Boat repairs part 2

I returned almost a week later to find that the epoxy at the seat repair site is still a little sticky - JB said my mix of the epoxy resin was probably not ideal. But nothing to do about it la, and I think it holds up pretty well, so I went ahead to work on it.


The scary part was to drill a hole blindly and hope that it matches the other one on the wings that extends down from the coaming. The whole thing was actually quite tough to drill through, and I had an initial false start when I went for the wrong site to drill. I shift further down, finally got a hole, squeezed in the screw and started wriggling it around forceful in the hope of connecting through to the other hole. I missed by a bit! No choice but to enlarge the hole on one side so that the screw will go in straight. After all the effort, the whole thing look reassuringly solid.


Then, time to reveal the epoxy work at the bow. I ripped away all the masking tape, and found out that the plastic sheet was firmly epoxied to the entire area. Some epoxy have flowed down and coagulated in rivulets at the bumper, and I chipped away the brittle plastic bits where there were air pockets beneath.


After some filing down of the protruding rough bits, it looks like this. Not very pretty, but that's of no concern. Test piloting on friday!

Boat repairs

The repairs started on thursday evening, and continued on till Friday. First thing - the bow crack. I cut out a piece of carbon-kevlar cloth, spread epoxy over the area and plastered the cloth over. Another layer of epoxy goes over it after that.


There was a nice glistering layer of epoxy smoothened out over the patch, and it looked really nice. But then I was told that it is necessary to tape down a plastic sheet over the patch, so as to press down on the patch and squeeze out all the bubbles under the epoxy.

That was quite a disaster - the plastic sheet could not conform to the curvature of the area and couldn't lie flat on it, despite making slits into the sheet and trying to make them layer over each other. I tried pulling the different sides of the sheet and quickly taping them down, trying to make it taut.


It looks terrible, but what the heck. It's gonna be covered with black tape after I'm done with it.

Next, back to the seat. Having used a finely meshed carbon paste to glue back to the broken piece, I wrapped a layer of the cloth over it in a bid to strengthen it.


The last I checked yesterday morning, the whole area was thick with repair material, and feels solid. Gonna drill a hole in it tonight and bolt it back to the sides. Wish me luck!

Looking for a paddle exchange!

Someone in the US just put up his 215cm Werner Ikelos bent shaft paddle on eBay for sale - the exact same one as mine! The starting price for the bidding is high as expected, $365USD; if I convert it to SGD at a rate of $1USD to $1.5SGD, it will be around $550; the price I quoted to uncle Charles!

At least that auction validates the price that I put on this premium paddle, and I am not even offering it up for auction. Now, I'm just waiting for someone to put up a 205cm version of the same paddle so that I can snap it up! I still prefer using shorter paddles from my playboating and polo playing experiences, and my aggressive strokes don't work well with a longer paddle like my 215, not optimal, in any case.

Carbon paddles are so beautiful to behold...I can admire the fibres' weave pattern endlessly...

Silence

One good thing about invigilating exams is that for once, I can be in a classroom full of students and hear only the sound of the fans whirling. Ah...such silence. Educationists will tell you that a quiet classroom can mean unengaged students, but still it's a (beginning) teacher's dream.

And I think kids these days really need a good dose of silence in their life. There's so much noise and activity in their lives everyday, and I feel that most of them will be frustrated by a sudden powerlessness in the face of mute silence. It will be a whole new experience for them, to have nothing to entertain them except for the surrounding scenery, where they can only meditate and ponder on their own thoughts.

I recall the times I spend in Nepal, when I walk through the vast natural landscape for days, often hearing nothing but the murmuring of the wind. And everyday, I wake up to continue the same routine of hiking, undisturbed by thoughts of unread emails, phone calls not received, work not done. That was really really liberating, and I was perfectly happy with that.

If they can't take time out to think assert their own personality and straighten out their thoughts about their own lives, how can they be confident individuals? I wish I can give them an experience that rivals mine; there's no way they will ever be the same again if they can learn to talk to themselves and be happy with that conversation.

The sea is calling to me...

A series of incidents had opened my heart to the call of the sea these 2 days. Out of no reason, an old paddling kaki asked if I would consider selling my prized Werner paddle, and that got me thinking of possibly replacing it with a new one of a shorter (and preferred) length. Then Roland asked me if I wanted to go for 4 star refresher course next year; unfortunately, teachers have no leave to take, and I don't want to go for a course where I can't respect the instructors.

But anyway, that got me looking out for paddles and boats online when I was supposed to be doing work in school. I wonder if I can get a good deal on my kayak now with the local dealer, seeing that the USD is dropping to record lows. Can I? Can I?

And I am reminded of my new tent that I have yet used out in the wilderness. And my MSR hydration pack spigot tap and shower hose, and my backpack raincover, and lots more. I should go somewhere! Anywhere...

My poor boat....

...Just suffered from a bump below the front bumper. Actually it could have happened much earlier, just that I discovered it only last week when I tore off the tapes securing the bumper and discovered it. I must have got it from charging for the first ball in matches, or any one of the numerous dogfights that I engage in with opposing defenders.


A closer look reveals that parts of the epoxy layer had been chipped away from the collisions, and fine stress fracture lines radiating outwards from the epicenter of the impact.


Yesterday, I went down to NTU just to peel away the epoxy layer so that I can prepare to paste a new layer of material above it. Without a grinder, I had to use a small knife from a multi-tool to pick at the sides and chip it away one bit at a time - torturous!


A closer look at the job - what you are looking at are the layers of broad Kevlar tapes that makes up the entire boat.


Without the epoxy at hand, I had to resume work another time. Then I took out the screws at the side of my seat, as I noticed a crack by the holes. My goodness, it wasn't a crack at all - the entire chunk around the screw came off, where I previously repaired it!


Ok...Now that's much trickier to repair. Sigh, I'll see what I can do...

Anxiety

I'm in the midst of invigilating the English paper for my class right now, literally. They are still writing at this moment, and in a few minutes' time I will have to go do my shift till their paper ends.

And I am damn kan cheong about how they will do for it. The paper I set was quite hard, and I only realised that after looking through this sec 3NT assessment book I bought from Popular. Too late. But then again the HOD and VP had given their nods to the paper, so I assume it is still possible for them to fare well.

Ultimately I really hope that they can do well, and show me that I did managed to teach them something for the past 15 weeks, because I don't think I did a good job of it.

Looking through appearances

Regrettably, I got to know my Principal and Vice-Principal better through recent events, and I don't like what I see behind the facade.

I was in consultation with my HOD regarding my work review yesterday. Apparently, impressions left behind from 2 past lesson observations clouded the VP's judgment so much that she rated me unreasonably for a few 'intangible qualities', which is not objective and totally unrelated to the conclusions she had drawn then.

For example, she believed that where 'subject mastery' is concerned, I am deemed to be at a 'developing' stage still as I did not exhibit good classroom management skills (which I beg to differ actually). These 2 qualities have totally no bearing on each other, and I was so agitated about it that I told my HOD my version of things, to the extent that eventually she conceded and moved me up a grade there.

But the damage is done. It is a personal affront for me to have to defend my personal qualities against others' words, because I live by my strong principles and I am honest about myself. So that's how a work review is like. You rate yourself lower and they concur with you. You rate yourself higher and you will be asked to defend yourself. It is insulting to me that my HOD gave me a pop quiz about PE related issues, in that way trying to show me that I am not as good as I said I am. I had expected her to be better than this, but I don't hold it against her. It's the VP's words versus mine.

Today, I submitted an MC to the Principal, and she goes: "I am very concerned about your high MC rate, and I am seriously monitoring it...". I was stunned - hello, this is my first MC from a clinic! Previously I was on hospitalisation leave for 5 days, and can that be helped? She went on: "For a young officer, I don't expect that from you...normal MC rates are like 5 days a year...you have a long career ahead of you...you better take care...".

I was so hopping mad then. Teachers aren't allowed to question students' MCs or even letters, and here we teachers are treated like malingers when we take MCs. I insistently told her what I told, and even held her back to explain to her that I have no issues with work or my personal life whatsoever to get MCs for day offs. But she deserve harsher words really, and I now see how much she really cares for her staffs.

I'll monitor the situation and see how I fit into this place...if not, it's bye bye in 2 years' time.

A storm!

After blading at ECP in the morning yesterday, Karen and I changed out of the blades into slippers and walked over to Subway for lunch. As we finished lunch, we walked back out to the beach front towards the carpark, when we saw a water sprout off the coast!


I hurriedly whipped out my phone camera and stood there filming the movement of the sprout, enduring the lashing wind and rain as it approaches. People were running away in droves when it neared the beach a distance away, and there was a white screen at the beach when the sprout died.

Then a second one appeared! It formed much nearer to the beach then the first one, and approached menacingly. Eventually it reached the front of a breakwater, and went up even further, whipping up sand within itself. The whole force crashed through the trees and I saw a branch dropped, before the force dissipates and it died. By that time, I was quite battered by the raindrops and we quickly ran back to the car.

Awesome!

My new toy!

It was a tough choice, but finally, I settled on getting this a few hours ago. It's a 1/100 Strike Gundam IWSP (integrated Weapons Strike Pack) model.


Can't wait to build it!

Toys!

I was walking around with Karen looking at toys yesterday because she's getting something for her nephew, and I was so tempted to get a few myself! All those adult issues have screwed my brain so much that a sudden visit to the toy shop made me want to rediscover the joy of putting things together and creating nice toys just for the fun of it.

First it was a clear version of a 'Freedom' Gundam model that I saw on display in Isetan - a beauty! I used to do models with my old pal William at his home during my secondary school days, and 2 of my models are still with him I think. We used to talk about finding time to resurrect them together, and maybe it's time to do so by getting new ones to play with!

Then...Legoland! I recently bought a few mini magnetic figures for my metal cabinet in the office, and it was a joy to see them everyday. I bought a set with an imperial storm trooper, a Y-wing fighter and a AT-ST driver to add to my collection of 9 knights.

And there's so much items there that drives me wild. I want a ferrari! They have several models but this is the sleekest one.

A ferris wheel which Karen prefers - it is driven by a motor that actually makes it go round! Did I mention too that it can be transformed into a crane or a bridge that can be lifted, all with the same parts?

And there's this gorgeous chess set with really nice figures, sold in a set with a chess board. Now, both of us agree that it is a beauty, but we don't play chess! Nonetheless, we are now seriously toying with the thought of getting it to decorate our future place as a display.

With all these beautiful toys, I had to go online and check out the Lego website to see what other amazing stuff they have, and I did discover some really cool models. How about the classic X-Wing fighter? I saw it when it was sold a few years back, and had regretted not buying it before it disappeared, though it was a big sum of money for me to part with for a toy then.

The Imperial Star Destroyer! I saw that in the shops too previously, and it was like, twice the price of the X-Wing. I saw the real model at a friend's place a long time ago, and it was amazing. Can I buy it now?

Finally, the Millennium Falcon! The largest lego set ever produced for the market! With 5195 pieces in the set, and spanning almost 90cm when completed, this is out of the world man. Comes with a certificate too!

$500USD each, anyone?

Nurturing the whole child

Marking my students' papers is an exercise that shows up both parties' inadequacies. On my side, I often know what's right and wrong, but I have no idea how I can communicate that difference to the kids. This happens frequently when we deal with sentence structures - I cannot explain why some parts of the sentence have to go in front and others behind, except that that's how English works.

Which brings me to this conclusion: the worst thing for a kid to do is to avoid reading and start watching the TV or playing the computer games early. Without an intuitive ability to use the language, they will be crippled throughout their lives. You need language to impart education, so a poor grasp of the language limits not only learning ability, but the entire imaginative world of the individual, if you believe wittgenstein.

So. To teach the kids, I either have to explain to them the technicalities of English grammer rules, or insist that they somehow know it intuitively. Of course, the latter option is the more painless one, but none of my kids have the will or interest to pick up reading again. Then how? Jialat lah. They catch no ball I also boh pian.

So please, if you people out there ever have kids, don't shower them with toys or let them watch TV. Read to them when they are young, then make them read to themselves, all the way till adulthood. Force it on them if you have to, it doesn't matter. For once they seen the language being used properly often enough, there is no way they can get it wrong in the future. And you would have given them the best thing they can ever get.