Engineers' Wives Club

I read with interest a leadership slideshow by IEEE and stumbled upon some interesting things about what spouses of engineers say about their significant others. Read letters to Ann Landers.

You probably have heard of golf widows and how some of them decided to take on the green stretch themselves. For us wives of construction or on-site engineers, our stomach are often tied in knots each time dear hubby has to go away longer than we can ordinarily cope. Especially for Malaysian and Singaporean engineers mid-career, the only way to make a lil extra is to seek jobs overseas, you know, get into the expat market and all that. A lot of families have had to uproot and squat temporarily in expat comfort(betul ke?) before the engineer moves on to another contract. Some, like me, would have to wait with bated breaths every single day that the engineer would come back in one piece and that he would always always come home to me.

I remember once, when I was heavily pregnant, Che Anwar had to spend a lot of time in Indonesia ironing out some regulatory disputes between the dredgers his company hired and the Indonesian Marine Police. The hearings were held in Karimun and Batam, two little islands south of Singapore, notorious for manly extra-curricular activities. When he had to be away for more than 4 days, I packed up my stuff and rushed to the ferry jetty, luggage, huge tummy and all, to get to him, yet I had missed the last boat out. I just sat at the station, crying and crying while I spoke to him over the phone. I just could not take another night alone. I was going to stay right there until the next day and take the first ferry out. Lucky for me, Che Anwar came back the next day. Only to leave two days later.

These days he doesn't really have to go abroad save for short meetings in China and Malaysia. That, he'd go just for the meeting and catch the flight back. Poor thing.

I am most worried when he has to go down 30m underground and walk 8km in a deep tunnel which is to be christened the passageway for crude biological waste channeled to various water treatment plants. No matter how much emphasis are put on "Safety First" campaign, I am not convinced a pulley system and basket are the way to ferry people underground and up.

Even this tunnel project is almost done. There has been talk that we might have to move to South Korea. I am oh, so not ready for that. And the possibility of that construction giant to loosen the noose around the set up here and get more locals in admin. Both ways, Che Anwar would still operate as every engineer's wife's nightmare. Extramarital affair with his job.

I emphatize with O&G widows, Middle East-bound families and the likes. My mom did not have any problems though, she was a TV person, she is more married to the station back then, but who knows, she too did not like sleeping alone.