Random Updates :)

Salam w.b.t and hi all,

 

It has been a while yeah… I am a bit busy for the last 3 weeks since I got back from vacation. I have drafted the part 2 on my New Zealand vacation, but what I haven't done is to upload the photos.

 

The entry will not be meaningful without the pictures, right? So I decide to keep it as a draft now, instead I am making another entry :)

 

Have you guys watch IT and Kingsman? I watched IT with my sister back in Malaysia and watch Kingsman when I was in Doha after vacation. The IT movie is scary but funny as well. It is a very awesome movie, I would say the best movie I ever watch in 2017. I have been telling it to all my colleagues at work, but not interested to them. 

You will float too

Then Kingsman. I personally think the first Kingsman is way much better but did not regret watching the second one. It is good to watch except some of the fighting scenes are too fast to watch. With some background music and it makes me dizzy a bit. Hehehehe…. However, it is fun to watch and shows part of London, black cab, Hyde Park etc. I walked in these places and watching it in the movie created smile on my face. 

 

I miss United Kingdom or Scotland to be specific; the greenery, mountains, hills, buildings, accents, train, weather, jackets, trees and streets. The prices of the clothes, food, groceries and others. I complained how boring is the place but it does not mean I don’t like and miss the places.

 

One thing I miss a lot is the warmth of people back in Aberdeen. The little and sometimes silly talks I had at work with my friends. All the pranks we made to each other. Yes, we pranked each other. Hehehe…tied our coverall, paste on the locker, tied shoe laces together, hid the shoes, and many more.

 

Anyway, past is a past.

 

Right now I am at the present, trying to motivate myself to move on and find the beauty at the present moments.

 

Thank you to those who read my blogs, and leave comments. I appreciate it if you find my blog is useful, again, thank you.

 

I do not update much on Facebook or Instagram. If I do, I will write an easy stuff, but blog is the main medium if I want to pour my heart out :)

 

If I haven't update my blog for quite a while, please do not think I leave my blog. I might be so occupied with all the works.

 

I think that's all I have so far. Take care and see you guys in the next entry.

 

P/S: "Do not worry, I am a Muslim". That’s when I started to worry. I will share my experience regarding this.

New Zealand Trip Part #1

Salam wbt and hello all.

How are you guys been doing? I hope you all are doing fine. I am doing quite awesome honestly.

I just got back from my vacation in New Zealand. It is a great place really and beautiful as well.

Stopping at Lake Tekapo

I think I will create at least two or three entries regarding my trip to NZ. I planned for a vacation in early of July while I was in Doha. I did not know where I want to go for vacation, but I want to go for a travel. I haven't travel for quite a while so I was so thrilled to go for an adventure. Hahaha...

Waiting for boarding the plane - Air Asia

I don't know for sure how I can get in touch with my very old friend, Nabila but I call her Paan. Maybe I saw her quite active on FB sharing stuffs then I asked her straight away her holiday. She said end of August until early of September, around 2 weeks. To me, that's about nice time. 2 weeks in NZ and another 1.5 weeks in Malaysia.

Paan, so down to earth person.

Then, the process of getting holiday approval and planning for journey begun. I just planned my travel to NZ and Paan planned for things to do there. All I told her, I want to travel all over NZ and do bungee jumping. Doing the jump has been on my mind since I was a student but I had limited resources back then. Hehehe....

There were doubts initially whether I will make it or not as the journey will be nearly 25 hours involved of 2 hours transits at many airports. The chance of missing the flight is high and also I had concern about the jetlag and affect of long travel on my body. I don't know, as this will be the longest travel I have taken so far.

View while tramping on Hooker Valley. Yep, that's the name of the place.

Finally the day has come. I was downmanned from the rig early morning of 22nd August.

Phewww... From the plan, I should start my travel on 23rd August from Doha.

23rd Aug, Original plan => Doha - Jakarta - Denpasar - Brisbane - Christchurch

Actual plan => Doha - Jakarta - Denpasar - Malaysia/Rumah emak - Melbourne -

Christchurch

Eating Nasi Lemak while waiting.

Delayed flight from to Denpasar, led to miss flight to Brisbane subsequently unable to make it to NZ. Also, being alone in Bali at night was quite not good experience as the same taxi driver kept tailing me around. And, limited options of flights/routes from Bali caused me blurred/lost as the next flight to Christchurch is in the next two days.

Well, I don't want to stay in Bali while waiting. I don't feel safe being alone in Bali. Thus, I bought ticket to go back to KL straight away.

Get on the flight go home, thinking maybe this is not my time to visit to NZ. At home, my mother/emak encouraged to not to cancel the plan. As she knows I was so excited for the vacation and there will be none there to accompany me if I want to come later as Paan will go back for good. Finally, rebooked the flights. This was on 24th August. (Ah man...money money money. I need to work harder once I finish the vacation)

On the next day, I started the journey to NZ. It was exciting and nervous as well. My mother sent me to the airport and packed me homade Nasi Lemak. Huhuhu...

Alhamdulillah I safely arrived in Christchurch on 26th August at 5AM. Paan picked me up from the airport and went to her place. The road trip will start around 10AM as she will need to pick up the rental car.

Feel like crying looking at this view, so pretty.

So, there were 7 of us and she rented a SUV. It should have a bigger car like Estima or van but we made it work regardless. Hahaha...

We managed to squeeze everyone into this awesome SUV, believe it or not. This is brand new car, 0 KM.

The plan was to travel on South Island first then go to North Island.

I think I will write the itinerary in Part #2. It is quite long entry if I want to put everything here together.

In the meantime, I upload pictures on my Facebook. I just used my phone and pictures shared by others. No fancy gadget as I don't have one. Hehehehe...

Glenorchy, in Queenstown.

Alright guys. See you in the next entry.

Take care and Salam wbt.

P/S - I am glad I went home and collect my winter jacket. It was freezing cold in NZ although spring already started.

Mother - Daughter

On one fine day, a young lady called her mother as usual.

They exchanged stories, asking their wellbeing, about siblings, work, weather, food, house, and other things normally shared between mother and daughter.

Then the mother asked the young lady, "How is your friend?".

Silence fill in between them.

The young lady knows which friend her mother asking about.

Without waiting any further, the young lady said, "Mother, he is not a good person. He has a hot tempered".

The mother surprised and asked how does she knows if he is an ill-tempered person as the lady just know him.

"Mother, I know and I can see it. If he could not control his emotion as well as his words at this stage, I wonder how he will be ever controlled himself when we are together?".

It may sound dramatic, but we can see what happened to the women around the globe today. On newspaper, on TV, community, and within the family itself.

The young lady continued, "Who knows, some day he will start putting his hands and foot on me. I don’t want that".

Her mother remained silence.

The young lady continued, "Mother, I am sure there will be a good person out there, it is a matter of time. Do not worry about me. I don’t want to be hurry on this matter and later of the day regret of my choice, which will be too late. I am sure you also want the best for myself".

Lastly, the mother said, "Yes, I definitely want the very best for you. I pray the best for you every time on every single day. I am not worry. Just take care of yourself first".

The lady gave a relieve sigh, smile and laugh.

Because she knows at the end of the day, if she takes care of her parents and family first, she knows a responsible and good person will come and take care of herself later on.

Therefore, she tries to put all the worrisome behind and live the moment with good memories.

Nice work place ever!

Salam w.b.t and hi all,

How are you guys doing? I miss updating my blog with useful contents. Hehehehehe…

For the last couple of months, most of the contents are about me whining my life. Hahahahaha….

I am doing very well here. Look forward to the adventure coming up in the next couple of weeks. Actually, it will be in two weeks. Jajajaja…

I am at the rig at the moment, called GDI-2. It is a land rig. I worked at this rig before, so I know the crew here. To be honest, the current location of this rig is the best so far. I love it so much, it is right opposite to the beach.

Yes!!! You read it right, BEACH!

When I was assigned to this rig, I did not know about the location of the rig as per usual. Actually, no one knows until we physically arrived here. We were like, this is the best place ever.

My cabin door is opposite to the beach. See the pictures below. My colleagues after finish their shift, they went for swimming. Most of the rig crew were also jumped into the sea and swimming while we are drilling.

See the beach here. Lets name it Dukhan beach. Lol!

I walked along the beach few days back. I want to jump into the water so much, but I don’t find it appropriate. On top of that, I don’t bring a proper long and loose shirt, as well as many eyes will see me. All here are males ya, FYI. Other reason is I work from 6PM to 6AM, but most of the time I will finish at 7 or 8AM.

It is summer here, so from 7AM up to 6.00PM, you will never want to swim in the sea. You will be like a boiling egg. Hehehehehe….

It is really good here. Well so far you are reading a good part.

When I arrived here at the rig, I was working like crazy. I did not sleep nearly ~36hours. Rig up, prepare the tools, BHA pick up, and run in hole, start drilling.

Normally they will send 4 crews, two MWD and two DD. Since the Remote Operation (RO) will cover day shift, so it will me the MWD doing night. Luckily, the other two crews were really smart and helpful. We did all the physical works you can imagine, and it was a worse situation.

Tired, at the same time still need to work like you are fully capable giving 100% of yourself.

I cannot describe the feeling I felt at that time, but I was so ready to walk away with the RO keep complaining, shouting, critize at me. Nothing good I have done to his eyes. One time, when we finished drilling the 12-1/4" section, lay down the BHA, backloaded the tools, and prepare pick up the 8-1/2" BHA at the same time. Mind you, this happened at the same time.

I was so tired, and senior scold me for the stupid thing. I know if it is serious, I will admit my mistake and learn from it. BUT! For the little stupid thing about removing the wooden pallet to put the tools on it, I won't take it easy. I have many other things that is much, much more important than this stupid thing. At that time, I finished the tools programming and that’s it! I dropped everything and off I went to sleep. Mind you again, I haven't sleep nearly ~20 hours this time.

It was so exhausted. I left without saying anything. Then of course in the evening, it gets back to me. I admit my mistake, but my patience was over. Totally over.

Anyway, we were all good after that and he advised me. Not shouting at me, which I accept it. We all know each of us was working more than we should, so tolerance is there.

I am not scare to walk away really, when things are out of control. I have nothing to lose. I have nothing to scare off. I am sure if it is not here, I will find a better place. I know this is not good behaviour, but I will do this when things are too much. If you are in my shoes, you will understand me. :)

We are 3-4 days away before finish the drilling. Rig down, and leave the wellsite off to Doha. All the crew does not feel like leaving, so DDs were trying to slow down the drilling. This place is too good to leave. Hehehe… It is great here.

I love it here.

I need to properly organised my stuff, my mind, my life and all. It has been all over the places lately. For the last couple of weeks, I am struggling to focus.

Hopefully by going for a vacation will give me a break and time to refocus and think the forward plan.

That’s it guys. I will write again soon.

Take care and Salam wbt.

P/S - Hello readers. I love it when you guys just randomly dropped me an email, message, and comments. I appreciate it if you find this blog is useful for you guys. Thank you very much!

Hello peeps

Salam w.b.t and hi all,

How are you doing? I am doing fine. I am offshore at the moment, first time offshore in Qatar. On Al-Khor, Shell jack-up rig. Ocean is calm, but the temperature is so hot. They announce the heat index from time to time, the range of the temperature is between 49 to 56 degree C. It can be hotter during the day.

It has been crazy for the past three weeks. I have been planning to update the blog many times, but I was pretty occupied with the jobs.

Exhausted as well.

I managed to go back to Doha on Eid. I did not go anywhere, I was sleeping and rest as trying to adjust the sleeping schedule. Then, on the very same day, my manager asked me to come to the base on the next day to prepare the basket tests. Then, next day I was planned to go to another land rig for rig up with another MWD, Berik. I will do the rig up and leave Berik to run the job alone. There will be Remote Operation support and I will go back to the previous rig I was, GDI-4.

Ok, that’s cool. We arrived around 4PM and started the rig up. The heat was so crazy, and at 5PM I was sitting at the corner and about to black out. Immediately I went to room, wet my face, threw up, heart beats crazily and I could not open my eyes. I laid down on the floor for one hour with headache. It was like a punch hitting my head. I was so scared that I might be unable to wake up.

Then moved to the bed, slept. Around 6PM, back to normal and continued rig up and preparing the equipment. We rigged up and finish around 5.30 in the morning. We were so exhausted, and Berik, he looked like lost sometimes. Well, I understand because exhausted, heat, and unplanned rig up. He is the man with the plan, and when there is no plan, he kind of lost. I know this rig, so I led him.

At 8AM, driver came to pick me up to go back to Doha. In the evening, got another message to go to another rig, GDI-1 to do the setup and teach the loan guy about the job. Ok, fine. I departed to the rig, and came back to Doha in the afternoon.

After that, I managed to get three days of rest without any disturbance. Treated myself with good foods, watched Pirates of the Caribbean, and sleeping. On the fourth days, I felt weird as the managers did not call or email me. I was so kind (LOL), went to the base to say hello and ask them, "What's up?".

Went to the base, did the basket test and I was told by another manager I will be going to the rig in two days. He gave me 5 minutes pre-job briefing and I don’t know a heck what the job was about. I said, I am supposed to go back to the GDI-4, that’s what my manager told me.

Long story short, I was sent to the rig, I am currently at. I don’t really like it, although the food is really good.

The reasons are;

1. I share the room with another Shell's female personnel. The room is very hot, and the A/C is working, but it is always like that since it is summer
2. No hand phone here, leave it on land
3. Health and Safety is quite strict compared to land rig. I have been working freely on land, and then I need to limit and control it here. Basically, be more safer
4. New client for me, and a lot of things I need to learn and their SOP, bla bla bla
5. On land, if I want to come back to Doha, I can push my manager to relieve me. I can go to the supermarket, and walk around the rig. Here, I need to wait for helicopter and I cannot randomly say, I want to go home
6. I made friends with the rig I was at previously, I know the crew and what they are doing. I call them by their name, and they know me. Here, I am a new crew and I need to break the ice

I am an introvert, I don’t get along easily with people at the beginning. It takes time to know people, and after that I will be fine.

It is quite calm now, we are drilling. I arrived 5 days ago and the last two days, it has been crazy. Anyways, I hope it will be good now.

On another note, I will have my vacation in Aug-Sept. I will go to New Zealand visiting friend and see places, and I just bought the flight ticket two hours ago. It is going to be a long flight. From Doha to Christchurch, in total around 28 hours with three transits. Erm….I hope I will be fine. Then, I will go back to Malaysia. That’s the plan for now, details, I will think about it later.

When thinking about New Zealand, I already feel excited. Hahaha…will see. Anyone wants to join me, you are welcome.

That’s what I have so far.

I will write again later, take care folks.

Keep me posted if anything.

Salam w.b.t and see you all next time.

P/S - Nothing to P/S

Quick Life Update 10

Salam w.b.t and hi all,


How are you guys doing? It is been a while since my last entry. It has been quite hectic and crazy for the last couple of weeks.

Before I proceed, Salam Ramadhan to every Muslim readers :)

After I got back from my short holiday, I stayed in Doha for three weeks, approx. I did not go to the rig, only to base. Since not many engineers available in town, it was quite busy for me as I will need to complete my workshop training. I did basket tests, prepare the tools for load out, as well as preparing for the EMP school. During this time, I would day it was a "honeymoon" time for me. Sleeping, eating, shopping, and chillout in town.

 Krispy Kreme, Villagio Mall

I departed to Abu Dhabi on 13 May and came back to Doha on 26 May. This flight was the shortest flight I ever taken in my two years with SLB, around 40 minutes which I am so glad. The EMP school was two weeks and it was alright. Most of the D&M Engineers said this is the toughest course ever for this segment, but I find it was not that hard. It is just a lot of works, theories as well as practical. In my opinion, preparation is the key. Anyway, I learned a lot and I passed. Grade does not matter, as the application of knowledge on the job is much more critical.

Flight leaving Abu Dhabi

Certificate of completion the course

All the FEs of the class

I came back last week, and I tried to keep a low profile. I did not go to the base for the first weekday, and another trainee, Areej told me that my manager, Kulwinder was asking about me. Actually he knows I am back in town, it is his way of saying, "Why is Siti not here???". Hahahaha….the next day, which was last Monday, I showed up at the base.


Since last Monday, we had calibrations back-to-back. At first, it was supposed to be three calibrations then suddenly an additional calibration required as it was urgent tool. I took turn with Areej to do the calibration with two seniors with us. Basically, two persons are required for calibration and I came with Kamlesh (Senior) on the first day, then Areej with another senior came on the next day. It is summer here and the temperature can be up to 50 degree C during the day, therefore we started in the evening around 5 PM. We finished around 12 midnight. For the urgent tool, me and Kamlesh did it during the day yesterday and it was roasting.

Today, I came to the rig. My manager told me about this last night, and this morning I departed to the rig. This is my breakout job, and Kamlesh is here with me. From the plan, he will leave me alone to run the job after we do the rig up. He does not seems convince I can lead the job. It does not offend me, because I feel the same as well. I don’t feel confident at all, plus, I haven't been to the rig for nearly 1.5 months. Hahahahahaha….But one thing I can tell you about myself is, I will never feel confident if I don’t do it myself. I cannot just wait for the right moment of confidence to kick in, I will need to chase for it.


This is my first Ramadhan in Qatar. We are starting to fast around 3 AM and break our fast around 6.20 PM. The good thing is, everyone is aware of the Ramadhan month and summer. So, they are trying their best to be accommodating. When I did the calibration, Kamlesh kept saying, "Ok you can go have a rest after this", "Go to sleep", and others. The staffs also aware and asked me to go inside of the building instead of standing outside. Since I have been working with Kamlesh most of the times, I told him, it is alright for me and not to worry. If I feel tired or too much, I will break my fast but I will try first to fast.


The weather is so hot here, and windy plus sand. Also, we have been warned about the sightings of snakes and scorpions. The HSE officer casually said, "Before wearing your safety boots, make sure turn it upside down just in case there is a snake inside it". I was like, "Man, are you kidding me???". But that’s true. Another personnel said he came across the snake on the ground, and its colour is brown and when we look from distance, it is like a rope lying on the ground. I don’t feel excited about it.


I told my mother that I will probably not come back for Eid, which is sad as I was planning to go back. I asked my mother if I am selfish and does not care about family, because sometimes I can feel I am a selfish person. She said she understand that I need to secure my job as I have been fighting for this job for many years. It is time for me to prove myself through this breakout job. Therefore, once I am finish with this job, I am planning to take couple weeks off and go back to Malaysia. Although some people said, you should travel around the world since you are working with SLB and has a lot of money. Let me tell you something, distance grows a heart fonder. I will travel, but now, I could not find a suitable person or group I can tag along with.


Actually, we are free now as we are waiting for the crane availability to offload our equipment. The crane is pretty occupied and we could not do anything apart from waiting, waiting and waiting. I was thinking if we can rig up at night as it is very hot during day and I will be fasting. So, we will see how it goes. I drank coffee and just standby if we can start working tonight.


So, that is the update for now. I will write again later.


Take care and Salam w.b.t dear readers.


P/S - "Last Hope" from Paramore has been my looping music for the last two weeks. Listen to the live version of it, it was so good.

 

Settling down at Ezdan Hotel

Salam w.b.t and hello everyone,

 

How are you guys doing?

 

Since I got back from holiday, I haven't gone to any rig. Mostly because of many jobs being delayed as well as I will attend another school this weekend. This, by far the longest time I ever spent in Doha. I went to the base, and try to learn as much as I can from there. There are checklists of the things I need to complete before being promoted. Regardless, it is still far from being completed.

 

It is quite boring here in Qatar. Work. And. Alone.

 

I went out with other folks from time to time, had a good time. It was alright.

 

I try to set my mind on the idea of settling down in Qatar. I mean, to set my mind at peace that I will be here in Qatar. So, I need to settle down. Settle down here means, treat the place I stay here like a home.

 

See, the place I stay is called Ezdan Hotel. Basically, it is a Schlumberger staff house. However, I don’t feel very comfortable staying here at Ezdan. Because it is a HOTEL. Not an apartment, or house. Also, it is right in the city center.

 

Everything is squeezed in this big white cube. There is a common area outside, where you can cook. It is shared with others. Well, the others here are my colleagues, the girls. Most of the time, they are at the rigs, same like me. If I want to go out for cooking, washing your dishes, or heat some water, I will need to wear hoodies or scarves.

 

And, here I don’t really have much privacy. The hotel's housekeeper will knock the door to clean, calls from receptions etc. Also, I live next to other SLB staffs, and this level also has SLB staffs.

 

This situation makes my life wrap with SLB - SLB - SLB. I don’t know. I am thinking to rent a place outside and far from the city. 

 

Anyways, I am still adjusting and, I am gonna say that this time it is going to take a while compared to other places.

 

Alright, I will write again later.

 

Take care and Salam w.b.t.

Gonna get over you

Salam w.b.t and hello all,
I would like to share one song I have been listening for the last couple of weeks.

Nothing fancy, I like the dance and how she enjoying herself dancing around like none cares.
Enjoy, and dance even it is raining.

A great time at home

Salam w.b.t and hi all,

This is one of the entries I should have published weeks ago. This is about how I managed to get a last minute holiday.

###

After all the rig days.

Still need to standby at the other rig while waiting for client to officially declare Lost in Hole. Waiting game on for days and yesterday afternoon after having-more-than-enough-sleep, drop an email to my manager.

 "I need time off for couple of days". And basically, the answer is no.

 Ok fine. Nothing to discuss then.

 "Screw everything". Hahaha...

 8 PM, pull myself together to stand my ground as per senior's nagging me, finally call my manager.

 "I need holiday from now for one week - 7days"

 "Where are you going? In Doha or out of Qatar? Why? Urgent?....And list goes on, on, and on.

 Put my answers short and precise as per senior's instruction while he was standing behind me.

 At the other end, sh*t, oh man, bla bla bla.

 Finally, "You have 5 days".

 Ok. That's good enough and told my senior about it.

 He said, don't bother. Make it 7.

I called my mother, 3 AM Malaysian time, telling her about me going home and I had to use her credit card to pay the flight ticket since I left all my cards in Doha. I was still at the rig, remember?

Less than 24 hours later on 13 April, I flew home. The ticket was really expensive, but money means nothing when my heart is nowhere to be found apart from home. On the flight, I felt unbelievable that I am going home.

I miss home, I miss my comfort zone, and the warmth of being with my beloved ones.

I miss being in the place I know, where I know I will be safe.

Qatar is nothing, apart from work. It is time for me to re-energized and go home.

I told none about my homecoming, only my mother and sisters. I just want a personal time. However, I was still working at home. Finishing the control cards, preparation for the school. Regardless, I had a great time by being at home. Nothing can beat that.

My mother cooked most of my favourite foods, buy all the local delicacies, and many things. Foods are one of the things I miss so much. Nasi Lemak, Apam Balik, Cendol, Sambal Sotong, Sambal Cili Api, and many more. You will never get any of these here in Qatar. 

On 19 April, I flew back to Qatar and came back to work on the next day.

The next day, my manager asked me how was my holiday. I said to him, "I should have ask for 2 weeks". He was like, "Bluergh".

Hello All

Hi all,


I am still here. It is just I am a little bit busy with the jobs, juggling my life, as well trying to keep myself healthy.


I am in Doha, after got back from a really, really short holiday last week. After being bored at the rig, I dropped an email to my manager I want to take time off. 24 hours later, I was on the flight on my way home.


It was so last minute, I will share later. Now, my manager just put me on standby in town, which is good. So, I can complete my trainings here and meet the dentist.


Anyhow, if anything, just drop me an email at sitinor.atiqah@yahoo.com or at my Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nor.atiqah.9693.


I will update again the blog.


Take care all.


Salam w.b.t and chow.

Art of communication

Salam w.b.t and hi all.

 

How are you guys doing?

 

There is no particular topic I want to write this time. I am on the job but on the standby mode as the drillstring got stuck downhole. Basically, we are not being productive since three days ago.

 

I want to do something productive, like study. But I don’t have the motivation to do it. Therefore, I write this.

 

So far, working in the field is exciting and also frustrating. I will not sugarcoat this by saying, "Yeah, I love challenges, bla bla bla". In reality, you have to deal with everything and everyone.

 

As you know, I am a beginner and absolutely green on my job. Many things I don’t know, thus I will do and react slower in any situation as I don’t know. Thus, my judgments, my decisions, and observation would be off or wrong. I cannot pretend that I know everything and "act" smart. So, when the senior become cynical or scoff at my stupidity, it kills my motivation honestly.

 

 In this case, it is up to my mentality whether I can take it or not. So far, I take it and learn from my mistake although it can be so harsh.

 

Whenever I managed to do something right or close to right, no one really bother. Most of the time, it just me giving a pat on my back as a small reward.

 

Basically, this all comes down to the art of communication.

 

Remember this, if you criticise others for their mistake, you should also praise them for their efforts as well. It is unfair to just do one side - being negative, but not being supportive. This is crucial especially when you are a leader or supervisor, as you don’t want your team turn their backs at you.

 

That's all I want to write at the moment.

 

Take care and Salam w.b.t.

 

P/S - Another 5 hours to go before I can go to sleep.

Me in Qatar

Salam w.b.t and hi all.

 

How are you guys doing? I am doing great here. Time flies really, really fast. I did not get time to update anything since end of last year although I had nearly four weeks holiday in Malaysia.

 

So, I will make a quick update now.

 

I had a good time in Malaysia. Spent time with my mother and sisters, visit my grandparents in hometown. Although several conflicts occur, but nothing much I can do. Typical family issues.

I am with my mother before departure to Qatar

My not-so-little sister with my mother.

My little sister and I did the car boot sale.

During holiday, I met dentist to do teeth crowning. I did not realise I had severe buxism or teeth grinding during sleep. Well, my mom ever told me ages ago, but I thought she was talking about my youngest sister. In the end, I had to do crowning. When I get the opportunity, I will need to see a dentist again to make a mouth guard where you put it in your mouth during sleeping for protection.

I arrived in Qatar on Jan 28. Then, the company sent me straight for H2S training and MK50 Life Jacket. It was additional training on top of the offshore survival training I had back in Aberdeen. Then, did my medical for offshore and Qatar residency.

Sunset from the base.

Third day, went out with some Malaysian and Indonesian guys to the Souq Waqaf. It is a market in the Doha city. There are a winter festival going on for one month. So, people from Saudi will come and shopping there. Also shows, foods, camels, lights, traffics, and a lot of people. I spent around 2 hours there with them before going back to the hotel as I will depart to the rig early in the morning next day

GDI-4 at night

I went to the rig, GDI-4, around 1.5 hour drive from Doha. The rig is in a desert, located in Dukhan field. A lot of land rigs here, which I believed own by Qatar Petroleum. It was easy task once I arrived at GDI-4, since the crews were already there and they were just continue drilling. I did a night shift with another trainee, Areej, a Saudi lady

On third day, I was informed that I will be going to another rig, GDI-2 for rig up and drilling job. This GDI-2 is about 20 minutes from the first rig.

Sunrise from GDI-2, before crew cange

On the fourth day, I departed to the rig with another 2 crews. The rig up was 8 hours of sweat, blood, and swearing. It was so physically demanding, but it went alright. When we are at the rig, we are all working back to back, non-stop.

I am freaking trainee, but I take day shift. For the first three days, I had to troubleshoot and deal with all these people at the rig. Now is day 5, it is quite relaxing as things are going well so far. I hope it will go well and we will reach TD. I estimate around 1 week from now.

My skin is burned. Trust me, this is the only time I can relax since DD is busy.

We are drilling and I have a space to breath for now, that’s why I am writing this to update my blog.

 

I will update it again from time to time.

 

Take care and Salam w.b.t guys.

 

P/S: I think I overslept last night, so I feel so sleepy at the moment. I will go make coffee after this.