A little story about me: My name is Abdirahman Said, also known as
Acce. I was born in Mogadishu, Somalia and was raised in Seattle, Washington
for most of my life. I moved to Oklahoma in January of 2013 for school. I am a
petroleum engineer major my passion is to one day become a pioneer in my field
of study, hence the move from Seattle. I am a student and also a family man. I
enjoy spending time with my loved ones (family first, and friends).
Unfortunately most of my family reside in Seattle as I am now here with my
wife. Both of us have made huge transitions in our lives, her coming from London
and myself Seattle. I enjoy going to the movies especially watching
mythological tales and movies based in medieval era. My all-time favorite
movie is 300 followed closely by gladiator.
I very much enjoy travelling around the world and exploring
different cultures and just enjoying the scenery. In the past few years I have
visited numerous countries within Europe England, Wales, and Holland, France.
My family and I lived in the Middle East for a brief period of time then we
decided to move to Germany where I went to school for about six years before
coming over here to the states. Germany was a very agricultural place in
comparison to Seattle. The living and lifestyle seemed much relaxed at the time
than any other place I've been in the world. Not to forget, I was once a fluent
German speaker but unfortunately I have lost my Dutch speaking skills from
constantly speaking English.
During the summer I spent it interning
with a drilling company. Opening up my eyes to where I want to specialize
in. The oil industry is rather interesting and vast being on the outside you’d
be surprised about the amount of work that goes into the extraction of oil.
Which probably explains why Oklahoma has been experiencing the high numbers of
earthquakes we've been having. Maybe it’s the earth’s way of telling us
engineers and driller to leave it alone.
Pulling Pipe on the Derrick Floor preparing to trip into the hole. Photographer ,Joshua Doubek. Date (unknown).Source: Wikipedia
Wow! You have traveled a lot. I've only been out of the United States once and I loved experiencing the new culture and hope to travel more. I’m sure you have lots of great stories from your experiences around the world. Where would you say you enjoyed being the most from all the countries you've been to? I’m sure it was a big adjustment moving to the craziness of the U.S. after the more laid back lifestyle in Germany.
ReplyDeleteThat was a great introduction. I cannot believe how many places you have gone to around the world. I wish I was able to visit places around the world like that. I thought about going into Petroleum Engineering but decided to go with Civil instead. A complete move from Seattle to Oklahoma is huge commitment! Congratulations on the internship this last summer and good luck with the rest of your undergrad.
ReplyDeleteWell, you are certainly a well-traveled individual! I've been to maybe five places that weren't in Oklahoma so I admit I'm a mite bit jealous. We share movie interests though - medieval fantasy is my favorite genre of literature and cinema, and I love 300 and Gladiator. They're exquisite movies with wonderful characters. 300 is completely historically inaccurate, but still a fantastic movie.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to finally get to read your Introduction, Abdirahman! I had learned about your Seattle and London connections already, and now I see how it all fits together. Wonderful! And the many places you have been will give you so many connections with the stories in this class - those stories come from all over the world, and you have been to places all over the world. Perfect! I hope you will enjoy the class, and I am really looking forward to seeing what you will do with your Storybook. It seems like there will be so many possibilities that connect with your own interests and experience!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Now I am pondering about your name... should I list you as Acce? Right now you are Abdirahman... just let me know what you prefer! :-)
ReplyDeleteAcce, I am certainly in awe of all the places you have traveled and lived. I wish I could say I have visited most of the places, but sadly I have not. I have seen England and France, but would really love to visit the Middle East, or even Seattle. Maybe one day!
ReplyDeleteI also think it is great how you have a clear and defined career path that you are pursuing through education and internships! It seems like you are well prepared, and have high expectations for yourself in your career. I also think it is interesting that you point out that Oklahoma has experienced so many earthquakes due to drilling. Back in my hometown of Azle, TX, we recently experienced a string of over 16 earthquakes in a 3 week period that was believed to have been due to fracking!!
Well, I look forward to reading your work, and I hope that you enjoy your semester in this course!!
Wow, Acce you seem to live an incredibly interesting life! It's my dream to someday travel to Europe, but as of now, I've never left North America! It is so cool that you lived in Germany for a time - I bet it was a HUGE culture shock when you came across the pond! My roommate is a German major which has given me a little bit more of an interest in Germany than I've ever really had. Visiting Germany seems so incredible to me, I can't imagining living there!
ReplyDeleteAh so you're responsible for all these terrifying earthquakes we've had recently (kidding!) But really, I did wonder if they did have something to do with all the drilling we've been doing - my boyfriend says it has to with with fracking? It's cool how passionate you seem to be about the oil field though (especially enough that you chose to leave Seattle and your family behind to come pursue it!) I look forward to reading more of your writing!
First off I could be horrible a pronouncing your name but it's so interesting and unique! Like all of the other comments, wow you have traveled a lot! I'm super jealous hopefully one day I could visit half of those places that you stated above. I've also heard that Seattle is amazing, i'm sure Oklahoma is very different but hopefully you and your wife are enjoying yourselves.
ReplyDeleteI envy you and all of your travels! That is something I wish I could do more of! It is a true shame that you have lost your German speaking abilities! I really hope you and your wife are enjoying your time in Oklahoma! It is not like anywhere else and doesn't sound as glamourous as many of the places you have been. However, Oklahoma truly has its own beauty.
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool that you are from Seattle! That is a city I have visited several times before and really do love! I think it sounds like your internship was a great experience for you and that it was really beneficial to help you figure out exactly what you are wanting to do with your future career! What do you think of Oklahoma, since it is so different from Seattle?
ReplyDeleteAah, you've been all over the place! I want to be like you some day! You listed a bunch of places that I've been dying to go to. And it's awesome that your wife is from London. I thought there were only, like, two British people living in Oklahoma! (Just kidding!) I hope you get to see your family often. I'm planning on going back to Japan for a while and would like to live abroad in other places too but I don't know what I'll do without seeing my family for so long.
ReplyDeleteI find it really admirable that you're an petroleum engineering major. That's one of those things that I don't think I could learn to be good at even if I had to, so I get all excited when I meet people who actually do it! I hope you have a fantastic semester!
It is always interesting to find people who move to Oklahoma from the coasts when I find that many people try to do just the opposite. Growing up in Oklahoma, I have many friends who now work in the oil fields and it seems to be a very intense and time-consuming job! The whole process is very interesting and Petroleum Engineering is a great choice! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteAbdirahman,
ReplyDeleteI think that its great that you are willing to make the big changes to accomplish your goals in life. Moving away from your family can be hard, so I hope that you have made the transition well. I'm glad to hear that your had to opportunity to intern with a drilling company over the summer. It's great that you got some hands-on experience in the field you are majoring in.
Abdirahman, for this week's extra credit commenting assignment I'm going to introductions that I haven't read before, so here I am! It sounds like you’ve been all over the place! It’s fun that you’ve got to experience so many different places and I hope you find what you’re looking for here. I'm a Civil Engineering major but I've heard that Petroleum Engineering might be the hardest, so good luck! My family lives in Michigan so I definitely understand how hard it is to be far away from everyone. Good luck with the rest of your schooling!
ReplyDeleteHi Abdirahman,
ReplyDeleteThat is very neat how you ended up in Oklahoma after being all over the world. I'm glad you have your wife with you so you aren't by yourself here, being somewhere far away from family can be tough. I also agree with you that people don't know what goes on with the oil industry, I grew up in and also have worked in the oil patch and it is definitely a lot of work. Good luck with school and family life!
Hello Abdirahman,
ReplyDeleteI cant believe it took 11 weeks to finally read your introduction post. I think you might be the last person that I have had the opportunity to meet. Talk about RNG.
That's so cool how you got to be an intern for an oil company. I bet it was excited working with them. Also that move from Washington to Oklahoma must have been a big life changer. Good thing you have your wife to fall back on. Nice meeting you, and good luck with your semester!
Hello Abdirahman,
ReplyDeleteIt's so cool to hear about all the places you have lived and visited! It's also nice to meet someone else who might not be sure how to answer the question "where are you from?" I'm never sure if people are asking where I was born, where I grew up, or where my family lives. It's nice to meet you!