When i was told that i will be going on board a vessel, i was innocently excited. I envisioned strutting in my heels and greeting the deep blue ocean in glam. My fantasies were slightly dashed when my mentor informed me to do away with heels on that day. I arrived at Marina South Pier in T-shirt, jeans and flats, secretly hoping that the sun will show mercy and not eat up the ringworms on my already sensitive face. It was a 20 minutes ride on the water taxi to reach the place where the vessel was parked for the buyer's inspection.

I was greeted by a huge, overwhelming object statued in the middle of the sea. In comparison, the water taxi seemed like a miniature. After some commands which i did not understand, the crew on board extended a rope ladder from the top of the vessel to the tip of the ant-like water taxi. It took almost 5 long minutes for the water taxi to drift to a precision where we could hop onto the rope ladder. I was quite sure i did not sign up for mini fear factor program, but was completely relieved i wasn't in heels and skirt.

Soon we climbed on, which wasn't too hard for me since i am not too much of a girly person. The very helpful mentor gave me a tour around the vessel to familiarise the compartments. Adventurous is too humble a word to describe his character. We climbed down into the engines room which was hot and noisy. We lowered into the tankers where crude oil and chemicals are stored for transportation. When he asked if i was alright to go into the tanker (which was extremely dark, the ladders were slightly coated with remains of oil and dirt), i immediately concealed my concerns and dived in. Little did he know that i was slightly bimbotic and worried about dirt getting into my jeans and face. I felt like i was in the scene of Titanic, but only when it crashed.

Now i know why shipbroking industry is so very male dominated. I was feeling ashamed that i spent too much emotions worrying about dirt getting into my face and sun melting my skin. I brought an umbrella with UV protection but never had the chance to open it because i did not want to seem like a complete bimbo walking on a huge vessel yet whining about the superficials.

Luckily i am a manly female. That pretty much helped a lot :)

HELEN. she's a bitch. but a KIND one.


Jing
Jing 2
Geraldine
joelle
Mishie
Xing Yue
Adeline
Ying Ying
Lixian
Meiling
Adriel
Dom
siree
lisa
sing ying


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