Blog Posts by Eigh Tiu

Chesapeake Bay TransitIt was in the afternoon of October 31, 1974 when the fateful accident happened that brought a lifetime change to the once beautiful and adorable, young girl from the town of Liloan, Southern Leyte, Philippines. I was then a high school sophomore. We used to clean our classrooms everyday. Our school was a private school, but it was part of our youth civic action program that we were given assignments to clean our rooms and do some civic activities in our town. We just cleaned our public cemetery in time for the All Saints Day celebrations, where we accumulated numerous amount of used candles. We melted it and made into a home-made floor wax. It was a usual routine for us. At the time when the accident happened, we did it in one of our classmates' house and not in our own home. When the home-made wax was ready to be brought to school, one of our classmates placed it back to the stove, when she saw the top portion solidified. The container caught fire because there was already kerosene

Most of the Seafarer's have a love and hate relationship with the sea and as a wife who sailed with them, the feeling is mutual. Before my eyes, I can see how the sea causes many sorrows and hardships to come upon them, especially during winter time and rough seas, but they lived their entire life facing the toils of the sea, where the income is good enough to give a comfortable life of their love ones back home...
The Officers and crew with the sailing families










Nevertheless, their skills will not be harnessed if they are afraid to lose sight of the shore, giving some truth to the African proverb that "a smooth sea doesn't make a skillful seafarer." The formidable strength of character shown by them is admirable.
Being at sea, for days doing the usual routine of work makes life boring and made the men onboard home sick. Fighting the loneliness of a 19-day sea passage from US East Coast to South Africa, is quite a daunting task. However, blessed with a favorable weather, with the food inventory onboard permitting and a

On the following subject where I am about to rant and rave, I am not an expert, even if I have stumbled and risen several times during my prime years. It was just enough to know that I learnt only through my mistakes, and that the race goes not to the one who runs the fastest, but to the one who keeps on running...

Love is a very powerful thing, a vague and broad subject. Just like lightning, you will never know when it strikes. Love is real and definitely life changing. It literally creates and shapes destinies before our very eyes, that sometimes we took the signs for granted or simply choose not to mind at all.

My son, by posing just three questions that always remained at the back of your mind, I am happy to show you how LOVE relates to almost all of them.

Most thriving businesses in the Philippines are owned by Chinese or Filipinos with Chinese descent called "Tsinoys". Observing how they built their successful business empires still amazed me to date and the insights gained from the secrets of their success is very inspiring.

The unprecedented phenomenal success of their companies in the country lies in the following:

1.) First, they know how to find their own niche. They find their own kind of business orientation and go for it.

2.) They start Small.

3.) They Go for bulk. Don't Strive for instant profit, instead go for volume of sales.

4.) They Treat their customers as their best friends. Giving them discounts. Listened to their suggestions or comments.

5.) They Strive to live with in their means in the most Simple and Humble way. YES ,this is the most important aspect of business success. You must live less than what you earn.

6.) They Establish Strong personal relationships.

7.) They rely on good

The ship is their home away from Home, therefore a peaceful and harmonious relationship among the crew members is MUST at all times. To keep the spirit of good camaraderie and working relationship smooth, here are few ways to help maintain peace and order on board:

1) Be Humble and Respectful.

As a gesture of respect, always greet your Officers whenever you meet them anywhere on the ship at any time of the day. For mix Officers and Crew, respect individual traditions and culture of your fellow crew member.

2.) Calling by First Name

For a more cordial relationship among the crew, it is best to call each other by their first name. However, the Sr. Officers on board that is the Master, Chief Engineer, Chief Officer and Second Engineer should be addressed by all the crew as Sir or Ma'am at all times as much as possible.

3.) Be a True Sport and a Gentleman

For a crew complement with mix genders on board, in cases, where one of the single crew member,