IMRE attachment

I have finished the first full week of attachment at IMRE. It was quite boring, as I am alone in this project and haven't started on any hands-on experiment yet. That is not to say that I have understood the theory part. I'm far from it. In fact I can only describe all the phenomenons of electrospinning in the most lay-man's term, as the underlying physics requires formula that are beyond me. I can state all the terms without any problem, but I do not know their full meaning. Then there's all the spectroscopy. They are killing me.

However, there are some untoward advantage working there. As it is located in NUS, I could meet some friends whom I thought I had forgotten them. And it is very near my house, with 3 buses able to ferry me to and fro, within 10 minutes. Only Tanglin is more convenient to me.

The best part so far is that there is not much restriction on me. The working hour is something around 8.30-6, but I think I can go home whenever I want. I can go to tea break or lunch as many times as I like, and even if I don't turn up I doubt anyone will know too. However, all these are likely to end soon as I'm starting to work in the lab, and that means much more things to do.

I have also attended a two days course on safety. Suddenly the words OSHAS, PPE and MSDS came back to me. I thought I have left them for good when I left my workshop, only to meet it here again. And I think I'm beginning to get addicted to coffee, thanks to the excellent coffee machine they have here at every floor.

And ya I forgot to mention the canteens. The design of the Arts canteen is far better than those in Business or Science. It is new and decorated with bright colours and nice lamps. It also gives people a sense of cleanliness and the whole place is more pleasant to the eyes. I have yet to try out all the stalls though, and I will do so in the weeks to come.

A*Star Scholarship Award Ceremony

Today can be considered a very important day in my life. After all the interviews, rehearsals, and plus the essays and sleepless nights, this chapter has ended, with a 'bang'. Woke up 7 in the morning to attend the last dance practice. Everyone was looking a bit blur somehow, but effect of the music was immediate; all seemed to be high and starting to concentrate. Out of all the performing groups, we are by far the most dedicated and hardworking one, practising during the 'peak' hour after lunch, the time when all the rest were falling asleep. A pool of hyper-active reds and blacks, outshining the Storm and choir. Another funny thing is that, everyone seems to know the entire dance already. Though most of us would only appear less than 1 minute, not counting the starting pose, we were getting our hands on the entire thing. We guys were mimicking the girls' part rather professionally, and we were all laughing at our ridiculous frivolity.

Then comes the real ceremony. I changed to a very formal attire with tie just like the rest. I haven't touched a tie since JC, and obviously had to ask someone to help me with it. An astounding discovery was made. The guys were wearing shirts with all the colours under the sun, and in contrast, the girls, who by conventional wisdom, were supposedly to dress in greater variety, were monotonously attired in black and white.

The video by the seniors were very interesting, making a joke out of Uncle Yeo and Super A*. Wonder how much A* Star spend on advertising and promotion. The Guest of Honour, Minster of Manpower, gave a very long speech. I must admit his words make a lot of sense. Soon it was my turn to go up the stage and take the scroll from him. He was nice enough to say 'Congratulation' to me. Later I learned that he didn't even open his mouth to a lot of the scholars. Of course I replied "Thank you very much".

Later was the dance. I tried my best to do everything properly, but at the point of time, I wasn't even thinking about the moves. My head was blank; my body just moved. The lighting was so flashy and bright that I can't see much at all. Technically speaking, lots of mistakes were made, and synchronisation for running in and out was mess up also. When it was all over, everybody were euphoric and trying their best not to scream at the backstage.

Lastly must thank Dax and Yan Shao for coming down to watch the ceremony. Sadly my parents could not make it. Really grateful to them. At the reception we dancers went a bit crazy, posing in all sorts of formation for photos. It attracted so much attention that everyone was taking photos of us. Felt really shy at the point. Didn't know I could have joined done all that.