Another lockdown… another commute

[PAG]

I'm just gonna play it safe and try saying 'Salamat' to my favourite stewardess and see how things go from there.

Just leave her a note.....

[Stumpy]

I dress for comfort these days, my time of following fashion is long gone.

That is clearly obvious to all my friend. Your pics have left us with no doubt, especially when you insisted your Jesus slippers were "Proper" footwear for a night out...

[Saint Willy]

Did he bring his Jesus sandals onto the boat? Mind you, I’m wearing slippers today…

picture proof!

*mind you, this off topic post on an ASQ thread might get moved by my personal mod.

[Mendip]

^^^ FFS PAG...

And FFS JP... OK, so I'm not a slave to the latest fashion but I still look pretty good on a night out.

Might have known! Mendy’s flirting with the dark side!

Ya know SW... I've been waiting to be able to 'Green' you for all the interest you've shown in this thread but I'm starting to think again.

I am most definitely not flirting with any dark side or with anything else for that matter.

One of the stewardesses is very attractive but if she was so inclined there are many younger and I dare say slimmer guys on this boat to choose from.

I was always one of the younger guys at work on these boats but now all of a sudden I look around and I seem to be one of the oldest. WTF did the years go...? ... even the Skipper and Chief Engineer are younger than me. It's pretty depressing to be honest.

[Stumpy]

And FFS JP... OK, so I'm not a slave to the latest fashion but I still look pretty good on a night out.

Hey Buddy. You said it. If you don't follow fashion then it is questionable that you could look good on a night out unless of course it is the walk to your pond which in that case, no one is looking.

How goes the work? Is your daily work the same or is it different?

[dirk diggler]

The gym looks decent, I'd never be out of there.

[OhOh]

I'm not a slave to the latest fashion

Just make sure you have the "correct" logos and brand names next time.

The deplatforming is strong in some societies.

Some cannot afford mandatory visits to specialist trauma clinics and resort to binging.

If only we could rid the world of the real horrors.

[Saint Willy]

from.

I was always one of the younger guys at work on these boats but now all of a sudden I look around and I seem to be one of the oldest. WTF did the years go...? ... even the Skipper and Chief Engineer are younger than me. It's pretty depressing to be honest

ive noticed the same, not on boats obviously, but at work.

[panama hat]

from obese to morbidly obese, look out here you come.

Them's ootai fightin' words!!!

Might have known! Mendy’s flirting with the dark side!

You've forgotten the 'gardener'?

[katie23]

It is obvious to me that there are a lot of fussy kunts that post on here that have never been really hungry.
Mendip I am looking forward to the final weigh in you do before you leave to come home, I bet you will be heavier than at the start even with only shite to eat.
from obese to morbidly obese, look out here you come.

I agree with you, ootai. There are lots of fussy eaters on this board, but to each his/ her own.

Many Filipino seafarers gain weight after being aboard these ships/ vessels because the selection of food that they have on board is much more than what they're used to at home, especially if they came from poor families. A typical Filipino seafarer/ crew would be happy to eat eggs, spam or sausage & rice for breakfast, plus coffee.

I remember when the son of one of my neighbours came home from his OJT as a crew member on one of those ships. I saw him, we greeted each other and I remarked that he gained weight. He agreed and said it's because of the food on board. He especially liked Nutella (that stuck in my mind), which is expensive here in PH. I'm guessing his mom doesn't buy it - I would say that they're a lower middle class family and Nutella isn't in their budget.

I've visited a hick town in the Visayas region which is a 1-ATM town (no 7-11, McD or Jollibee). According to my friend who is from there, most of the guys there end up as seafarers. They send their money home, then their families are able to build concrete houses. When I toured the town with my friend, the big/ semi-big houses were owned by OFWs.

Cheers all.

[Headworx]

Maybe a silly question that some won't understand but have you got bananas on board Mendip? Didn't see any in that fruit platter you posted earlier.

[mudcat]

Thinking back to my deployments on an aircraft carrier I think the reason I lost a good deal of weight is that I had control over both food choice and portion size. Of course sterilized milk and rabbit was off the menu, but having the option of eating healthier without parental or budget issues made a big difference in my diet.

[Mendip]

^^^ Yeah, there are plenty of fussy eaters about Katie.

I don't really think of myself as a fussy eater and would happily eat eggs for breakfast if that was a choice. My gripe on here is this... the 6pm meal has soup, a choice of a different fish or meat meal every day and a pudding. The 6am meal is the same regurgitated, fat-soaked shite every single day. Why the disparity on a vessel carrying out 24 hour operations. The night shift should have the same quality of food as the day shift and should be able to eat healthily without resorting to salad and tinned fish every day. I'm capable of eating crap if I have to... but just don't want to.

Yes, Mudcat, it is (and should be) possible to eat very healthily depending on the shift on this boat. It's not a big deal as I can get decent food with veg plated up from the day shift meal but that shouldn't be necessary.


^^ HW... there was a big bowl of bananas on top of that fruit bar, out of camera view. I say 'was' because they're all been eaten now. One thing I will say about Norway is that the bananas are absolutely perfect and blemishless... not a mark on them. We have a crew change coming up on Wednesday (every two weeks) and I'll take a pic of a bowlful of perfect bananas when they come on board. Credit where credit's due... I don't complain about everything!

I've never seen a problem in Norway with having bananas on board. I once went fishing on a charter boat out of WA and everyone's bags were checked for bananas and any found were left ashore.

On the west coast of Norway there is/was a superstition about bringing a back-pack on board... this may apply elsewhere as well? I've seen ship's crew refuse to allow project personnel on board if they had packed using a back-pack and they were forced to re-pack their kit into a bin bag before being allowed up the gangway. I haven't seen this for many years now though so maybe some of the old superstitions are dying out.

[katie23]

^what's with the superstition about backpacks? And yeah, the evening shift should have equally good food too - tell it to your manager!

Btw do you also work Sundays? Or do you have a day off?

@headworx - what's the issue on bananas? They're high in potassium, right? We give them to our athletes to prevent muscle cramps.

[Headworx]

@headworx - what's the issue on bananas? They're high in potassium, right? We give them to our athletes to prevent muscle cramps.

Yep, plus they're a good energy hit source that's easy to eat on the run. Perfect for people playing sports mid-match or needing a lift on a long shift, add a coffee or chocolate bar and you're good to go! I don't even know why they're considered bad luck on boats to be honest, but I've been on more than a few vessels without seeing one for the duration at sea. Some people who work on boats take that sort of thing seriously, I'd rather worry about things like fire.

[koman]

Those perfect bananas in Norway must be EU approved bananas. The EU in it's zeal to protect all people from all things dictates the size, color and curvature of bananas. They are definitely not Isaan bananas. One of the drivers in the Brexit campaign was the regulation of Banana curvature....the British always rebel at such things....😄🤭

[Happy As Larry]

Thinking back to my deployments on an aircraft carrier I think the reason I lost a good deal of weight is that I had control over both food choice and portion size. Of course sterilized milk and rabbit was off the menu, but having the option of eating healthier without parental or budget issues made a big difference in my diet.

Many years ago I worked in the kitchens at Charles de Gaulle airport, preparing meals for the airlines departing out of Paris. I had never eaten so good. As I was single at the time I always volunteered for double shifts. Fresh bread and pastries in the morning, my choice of the major newspapers and magazines, good lunches and terrific dinners when the bosses had gone home and the chefs were in charge. After we had cleaned up. The chefs provided a meal for all the kitchen workers with the best produce available.
I put on a fair bit of weight during that period

[ootai]

^^^ Yeah, there are plenty of fussy eaters about Katie.

I don't really think of myself as a fussy eater and would happily eat eggs for breakfast if that was a choice. My gripe on here is this... the 6pm meal has soup, a choice of a different fish or meat meal every day and a pudding. The 6am meal is the same regurgitated, fat-soaked shite every single day. Why the disparity on a vessel carrying out 24 hour operations. The night shift should have the same quality of food as the day shift and should be able to eat healthily without resorting to salad and tinned fish every day. I'm capable of eating crap if I have to... but just don't want to.

Yes, Mudcat, it is (and should be) possible to eat very healthily depending on the shift on this boat. It's not a big deal as I can get decent food with veg plated up from the day shift meal but that shouldn't be necessary.

Mendip
I asked this question before but either you misunderstood me or I used the wrong word.
Where you eat is called the mess or the galley?
Where the food is prepared and cooked is called the galley or the kitchen?

When the evening meal is being served at 6pm can't you leave your work station for long enough to go get yourself a meal for when you finish at midnight or whenever you want to eat it?
Surely you are allowed meal breaks while on shift.

As for your stakes for the bet regarding your weight at the end of your stint on board I will have to pass.
I am still suffering the effects of coming into contact with that pond water.
I had a fish fin spike me under the nail on my right hand which went septic and now half my nail is detached from the meat underneath.
I also got spiked on the end of my left index finger and that is still septic, I just can't get it to clear up. Starting to think that the end of the spike is still in my finger but I can't see it even after digging a bloody big hole.
Also anytime I get a scratch and as you know everything out here wants to stick you with its thorns, it goes septic on me.
If I were to help you again I would want a full Hazmat suit.

Katie
When I helped Mendip with his pond he provided lunch and I can vouch that he is not a fussy eater. He got stuck into the Isaan food we had, I was actually surprised because he always seems to be cooking up western style dishes.

[panama hat]

The EU in it's zeal to protect all people from all things dictates the size, color and curvature of bananas.

It was an article in The Sun, followed by other 'quality' papers Daily Mail, Daily Mirror and Daily Edpress and then a whole segment of the population 'swallowed' it . . . I'm surprised the myth still exists

Regulation 2257/94 decrees that bananas should meet minimum quality standards such as being 'free from malformation or abnormal curvature of the fingers'.The law does not outright ban bendy bananas. Rather, it restricts their sale to certain trade categories.
According to the law, bananas of the "extra" category must have no defects, but Class 1 bananas may have "slight defects of shape" and Class 2 bananas may have additional "defects of shape".
This includes, presumably, defects such as "abnormal curvature".
As an article in the Independent only a few days after the Sun story pointed out, these rules were neither arbitrary nor uncalled-for, as they intended importing businesses to 'get value for their money' while preventing EU agricultural subsidies being wasted on poor produce.

The real story why 'bonkers Brussels' went bananas

Same as in stores - but creating stories of Brussels/EU fat cats sells more papers and helps politicians

[Mendip]

^^ Ootai... I'm on nights, that is the problem. After the 6pm meal is cooked in the galley it is eaten in the mess... while I am asleep. I work from midnight to midday.

There's a meal every 6 hours and meal times are +/- 30 minutes either side of 6am, midday, 6pm and midnight, thus allowing for a meal before shift, mid-shift and after shift whatever shift you are working. I eat before midnight and at 6am, trying to avoid the meal after shift at midday before I retire to my cabin.

I'm sorry about your finger problems... those fish are certainly getting their revenge. My left big toe nail, or rather where it used to be, is healing up nicely but the right big toe nail is about two-thirds detached and it doesn't look right at all. At least it doesn't hurt.

[cyrille]

Those perfect bananas in Norway must be EU approved bananas. The EU in it's zeal to protect all people from all things dictates the size, color and curvature of bananas. They are definitely not Isaan bananas. One of the drivers in the Brexit campaign was the regulation of Banana curvature....the British always rebel at such things....����

So, that's the 20 years old stuff covered.

[Mendip]

^what's with the superstition about backpacks? And yeah, the evening shift should have equally good food too - tell it to your manager!

Btw do you also work Sundays? Or do you have a day off?

@headworx - what's the issue on bananas? They're high in potassium, right? We give them to our athletes to prevent muscle cramps.

No days off Katie, it'll be 12 hour shifts 7 days a week until I get off.

As for bananas, there are many theories as to why they are considered unlucky on a boat. I've never witnessed this on any work vessels but as I mentioned, a charter fishing boat I went on in WA banned all bananas.

From the net...

No Bananas On Board
Aside from their peels causing many comedians to trip and fall down, bananas have long been thought to bring bad luck, especially on ships. At the height of the trading empire between Spain and the Caribbean in the 1700's, most cases of disappearing ships happened to be carrying a cargo of bananas at the time.

Coincidence? Perhaps. Another theory suggests that because bananas spoiled so quickly, transporters had to get to their destination much quicker. Fisherman thus never caught anything while bananas were on board. Another danger caused by monkey's favourite fruit fermenting so quickly, was that in the heat of the storage hull, bananas would produce deadly toxic fumes.

A final theory on the perils of bananas at sea (though there are tons) is that a species of deadly spider would hide inside banana bunches. Their lethal bite caused crewman to die suddenly, heightening the fear that banana cargo was a bad omen.

Many boaters continue to avoid bananas at sea, some even avoiding banana smelling sun tan lotion.


And a few others...

No Women on Board
Women were said to bring bad luck on board because they distracted the sailors from their sea duties. This kind of behaviour angered the intemperate seas that would take their revenge out on the ship. Funny enough, naked women on board were completely welcome. That's because naked women "calmed the sea". This is why ships' typically had a figure of a topless women perched on the bow of the ship. Her bare breasts "shamed the stormy seas into calm" and her open eyes guided the seamen to safety.

No Whistling on Board
Mariners have long held the belief that whistling or singing into the wind will "whistle up a storm".

Avoid Gingers
Red heads were thought to bring bad luck to a ship if you happened to encounter one before boarding. However, if you speak to the redhead before they get the chance to speak to you, you're saved.

I can vouch that women on board can be a disrupting influence!


As for backpacks, I think this is unique to Norway. It seems to be something to do with backpacks being used when you go hiking in the mountains but the last thing you want when on a boat is to come into contact with rocks... or something like that. The Norwegian coastline is often very rocky and mountainous so this theory could kind of apply.

[helge]

Always go onboard with your right foot first

Never start your journey on a friday

Never say 'goodbye'.

Never touch a bird, who lands on a boat
(doves are ok)

[Edmond]

Christ on a bike I've seen less rules on Thai Visa.

[cyrille]

fewer - ECC con artist.