.. i saw a firework show from the air when i was on my night contact flight.. i think i was at about 14000ft then i saw red 'flowers' blooming off the leading edge of my right wing.. fireworks! and boy were they puny.. what was so big and fantastic when seen from the ground is now just a bright little flower at 14000ft.. up in the sky, i learnt that each of us are really just tiny specks on the face of the earth.. cool..

chiyu

2006-08-08T05:10:00.000+08:00

yeap.. its been half a month since i last updated.. how time flies.. not fast enough though.. but pretty decent nonetheless.. i've started instruments ground school.. it wasn't as easy as i thought it to be.. its a completely new subject and it takes quite abit of studying to actually get the hang of it.. its basically 8-5pm daily for me.. and preparation and studying at night.. the weekends are spent partying.. 2 saturdays ago we went to blackwater river for some rafting.. all the singaporeans plus aleah and patrick, but minus hongye and jermaine.. the river was beautiful.. a lazy 3 hours float downstream.. aleah brought her dog, ajax.. a huge airedale terrier.. the great thing about ajax is that he's so big, yet so friendly.. haha.. thoroughly enjoyed myself.. justin was here the last week.. he had a break from west point so he decided to fly down to visit.. we hung out at bamboo willies after friday dinner.. everyone was hammered after drinking gallons and gallons of booze.. i declared myself the duty driver.. haha.. so i didn't drink.. well.. maybe a sip or 2 of bushwacker.. but i was safe to drive.. i drove sean's car.. with justin and sean riding in with me.. both of them were concussed.. justin puked in the car before he could roll down the window.. so being the only sober person, i had to clean up after him once we got back.. the both of them were to stoned to do anything.. bleah.. i finally received the red and gold flute i ordered from australia.. but too bad.. its not for me.. sending it back to singapore soon.. ok.. gotta go..

chiyu

2006-07-21T10:54:00.000+08:00

just over a week since i last updated.. just done with my contacts phase.. in fact, i just had my check ride today.. and fortunately, cleared it with flying colours.. ok.. maybe not with flying colours.. but still pretty decent la.. instrument ground school starts on wednesday.. this means i have a couple of days before i start working again.. but i guess i'm gonna spend some of the weekend preparing for next weeks class.. did i mention that i almost ejected from the aircraft on my end of block flight? (yesterday) now i know how it looks like just before a plane crash.. we were descending onto the runway after executing a practice precautionary emergency landing (PEL).. we cleared low key and were onto the base leg, trying to intercept the finals.. i realised that we were way too high and got a little concerned.. i notified my instructor (who was in control of the aircraft at that time) that we were high.. she (yes.. she.) brought the nose down and before i knew it, we were on a near vertical dive onto the threshold line of the runway.. i saw the ground rushing up to me.. the aircraft was in a very awkward attitude.. seeing this, i adviced her to waveoff.. and she kept quiet.. and kept the aircraft attitude as it was.. i told her to wave off again but nothing happened.. just a few hundred feet off the ground, she pulled up sharply.. i swear i thought we were gonna crash.. i placed one hand on the ejection handle, the other on the 'dashboard' of my cockpit.. i was in the front seat.. somehow, she managed to pull the aircraft up and touched the runway nicely.. damn did she scared the crap out of me.. boy.. anywho.. i managed to land the aircraft today without my instructor's help.. did a ton of aerobatics today.. yanking and banking, loop after loop.. fantastic.. i must say, today's been the most enjoyable flight ever.. hoo yeah..

chiyu

2006-07-10T11:19:00.000+08:00

sometimes it gets a little tiring..
its times like this that sets me thinking,
about what i'm doing and why..
you know.. times when you are alone,
at night, in the dark,
when my mind's free to roam..
granted, i may have one of the most interesting jobs in the world,
given wings to fly,
but sometimes when i think about it,
it doesn't justify..
the blood and sweat and time from home.
i've been in pensacola for 3 months and don't get me wrong, i'm really enjoying my time here, other than having to study and prepare for my flights daily.. to fly has been my life's ambition and i am on my way to making it a reality.. but at the end of the day, i wonder if my pursuit for my ambition is worth its opportunity cost.. it may seem all bright and rosy from the outside, but upon deeper and greater understanding, it may not be so after all.. 3 months has gone, 12 or more to go.. what will i think nearer the finishing line, i do not know.. but i just hope and pray that i would look back, pleased, and without regrets.. opportunity cost.. what a funny word.. would you be an opportunity cost too? i pray not.. i pray not.

chiyu

2006-07-06T23:02:00.000+08:00

ok.. its been a while since i last updated.. haha.. can't blame me.. i've been really busy with work and studying.. Independence day long weekend.. a well deserved break.. even though i spent most of the time on my books.. bummed and studied on saturday.. headed to bayou grande marina for sailing class on sunday.. its not as simple as it seems.. nearing the last hour out at the bay, a pod of dolphins came along.. haha.. fantastic.. i chased them with my sail boat.. a 14ft sunfish.. i managed to cut in front of them and dove into the water with them.. they swam around me a couple of times and left, up into the bayous.. fantastic.. the baby one was really cute! certified mate A sailor now.. haha.. spent monday morning studying.. then the afternoon in Foley, Alabama.. shopping! 4th of July sales! but i barely spent $50.. bought a quiksilver singlet (for less than $10 since i have military discount as well..) and a pair of nautica khaki shorts.. that costs just above $19.. cheap cheap cheap.. haha.. the whole of tuesday was spent on my books.. preparing for this week's simulator flights.. did pretty ok on the 1st hop yesterday.. did well today, enough to get an above average score.. fantastic.. so far so good.. now to keep this up.. haha.. missing all u chums back home.. 5 more months before i get back for the hols..

chiyu

2006-06-26T08:24:00.000+08:00

its been a while since i've last updated this.. nothing much's been happening.. other than classes.. and studying.. and this coming week, tests.. 3 in all.. the only thing that i'm looking forward to is the 4 day weekend coming up.. thanks to independence day.. i believe friday should be a short day too coz of the safety stand down.. just a lecture for just about everyone in base about safety during the weekend and stuffs like that.. haha.. might just be heading up to atlanta this weekend.. yay.. road trip! stress level's going up.. hanging there! for now at least.. hai.. kiyakaha..

chiyu

2006-06-17T23:03:00.000+08:00

i've concluded the 1st week of primary in VT-4.. things aren't that bad.. attended a handfull of briefs and classes.. had meteorology test on friday.. managed to get a 98%.. someone once said, 'a good beginning makes a good end'.. i hope he is right.. hah.. my class had a meeting with our skipper and XO.. twas a long but interesting talk.. we had our 'callsign presentation' with them as well.. so what is a callsign? haha.. well.. i'm sure most of you cool cats and satin tabbies have heard of maverick, goose and iceman? yup.. these are callsigns.. kinda like nicknames if u will.. i always thought that callsigns were given so that actual names are shouted over the comms in times of war or ops.. you'll never know who's listening.. well.. skipper said something like 'this bridges gaps between aviators and minimises crew relation management problems..' i kinda get the drift.. well.. the XO gave me 'Fabio'.. the rest wanted to call sean and i yin and yang (which i find totally cliched and unoriginal and unflattering).. the XO was like 'ok.. so who will be yin and who will be yang?'.. at that moment, i just blurted out.. 'i dunno.. i'm just the good looking one..'.. XO went.. 'that's a Fabio right there!'.. and poof.. i'm now Fabio.. cool.. haha.. another super busy week ahead.. onto T-6 aircraft systems now.. onward!

chiyu

2006-06-10T01:09:00.000+08:00

ok.. i've officially graduated from API.. on to primary! and that starts on monday.. gonna enjoy my precious last weekend of 'honeymooning'.. some pics from the parasailing/chuting in lilian, Alabama.. i wonder if the video works.. anyways.. that's me in the video.. and yes, the landing did feel as hard as it looks..

the guys waiting for their turn..

mcguire in a tree, having a better view..

me, coming back down to earth..

the guys, after they are done with their 2 rides.. beers and burgers all round!

seeing double? haha.. matt and johan suyderhoud from left to right.. myself and sean in the middle.. this was today.. after graduation..

a video of me.. here's what happens.. a 450ft line it attached to an F250 truck and myself.. the truck takes me up to about 200ft and the line is disconnected at the truck's end.. i come drifting down at about 20 ft/sec and perform the parachute landing fall.. this is my 2nd ride..

chiyu

2006-06-07T07:41:00.000+08:00

my last week of API.. did parachute landing fall, VR parachuting today.. supposed to do helo hoist but the aircraft broke.. some pics of the VR chuting.. parasailing/chuting tml..

the guys at the brief prior to VR jump.

ricky martin!! haha.. no la.. that's chip.. looks like ricky martin though.. that's rangel at the back.

mr jay park.. haha.. usaf..

me, ready for the 'jump'..

me, in PLF posture, ready to land..

that's all for now.. hopfully can get some good pics tml..

chiyu

2006-06-06T10:17:00.000+08:00

yup.. its the last week of API.. which means, i'm starting primary next week.. its off to VT-4.. where i'll learn to pilot the T-6 Texan.. funny thing.. it's an air force plan operated by the navy.. looking forward to it, but at the same time, hoping that it doesn't come so soon! i'm just really starting to enjoy API but that's about to end.. tons of studying to do again once i start primary.. but i've been told that flying contacts in primary is fantastic.. lets see.. for the past couple of weeks, i've been busy with sea survival, helo dunker, para drills and preparing for tml's live helo hoist and wednesday's parasailing/chuting.. that's the final part of aviation preflight inoculation.. 7 weeks here.. many many more to go.. chins up, heads high, fly on.

chiyu

2006-05-31T03:38:00.000+08:00

just got back from a weekend at orlando.. that's an 8 hour drive east.. the 5 of us drove a car down (raja's).. thank goodness the car's aircon was working just fine.. so there we went, raja, sean, patrick, carrie and i.. photo's coming up..

from the left, raja, sean, patrick and carrie.. pat and carrie are from the USN..

1st stop, epcot centre, disney world..

that's me, under the epcot dome..

at the 'living seas' building..

carrie and her big hat at 'mexico land', epcot

nope.. this ain't paris.. its 'france world'!

2nd day..

at the kennedy space centre!

this is the Discovery.. at the launch pad! preping for july launch..

the tail of Saturn! huge!

next stop.. sea world.. entry fee is a whopping US$65.. but we got in for free coz we were holding US mulitary IDs.. the US really love their troops.. i'll explain why i think so later..

bottlenose dolphin..

free for the military..

this is the killer whale (shamu) show.. just before the show starts, a military appreciation video was screened.. at the end of it, the lead trainer asked all US, UK and other allied nations' troops to stand up.. we were presented with a standing ovation.. in a stadium of over 2000 people.. for the 1st time in my life, i really felt proud being in uniform.. but then again, this is the US of A, not singapore.. sad but.. oh well..

shamu, launching himself out of the water!

sealion and walrus show.. that's all for now.. more later..

chiyu

2006-05-24T01:03:00.000+08:00

update time.. i try to update weekly, if not, more often.. but yup.. at least weekly.. just a few photos.. been studying like mad lately so i haven't been doing much.. cleared engines and navigation test.. 1 more to go for API.. flight rules and regulations is a short topic so it ain't so bad..

headed to the beach over the weekend.. seah and i.. keep off the dunes!!

white sandy beaches.. this is IN base! haha.. water's clear, the sand's even better than sentosa's! white, soft and fine.. just the way i like it..

kayaking with raja..

heading to orlando this weekend.. disneyland and sea world! here i come! if i survive the 8 hr drive of course..

chiyu

2006-05-17T08:06:00.000+08:00

i just published my last post all happy but then i turned to the tv and got fucking pissed.. 'The Monster Shark Tournament'.. those sons of bitches.. what cheesed me off wasn't just the idea of the anglers fishing sharks and killing them for sport, but what one angler.. or rather.. what a couple of anglers said to the camera.. for all in america (and beyond) to hear.. 'when you look into their eyes, you know they want to eat ya..' another said.. 'i will fish for a shark for the 3 grand (prize money) but i'd catch one and kill on for just $10.' bloody sons of bitches.. you got a shark who was just going about its business at the verge of certained death.. if i were the shark, i'd want to bite off your fucking head too.. bastards who have nothing better to do but to test their 'balls' (if they even have any) against these endangered animals.. the bloody narrator kept going 'the monsters in the deep'.. the only fucking monsters around are the anglers, the sponsors/organisers and supporters of this event.. screw you..

pissed off.

2006-05-17T07:52:00.000+08:00

more photos!

it's the blue angels again! leveling out of their in-sync loop.

it's monte again.. sitting under the tree at the parking lot in front of my apartment..

this is inside monte.. love the black leather seats..

driving up to the base's main gate..

NAS Pensacola..

the guys.. the lecturer (Chief Warren) just walked in as i snapped this..

its been a good week so far.. cleared the aero 2 test.. next test this friday.. engines.. but should be ok.. not as bad as aeros.. just started air navigation.. so far so good.. 1 mile flight suit swim tml.. the final swim test.. then its off to the helo dunker on week 5.. haha.. hope it'll be a good week ahead.. with many more to come.. fingers crossed..

chiyu

2006-05-12T21:28:00.000+08:00

not much time to update so i'm gonna keep this short.. just got back from PT.. it was team sports today.. had american football and it hurt.. it was flag but ended up as ull contact somehow.. haha.. but it was fun nonetheless.. think i pulled something.. ok.. i've been in the states for about a month.. not too bad.. i can live with this.. haha.. just a little stressful when there're tests coming.. been studying a ton here.. tests every week.. guys here are great.. just a lil sad that most of the friends that i made in api are leaving sherman field for whiting or somewhere else.. oh well.. haha.. i'll just enjoy whatever i have now.. ok.. gotta go bath.. and to head for engines class at griffith hall.. 3-4 miles drive away.. update again soon.

chiyu

2006-05-06T11:21:00.000+08:00

its time for another update.. week 3 in pensacola.. here's a couple of pictures..

the blue angels flying over base.. yup.. THE blue angels.. can be considered the best aerobatics team in the world, housed in NAS pensacola..

3 singaporeans' cars.. sean's ford focus on the left, my chevy monte carlo in the middle, raja's dodge intrepid on the right..

from the back.. raja's intrepid on left, sean's focus on the right.. my monte carlo in the midst of them..

close up of the back of my monte carlo z34..

view from the left back..

my 'happy' meal.. haha.. potato shreds rosti style and fried mushrooms.. decorated with hunt's bbq sauce.. yes yes.. i was bored.. haha.. tests next week.. stress.. bleah.. that's all for now..

chiyu

2006-05-01T02:22:00.000+08:00

class is starting tml and morales falling.. but i think i should be able to clear just fine.. placed my deposit on the car on saturday.. decided to buy the 95 chevrolet monte carlo z34.. test drove it and fell in love.. black leather interior, seats slightly inclined and transmission is angled back too.. so it feels like i'm driving lying down.. haha.. white 2 door vehicle, 6 cylinder 3.4L engine.. just hope it's not a gas guzzling monster! well.. not all that home sick coz i get to speak to my family via web cam almost daily but i am missing someone sorely already.. gosh.. only a photo to keep my chin up.. its only been 2 and a half weeks..

chiyu

2006-04-26T10:40:00.000+08:00

update time.. nothing much's been happening.. still waiting for API (aircrew/aviation preflight inoculation) starts.. still looking for a car.. been cooking quite abit lately.. here are some pictures.. haha..

we made curry..

seah enjoying the curry.. haha..

my chao mian..

sean acting retarded, hong ye acting dao.. dinner time..

that's all for now..
from the U S of A
chiyu

2006-04-21T07:44:00.000+08:00

its my 21st birthday today.. and i spent it at dmv, getting my driver's license.. yup.. passed as expected.. and it cost me a total of.. US$50.. hah.. all you guys in singapore with a class 3 license.. hah.. less than a hundred bucks.. the only thing is that i only know how to drive and auto car.. although if i convert it to a singapore license (by taking the basic theory test), there's no restriction to manual or auto.. drove to alabama to check cars out.. nothing catches my eye yet.. happy birthday to myself.. alone in the us of a.. happy birthday..

chiyu

2006-04-19T00:23:00.000+08:00

ok.. its time i update.. and upload some photos..

here's my living room..

my bedroom.. its in a mess because this was unpacking day..

breakfast

more later..

2006-04-13T08:07:00.000+08:00

i'm in pensacola now.. its 1905hrs, 120406.. (that's 0805hrs, 130406 in singapore).. it was a long trip.. 16hrs from changi to LA, waited for 6 hours at LAX before flying to Dallas.. waited for another 2 hours before flying to pensacola.. whether here's slightly cooler than home.. except when the wind blows, it feels like u are getting a blast of airconditioning.. i'll up load pictures another day.. haven't slept ever since i left singapore (not including some microsleeps in between).. will update again soon.. thank goodness i have internet in my bunk.. haha..

chiyu

2006-04-08T12:59:00.000+08:00

time to update.. things that happened.. ok.. there was this little birthday get-together at my aunt's.. a couple of close friends came as well.. lots of medicals for my trip.. and i am glad that i have cleared them all.. and the highlight.. gfet.. that's g force environmental training.. i think.. you know.. that thingy that spins people about a really high speeds? i did 6 profiles, 2 of them reaching 9gs.. that's 9 x gravity.. so if i weigh 90kg, i experienced a pressure of 810kg.. i almost passed out on the rapid onset to 9gs.. but managed to hold on for the 15 sec duration even though i couldn't see anything anymore.. its funny how your vision would tunnel, then go black, even though your eyes are wide open.. i was performing the agsm with all my might (this action minimises blood pooling in my lower limbs and forces blood up to my head.. or almost.. i was pretty fatigue by the time i reach the rapid onset to 9g profile.. at high gs, the pressure acting on me was so great, i actually felt tremendous pain on my extremities.. this must be the longest and most painful half hour of my life.. but i'm glad i passed it.. i cannot begin to imagine the consequenses of me passing out and failing gfet.. might mean that my trip would be delayed or worst, cancelled.. i was feeling totally motion sick the moment i stepped off the machine.. that's how badly the spinning screwed up my vestibular system.. funny how i was feeling just fine while in the ride.. dad came and sent me home after the ordeal.. thank goodness.. rested at home for a while before heading out to town (still feeling sick) to meet zhen.. she looked fantastic as usual.. had a nice western dinner at hereens before heading over to cine to have our pictures taken.. gonna keep those in my wallet to keep me sane in the states.. watched a late show after having so much fun at the picture booth.. funny how the japs can come up with all these weird stuff.. ice age 2 was pretty entertaining.. especially the poor sabre tooth squirrel.. haha.. leaving for the states on tues onboard SQ20 to LA's Tom Bradley international.. before transiting on american airlines flight to dallas.. before transiting to pensacola via AA.. woah... gonna miss you guys.. will be back end of 2007.. gonna miss you too zhen..

chiyu

2006-03-31T19:19:00.000+08:00

It's all about doing your part. Scuba Diving has been one of the best things that I have ever put my mind into.

No, I may not be the next Jacques Cousteau or any other renowned aquanaut but I try.
No, I would never be as effective as Jeff Corwin or Steve Irwin but I try.
No, I do not expect many other people to understand what I feel about the Ocean and nature but I try.

It really is difficult to convince the world and sometimes, it seems that we are fighting a losing battle.

How many times must we see pictures of green sea turtles dead from swallowing plastic bags?
How many times must we be told that flicking cigerette butts into the Ocean would ultimately result in death of marine animals?
How many times must we be reminded that eating sharks' fin soup is no more than eating your fingernails in chicken broth?

how many more times must we see this happen?

We know this but out of our desire and lust to be the 'supreme being' of Planet Earth, you ravage our Oceans and Forests. Will there ever be a day where we would finally realise our folly? Yes. There will. It will be the day that we have lost all that is precious. But it will already be too late.

If I am at all making any sense, then please, do your part. Join me in this uphill task. Leave a tag here and pledge your dedication. Spread awareness and education. (hey.. it rhymes.)

Things you can do:
1) Spread awareness and educate those around you about how precious our natural resources are.
2) Actively refrain from trading endangered animal parts. This includes giving up sharks' fin soup. I have.
3) Divers, please get your bouyancy in shape before you take part in dives, especially new comers to the sport. It will be ironic if you were to dive and at the same time, damage coral reefs by tumbling all over them.
4) Reduce, reuse and recycle.
5) Do not litter, especially when you are out at sea or in any other natural environment.

When We All Come Together, We Can Do Anything

chiyu

2006-03-30T17:49:00.000+08:00

more pics.. these are from tioman.. 24-26 march 06

yes.. its me.. check out the hair-do.. haha!

me taking a quick shut eye..

me in black.. clockwise, janice, george, li san, vincent.. those guys on the left are the open water students, doing their 1st boat dive! they are listening to sim and jeanine's dive brief..

janice and vincent are married to each other, george and li san too..

ok.. too lazy to add anymore..

chiyu

2006-03-27T18:15:00.000+08:00

some pics from the past couple of trips up to aur and tioman..

that's during a safety stop.. getting 'high' from all that nitrogen in my bloodstream..

nope.. that's not a giant red fish attacking me.. its the photographer's lens cap! and yes, that's still me getting suffering from nitrogen narcosis.. haha.. well.. maybe not.. ok fine.. i'm weird all the time.. not just when diving..

this is giant bumphead parrot fish.. its really a GIANT!

all the above were taken in aur..
more pics to come...

chiyu

2006-03-20T19:12:00.000+08:00

the weekend was great.. trip to pulau aur.. its triggerfish mating season so there were heck loads of triggers about.. huge titan triggers were chasing divers, esp around Lang Bay.. they chased, we finned.. on and on.. it was quite funny sometimes.. it was scary when Chang didn't notice a huge trigger and swam right towards it.. the rest of us were trying to 'scream' a warning to him but to no avail.. thank goodness the trigger didn't attack him until he noticed it.. it attacked his fins instead.. YP had to 'jump' in and discourage its attack with his pointer.. it was especially funny when YP 'saved' Lily from a titan trigger.. the trigger turned on YP and chased him a good distance.. i was 'laughing' in my regulator when i noticed YP finning towards me.. he passed me and soon, i found a huge trigger on my tail.. i split but it kept on coming.. after quite abit, the trigger disengaged.. only to find damon who was behind.. all the while, there wasn't any sign of Chang and Lynn.. we found them amongs the rocks, chasing the hawksbill we spotted earlier.. despite knowing the state the rest of us were.. smart move.. haha.. had a good test of my equipment.. rather pleased with it.. i'm sure all of us enjoyed this trip.. i know i did.. not just because of the triggers, more so the great company..

by the way.. i'm scheduled to leave on 12 april.. expected to return on 03 july 07..

chiyu

2006-03-17T14:39:00.000+08:00

Remember the Fifth of November

Remember, remember, the fifth of November,

The gunpowder treason and plot.

I know of no reason why gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot.

2006-03-14T15:47:00.000+08:00

its off to scuba again on the 24th.. to tioman.. a leisure trip at last.. spent quite a bit on the trip though.. $298 for trip, $228.65 for a Ralftech 3/2mm 'wing power' full wetsuit, $40 for ralftech dive boots, $29 for a pair of camaro gloves and $17 for a ralftech mask strap.. wow.. do the math.. broke.. haha.. but hey.. its worth it.. glad ol' jonnie's taking up scuba.. think this is gonna be a good trip.. i'll most likely be doing dives with e dms and intrs who are going for their area familiarisation dives.. let's go diving!

chiyu

2006-03-10T19:43:00.000+08:00

went for my interview today.. at cmpb.. yup.. i made it.. haha.. the chairman of the interview board was none other than Mr Zoe Tay, Maj Chionh.. gotta be back at cmpb on tues for another computer test.. you know.. the one where every singaporean son has to do before he enlists? mine's expired so ya.. i don't mind going.. whatever keeps me away from mandai freaking hill camp.. hate that bleeding place.. thanks to alvin, yogi, yy, kenneth, joyce and some of you other folks for making things a lil more barable.. i'm on freaking duty tml.. knn.. thanks alot mr duty planner.. and mobilisation ex on sunday.. my freaking weekend's freaking burnt.. and my freaking boss wants some paper in by monday.. well if u are reading this (which i strongly doubt).. 'why don't u take that paper of yours and shove it up your freaking arse?' thank goodness i'm leaving soon..

chiyu

2006-03-07T19:39:00.000+08:00

i regret not bringing a camera.. i was eye to eye with a resting resting hawksbill turtle! man.. it was hiding under a plate coral when we came upon it.. we peeped under the plate and it just gazed right at us.. seemingly unthreatened and nonchalant.. i even managed to pet it on its shell (afraid that it'll tear my fingers off with its beak.. which of course didn't happen..). finally a certified rescue diver.. the course was unlike any scuba course i've taken.. this was definitely more demanding.. physically and mentally.. the most memorable would be the 'surfacing of unconscious diver and rescue' scenerio the instructors played on me.. i was keeping a close eye on them throughout our dive.. right until we climbed back aboard the boat.. the instructors new i was watching thus didn't have a chance to disappear and 'plant' themselves as casualties.. there i was happily derigging when suddenly, 'we've got a missing diver!' i was confused at 1st.. i thought they were just joking.. there was a snokler in the water so i thought they just missed him out.. (sim, one of my instructors had jumped off the front of the boat without me knowing and went right to the sea bed and hang onto a piece of rock, pretending to be the 'victim'.. we fought the strong current once already and i was pretty shagged out..) i finally realised that it was one of the rescue scenerios and i immediately kitted up and jumped back into the sea.. the finned as fast as i could over the bubbles rising from the depths - sim's exhaust bubbles.. pierre (another instructor) jumped in with me to observe me performance.. i released air from my BC but somehow, i wasn't sinking.. or at least i wasn't sinking fast enough.. so i flipped around and finned downwards, equalising my ears rapidly on the way down.. the 'victim' was at a depth of about 10m.. i pulled him towards me and slipped my right arm under his armpit and onto his 2nd stage (regulator piece at the mouth), making sure it doesn't fall off.. i brought him to a kneeling position quickly and started to fin upwards towards the surface.. i decided against adding any air into either of our BCs to make us more positively bouyant as i was still strong enough to fin us both to the surface.. i was careful not to ascend too fast.. we broke surface soon after and i inflated both our BCs to the fullest.. i removed the pocket mask from my BC pocket and proceeded to give rescue breathes every 5 seconds as i tried to tow him back to the boat.. by now, we have drifted pretty far down current, to the rear of the boat.. the current was strong and i spent at least 15 mins trying to fin us back, at the same time, giving rescue blows every 5 secs.. it was tough and soon i was getting breathless.. i finned and finned as hard as i could.. pierre was nearby, making sure we were alright.. words of encouragement from him helped.. just as i was nearing the boat, richard, by rescue buddy jumped in and assisted me in removing sim's gear, before i carried him up the rickety ladder onto the boat.. i performed cpr and even stuffed his fin into his mouth as the 'went into fits'.. twas pretty humourous though.. the exercise soon ended and i was pretty happy with my performance.. i received several taps on my shoulder from other diver whom happened to be on board witnessing my training.. it felt even better when not only my instructors, but their instructor (who happened to be there as well) gave me a thumbs up.. that made my trip.. for those reading and thinking about taking up scuba, u can be quite comfortable to know that if anything happens to you while i'm there, i'll TRY my best to help you.. haha.. but i wish i wouldn't have to put my training to real use in future.. i might be going up to aur again on the 17th to 19th.. any takers?

chiyu

2006-02-27T21:50:00.000+08:00

i don't like me current appointment.. so much crap work to do.. 1 month here is 1 month too long damn it.. -_-" going scuba on me own this sat.. paid a hell lot.. for emergency first response and rescue diver course.. cpr and 1st aid on tues night.. pool lesson on thursday night.. thurs morning having comp test at cmpb for e pensacola thingy.. keep it together..

chiyu

2006-02-19T11:40:00.000+08:00

watched pink panther with the guys on friday night.. funny show.. good for stress relief.. bummed around the whole of saturday till the evening.. met zhen for dinner at crystal jade holland v.. we ate so much we had to stone and sip tea in the restaurant until we feel well enough to walk.. all in all i think we sat there for about 3 hours.. i was gonna send her home when she suddenly wanted to walk all the way to clementi.. so we did.. walk and talk and walk.. boy does she walk fast.. sent her back from clementi instead.. hah.. looks like i'll be bumming at home today again.. if the weather's good, i'll go play bball..

chiyu

2006-02-16T19:26:00.000+08:00

the air force offered me another post.. as a weapon systems officer (fighter).. ok..

'As a WSO(Fighter), you will work with the pilot as a team, deploying the weapon systems during air combat.'

Essentially, he sits behind the pilot, does navigation, radar, air to ground surveillence, targeting and so on..

not too bad.. its a rare vocation locally.. only 20+ or so of them in singapore.. i would be required to head over to Pensacola, Florida for 17 months.. i think i would be going there with at the most 1 other person.. the rest of the guys in the course would be americans.. if i take this on, i'll be leaving for america in april (please let it be after the 20th! i don't want to spend my 21st birthday in america).. i'm quite keen in doing this but i'm not 100% sure yet.. more later..

chiyu

2006-02-13T19:34:00.000+08:00

had dinner with sara, cameron and kellie on saturday evening.. sara and cameron arrived from melbourne a couple of days ago.. sara got my hp no wrong so she had to contact kellie, who in turn had to contact me to arrange for a time to meet up.. i met sara back in sec 1.. she sat in front of me in class, together with kellie.. she returned to australia after her dad was done with his singapore posting.. the last time i saw her was way back in 2002.. cameron's a good friend of sara.. he's a native cambodian born in australia.. looks totally chinese though.. we were having trouble finding a place for dinner since it was a crowded saturday night.. we finally settled down in nydc, wheelock place.. talked and joked till about 9+++pm.. walked around a lil bit more before kellie had to leave for home.. was planning on going to jervis' place for his birthday dinner.. and since i'm sara and cam's host, i brought them to jervis' place as well.. (with jervis' permission of course) was funny seeing how sara and cam were trying to 'decode' justin and KL's language (singlish laa..) twas about midnight when justin 'tom pang' us to YMCA, where sara and cam were staying.. its great seeing sara again, and of course, getting to know cam as well.. i'm still currently under the 'umbrella' of afs so i STILL gotta go to paya lebar every morning.. hai.. oh well.. nothing to do there anyway.. all i'm looking forward to is.. yup.. you guessed it.. SCUBA!

chiyu

2006-02-09T16:13:00.000+08:00

ok peeps.. time for another scuba trip!

the 3 of us who decided to take on scuba in the 1st place.. me on the left, junyi in the middle, jon siew on the right.. i just absolutely love this picture.. that's tioman island as the backdrop by the way..

so far, i've been on every trip with jy.. jon missed out the advanced course but joined us in the hantu trip with the Hantubloggers..

planning is in progress.. just looking for peeps to tag along.. the more the merrier.. jon would most prob be doing his advanced on this trip.. yet to confirm with jy.. looking at a weekend in march.. tioman or aur doesn't really matter.. (but most prob aur since jon hasn't been there before..) c'mon.. interested just sms/call me on my cell.. or u can simply gimme a tag there ---->

lets start the scuba season!

chiyu

2006-02-07T14:09:00.000+08:00

ok.. i've been bumming at home for the past WEEK.. i hate being sick.. what to do when i can't go out? play on my ps2 lor.. and i do declare.. MGS3 is the best game ever.. the graphics is good.. game play is superb.. and most of all.. the storyline is freaking-A man.. i was beaming from ear to ear during the concluding movie clips after i've completed the game.. for the second time.. u guys with ps2 but haven't tried this game.. GO GET IT MAN! you won't regret.. just received an email from my dive centre.. 1st trip to tioman 24-26 feb.. haha.. yay!

chiyu

2006-02-02T10:52:00.000+08:00

ok.. some photos..

note the background.. not me.. that's my bunk..

that's john and i in the classroom..

us watching dvds in our common area..

waiting for our maxicab in front of city plaza.. that's where k-mart is at..

this is the super cool pizza hut deliver car..

that's all for now..
chiyu

2006-01-28T15:20:00.000+08:00

ok.. its that time of the year again.. gong xi fa cai, hong bao na lai~ now that i'm done with that.. ok.. i hate new year shopping.. its crowded.. there's nothing to buy.. but i 'must' buy something new to wear.. i've been reusing the same repertoire time and time again.. i'm embarking on the body-for-life programme.. yup.. something to keep me busy with for the new year.. i doubt i will keep STRICTLY to it but.. well.. i'll keep as close to it as i can get la.. been doing nothing but reading and working out of late.. results are showing but not fast enough.. but heck.. i'm pretty determined in this and nothing's (well almost nothing's) gonna keep me back.. 2 months before the season starts.. yes boys and girls.. its SCUBA season again! ADEX is coming 21-23 april.. hoping to pick up my BCD there.. planning on buying a rashguard.. a simple mares one costs $65.. quite reasonable in my opinion.. any of u lasses and lads want to join me come march? gimme a buzz aye? yes.. i'm still too lazy.. ain't gonna post any pics up yet.. have a fruitful harvest u'all..

chiyu