Lately, I have developed a knack for talking with strangers on the plane. Sometimes it is just to alleviate the nervousness of the passenger beside my neighbour, or just to strike a conversation with my 'new neighbour'. On these journeys, we never cease to be amazed by the interesting professions and personalities.
A passenger who once sat beside my an extremely senior reservoir engineer what he worked as. My senior said, "I'm a reservoir engineer."
My senior tried to evoke his curiousity by asking him, "What do you think a reservoir engineer does?"
"Well... I think a reservoir engineer designs water reservoirs!" was the reply.
oh oh! How amusing! We reservoir engineers had a really good laugh that day! After all, if only we designed reservoirs for water, that would be so much easier to comprehend. In reality, as reservoir engineers, we deal with the untangible, incomprehensible part of the flow of oil, water and gas thousands of meters beneath the surface of the earth; where bacterias cause the disintegration of animals and plants, breaking the molecules into oil and gas.
On my recent trip to KK, I decided this time I would keep quiet and read an interesting book on petroleum engineering. However, in the middle of the journey, I noticed my 'partner' fidgeting. After having our very delicious meal of 'cold rojak', my partner sat in her chair, staring into space, occasionally looking from left to right and to the centre again. I felt her restlessness. I knew she was uncomfortable. So, I decided to strike a small talk.
First, I gave her my shy smile. Then she smiled back. Then I asked her whether she was from KK. She said 'yes'. What followed suit was history. In a matter of minutes, we became instant friends.
This girl who sat beside me was actually a photographer who worked for the Malaysian Welfare Ministry. She was also a writer, a student, and a strong lady who hikes 3 days in the jungle just to reach the natives who live in the heart of the jungle. When she arrives, she will distribute food,clothes to them and try to persuade them to move out of the jungle to live in the city where basic amenities are present.
When I asked her what was the most interesting part of her job, she enthusiastically replied, "It's dealing with the people in the jungle. Even though we bring very little stuff when we visit them, we get the feeling that our visit means so much to them. They always bring big, giant plates of dishes when we visit their long houses. We get to taste the best wild chicken, the best fish 'panggang' (grilled) in bamboo sticks, the sweetest langsat and most delicious durians! Even before we leave, they make sure we have all the season's harvest before we begin our journey back to town."
I was touched when I heard her story. I tried frantically to remember my time on the rig. The time when I too felt like that; enthusiastic, passionate, eager to jump on my feet at anytime! When I felt equally excited about everything under the sun; about the prospect of meeting someone new. Each of them had something to teach me. The world is so big that I can't stop learning. Well, I realize that . So, I just need to go out more often. I miss the rig life so so much.
At the end of the journey, we felt as if we have already known each other for ages. She even offered me a ride to the hotel! On the way there, she proudly introduced me to her boyfriend as the engineer who works for the national oil company. Honestly, I feel really honoured when I go out into the world as the staff of an NOC. It carries some sort of prestige, pride and honour.
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On the way back to KL, I was seated next to a German who was fidgeting constantly. I really can't stand people who sit around and stare into emptiness. I do not know what goes on in their minds. To me, people ought to be doing something all the time. It may be reading, writing, talking, or even listening to music on their MP3s. so, when this man who was holding a book in his hands, staring far ahead , putting his legs up a moment, down the next, I began to analyze his character. Since KK is also one of the main destinations of people who worked in the oil and gas industry, I wondered if he too worked on the offshore rigs. If he did, what sort of company he worked for. Was it Shell? Halliburton? or Schlumberger? Nope. He looks too rough to be working for Schlumberger. Hmm.. what might his profession be? Is he a derrickman? Driller? companyman? tool specialist? Engineer? Hmm.. I think he must be a driller. His hands look rough. He looks tough. and He's tall. I think he's a driller.
So, as a naturally curious human being, I launched into my interview session.
"So," I began. "You love to read? What are you reading? What's this book about?"
Yup. I shot him 3 questions at once.
"Ah. This book is in spanish. I'm writing a book about Spain. So, I need to research all about Spain before I write about it."
"Oh! So, you're a writer! What kind of books do you write?"
"Mostly I write travel stuff. I've been to the South part of spain, and I've even published a book about it in the German language. But, the north part of Spain, I'm going to write about it next."
This guy doesn't seem to talk much. But I'm curious about his purpose in KK. So, I bullhead into the next phase of the interview.
"If you're writing a book about Spain, what are you doing in KK?"
"Ah! I'm a tour leader. I bring tourists to Miri, Pulau Sipadan, KK and introduce them to the wildlife here. I bring them to caves. snorkeling, diving and expose them to the beauty of Malaysia. We even climbed Mount Kinabalu." He declares proudly.
I'm embarassed. I've lived in Malaysia for 24 years and 11 months, and I've never climbed Mount Kinabalu , visited the Miri caves, or went snorkeling at Pulau Sipadan. I vow to myself, I will go to Mount KK next time. If I feel the strong urge to challenge myself.
"How many people are there in your tour? Is it hard to become a tour leader? When did you become a tour leader? Were you always a tour leader? What were you working as before this? How's your house like? oh wow! there's a lake in front of your house! Great! is it big? u're still renting your house, even though you've been working for more than four years? "
ahhah! I shot so many questions at him . But, he answered all of them. I found out that he took social science in university as a graduate. After gaduation, he worked as a museum curator for 6 years before joinign the tourism industry. He finds working as a tour leader very exciting. He gets to deal with different people from all walks of life, see different places, learn new languages, enjoy the greens... and see how much the country has developed over the years.
He must have been 'put off' by this smug little girl. The little know it all. It's revenge time.
"Hah! What about you, young lady? You seem pretty curious about everything! What do you do? do you like your job? It seems very tough! how do you survive? What do you think is the most important in interaction between human? "
Then our conversation became intellectual. We talked about family, human communication, houses, cars, life, aspirations, travelling, challenges in our work, etc. I found out he was a guy who married once and discovered that it wasn't suitable for him. He divorced and is now a single in his 40s. I'm single, and probably will remain single until I meet my match.
and what do you know! By the time we arrived at KLIA, it was already 8pm. I was knocked out, he was fretting that he had to take another flight to Dublin. ( I think). That's the capital of German isn't it? Oh well. My geography isn't that good. But at least I can strike conversation with strangers. hahaha! Oh! Did I mention, I learn a lot about their lives and countries too!
All in all, it was a very nice time. To KK, in KK , and back to KL! I am young. very very young. I 've learnt that I ought to follow my own heart, do the things that I really really want, to be satisfied. There are no absolute things in life. That is what makes life worth living.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A passenger who once sat beside my an extremely senior reservoir engineer what he worked as. My senior said, "I'm a reservoir engineer."
My senior tried to evoke his curiousity by asking him, "What do you think a reservoir engineer does?"
"Well... I think a reservoir engineer designs water reservoirs!" was the reply.
oh oh! How amusing! We reservoir engineers had a really good laugh that day! After all, if only we designed reservoirs for water, that would be so much easier to comprehend. In reality, as reservoir engineers, we deal with the untangible, incomprehensible part of the flow of oil, water and gas thousands of meters beneath the surface of the earth; where bacterias cause the disintegration of animals and plants, breaking the molecules into oil and gas.
On my recent trip to KK, I decided this time I would keep quiet and read an interesting book on petroleum engineering. However, in the middle of the journey, I noticed my 'partner' fidgeting. After having our very delicious meal of 'cold rojak', my partner sat in her chair, staring into space, occasionally looking from left to right and to the centre again. I felt her restlessness. I knew she was uncomfortable. So, I decided to strike a small talk.
First, I gave her my shy smile. Then she smiled back. Then I asked her whether she was from KK. She said 'yes'. What followed suit was history. In a matter of minutes, we became instant friends.
This girl who sat beside me was actually a photographer who worked for the Malaysian Welfare Ministry. She was also a writer, a student, and a strong lady who hikes 3 days in the jungle just to reach the natives who live in the heart of the jungle. When she arrives, she will distribute food,clothes to them and try to persuade them to move out of the jungle to live in the city where basic amenities are present.
When I asked her what was the most interesting part of her job, she enthusiastically replied, "It's dealing with the people in the jungle. Even though we bring very little stuff when we visit them, we get the feeling that our visit means so much to them. They always bring big, giant plates of dishes when we visit their long houses. We get to taste the best wild chicken, the best fish 'panggang' (grilled) in bamboo sticks, the sweetest langsat and most delicious durians! Even before we leave, they make sure we have all the season's harvest before we begin our journey back to town."
I was touched when I heard her story. I tried frantically to remember my time on the rig. The time when I too felt like that; enthusiastic, passionate, eager to jump on my feet at anytime! When I felt equally excited about everything under the sun; about the prospect of meeting someone new. Each of them had something to teach me. The world is so big that I can't stop learning. Well, I realize that . So, I just need to go out more often. I miss the rig life so so much.
At the end of the journey, we felt as if we have already known each other for ages. She even offered me a ride to the hotel! On the way there, she proudly introduced me to her boyfriend as the engineer who works for the national oil company. Honestly, I feel really honoured when I go out into the world as the staff of an NOC. It carries some sort of prestige, pride and honour.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the way back to KL, I was seated next to a German who was fidgeting constantly. I really can't stand people who sit around and stare into emptiness. I do not know what goes on in their minds. To me, people ought to be doing something all the time. It may be reading, writing, talking, or even listening to music on their MP3s. so, when this man who was holding a book in his hands, staring far ahead , putting his legs up a moment, down the next, I began to analyze his character. Since KK is also one of the main destinations of people who worked in the oil and gas industry, I wondered if he too worked on the offshore rigs. If he did, what sort of company he worked for. Was it Shell? Halliburton? or Schlumberger? Nope. He looks too rough to be working for Schlumberger. Hmm.. what might his profession be? Is he a derrickman? Driller? companyman? tool specialist? Engineer? Hmm.. I think he must be a driller. His hands look rough. He looks tough. and He's tall. I think he's a driller.
So, as a naturally curious human being, I launched into my interview session.
"So," I began. "You love to read? What are you reading? What's this book about?"
Yup. I shot him 3 questions at once.
"Ah. This book is in spanish. I'm writing a book about Spain. So, I need to research all about Spain before I write about it."
"Oh! So, you're a writer! What kind of books do you write?"
"Mostly I write travel stuff. I've been to the South part of spain, and I've even published a book about it in the German language. But, the north part of Spain, I'm going to write about it next."
This guy doesn't seem to talk much. But I'm curious about his purpose in KK. So, I bullhead into the next phase of the interview.
"If you're writing a book about Spain, what are you doing in KK?"
"Ah! I'm a tour leader. I bring tourists to Miri, Pulau Sipadan, KK and introduce them to the wildlife here. I bring them to caves. snorkeling, diving and expose them to the beauty of Malaysia. We even climbed Mount Kinabalu." He declares proudly.
I'm embarassed. I've lived in Malaysia for 24 years and 11 months, and I've never climbed Mount Kinabalu , visited the Miri caves, or went snorkeling at Pulau Sipadan. I vow to myself, I will go to Mount KK next time. If I feel the strong urge to challenge myself.
"How many people are there in your tour? Is it hard to become a tour leader? When did you become a tour leader? Were you always a tour leader? What were you working as before this? How's your house like? oh wow! there's a lake in front of your house! Great! is it big? u're still renting your house, even though you've been working for more than four years? "
ahhah! I shot so many questions at him . But, he answered all of them. I found out that he took social science in university as a graduate. After gaduation, he worked as a museum curator for 6 years before joinign the tourism industry. He finds working as a tour leader very exciting. He gets to deal with different people from all walks of life, see different places, learn new languages, enjoy the greens... and see how much the country has developed over the years.
He must have been 'put off' by this smug little girl. The little know it all. It's revenge time.
"Hah! What about you, young lady? You seem pretty curious about everything! What do you do? do you like your job? It seems very tough! how do you survive? What do you think is the most important in interaction between human? "
Then our conversation became intellectual. We talked about family, human communication, houses, cars, life, aspirations, travelling, challenges in our work, etc. I found out he was a guy who married once and discovered that it wasn't suitable for him. He divorced and is now a single in his 40s. I'm single, and probably will remain single until I meet my match.
and what do you know! By the time we arrived at KLIA, it was already 8pm. I was knocked out, he was fretting that he had to take another flight to Dublin. ( I think). That's the capital of German isn't it? Oh well. My geography isn't that good. But at least I can strike conversation with strangers. hahaha! Oh! Did I mention, I learn a lot about their lives and countries too!
All in all, it was a very nice time. To KK, in KK , and back to KL! I am young. very very young. I 've learnt that I ought to follow my own heart, do the things that I really really want, to be satisfied. There are no absolute things in life. That is what makes life worth living.
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