pit stop

Right now, I am sitting in an area labeled as the “Quiet Lounge” in Dubai International Airport. And no I am not online, I am writing my blog entry on MS Word, to be copied and pasted once I get to my final destination.

This is my first time out of the country and it feels surreal. Like going to a new high class mall… with no money hehehe. I had to change $10 of my per diem to the local currency Dirhams (or DRH). The exchange rate? 3.6 DRH per 1 USD. And so far, three and a half hours into this place, I have spent 1 DRH hahaha. Well, I do plan to eat lunch here as my connecting flight is scheduled at 1:15 pm local time. Time difference is – 3 hrs from Manila.

I dunno if I feel the effects of jetlag given the short time difference and the numerous hours of sleep I had before leaving and on the 8 hour trip getting here. I still haven’t figured out how many hours I will be losing (or gaining).

Took some photos upon arrival. Not much, I was still sleepy and kind of disoriented before the battery gave up on me. Can’t find a socket to charge it, I don’t even know if the sockets are standard here. Maybe I can buy a spare battery here, or even a spare SD card as I only brought two 16MB cards.

I’ve been walking along the length of the airport back and forth looking at the sights and thinking of what to do. I’m not sure if I’m ready to do some shopping given that this is just the beginning of my business trip. Oh well I can easily change the local currency back to US dollars or whatever currency I may need later on (I think). One thing I’m sure of, this damn laptop bag is heavy!

Seen a lot of nationalities, well at least I think so. Not surprising as this is an airport (and an international one at that!). Exchanged a few words with fellow “travelers” and some staff, one was even a Filipina!

I’ll go back to reading my book before I go on and see if I can check in to my flight and maybe grab something to eat. There is a Dunkin’ Donuts stall in my immediate vicinity, and I think I saw a McDonald’s somewhere down the building….

stress!

I am not feeling well.

I'm think I'm having a slight fever, probably due to all the stuff that's bugging me right now. Travel arrangements, work, and a lot of tiny things that needs attention.

And I'm supposed to travel to an international assignment in less that 60 hours... I need rest, which I don't think I can afford right now. Life....

adOPTION

I received a surprise call no less than 30 mins ago... it was from an old friend, actually from a surrogate mother of sorts.

She's a family friend, the owner of the school I attended in Cebu while my family stayed there for a few years. And she "adopted" me for a year during my, we could say, "formative" years.

You see, she and her husband don't have kids. She really does adore children, and perhaps the main reason she set up a school (I haven't really asked her about that). I was luck enough to be part of the first batch ever of her school, which was actually her home. It has now grown up to a college level institution patterned after the school system of the US, requiring a new building in Cebu.

I accidentally bumped into her some months back at the lobby of our office building. Coincidentally, they have also set up an office in the same building where I work. And this time its for the graduate courses. We've kept in touch and shared a few stories since then.

The phonecall, was about her offering me a job. Actually asking me to work for her (which I perceive to be 2 quite different ideas) . I am quite happy with my current job, and I feel that my career development is getting somewhere.

She also texted me the possiblity of being adopted of sorts (again).

Maybe she forgot that I just turned 24?

Checkered flag

I forgot there was a Formula 1 race again. Well actually, I knew there was a race this weekend and was meaning to watch it. However, being it my birthday and having a party last saturday plus a game at Camp Masada I completely missed it.

I just dawned to me this morning when an officemate mentioned it, saying that Fisichella won. Figuring that Fisichella is now driving for Renault, who are on a roll right now with Alonso getting 5 podiums out of 5 starts (3 wins), I took it as a fact.

Getting curious as to the actuall results I checked my favorite F1 website and got a pleasant surprise.... Kimi Raikkonen wins in Spain.

I'm getting too busy to keep up to date with all things that interest me... damn!

Easy as connecting the dots...

A couple of days ago, I went with my mom to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to have my NBI clearance authenticated for an upcoming business trip (a further blog entry should explain this in detail).

I was a bit late in getting this done, as I had my NBI clearance renewed last April 20 but I figured "How hard would it be to get this single piece of paper validated?". I had, after all, renewed the NBI clearance in about 15 mins via their kiosk. I was giving myself a good 4 hours to get this seemingly easy task accomplished.

Oh, how wrong was I.

When we got there around 7am there was a considerable line outside DFA. I though it to be normal and readied myself. We asked the guard at the gate first just to be sure we were following the right line. He confirmed that it was the line to get my document authenticated.. but first we had to get it authenticated at the Malacañang Palace.

Go figure. To get an NBI clearance authenticated at DFA, you first have to get it authenticated at the Malacañang Palace!

It took me 4 hours alright...to get the document into the receiving window of the authentication office at Malacañang. And it was due for release the afternoon of the following day.

I was able to proceed to DFA early this morning, started falling in line at around 6am and finished around 8:30am. Better that what happened in Malacañang... but this time I have to wait for it to be released on Tuesday next week!

All this for authenticating a lousy piece of paper that says I am not a criminal. Sheesh!

i'm back!

I just came from boracay yesterday... now I'm at the office.

But I'm not working, I'm not that stupid to work during a holiday. I'm just waiting for some of my officemates before we head off to the wake of an officemate's dad who passed away last friday.

Darn its hot. Usually I freeze my butt off here in the office but since it has been declared a holiday today, most of the tenants are lounging at home or roming the malls the building management wisely decided not to turn it on. At least in boracay I can take off my shirt and maybe take a dip in the big blue ocean.... darn.

Habemus Papam

I was awake late last night after eating dinner and patching up my ghillie veil for an upcoming game trying to find something worthwhile to watch when I chanced upon a local channel showing a chimney billowing smoke.

Normally I wouldn't even stop and bother with the local channel, more so a local news program, but somehow I paused for just the right amount of time for the images to register a thought.

Why are they showing images of smoke? From a chimney....that looks like the one in the Vatican... which signifies whether or not a new pope has been chosen... have they finished voting already? Us it white smoke? Yes it is! Could this be history in the making?

Yep it was white... and it was from the Vatican, but I imagined more smoke (dunno why). I stayed tuned to the live feed, awaiting confirmaion that a pope has indeed been chosen. It was somewhat unceremonious... no announcements (yet), no formal indication of what was being hoped for. Then the bells rang.

A new pope has indeed been chosen.

I wasn't able to know the name of the new leader for the entire Christian community that night, the commentators where saying it could be some time before the new pope emerges to meet the people in St. Peter's Square.

I had to sleep. A new day was looming, not just for me... but for the entire world too. All that was important was that we have a pope. Habemus Papam!

we saw them, but they never saw us... 

and the wait continues...

Despite being without a gun, the troops and I went to Montalban to play airsoft with guys who would be our comrade-in-arms in the upcoming bivouac. I was thinking of either alternating guns or practicing reconnaissance skills.

I still brought my gun with me, I tried to secure the two receivers using an old OD shoelace I had at home. There were still misfeeding problems and it could be (hopefully) just a lubrication issue (thanks to the input of some of the guys from Sparrow Unit). I'm waiting for JM to get some silicone spray to check this theory out.

The game in Montalban was quite good, although I was assigned to the red team while the rest of the troops was assigned to the yellow team. I was able to shoot a few rounds during the first game, but failed to take anybody out.

My second game left me with mostly a defensive/ambush role. I paired up with one of the snipers of the group and played the role of his spotter. I never saw a single enemy. There was one point where another sniper fired a couple of rounds at our location, but moved on to another location. My sniper and I decided to move to a different position to get some action, however the "game over" signal was given before we could engage anyone.

They said that the bivy would be as much a waiting game as anything else, so this was good practice for my patience.

After the games, I gave my gun to Bernard to take to one of the airsoft shops here and get some input on how it can be fixed. He texted me yesterday saying that one of the guys at the shop was challenged to try and fix it. I am again in waiting for a few more days for result of this development...

Classified Information

** The contents of this post has been identified as classified information by the appropriate authorities. Kindly acquire the proper clearances.

I am a gunsmith...

.... not yet anyway.

With the past operation that went belly up on us. I was left with a broken (not to mention expensive) gun with 2 problems:

1. The pistol grip came off




2. The part that secures the upper and lower receiver together broke






Seeing the urgency and need for tools during times like these I bought some simple tools and a toolbox to complete the package. The pistol grip issue was easily remedied by adjusting the screws. I was feeling like a gunsmith at this point.

Then I applied metal epoxy on the broken part of the receiver and reinforced it with a metal strip. After waiting for a couple of days to set the epoxy properly, I tried it out yesterday. I had to do some minor sanding to get a fit for the retainer pin and then I was set. I was really feeling like a gunsmith now

JM was with me as he was getting some BBs from me and testing out his "new" gun (he didn't even tell me straight that he just bought one, I had to fill in the blanks to find out... the b*tch). We fired a few shots with his gun and I was feeling pretty excited to fire my "fixed" gun.

Unfortunately, it was misfeeding somehow. I started troubleshooting and was thinking the hop-up mechanism (particularly the O-ring) was the culprit since I tinkered with it when the weapon was in disassembled. But upon further inspection, it looked like the fit of the retainer pin was loose causing a slight wobble between the two receivers.

It had something to do with the alignment of the inner barrel and the air nozzle. Anyhoo, as I was looking at the wobble and explaining to JM what could be happening (like I said... gunsmith) the "fixed" portion came off... confirming my worst nightmare. The epoxy wouldn't hold.

I felt really low... my mind was racing for possible solutions and alternatives. Buy a new gun? Try to fix it? How much would I be shelling out? I wasn't a gunsmith anymore. More like a kid who just got his lollipop stolen or worse... dropped into the dirt.

I still have 2 options though... try the venerable Mighty Bond solution or secure the receivers with zip ties.

Hopefully I can still get this fixed...

Operation: Druglord - AAR Part III (All hell breaks loose)

And so off they went.

The 3 men disguised in civilian clothing proceeded to the Druglord’s hideout. They easily passed through the checkpoint leading to the target location, contemplating if they have been tipped off. Despite the though, they did a reconnaissance round of the area to check for possible complications. There where none.


They were stationed 2 houses down the street to avoid detection. Last minute preparations were made and the go signals were given. Everything went according to plan, the briefcase was planted and delivered by our defector.

The 3 men nonchalantly walked over to the gate and stepped in. They stealthily made their way to the primary staging area, hearing some scuttling about in the suspect’s house. The expected phone call was made and further instructions were given to the Druglord.

The Druglord was now isolated in a 2nd floor room, the 2-man assault team is in position, distraction (smoke) charges in place and the negotiator on the phone ready to cut-off the electricity to the entire house. Everything was set in place.

Until everything went awfully wrong…

Just as the assault team were repositioning themselves, an unexpected noise came. One of the doors on the second floor opened….it was the Druglord. Intel got it wrong, he was in the wrong room. One of the assault team members opened fire, missing the Druglord by a hair, and the lights went out.

Sporadic bursts of fire followed, keeping the Druglord at bay in his fortified position in the room. The lack of NVEs (Night Vision Equipment) prevented the assault team to storm the room and end the siege. The negotiator joined the assault and tried to set the smoke but equipment failure became his downfall. He was hit by a shoe and two children’s book launched by the Druglord, who stormed out and took the negotiator out. Being unarmed, he was considered a kill right then and there. He was able to relay a last command to the assault team to take the suspect down.

The blitz came and shots were fired. The suspect was hit, but only wounded. He was able to grab one of the weapons of the assault team, fortunately the magazine fell out (plus the fact that the gun broke) which saved the life of the operator. The point man, carrying an SMG was able to take control of the suspect using intimidation tactics.
The end result: one operator dead, one injured, one weapon destroyed. The Druglord however, died from his injuries sustained during the gunfight, apparently shot in the back rupturing his lungs.

Operation: Druglord - AAR Part II (Planning the assault)

Intelligence sources have confirmed that the Druglord will be at his stronghold with only the presence of the defector-nephew. It was now the time to strike.

3 operators would be involved in the operation. Two of which prepared the gears, weapons and pyrotechnic materials for the assault while waiting for the remaining agent coming from physical training. Once the assault team was complete in their HQ, they geared up and walked through the plan of attack.

1. The defector-nephew will be contacted using a mobile communication device and tasked to deliver a package to the Druglord. He has further instructions to leave the gates and doors open for the assaulting team’s insertion.

2. The assaulting team will then proceed to the primary staging area behind the suspect’s cars.
The package contains a note for the Druglord to call a cellphone, which will be answered by the team’s negotiator and demolitions expert. This will provide a distraction in order for the main assault team to move into position in the stairwell.

3. The electricity will be cut, smoke deployed and the assault team will move in to take down the Druglord.

The Plan was set….

Operation: Druglord - AAR Part I (Intel gathering)

A group of covert operators have been planning to take down an individual, whom we shall designate as "The Druglord".

There was no official order on when or how such an operation should take place, but there was only a short window in which we could stage the assault.

So an agent was put in place within the Druglord's inner business circle. Intelligence was gained regarding the layout of his stronghold, his group 'affiliations', his schedule and his habits. The agent in place (Agent V) was also able to recruit two of the Druglord's closest personnel.... the sister and the nephew.

With the primary intelligence materials in place, the operators waited for the opportune moment...

SNAFU

Unfortunately I wasn't able to go to the gym yesterday.... before any of you think I'm a lazy kid, just wait a minute and let me explain.

After the billiard game (which was actually 2) I locked my PC, gathered my things and proceeded to leave the office. But my boss asked for helped with the work she was doing.... I was trapped.

I thought I could take my leave after a few minutes but the discussion lasted for about an hour! I had no more time to workout, since the gym closes at 10pm. Darnits.

Fortunately when I got home I saw my workout guide book and the desire to workout was rekindled. Luckily the routine I was scheduled to do could be done with the 2 14-pound dumbells I had lying around.

So I still got to work out....Situation Normal (All F*cked Up) ....

booyah!

finally!

i've found some free time to set up my own blog! hehehe....but alas my officemate just invited me for a game of billiards. then i'm off to the gym....

a full blown blog entry shall be on the way....