my complicated life

it was supposed to be a fieldtrip con team building for our department. however, as to how will a teambuilding activity be incorporated to the schedule or to the plan, was one thing i was wary and sure that more likely, will not happen. =)

anyway, i woke up at the same time i usually do during weekdays. florian fetched me up infront of Crowne Plaza Hotel, 6:50 AM. we were the first ones to arrive at PI. one by one, the professors as well as the Exploration Advisor arrived right after us. Dr. Pierson, the advisor, gave a short briefing about the trip. Around 8 AM, everyone hopped into respective 4W drives they were assigned to. i was with florian and dr. ali.

after PI, we stopped by an ADNOC petrol station where everyone (except me) bought their light lunches. my hubby prepared my lunch pack so there was no need for me to buy anymore. =) some pinoys working at the said gas station gave me an inquisitive look as i was the lone lady in a pack of 9 expats. naku, if i only had known that Pilar wasn't coming, i shouldn't have come as well.

from the petrol station, we started to follow the trip itinerary. we first stopped by the Mussafah Channel where we saw bedding of sand, desert rose (halite) with some gastropods, algal mats, anhydrite and a fossilized mammal! i bet, it must have been the shark of Jaws 4. hehe. he just died first before his life was made into a movie .

after some geological discussion ek-ek, we went to see the algal mats in real life, the mangroves, and we even saw an oasis which was just a meter deep from the desert. as discussed, these almal mats, mangrove and bodies of once living creatures, are the ones responsible of giving the oil which they abundantly have.

i learned quite a lot today despite the burning sun. here are some of my learnings:

now, that's what happens when you are around geologists for too long. you get to borrow some of their words. masama na 'to! haha. luckily, i still manage to keep my sanity. =)