210908: finally...

for those of you who understands the significance of this white hat, it's a huge relief after 14 months...

from west alliance with love...

this post is slightly belated as i haven't had the time to breathe (the good type) ever since i got back from the rig...

i flew out to miri on the 14th and had the chance to meet up with a friend for dinner. nice town i have to say... much better than labuan for sure. and then i flew out to the rig the very next day.

the rig is similar to west setia so i had no problem finding my way there. anyway, i was there for about a week before the job got cancelled (not gonna discuss the technicality of the job here). pretty disappointing considering the fact that we were so prepared...

despite it being a similar rig to the west setia, the experience of being offshore is still pretty new to me therefore i still find it interesting. the conditions humans are capable of enduring, the brains that are at work... it's all really amazing stuff... and not to mention the view - simply breathtaking. i have to say being surrounded by the sea is a better environment than to be surrounded by the desert... =)

anyway, here's a few pics taken on the rig...

told you the rig has breathtaking views...

schlumberger and our big, ass kicking equipments...

part of the night crew (left to right): azrul, aubrey, arzad and terry

and at the end of it all, i took a few days off to go home... yup, home sweet home... it's actually for the follow-up on my eye treatment but at this point, any trip back home on any reason is great news...=)

What is healthy food?

My cubicle drawer.

This is a habit since my previous company. Usually my cubicle will have a lot of snack like candy, chocolate, chewing gum, potatoes chip and bla bla bla. Ricola is one of my all time favourite candy from Malaysia to Norway. (although the price is increasing as if the Ricola is flying from Malaysia to Norway as well) I love chocolate cookies! So chocolate cookies will be on the list most of the time too. I am always adventurous on trying different brand of chocolate cookies.

These few weeks, I has been working over time quite a lot. My stomach will start to feel hungry once the clock hit 4pm. =) It is because my stomach know it is time to be home! If I am not home by 430pm, she will start to complain....'cluuuu cluuu cluuuuu' At that time, there is no food left at the canteen as well. So, my little food stall plays an important role at that time.

Snacks at cubicle is not only useful when I work OT. It is a way to 'social' with colleague as well. I don't smoke, so I don't hang up at smoking area to socialize with other colleague. But, I am someone who always provide food to people around me. =) Whoever is hungry when they work OT, they will know where to go. hahaha...

Although all the food in the picture on the above are unhealthy, however, I insisted that I ate more healthy food at Norway compre to Malaysia.

Attach my breakfast picture as prove. I love to eat cherry tomatoes, I had it lunch, breakfast, dinner, basically it became kinda a snack for me now. hehe...

My breakfast. tah nah~~healthy leh?

Still?! What is so nice about healthy food?! I hate healthy food!

Nasi lemak unhealthy? But I miss it so much...
Teh tarik unhealthy? I miss it so much...

"#%"&"%4£$@&(&§! healthy food!

leaving on a jet plane

i'm leaving labuan tonight at 1910 hours. not really on a jet plane. more like a crappy plane... hehehe...

i'm going over to miri for the night before flying out to west alliance tomorrow. again, not on a jet plane. this time, on a chopper.

all these rigs have cool names huh? west alliance - sounds pretty cool to me.

i've never been to miri before but they tell me it's not too bad. i won't be in miri for long enough to venture around town though. just need to get there and get some much needed sleep. hope the hotel is good. dun need a 5 star place, just as long as it's not some dodgy motel or something. like the one they put me up in kemaman when i went there for an interview. worst place ever.

btw, i hear it's not easy to get any internet connection on west alliance. so i guess i'll be handing over the care of my blog solely to cliu for the next 2 weeks or so. and this time i'm gonna be busier than when i was on west setia. but again, i hope to be able to take just as many pictures... =)

gotta go now... have some lunch, pack my stuff and get ready for the airport...

hope the job goes smooth... *fingers crossed*

i love my job!

that's been the msg on my msn messenger for the past couple of weeks. and i've received a surprising number of comments from my frens... i wonder why...

is it really so hard to believe that i love my job? or even worse - is it so rare to find ppl who actually love their job?

ps: this is not a statement that i do love my job, and it's also not a statement that i dun love my job. it's a very neutral question... =)

anyway, i'm really tied up right now and dun have too much time to spare. but then again, i dun wanna leave my blog for too long... so this'll be a short one...

i miss a good vacation...

i need a good vacation...

Language

A lot of people were amazed with me be able to speak so many languages. Norwegian was shock that I can speak Mandarin, Malay language and English. China chinese was amazed with me able to speak and understand Teow Chew, Hokkien and Cantonese. Besides that, I speak much formal and better Mandarin than most of the China Chinese.

They get even shock when they know that I am able to read and write too. Although I had explained to them, at Malaysia, everyone can speak few languages. Malaysian who are able to speak as many language as me are everywhere. Nic's mum can even speak Tamil! One more language than me.

Still, in this country, Norway, no matter how many languages I know also useless because I don't speak Norwegian language. The sentence that I used the most at Norway is : '' I don't speak Norwegian language. Can you speak English?''

I think it is time for me to learn some Norwegian language or French or Spanish. Because.....

There are 12 different languages in this instruction label, among 12 languages, I know none of them!

Har? What is this?

And...situation like this...happen all the time. Haih...

empty canvas

white is the colour of purity

white is the colour of innocence

white is the colour of lost hope

are you with me?

red is the colour of passion

red is the colour of strength

red is the colour of arrogance

are you with me?

blue is the colour of calm

blue is the colour of peace

blue is the colour of depression

are you with me?

black is the colour of tranquility

black is the colour of the universe

black is the colour of mourning

are you with me?

what is the colour of your canvas?

what is the colour of your life?

what is the colour you woke up to?

are you with me?

my canvas needs to be completed

my canvas needs the right touch

my canvas needs a plethora of colours

are you with me?

my canvas needs the colour of desire

my canvas needs the colour of hope

my canvas needs the colour of love

are you with me?

from west setia with love...

how many posts have i written with that title on?

anyway, i'm currently writing from a rig called the west setia. it's running a murphy operation at the moment and i've been here for 6 days now and will probably be here for another 2 to 3 days (i think). i've gotta add that i dun sleep on the rig since the accommodation here is full. so every day and night, i get transferred to and from a supply boat (NOR Star) like this...

pretty cool huh? i've seen it so many times on videos and stuff but i've never actually been on one of those baskets before... and the boat with the huge flare that you see behind, that's an fpso... the flare is huge! and loud! the supply boat basically picks up personnel from the rig and also from the fpso... so every morning, when we get close to the fpso, i'll need a ear plug and i'll try to stay in the shade as i can feel the heat from the flare... yes, it is that hot and loud!

and every morning, i'm greeted by this view... breathtaking ain't it? well, it'll be nice and cool for the first few days, but after 3 days of the same thing 360 degrees around you, it gets pretty boring... =P

ok, now to the highlight of this post. let me introduce to you - west setia!

if you look at the pic above, the structure on the left is the west setia rig and the structure on the right is the kikeh spar platform. it's a relatively enormous structure (not gigantic but you get the idea) and yet, on a relatively calm day, it still rocks gently. i've gotta admit that i can't stay indoors for too long - on the rig or on the boat... makes me feel kinda sick... so every few hours, i'll just go out and have some fresh air...

and this pic is the pic of the rig and platform taken from the heli deck at night. it was after one of the pumping job and i was waiting for my ride back to my "hotel room"... =)

that's pretty much all the pics that i have right now. i've actually taken more than 300 shots but most of them are experimental, so they're either over-exposed, under-exposed or pretty blur... hahaha... i'll sort through them again and see if there's anything else worth posting here...

btw, it's been a pretty good first time experience for me here on a rig. it's not as bad as i thought, but then again, it's not a full fledged frac job so i still can't judge based on this trip. but i'd say this was a good introduction to the offshore environment for me.

ps: i saw a couple of baby dolphins last night (i assume they're babies since they're much smaller than what i thought they'd be) - another first for me... =)

time for some fresh air...

My Fishing Diary

Since the first week I came Norway, I had been following my colleagues to go fishing. Although I do not have my own fishing rod, still, every time when I go, I will use their fishing rod to fish for some time. Anas, even that fellow who only follow them go fishing once in a blue moon also manage to get 3 fishes! 3 fishes, ok? He never go fishing at Malaysia, me too. Both of us consider beginner. Some more I start fishing 1 month earlier than him! Besides that, I went fishing once every week. But, him?! Once in a month? And sleep in the car while waiting others to finish fish? Seriously, I am really unbalance and don't understand why he manage to get 3 fishes instead of me.

Yes...I know. A lot of people told me that fishing sometimes is depend on luck too. But, comon! I went much more than him. Even my luck is so so 'soi' (bad luck), according to probability, the chance of me getting a fish is still higher than him.

However...the real point of this post is......=)

'

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I got my first fish at Norway on 10 August 2008! Finally...

Wah hahaha...couldn't stop jumping around when I got the fish.

Ya. I know that it is small...Still...better than nothing. =)

My little cod fish by measuring with my hp.

finally...

i'm finally going to go offshore for a job!

it's going to be in the west setia rig and it's just gonna be a short stint - probably about 5 days but nothing is guaranteed here...

i admit i'm kinda excited to taste offshore environment for the first time. the fact that it's not going to be a long stay probably eased any fears of mine.

anyway, i've tried living in the desert for some time so i guess this time i'll get to experience for myself the difference between seeing sand all around you and seeing water all around you...

i'll try to post some pics if i get internet connection on the rig. if not, the pics will come in a week or so.

all right, i've gotta go. got a chopper to catch!

=)

Norway Folk Musuem

I was back to Malaysia and return to Norway now. Time flies. Time to gather with family and friends is so little. I didn't waste any day at all, spend all the time to meet as many friends and relatives as I can. But, I am greedy, I don't feel that l have enough time with them. As I am back to Norway now, my feeling of return to Norway is blue and heavy. It is not good. This feeling will make my time here clicks slower. I need to be cheer up!

I went to this museum before I went back to Malaysia. No time to online at Malaysia, so I am updating it now. And recently Nic is updating a lot as well. I shouldn't be so lazy anymore. There are many museum at norway. From Viking museum to whaling museum to bla bla bla museum. However, this Norwegian Folk Musuem is always one of the must visit. By visiting this musuem, you will be able to understand the general history of the whole norway. It is an open air musuem, we spent the whole afternoon in the musuem. They actually relocated all the old building from different centuries and location at Norway and reconstruct it at the mususem. In this museum, you can see all the Norwegian building from 13 century to 19 century.

They built this without any foundation down into the ground. So that the whole house can moved whenever they want to. (there are more reason behind it, but I forgot =P)

Inside the museum, there is a Stave church. AGAIN, Norwegian relocate the church from Gol into the musuem. The church is dendrochronologically dated to 1212. I didn’t spend too much time in the church since there is a wedding going on later. =) The church is attractive to me not only from the over all structure but also the craving on the wood. Unlike Balinese craving, Norwegian craving got their own style.

Zaitul and I

Anas always said Norway church design looks like dark age building. scary...

For reader who had read my previous blog about the flåm trip, during that trip, we saw a lot of house’s roof with some small plant. At that time, we were just curious about it. From the musuem, we knew that this so called green roof is very useful and common for norwegian house. It has been around for centuries. For norwegian, the major function of green roof is to cool down the house during summer and to reduce heat loss during winter. It looks cute and new to me.

Houses with green roof (alto it doesn't look green in the pic)

Since the trip was really too long ago, so I can't really recall much things anymore. Although I can find the booklet I got from the musuem if I want to post more information about the musuem and Norway history, but kinda lazy. I guess, not many people are interested to know it as well. So, let's this post be general and light for you guys to read.

fading dream...

i used to think that challenges and obstacles are there for us to conquer. i used to think that i could reach for the stars if i just aim high enough and i work hard for it with the right attitude. i used to think that when i put my mind and heart to work a cause, nothing could stop me from achieving my target, my goal. i used to think...

but my dream is slowly slipping away from my grasp. i can feel the hope fading. from a burning desire in my heart, it's now merely a flicker waiting for a whisper of a wind to end any desire i might still have lurking in the dark corners of my mind.

ladies and gentlemen, may i present the new look for owrc001! (one year too late)

speaking of dreams, this new look will probably remain a dream as well as i doubt the university would raise the budget to manufacture this body according to specification. i've had high hopes of seeing my baby manufactured and put through a series of wind tunnel testing and stuff as projects for future final year students. but i highly doubt that scenario would materialize.

pictures were taken from the pdf copy of my final year project thesis hence the poor quality. apologies for that. looking through the 168 pages of effort, the memories just came flooding back. i'm not sure if it was a good project or not, but i'm mighty proud of the results.

so the purpose of this blog. this is the fading dream. for a while there, it really did kill my confidence. i started to doubt everything i did and everything that i worked for. thought it wasn't good enough. it probably is, it probably isn't. whatever it is, i guess i did all i can at that time to achieve my dreams but it just wasn't enough. as a consequence, the dream is slipping further away with each turning month. and i'm in a position now where the risk to pursue my dreams is much greater. and it's a risk that i do not dare to take.

anyway, i vaguely recall that i wanted to write about my final year project here. but after delaying it for so long, i guess these pics will have to do. anyway, if anyone out there is doing a similar project or if anyone is interested to talk about stuff like this, leave a comment and i'm more than happy to get back to you.

ps: not sure if you understood what my fading dream is all about. but too lazy to explain it further. =P

1 year

today marks 1 year since i left uni and joined the workforce. 1 year in the blue coverall. 1 year with schlumberger.

the photo taken above has nothing to do with this post. but probably has something to do with what i'm feeling right about now. go figure.

x marks the spot...

i typed a really long post about something i read the other day through an online tutorial. something about setting a lifetime goal and basically breaking it down to pieces and turning them into short term goals that is easier to visualize. then i went about the usual "what's my goal?" road and started complaining about not having anything solid enough for me to grasp. then i stopped.

i think it is about time i stopped thinking about what is ahead of me. stop fearing where my next step is gonna take me to. just stop and start living. i've always had the "what if?" question lingering in my mind and that has made me cautious of every move i make. i've come to realize that life is not a game of chess. it's ok to be random and to take risks and to throw caution to the wind and to be free once in a while.

actually i have no idea at all what this post is about... =)

my mind and heart is in a million places thinking about a million things right now. but one thing for sure - i miss the sight of these towers at night...

picture taken with sony t200 last year during cl's birthday...

24/07/04

nothing much to blog about really but i just felt i need to for the sake of my blog...

it's been 4 years since i started writing here and i still can't believe i've managed to sustain this blog for so long. there were times in the past when i almost gave up on this blog (due to laziness, nothing more... hehehe...) but still somehow, it kept going on.

i remember starting this blog when it's really just a blog. when bloggers remain low profile and no one really cared too much about what is written here. now, you've got celebrity bloggers, political bloggers, bloggers bringing each other to court... it's a mess really. i'm no celebrity blogger and the traffic on my blog reaches a max of 50 per day (once upon a time) and i guess half of it comes from me checking my own blog and my frens.

but all in all, this blog does serve it's purpose which is a space for me to vent out my feelings unchecked (well, not really 100% unchecked but it's good enough...) and more than that, it's my personal space for me to keep track of the changes that i've been through and stuff. i read back the older posts and find myself amazed at how much i've changed. it's obvious even from the way i'm writing.

anyway, that was 4 years back when i was still in uni worrying about my grades. now...

picture taken by cl when she was here for the past few days with my new bought nikon d60... =)

i've really got no words to describe where i am right now in terms of... well... everything. but then again, life goes on and we shall see where life takes me next yeah?

to quote neo from matrix (not the exact quote but close enough) - i don't believe in fate. i don't like the idea of me not having control over my own life.

but i do believe in destiny. our path has been carved ahead of us. god has everything in place but it's up to us to realize our role and to accept our path.

to quote morpheus from matrix - all i can do is show you the door. you are the one who has to walk through it.

haha... dun ask me why the sudden matrix mania. no idea why all these lines are stuck in my head...

ok. i'm getting sidetracked here. anyway, i'll just end the post here and get back to work. =)

happy anniversary unfinished_article!

down memory lane

in reply to cl's comments, i can't find the most recent photo of the 6 of us but this is the oldest that i have. this goes back 8 years to the much hyped year 2000. this was taken the night before we conquered (hiked sounds more appropriate) mount kinabalu.

guys, if anyone of you have any recent photo of us, can you please forward it to me? i'd like to post it here. it'll be cool to see how each one of us has changed... =)

jason: the photoshop idea is not too bad, but lets keep that for a last resort yeah?

quick update...

i've got less than 30 mins to do this, so it'll be have to be short. right now, i'm posted in labuan and i'm not entirely sure for how long. but career-wise at least it looks good. there are a few jobs coming up and i'm hoping to get some offshore job exposure. it's gonna be a brand new experience for me to be working offshore - not sure if it's exciting or scary yet...

personally, i've been in a mind war of some sort with myself. my closest friends knows all about it. but it's something that i definitely have to deal with but not here. for now, it'll stay private and confidential. =P

and talking about my closest friends, remember my brothers from high school? jason, jacky, ang, zi hui and kam? well, the wedding bells are ringing for 2 of them! amazing huh? it still felt like just yesterday we were fooling around in school being the carefree (but totally cool) kids we were and now, 2 of them are actually officially becoming men... hehehe...

i'm not gonna disclose which one of them are getting married coz i'm not so sure if they want the news to be spreading yet. but if you know us well enough, it should be easy to guess looking at our current situation... =)

i didn't know if i should post it here, but it's such great news, i couldn't help it... =P

ok, my time is up. gotta go.

oh yeah, i'm living in an extremely huge house now, but i'm all alone. it's not nice. =(

ps: it's officially 3 months since i last saw cl... =(

Flåm, Norway

Instead of travel around Europe, last week, I decided to spend some time at Norway before I go back Malaysia. Norway is famous for the fjord. So, to be able to claim that I came to Norway, I have to visit one of the fjord before I leave Norway. Ok, don't ask me what is fjord, I do not how to explain it since I am not too sure as well (I only know it is form because of glacial and during ice age). If you wanna know click on the link and read it from the wikipedia. Flåm is the place that we are heading to which located at Aurland. Nærøyfjord is one of the famous fjord which located at Flåm. It is listed under UNESCO world heritage site.

The view on the fjord. Breath taking...

I went there with another 2 more colleagues who are Zaitul and Anas. Zaitul and I take turn to drive from Sandefjord to Flåm. We drove for 9 hours to reach there! Isn't that sounds crazy? Anas, our suppose-to-be-navigator, was not too sure about the road direction at a few junctions. Ends up, we got lost for few times before we reach there. We stop at every petrol station to ask for direction and get some coffee. There is one petrol station that we stopped, even the worker do not know where are we going because Flåm is just too far from there! hahaha...so he try to ask one of the customer who coincidentally came in at that time. And, even the customer also don't know where are we going. See! Can you imagine how far we are driving? Finally, the customer gave us his book. It is a map with all the road around Norway! Cool ya~! Sometime, traditional map is anytime more reliable and useful than the crappy Google Map or Michelin. Don't ever 100% trust what you got from the net.

Our summer trip? with ice along the way

On the way there, we passed by a lot of nice waterfall and water power plant. We drove pass all the ski resort, went through the mountain and uncountable tunnel. Finally, after 9 hours drive, we reach our destination! FLÅM! It is really worth for us to drive that long simply because the view is magnificent. Sorry for my poor english vocabulary, I really do not know how to describe how gorgeous it is.

Kjosfossen - the waterfall

One of the must do activity at Flåm is the Flåm train. The train trip is really worth every single cent that we paid. The journey takes about 20 km but along the way I do not have the opportunity to sit down since there are too many nice sceneries along the way! I have to swift to the left and right all the time so that I don't miss up any nice view.

The railway track. Cool ya?

Besides that, we took fjord safari... ate goat cheese...went to say hi to the goat and cow...

mek...mek...smile for the camera!

Although it is a tiring trip, still I have no regret and really enjoy it. Thanks for the mate of the trip. I really had a good time. Finally, thank you Anas who took the pictures too. (more pictures available on his link)

Anas : "bluek...you're welcome"

=P

home sweet home

i'm home! the title gives that away i believe... =)

i've managed to survive 10 weeks of ots stim in abu dhabi and i'm finally home.

at the end of it all, i have to admit it's been a pretty interesting 10 weeks. met people of all characters in the class. some "different" and some great. i've had plenty of good times as well as bad.

good times - bon jovi concert, dubai, brunch at the burj-al-arab, great nights with great friends.

bad times - exam, exam, exam...

well, no matter what, i've managed to get through it unscathed and that is all that matters. now, i hope things will turn out to be just fine and that i will have a smooth journey from here forth.

and now that i'm home, i just want to enjoy kl as it is...

ps: below are some pictures taken during the last day of our school at mlc and also during the brunch that i had with aminulla and julio at the burj-al-arab...

this is the class as it graduated with all three instructors - a diverse group to say the least

my final project group - could not have asked for a better group

burj-al-arab up, close and personal

view of the burj-al-arab from the lobby

i wish my garage would look like that - i would have to own a garage first... =)

here in my home

the first time i saw this video was from kam's blog. it touched me, as i assumed it would to anyone who calls him/herself a malaysian. but then, i got to thinking. this is too cliche even for us. how many of us truly believe that we are indeed living in harmony and not in tolerance with each other?

"Years of fears and years of tribulation
The heart keeps searching for that endless devotion
Hand in hand we’ll march like blood brothers
I speak for my people, hope we’ll find peace forever
May the road ahead quench my thirst for success
May the road behind echo a song of the blessed
Yes I feel it in my bones, so I will let it be known
No matter where I roam, this is home sweet home"

the first two lines were sung by a malay, lines three and four by a chinese and lines five and six by an indian... i think there's much more to this part of the song and if you just read between the lines, tell me what you think...

but the line that strikes the right chord with me is the final line there - no matter where i roam, this is home sweet home. it is still with pride that i call myself a malaysian. i truly hope this was an honest project to unite the people.

sadly, there are people in power that is destroying that sense of belonging to many of us younger generations. especially those who've been out of the country and who can actually see wat's going on despite all the bs they show to you on the national mass media. i dun usually talk politics on my blog but at times, you just get so frustrated.