THE HIP

A Thinker's Shared Spot of Stories of Living



Sunday, March 27, 2005

Days in The Field

by Eko Prasetyo @ 4:19 PM

Aaaah..the live of a petroleum engineer...
Got assigned to the Kurau Field last week, Friday to be exact. It was a bitter tasted mix of event. It was past work hours on the afternoon, I was half asleep already and not on the mood to talk about works anymore when my senior told me that I was to be sent to the field on Monday (March 21st, 2005). Got shocked, half-asleep way, I then got panicked cause it's late on friday, when people are already out and paperworks will be very difficult to be done, and my senior, who has been accompanying me, seemed to be still absorbed on his works and got confused.
So, with the help of a few friends, I did the paperworks, faxed it (thanks Pak Jaka for still around), and told senior that I'd be coming in saturday in case there are things need to be done before monday.
So Saturday I went in to the office, hoping to clear things up. Turned out that there's nothing special.
Sunday, I am staying at the home, relaxing for the big things to come. I started packing on the evening. Packing enough things to carry on my daily bag.
Monday, on the small hours, I am awake. Rushing to the kitchen with my bag filled with the stuff I need to bring to the field, I found my mother cooking some fast breakfast. I then woke up my cousin to take me to the office immediately.
He drove smoothly to my office's building lobby, made it earlier than the the supposed deadline. I met other, unfamiliar employees of my company. The Field Crews, I thought.
After waiting for my partner to show up, I joint the others in a van that took us to the airport, taking a Garuda to Pekanbaru.
My inexperience with airport really showed up that day. I got panick whenever my partner is out of my sight (and somehow he had the tendency to do so, forgetting that I HAVE NEVER TOOK A PLANE !)
So, all the hassle and confusion aside, I finally boarded the plane, trying to find my seat without looking more confused than I had been.
Found my seat ! And the view looks great...if you enjoy seeing wings and jet engines...bummer !!
About 2 hours aboard the plane, I finally arrive at the Sutan Syarif Kasim II Airport in Pekanbaru.
Again, my confusion because of my inexperience showed, and my partner once again had the unique talent to remove himself from my sight.
I decided to go independent and started to scan around.
My partner showed up right after I was going to ask some security type dude about things. Geez.
So, after an hour of blabbering together with some elderly folks who has tasted the field salt longer (obviously) than me, the Terrano Armada is coming.
What, you're wondering what's a terrano armada ? Well, they are a bunch of Nissan Terrano specially rented for our transportation from the airport to Butun.
Butun is where my contact with civilized, women filled world ends and the contact with less civilized, men filled land begins. It's a rather small seaports, from which I use a jetboat to reach Kurau, the central accomodation of my company field operations.
Aah, taking airplane and jetboat, things that I'had never done before. The feelings are rather good and enlightening, having to feel new experiences, and seeing new things. Not to mention finally out of my java-centric lives and land on other Islands of Indonesia :D
Upon reaching Kurau Jetty, the central seaport of Kondur Petroleum, S.A field operation, a sense of pride took place.

Here I am, a man with a job as an engineer. Never have dreamt that it will be coming to a realization, considering my 9 months of unemployment and my neverending obsession to become a comic artists. But still there I was, watching a gate of what is a petroleum company centre of operations. Soon, I'd see for myself what the fuss have been people induced to me about.