Egg Shaped

Week 3.


Im still alive, still very much in one piece, still okay.

A few minor minor accidents ( i squished my finger under a valve seat retainer. You dont need to know what it is but its a small thing and its very heavy - my finger first turned blue, then purple and now its red) but the main thing is, i am okay.

Miss home every now and then, and wake up feeling damn grumpy EVERY morning . . but i've settled :)


I am starting now to wonder whats in store for me in Kemaman. I kinda like it here, i've settled. . . the thought of having to move again is just horrible.



Anyway. Whatever.

Some other random pictures because i know everyone doesnt like to read a whole bunch of words

Camel riding!


The real Qatar. At the beach. Its really really pretty

Orange Marshmallows

Its been a rough couple of days, but i have hung on (im good at that) and am for the most part getting on fine. People are nice to me :)



I made friends, i found food . . . Now i just need to figure out how to squeeze in 6 to 7 hours of sleep in each night and still get work done.

Damn, Im pretty sure i got to sleep more in uni. Bah. Whatever. Lack of sleep makes things harder to tackle than usual, makes the days seem really long.

But as a whole, days here have passed by really quick; im in my third week of work already!
And i have blisters on my fingers, grease in my nails and am now a whole lot darker. Such is life.

Im hoping for alot of things; but mostly im just hoping that someone sees the bigger picture and that it all works out somehow.

Its late, i have work to review.

Btw, had the most amazing molten chocolate cake at Applebees today.

Beats Chillis anyday :)

Missing you all. Please go check on my dogs.

Counting Days

I have been here for 11 days. Yes, I am actually counting at the moment.

Time has passed faster than expected, Im starting to worry i wont have enough time to finish all the tasks before September.

I have whined. And I have missed home. So much. (Suddenly have become damn patriotic)

Simple act of picking up the phone and going for dinner. Having pasta. Or tomyam. Or maggi. A bottle of dry muscat. Things I cant do anymore.

Qatar is a strange city. 'New' Doha as its called is like a massive planned structure bursting out of a warzone. While im on the bus to work (it leaves at 6.50 btw, so NONE of you complain to me that you need to wake up early again) we go past piles of rock and sand and rubble. Some small little structures set in a backdrop of more sand. No green, no trees except sad looking pine trees (if you;re lucky). I pass roadworks and banged up cars; roads with no pavements or lines, plenty of potholes and orange cones.

But take a trip to the 'new' doha city, mammoth structures of glass and metal are sprouting like mushrooms (btw, do mushrooms sprout?)

The view from my window

The only nice place in Doha to eat.

Around the city centre

Im too lazy to resize and post up more pics here, will probably put them up on fb :)

I need to study.

Today

What I have learnt about Qatar in my one week stay so far:

1. The preferred mode of transport (if you have the cash) is a big white land cruiser. The bigger the better to ride sand dunes with.
2. Cars are cheap. Cheap enough that they can be abandoned by the road if they were in a crash.
3. Petrol is bloddy dirt cheap. QR0.70/l. Which works out to roughly 65 cents/liter. Which is why people can drive big cars.
4. The majority of the people living in Qatar at the moment are non natives, like me
5. Shops close in the middle of the day. Literally close.
6. Friday = Sunday = Day of rest
7. People eat alot of meat, I miss eating proper veggie
8. Movie tickets are friggin expensive. QR35/ticket. Dont EVER let me here you complain that RM10 is expensive anymore.
9. You can do wheelies in the middle of the city streets at night, traffic stops for you
10. The majority of cars here have dents in them.
11. Hungry people. They give girls the once over look everytime they pass. Damn pervy
12. I havent seen any stray cats. Maybe its too hot?
13. Temp will soar to the fifties and reach the sixties next month. Its also the time when humidity is at its maximum so you literally cant breathe.
14. There is (from my observation) a large number of prostitutes in the hotel bar/clubs
15. Hotels are the only place with a liqour license, that stuff is damn expensive

I have gotten several shades darker; I hope i haven't got any fatter.

Musings

I've reached the end of my first week. Yay!

I am very proud of myself, no tears yet. Almost tears and almost homesick, but still hanging in there.

To those of you who took the time out to email/msg me/text me/write on my wall, thank you. You have no idea how much comfort something small like that brings when you're so far away from home and there are no familiar faces.

To those who havent, shame on you! Keep me company lah!

In any case, I've managed to sort of settle. At least I'm not wandering around (that) lost anymore.

We went to a 'club' in a hotel a couple of nights ago. Its called a club, but seriously it doesnt deserve to be called one. Brings down the name of clubs everywhere else. I didnt realise that the clubbing scene in Penang/KL was that good until I came here. Haha. That place looked like a cheesier version of the old, old Soho's.

Time to get ready for work, its already 6. I cant wait for the next weekend to come, so i can sleep in!

More updates coming, toodles!

Oh, I'm excited, there are a few new people due to come in soon! Hoping that they're nice!

Mocha Mud Pie

This is what I feel like eating today.

Completely unrelated, only because I have no real pics of Qatar (my window cant open so i cant take a good night shot) and i didnt want to put up another ugly post with only words.

Its day three here . . . Because everyday is a work day I find that all the days of the week just melt into one big blur. If I didnt have to mark it off on the bus list everyday I wouldnt remember what day it is anymore.

Today was better than yesterday, hoping that tomorrow will be better than today. I finished my HUET, H2S and Sea Survivor training (Qatar has alot of sharks, yikes!) and we did the final simulation indoors, with the lights off, flashing strobe lights (lightning?), rain, wind and waves.

Wicked.

I would probably panic and freeze up if I ever had to do it in real life.

I have finally got a mobile number here! Although there is really no point in me saying that since i dont know what the number is yet . . .

The sim pack here is ridiculously expensive since there is only one service provider in the whole of Qatar. Monopoly. Bah. Like the Maxis prepaid pack 6 years ago, QD200!

Call me, talk to me, I'd love to hear another voice to say 'lah' to.

Missing all of you.

New Beginning

Im in Qatar.

Doha, Qatar to be exact.

Its hot and dusty. Like Abu Dhabi in the making. No big buildings, alot of dirt and construction. The closest shopping centre is at the city centre, a 20 minute walk away from my accomodation. Thankfully, its a nice place to stay; double bed, soft comy pillows, tv, internet, bath tub with a common kitchen and washing machine. Supposedly theres a swimming pool and gym, but I havent found it yet.

Im at Edzan Towers, you can reach me at my room at +974 4969330.

I share the place with an Indian girl, she's leaving for offshore tomorrow which leaves me all alone.

The closest place to eat is also 20 mins away at the city centre. I forsee alot of eggs, instant noodles and McDonalds delivery.

Its hard to find taxis here. And food is super expensive.

I wandered about in the sun for around 20 mins or so and I already feel crispy.

Hoping everything goes well for me. Fingers crossed.

Short Break

I'm Home!

Im back in Penang, my happy little semi turtle shaped island and im back in my room, with its multitude of pillows and soft cuddly things.

And i got a hair cut!

Its not really that much of a change, but at least some of that mess is gone.


Its a bad pic, im tired. I've been in and out of airports over the past 12 hours. And i dont sleep on flights.

I know, I am vain.