memory revisited #3

my life journey has not always been easy. betul.. tak tipu nih. ahakz.. i mean, my life has been easy from the start, but then it turns bad. then it turns from bad to worst. and from there, its down hill all the way. up till a certain point in time. which is.. a moment in time.. when things start to get better.. and still, it is far from being easy. when i looked back at what i have been thru, or what i put myself thru.. and in some cases, what other people put me thru.. i am just so amazed that i actually survived.. ya Allah.. i will never get thru all these without You.. and for that.. im truly grateful..

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i want to share with you a story, in a small chapter of my life. its a part where i find myself doing something that i truly loved. and truly enjoyed. this is a chapter when i was living a high-life, living a glamorous life of being a highly-overpaid engineer, doing all the dirty woks, with people that i actually care. and i know, they all loved me too.. jaydee, if u r reading this, u r one of them :)
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by now kan, i think u ppl already figure out i am not a type of lady that love dressing up like a lady, meaning wearing skirts n baju kurung n wearing make up. uh-oh.. that is definitely not me. i am more of a laid back type, jeans n shirts, hp in my pocket rather in my purse. thats basically who i was. and still am. i love being comfortable, and screw those who thought otherwise.

so i landed myself a lucrative job. of course la. with an IQ like mine, i scored a level6 interview. which basically translate to, i am the only one in my batch who scored a level 6. evrybody else, scored a typical level 1. but being me, i dont like an office work. so i opt to be the 'shift engineer'. which means, i joined the boys working 12 hours shift, two days two nights and 4 days off. living the life in the field where all the actions are, and doing all the dirty works. berg mesti tau nih, sbb dia dak mechanical. ahakz.. :p

being the only lady leading a team of 40 men is never an easy task. ahakz.. seriously. i was an executive, but they see myself a woman first, a boss second. i mean, the guys really give me a hard time ok. they didnt like me being their boss, because it was the first time that a lady actually opt to work in shift. so diorang enjoy bullying me around, making fun of me, which is fine by me.

sbb kitorang kerja shift, dat means kena kerja malam. i can tell u right now, IT WAS SCARY THE FIRST FEW NIGHTS STAYING UP WITH 40 GROWN UP MEN WHEN YOU ARE THE ONLY LADY WORKING IN THE WHOLE LARGE 200-FOOTBALL-SIZE OPERATION FIELD.

i remember the first night arriving for work. all of them look.. i dunno... stoned? hihihi.. n i thought, darn, this is not good. not good at all. kalo yg lelaki tu, i think u know what i mean :p but they get over it. dun ask me how. but the guys suka kenakan i. i love walking n cycling around the field. but its a safety protocol, u cant go into any area without an operator. there will always be guys who love going with me into the field at night. and this is what usually happened..

1. if they were standing too close to me, i will simply laugh n elbowed them. i mean if diorang bediri dekat sgt, kdg2 kan kena masuk compressor house, kena cek equipment etc, i just hentak siku i kat perut sapa2 yg dok menghimpit i. haha... u have to be tough, otherwise, u can never get the work done.

2. mula2 i tak perasan nih. asal naik tangga je, diorang suh i naik dulu. ni bkn tangga biasa tau, ni monkey ladder. usually, its 30-40metres tall. and if u tak penah naik monkey ladder, i can tell u, it is not an easy thing to do. penat wooo.. tp the guys suka bawak i ke tmpat yg kena naik monkey ladder. they loved torturing me. n asal naik je, diorang suh i naik dulu. konon kalau i tegelincir, leh sambut i. adeh, i yg naif nih pon ikot je. rupanya2, ada udang disebalik mee. haha.. darn! after that, kalu diorang suh i naik dulu, i kata "u go first, if u fall, i'll let u die". haha.. diorang gelak sakan. after that, diorang x memain dah psl nk tgk 'my-behind' kalu naik tangga.

3. the fireman training. this is the part where the guys loved! we have fire training every 2 weeks. basically, we changed into the fireman suit. the suit is sooooo smelly ok. and then they will set up a huge fire, api beso mcm 5 tingkat bangunan, n we will tackle the fire. basically, u line up n hold the hose, n jaga pergerakan kaki. bcoz i was the boss, i have to be the chief giving instructions, i have to be the one at the front. they always laughed, but i know, diorang respek kat i, pasal i tak penah tunjuk yg i takut. i have to actually meniarap n go underneath the fire to turn off the gasoline pipeline. there was one time that my helmet terlonggar, and they were actually screaming n pulling me from underneath the fire.. i can tell u their face look like ash, pucat giler, but i just smiled. kat dlm, i was shaking with fear. i nak nangis sbnrnya, tp bila tgk diorang actually care for me, it makes me happy.. la la la... :p

4. there were cctv all over the areas. i mean ALL over the places. there is not one corner that u can escape without being watched. ini pun favorite the guys ok. THEY ALWAYS LIKE TO KNOW WHERE I AM. i carry a walkie talkie radio like everbody else. kalau dah malam2 tu, when they couldnt see me anywhere (ie. masa i kat toilet) they will start making noise on the radio. I TRULY HATE THAT. bcos i dont like answering their calls. bila i start ckp dlm walkie talkie.. they all go crazy! mulalah buat bising. paham2 je la. and they loved to monitor my every move on the field. kadang2, i joined the operator pegi inspect pump. bila i tunduk skit, u can actually see the cctv focus on my-behind. i buat tak tau je. paling tak tahan tu, dah la aim cctv, kat walkie talkie siap cakap "feewittt...." hihihi..

but i never show anything less than respect for them. because there is one thing that i truly believed in, for people to respect you, you have to earn it. meaning, u have to fight for their respect and trust. and in the end, we are like one big family. from being the 'babydoll' i became their friend. really. i mean, mula2 tu diorang just nak kenakan i. when they see that i am not like typical ladyboss that they usually meet, they somehow respect me. me n few guys become close. jaydee, pega, thomas, james anthony.. they were like brothers to me. aha.. james anthony.. :)

i truly loved having them as friends. they opened many windows to many views that i never seen before. masa off days, usually the guys akan ada makan2 n piknik. mula2, diorang x ajak pun i. but later, diorang make sure i go to every piknik. siap jemput kat rumah lg. from there, i get to know them personally, i get to know their wives and kids, i get to know their families. we go hiking together, go to beaches and do many fun things as a team.

moral of the story? it always pay to be nice to other people. first impression does not count. its about how you care for others in anyway you can. its about looking deep into other peoples life and try to understand how they behave, how they think and in some cases, try to understand 'the why' of it. try to accept someone as they are, not the ideal picture of whom they are supposed to be. and sometimes, you have to be forgiving..

love u all lots and lots :)