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.

Packing Up

Its Monday, 30th June , 3.10pm and im packing up.


This morning i said goodbye to the Chai, Ann, Yun .. last night i said goodbye to the whole lot of pakistani/indians and the day before to Mitch, Ky and Chris.


Half and hour ago i said goodbye to Wes and Yasu.


In another hours time I'll say goodbye to Oscar and then at 7 i'll send off abdul and Ali.

Then its just going to be 3 of us girls left here at the Blue Towers.

I came to OFS-1 a little bit hesitant and not quite sure what to expect. Its surprising that in the space of a week I found people I could talk to, could go out with. . just the simple act of having dinner together or lunchbreaks together means alot when you're somewhere new and dont know anyone.

Im packing up and feeling just a little blue at the thought of moving on. I was getting comfortable.. Now theres so few of us left and so much free time it feels strange .. kind of lonely i guess. . But thats life. Move on, meet new people, make the best out of everything.


I had a good time here in Abu Dhabi. And its hard to imagine going to Qatar where i'll be starting out all over again. Im feeling a little envious that Mus and Wes will both be going to Labuan together.

Cross fingers, hope that i'll be okay.

When I say it fast i call it Abi Dhabi

Only a day or so left till i pack up and leave Abu Dhabi for my next location.

I dont know, although is different here i've settled into some sort of routine, made some friends..
Its going to be difficult going to a location where i know noone. At all.


Judging from the geographical coefficient, Qatar isnt all that bad . . Judging from what I've been told, if you want to go out in Kemaman, it would be better just to head to Kuantan. Damn.


Anyway, I dont do much here.. at the moment its just alot of courses (ALL DAY, OMG) so by the time we get back there isnt much time to do anything..

I wake up around 5.30 am everyday (SHIT SO EARLY) and now im just tired.. Maybe its the food, maybe its the heat... Im just so tired. Havent had much of an appetite either, i have a chicken whopper, a steak and cheese subway, a few subway cookies and chicken briyani sitting in the fridge. Just not hungry. Oh well.

By the way, stuff here is EXPENSIVE! And the meal portions are huge ! Even the McDonalds burgers are bigger (the regular is our large - i couldnt finish it) and a medium McChicken meal was 19dirhams.

Sorry if i cant call you all, 20 dirhams for 10 minutes is wayyy out of my budget

Did go out to visit the malls and do a little sightseeing . . which may be why im so tired cos im spending my rest time going out, but im only gonna be here once . . so . .


I got my coveralls. Now i look like a giant blueberry.

Dusty and Hot

Greetings for Abu Dhabi!

After flying what felt like a ridiculously long time across Malaysia and India I arrived in Abu Dhabi international Airport at around 1am local time (its 4 hours behind here). It took like forever to get through immigration and by the time i hopped onto the SLB bus (it has seatbelts!), took another neverending drive down to wherever i am and checked in to my room it was like 3am.

Thats coming to 7am for the rest of you all in Malaysia. T T

Its an intersting place (even though i haven't left my room yet), very square.

Miss all of you.
Miss the fact that i've got noone to poke fun at the blue lights in the bus or the seatbelts
And that they drive on the opposite side of the road and it feels damn weired
Or that its hot and dusty and very square
And that there arent any big trees and the skies are cloudless
And that people really do wear the red checked cloth on their heads (like in the movies!)
etc etc etc

I will be back soon!

A Thought

Five years, one week and 5 days ago, I said goodbye to Him.

He hugged me, and whispered into my ear " I'm going to miss you the most"

Seems like a lifetime ago, things have changed so much since then.

Its funny how certain things trigger your memory.

Shhhh...

Dont tell my mum, but i let the doggies into the house while everyone was away all week!
A marker of time. How did this fluffy little critter


Morph into this?

Banana Muffin

As I sit here in Coffee Bean inhaling the scent of banana muffins and black coffee and sipping my Southern Blend, I wonder if this is what i'll be doing for some time to come. Scabbing of airport wifi and passing time online while i wait for my boarding call.

Damn, thank God laptops (my pretty red Dell!) and wifi.

Seriously.

I need a haircut, I hate my current shaggy look.

Almost There

OMG OMG OMG

Its already Sunday, which means that I have less than 4 days to pack up and get ready for a whole new (hard and boring) chapter of my life.

Im leaving Friday. FRIDAY. So soon!?! Im not ready! I cant do it . .

Flight to KL on Friday to sign a few papers, then off to Dubai on Saturday, arrive on Sunday, take a van ride to Abu Dhabi, check in to my service apartment (hopfully its nice, and i dont share rooms) and crash. Then its up at 5am on Monday to get ready for my OFS-1 i.e. welcome to the oil field.

One week.

The I'm back in KL for a day or two before packing up my whole freakin life and moving to Kemaman. Terengganu. I have nothing decent to wear.

TERENGGANU. The only thing that comes to mind when I think of Terengganu is keropok lekor.

I'm worried. Not just about the place, but about the job, about everything. Its hard to leave everything behind, even more so when its for an indefinite period of time. What do I look forward to now? I know I said I'm up for the challenge, but sometimes I doubt myself. I look back on my past days and I realised I was never really alone; I always had someone to back me up. So i graduated from uni with reasonable good results, but still feeling a little like a fraud. Cos I dont know if I could have done it by myself.

I know I should be taking things with a pinch of salt, but horror stories are horror stories all the same.

I'm really going to miss my home. And my friends. And my pets. We all do what we have to, but it wasnt an easy choice to make.

My mind is in a mess

Things I need to get done, ASAP

1. Make a gazillion photocopies of everything
2. Get a new bank account
3. Buy luggage
4. PACK
5. Fix my glasses
6. Get my drivers license
7. Hunt out my transcripts from USM
8. Flight tickets
9. Clear my room
10. Get suitable (boring) clothes
11. Get my vaccinations
12. Go to a money changer
...

OH CRAP

TGIF ?

Lately, I've been going to TGIF way waaayy too frequently. I dont know what on earth possessed me to imagine that I could finish a whole entire mud pie by myself, but thats what I ordered ( In my defense, we were there for dessert, i might as well eat. Diet be dammned)

Obviously I couldnt finish it so i asked to 'tapau' the mud pie.

You should have seen the servers face. Hahahaha . . . He told me it wasnt possible.

Its a good thing the manager dude there can recognise us, this is what he packed for me:
A piece half eaten piece of mudpie wrapped in foil and surrounded by ice.

When i got home i couldnt get the mudpie out of the ice, the damn thing froze solid.

On another note, its already the 12th of June! Crap! 10 more days till I have to pack up and leave. The holidays passed too fast. . . Im not ready to start work, I'm starting to doubt myself cos when people think of (Lisa + Oil field) they find it hard to swallow. Like i cant do it.

Yes, i KNOW i act like a complete piece of fluff every now and then but still . . . we fluffy cretins have little fluffly egos too . .

What have i gotten myself into now?!

Celebrate!

I made it!

I made it through four years of uni, through my last and final semester!!

All that suffering was worth it .. I have managed to scrape through this semester and hang on by my teeth.

3.69

First Class honours! Woot!


Oh my gosh, I am so relieved.

Just so you know me

Just for you . .

I am wildly unpredictable - i have mood swings, i get depressed, i can laugh like theres no tomorrow, i can be grumpy all day and 5 minutes later have a good time with my friends
I am a softie - my heart is too big. I cry in movies, i cry over dead guinea pigs, abused animals and feel bad for roadkill/homeless people or animals/trees/
I can laugh for absolutely no reason at all, over something that isnt all that funny
I am a klutz. I trip over my own feet, walk into walls and fall into drains
I can be such a complete bimbo - who cuts my hair is a matter of great importance
I am intelligent. I am well read, i can carry a conversation, i know what im talking about
I am independent - no one needs to pick up after me or hold me hand and tell me what to do
I am a girl, which means i still adore being treated like a princess
I am shy. It takes a while for me to get to know people
Yet sometimes when i start talking i can go on forever
I am silly - i rarely look before i leap, sometimes my common sense flies out the window
I am confused. I dont know what i really want, its hard to make decisions
I love ice cream, coffee, chocolate and shopping
I can randomly spout nonsense until the cows come home
I love to abrubtly change topics when you're talking to me
I love being around people, but value my privacy
I hate sharing rooms. Get out of my personal space
Dance naked in the night!
I am a perfectionist. I love it when my margins are perfectly justified, when all my calculations are to the same decimal points, when my hand writing is perfectly straight. I like knowing that i've done a damn good job
I make my bed every night before i go to bed
I have locked my car keys in my car more than once.
I love the beach, i love the sea, i will get my diving licence some day
My dream is to own a bakery/clothes shop
But my real dream is to run a pet shelter
I like having a home. I missed out having a family
I am competitive. I've been groomed from young to compete. It doenst show
I am human. I make mistakes. Alot of them
I enjoy good wine, good liquor and good food.
I love to dance. Its unexplainable.
I get grumpy when i havent slept/eaten/left alone for too long
I am inquisitive. I ask why. Alot. Government education has squished it out of me
I am a rebel. Dont tell me what to do and expect me to do it unless it makes sense. I will go against you just because.
I still cannot speak mandarin after 4 years in a public university
I cant understand why people chuck their trash all over the place
Sometimes, I have intense cravings for an icy cold coke
I dont like chinese new year or family reunions
The less sleep i get, the less sense i make when i talk. Dont call me early in the mornings.
I dont curse, unless im driving and you piss me off
I am generally docile, unless im driving and you piss me off
I will go to back to bali and learn how to surf. properly
I am a worrywart when it comes to things important to me
I hate it when people mess up my stuff
The real world scares me. Who is going to watch me back?


I am me. This is me. No one else like me.

Just because I am

I have been waayy too lzay to upload all the Bali pics, cos STREAMYX SUCKS. Damn bloody unstable, im better off scabbing my neighbours wifi connection in the middle of the night. Anyway, because I am such a camwhore (admittance is the first step to recovery, haha) Im substituting those with pics from my Miri excursion.

Eric and I, at the Shell house. I look damn corporate, right??

The rest of us.

Because we were bored waiting, we took a trip out the back door to see the Piasau beach, just off the shell residence. Like a 3 minute walk away.

Piasau beach. I cant remember what was so funny . .

Apparently, a trip to Miri isnt complete without visiting the Grand Old Lady on Canada Hill.

The first ever oil rig, been here since 1910. And I am too lazy to add more pics of kolo mee and 3 coloured tea, so toodles!