My First Site Engineering Experience - Prequel

If I can only use 3 words to describe my six and half months tenure, I would choose : Exhilarating, Stressful, and Exciting.

When I was given the opportunity to go to site as a Field Engineer, I had hitherto caulked up three and half years of design experience only. It was rare for one with such limited experience to be sent to site I was told. Mind you; we're talking about the oil & gas industry.

My manager called me up to his office one fine day in the month of June. After exchanging pleasantries, he went straight to the point and inquired If I was interested in going to site to work. Apparently my mentor had just finished his one-year contract and desisted in extending his term.

This created an opening which needs to be filled and the senior engineers who were working in this project did not want this assignment. He assumed that the work should be almost completed and he exclaimed; " Only, Close out! Should be no big issues."

I was overjoyed, I had just started thinking of going to get some site experience. It's a prerequisite to getting the P.Eng examinations anyway. And here this fine offer just falls into my lap. God must love me and the stars aligned together with the moons.

But there were some doubts in my mind and I asked him, "Really? Only close out?" Of course I wasnt expecting an answer any different. Its not like he's gonna go, Ohh, I lied just to get your attention. Actually blah blah blah. Nevertheless, there are somethings that has to be said to show a record of it.

I agreed.

A young engineer as I am, and given this opportunity. I grabbed it by the bull's horn and just prayed that I would not die at site. Or create such a big fuck up to be sent home immediately too.

So August came, and the last week before departure was a mess. I only received the confirmation that I was definitely going a week before the departure date. And within that time, I had to obtain the visa and work permits, health checks and of course to settle personal affairs.

Alas, we managed to get it all sorted out in time. We being the project secretary and myself. She was an immense help who managed to ease the confusing process.

August 12 2015, I boarded MH752, bound for Hanoi taking the next step up on the ladder of my career with nothing but my balls and my brains(some).

Money is Power.

Another week another revelation. The thing about revelations is, it has got to be revealing to move the minds or to affect the hearts of the masses. When week in week out, we have "news" of things that we already know of, it doesn't stir up much emotion.

This reveals a deep and underlying issue with the society of our country and shows that the political maturity much less the political will of the masses is still in the benign stage. I had wanted to use the growth stage but we aren't exactly growing or progressing much are we?

The severity and number of scandals surrounding a number of elected officials is mind-boggling. How can one enact or be allowed to do such a thing in a "democratic", "free" and "developed" country such as ours? And how does on survive the political deathbed even after being caught red-handed?

Could be that outwardly, we have all the looks and impressions of a democratic country with checks and balances and democratic institutions to enforce the democratic free-will of the people that actually we aren't?

Laws to stifle free speech and to punish expression of different opinions. Laws to send people to jail if they dare to raise their voice or type on their keyboard. Where lays our freedom of speech and the right to have our own opinion? Does every word spoken, every speech made, every article written require the censorship of "Big Brother"?

Moving the masses is the hardest thing to do. I think. Society as a whole is lethargic and lazy. But I had expected that when push comes to shove, with our sovereignty in jeopardy; with our image in tatters; we would all come together to get rid of the cancer that is slowly but surely destroying our country.

I guess Yannis Varoufakis' observation holds more water than i thought. He recently opined, in a TED talk that there are 2 distinct spheres. The political sphere and the monetary sphere. It is evident that here, money talks all the way baby.

Separation of powers my ass.

You are an embarrassment

You always shout that you and your people have pride. One should not challenge another's pride or the warrior in them will rise.

How come then with the world watching, you slipped on the very banana skin that you threw down for others? The irony of all these gaffes and stupidity is that you no longer have a pride. Just a desperate man fighting for survival and the survival of your kind.

One can simply sweep things under the carpet in one's own house. But with the blinds half closed and the curtains half drawn, outsiders could very well see the shenanigans that's happening inside.

Immunity from prosecution once removed. Could this long carrot be enticing enough? It was once believe that maybe, just maybe there is some pride left. Maybe that offer would be taken up. But recent events has shown that its no longer possible. Probability is as low as the country being classed as a developed nation.

We may have first world infrastructure but our mentality is still stuck in the 2nd to third. So much potential, all in waste because of a few men or a woman's greed.

I feel much ashamed and embarrassed.