THE GRAND OLD LADY

Other than the start of Ramadhan, the Malaysian Independence month (yes, the flags have already been hung at home, probably the first house in the neighbourhood who has the flags up), there is another memorable celebration for us in the upstream EP (exploration and production) business in the red-yellow pecten oil & gas company. For us lot in KL, the celebration is not as grand as in Miri, where the history all began..

I myself started my career in this business in Miri before transferring to KL to venture in the high profile deepwater project, which is the first for Malaysia for this company. So I understand the truth when people say that “in Miri, almost everyone living there is either working for Shell or related to someone working in Shell”.. Some of my friends from Miri are 3rd generation Shell staff whereby their parents and their grandparents used to work for this company. This is not a norm anywhere else in the country, so it is quite unique. Coincidentally even in my immediate family we have 3 members working for this multinational company, there’s colleagues who joke that perhaps one day my son will also be working for this business.

If anyone out there is wondering how Malaysia started to venture into oil and gas, well here’s a little history (that I have extracted from the PC Sign-On screen…)
It was exactly a century ago, on August 10, 1910, that a group of curious local inhabitants of Miri in Sarawak gathered on top of the hill overlooking the small fishing village. Back then, Miri consisted of 20 scattered houses and a few shops.

The villagers were watching a small party of Shell employees and thirty local labourers undertake the slow and laborious task of drilling by the old cable tool method, first used in AD 421 by the Chinese to extract salt. While the occasion was cause for great interest, none of the onlookers could have realised what tremendous consequences the event would have for Sarawak.

Four months later oil was struck at a depth of 136 metres and brought into production. The wooden derrick, erected at 79m above sea level, began to produce an initial 83 barrels a day. The well was Miri Well No. 1 – which came to be called the “Grand Old Lady” - on top of Canada Hill. The company was the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company, forerunner of Sarawak Shell Berhad and part of the Shell Group of Companies formed in 1907.

As the birthplace of the nation’s petroleum industry, Miri would be transformed by the landmark event into one of Sarawak’s most developed towns post-independence. In the course of the last 100 years of upstream business, Shell has recorded remarkable achievements in the development of oil and gas resources in Malaysia. Contributing capital, advanced technology and skilled human resource to the country, these achievements are milestones that the company continues to be proud of today.

Today, Shell operates as upstream contractors to Petronas after the national oil company was established to look after the nation's hydrocarbon resources in 1974. Since the signing of the first production sharing contracts in 1976, Shell has continued to achieve firsts in Sarawak, among them the development of E11, the country’s first gas field in 1982. The company also started Shell MDS, the world’s first commercial gas-to-liquids plant of its kind in Bintulu in 1993.

The 100-year journey would not have been possible without the support of the community it operates in. In giving back to society, Shell has implemented a diverse range of events, projects and programmes - commencing with the construction of the Miri-Lutong road and the Miri hospital in the early part of the 20th century - which evolved into today’s corporate social responsibility initiatives in human capital development, educational excellence, sustainable development and road safety awareness. Flagship programmes include the Shell Scholarship Awards, Project Link (a coded welder training programme), the Shell Traffic Games, Nature Education Camps and the Shell Kenyalang Press Awards. Through its signature “We Care We Share” programme, the company funds staff volunteerism for community projects in areas of large operations such as Miri and Bintulu.

As Shell celebrates the centenary of the “Grand Old Lady” and its first hundred years of upstream operations in Malaysia, it looks forward to the next 100 years of powering progress together with its partners and the community, confident that its second century will be just as memorable, exciting and successful.

Getting into the spirit of things

Look at this cheeky little face.. can’t decide whether I want to cut his hair or leave it long and curly…


naufal's toys are always scattered all over the house, in the car and also at his grannies'.. when I was looking in my handbag today I found his Thomas train in there too. So I put it on my desk, and even my boss was interested with the toy. I guess boys will always be boys!!


Anyway, as of hearing the announcement on TV yesterday, it is official that today we will begin the fasting month. Time has changed many things, and now Naufal is big enough to play by himself. So Norman and I decided to pray solat sunat Tarawih together at home. Last year my sisters would look after him if I go to the mosque to pray but now that we are living in different house we need to manage the changes.

When it comes to food, I have to prepare the cooking myself again. So I cooked a little bit more for dinner last night and when it is time for sahur I just heated up what was earlier prepared. Tonight I am planning to make bubur kacang hijau for dessert, but I still can’t decide what will be the main dish.. will have to look at recipes online to see what is interesting.

Was planning to get to work earlier so that I can get a full 8 hours and still leave early, but I still ended up leaving the doors at 7am. Have to try getting ready faster tomorrow and beat that traffic. Another change that I plan to make is to wear baju kurung everyday throughout this month… haha.. the pants and slacks will get a rest in the wardrobe for a while. I still remember when the world cup started and me and Norman both went to work wearing our football jerseys, then when we arrive at work we realised that we were the only ones in each of our offices who was wearing a jersey. Talk about getting into the spirit of things.. good thing it was casual Friday..

Selamat Beribadat di bulan Ramadhan

“Barangsiapa Yang Berpuasa Ramadhan Kerana Keimanan Dan Mengarapkan Rahmat Allah, Maka Diampunkan Dosa-dosanya Yang Terdahulu” – Hadith Riwayat Bukhari

Rasulullah SAW bersabda bermaksud:
"Sesungguhnya di dalam Syurga terdapat satu pintu yang dinamakan pintu 'al-Rayyan' yang hanya dimasuki oleh orang-orang yang berpuasa. Ditanyakan (oleh pintu tersebut): 'Di manakah orang-orang yang berpuasa?' Maka mereka pun masuk dari pintu tersebut. Setelah semua orang yang berpuasa memasukinya, pintu itu pun ditutup dan tak akan ada lagi yang masuk melaluinya." (HR. Muslim, dari Sahl Ibn Sa'd).

Antara persiapan yang perlu dilakukan menjelang Ramadan ialah :

IMAN:
1. Bertaubat dengan taubat yang bersungguh-sungguh.

2. Berazam meninggalkan segala maksiat.

3. Sentiasa berdoa “Allahumma Ballighna Ramadhan”.

4. Perbanyakkan puasa di bulan Syaaban.

5. Membaca Al-Qur’an (meletakkan matlamat satu juz sehari misalnya).

6. Mujahadah untuk bangun malam (beberapa kali seminggu).

7. Berzikir setiap masa.

8. Membaca Al-Ma’thurat pagi dan petang.

ILMU:
1. Mempelajari hukum-hukum dan perkara-perkara yang bersangkutan dengan ibadah puasa, agar ibadah puasa itu dapat dijalankan dengan betul dan diterima oleh Allah SWT.

2. Membaca buku-buku penyucian jiwa.

3. Mendengar ceramah-ceramah tentang Ramadhan.

4. Mengulangkaji surah-surah yang telah dihafal, sebagai persediaan solat samada sebagai imam atau makmum di bulan Ramadhan.

DAKWAH:
1. Bersedia untuk memberi tazkirah/ ceramah tentang kelebihan bulan Ramadhan.

2. Meluangkan masa menghadiri majlis ilmu di masjid-masjid samada sebagai penceramah atau pendengar.

3. Mengingatkan orang lain tentang kepentingan membuat persediaan untuk Ramadhan.

4. Menyediakan risalah/ majalah kecil untuk orang ramai tentang persediaan menyambut Ramadhan.

KEAZAMAN:
1. Membuka amalan baru yang jauh lebih baik.

2. Menjadikan hari-hari dalam bulan ini, lebih baik dari hari-hari biasa.

3. Sentiasa memakmurkan rumah Allah, pada setiap solat fardhu dan iktikaf.

4. Membersihkan puasa dari perkara yang merosakkannya.

5. Sentiasa berlapang dada.

6. Menghadirkan niat untuk amal soleh di bulan puasa.

JIHAD:
1. Merealisasikan matlamat “bersungguh-sungguh melawan nafsu”.

2. Menahan diri dari berlebihan dalam perkara harus (pakaian, tidur).

3. Menjaga lidah dari berkata keji, mengumpat, dan mencaci.

4. Menahan syahwat dari perkara yang haram.

5. Membuat semakan amalan di bulan Ramadhan tentang segala yang dibincangkan di atas.

“Allahumma Ballighna Ramadhan” merupakan doa dan harapan, menunjukkan betapa hamba-hamba yang soleh mengidam dan tamakkan limpahan Allah (Rahmat, Keampunan, Pelepasan dari Neraka) dalam bulan ini. Para ulamak dan solihin terdahulu bersiap menunggu kedatangan Ramadhan bagi tujuan mengharapkan keampunan Allah pada sepanjang Ramadhan. Oleh itu, kita hendaklah menghargai bulan Ramadhan yang bakal tiba beberapa hari lagi ini dan tidak mensia-siakannya dengan membiarkannya berlalu tanpa dimanfaatkan. Semoga Ramadhan tahun ini lebih bermakna dari Ramadhan yang sebelumnya...

Oleh itu, dengan persediaan ini kita sematkan azam masing-masing untuk mencantikkan dan sempurnakan amalan fardu yang wajib dan membanyakkan amalan sunat pada Ramadan. Ramadhan Mubarak!

For the love of it…

Through my recent chats on FB and tea breaks with my buddies, a lot of people have been asking when will I update my blog… there is so many things roaming in my mind but just haven’t had the time to actually put it down on paper.. This is just a warm up entry..

In particular I want to write about my preparations for this Ramadhan (the first one for me and Norman in our own house, before I have been pampered by my mother’s cookings but this one will be slightly different), our recent holidays (both are early birthday celebrations for Naufal’s 3rd birthday to Universal Studio Singapore, and my dad’s big 60th in Kuantan, in lieu of the fasting month), my virtual encounter with a delusional housewife (you won’t believe this one when you read it).

Work itself has been rather busy, there are many packages that I am dealing with that will be starting production/fabrication soon, and we are also busy loading out pipes and components from one yard into another. Being focal point for interfaces between different parties, it takes a lot of my attention to coordinate things. But in the grand scheme of things, these are the things that I do enjoy about my work. It is having to deal with different types of people and giving technical input in order to make sure that compliance to standards and safety regulations are always adhered to.. Other than that we are also reviewing and approving a lot of documents for start of production of some of the components. With all that, I have managed to excuse myself from going on another offshore trip.. hehe.. Naufal will be happy.

Family-wise, everything is very much normal.. I can’t believe the speed of Naufal’s developments, he learns so fast… and soon he will be turning 3!! I am beginning to understand what people say about “troublesome three”.. he always wants things done his way, he want to eat only his favourite food, he wants to wear only his favourite shirts and shorts, he wants to watch only his shows.. he also seems to be taking over mine and his aunt’s iPhone, playing games and looking at Thomas videos on youtube.. haha.. the funny thing is that he always asks to go to GIANT because he thinks that we can buy Thomas toys in the supermarket (he probably thinks that giant is ToysRUs)… Naufal is constantly asking for a sibling, Norman and I are again excited at the thought.. we’ve started talking about baby names again.. hehe.. wish us luck :)

Love, Life and the World Cup....

OMG!!! I can't believe that it has been so long since I blog. It's kinda weird because at the back of my mind I draft what I plan to blog, but with all the things that has been happening the last few weeks, I just didn't get a chance to actually jot it all down on this blog.

Not wanting to summarize all the exciting moments of my recent life, I'm just gonna talk about what comes to mind naturally at this time.

Well, right now I am actually staying up to watch the World Cup!! It's Uruguay vs. Germany and it is the half time break with the score being 1-1... Oh what a nail-biting game. It's early Sunday morning and I still have the whole day to rest and relax before the finals tomorrow (I'm not sure how I'm gonna survive 8+ hours of work on Monday!!).. Part of the reason that prevents me from blogging this last month is the World Cup itself.. I would be at my mum's for dinner and we would stay there until the game is over. By midnight we would start heading home to rest for the night, and obviously there's nothing else you would want to do as you arrive home other than sleep.. hehe.. My neighbours, who we met at a gathering one of the weekends, actually asked us if we are still living in this house, cause they don't see us at all. The porch lights are only on after midnight, and by morning they have left before we are out of the house.


This is definitely the song of the moment.

Naufal is having fun too. He loves singing the chorus of this Wakka Wakka song :) Not only that, whenever he sees anyone wearing a jersey, he would ask to change into his. Not just the jersey, but he wants to wear the full kit.. shorts and even shoes. Luckily he had a couple of sets to change into, but we had to buy him a new pair of sports shoes cause he doesn't fit into his old Nikes'.One day he woke up and insisted that he change into his football jersey for school. He even had his WC ball with him.
Even on our morning jogs on the weekend, he wanted to wear his football jersey. Btw, for all you ManU fans out there, you can get the kid's football kit (jersey, shorts and socks) for as low as GBP14.99 (50% off) from the official website right now!! So if you know someone living or visiting the UK right now, get them to get your son one.. hehe.. I'm thinking of getting Naufal the away (black and blue) kit.

Anyway, I have recently fulfilled another one of my three new year's resolution recently... Yes, you guessed it right, the new car is here!!! I ordered it on the first weekend after I return from the last offshore campaign in April and because I wanted a white one, I had to wait 2 months to it's arrival..

At first I wanted to get a CRV to which Norman was trying to convince me otherwise. After checking it out, I was not quite satisfied. Norman shifted my attention to the Accord, and after a test drive I was convinced. The funny thing is, the CRV and the Accord costs the same, but you get so much more comfort with the Accord.

Next, we hesitated on whether we want to pay so much for the number plate.. We had to do a little bit of homework to figure out how much we are willing to spend and where we would find a good deal. We ended up tendering for a number in Penang. It was just the number that we really cared for, the latest one with a KL registration number was on the brink of a 5 figure digit (money-wise) and any other state could go down by almost 50% less. I guess we were lucky, we checked to see if there are older numbers not registered, and there was one in Penang which we immediately took at less than 10% of the latest KL plate number.

When we found out that our car has arrived, we started surveying for accessories. We found out the store that the dealer would send new cars to install the free paddle lock, and went there to check out other accessories. We met a guy who was installing something to his new car. Norman was intrigued at the limited edition Honda Civic Type R..

Interesting interiors.. note the push start button in red under the driver's side aircon..
Norman wishing that it's his car!! Manufacturing stops in August 2010, so you still have time to own this limited edition baby...
Look it matches my handbag...

We got our car, the week after this.. and man, we were excited!!

First stop at the Honda dealer, to submit the car registration.
Then off to the tint store, we choose WINGARD Royale.
Next to the accesorries store to install our number plate, we paid extra to upgrade the plate.
Paddle locks installed for added security..

As a plus we also installed front and rear camera to assist in parking. (don't wanna scratch the car)...

With our car dealer, Ms Zizi.. at this point we are minutes away from walking away with our new car, Mr. Nakamura :)
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What's cooking tonight?

When it comes to cooking I am so not the right person to talk to.. but tonight I am planning to try out a new simple recipe, so I shall share the recipe for now and the next post will have a picture of the end product.. (if it turns out right!! haha)

Recipe : Spaghetti Aglio Olio

1 portion of spaghetti – Cook according to instruction

Meanwhile… stir fry a few cloves of chopped garlic and 2 stalks of dried chillies with generous amount of olive oil. You can either break the chillies into flakes or leave it in huge chunks if you don’t fancy chewing into them.

Do not let the garlic brown. Add in the cooked spaghetti and flavour with salt, black pepper and herbs (optional).

If you have chicken stock, then the taste will be better. Otherwise, just use Maggi chicken cubes.

You can also add in portobello mushrooms and yellow capsicum plus parmesan cheese in the cooking process. Depending on what's in the fridge.. Don't forget shrimps and squid for seafood style or chicken strips for a little protein. The spaghetti will be a little moist but not soupy.


Let's see how well this recipe turns out tonight. I told you it is an easy recipe right? Give it a try..

THOMAS CUP

Wow.. it has been so long since I last updated this blog. Everyday I have (at the back of my mind) plans to update it and ideas of what I wanted to write about, but lately 24 hours in a day is just not enough for me to do all the things in my TO-DO list. Regardless my recent busy schedule I've decided to update it today.. atleast with what I'm thinking at this moment.

You cannot be in Malaysia right now and not talk about BADMINTON... Why badminton? Well, the Thomas Cup is what's going on...

Even Naufal is excited about it, it seems to him that everyone is also excited about "THOMAS" as he is.. everytime he heard the word "thomas" mentioned on the radio and TV news/game commentator, he would turn to me excitedly and said "dia kata thomas, ibu?"...

Naufal's idea of the THOMAS CUP

It was very satisfying watching the Thomas Cup quarter final match between Malaysia and Denmark last night. After an unexpected beatings with Japan the night before it is such a refreshing match to see the Malaysian team suddenly raising from defeat..

Malaysia beats Denmark 3-2
Lee Chong Wei (MAS) bt Peter Hoeg Gade (DEN) 21-17, 21-17
Jan Ø Jørgensen (DEN) bt Wong Choong Han (MAS) 22-20, 16-21, 21-18
Mohd Hafiz Hashim (MAS) bt Joachim Persson (DEN) 21-12, 21-10
Koo Kean Keat/Tan Boon Heong (MAS) bt Carsten Mogensen/Mathias Boe (DEN) 21-17, 21-19
Lars Paaske/Jonas Rasmussen (DEN) bt Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif/Hoon Thien How (MAS) 24-26, 21-12, 21-19

Good Luck with the next match with China!!