It had been 2 weeks since we held our inaugural ISLTC. We apologise for the lack of updates. But it has been really busy in ldxlab after the competition. Student outreach, lab meetings etc. Anway, back to the ISLTC.
After a grilling 3.5hrs of intense, nerve wrecking competition (we thought we saw trembling hands, groans of frustrations, and gasp.. people suspiciously talking to themselves/their cells), a champion was born. *Hairy-Poher (HP), the self dubbed hot-favourite of the competition walked away with attractive prizes - an exclusive hip-hop style (according to Wikipedia, modern graffiti is hip hop k..) designer labcoat and a potential free cathay movie pass (we thank Dr Yamada and Marigold for their generous sponsorship).
We shall not leave the rest out of the limelight too. The rest of the students did equally well exceeding many of our expectations. This despite very stringent marking criteria and really strict judges (A certain Ms HY commented " I think i won't even pass if i join". ). The tissue culture segment was exceptionally close - there were barely 5 points difference between the contestants at the end of the segment. Equally tight was the miniprep round although marks were deducted for people who didn't follow instructions! (actually it's more because we are indignant that they took extra columns. Boo-hoo, there goes 0.001% of our bonus!) And surprise, surprise. Gels were nicely cast too (yes! less gels for us to cast), all except for one.....and that cost her downfall (up to now, she still insist she put everything in..). If it is of any comfort, she came out tops in the theory test.
The decisive round was actually the pipette tip filling segment. This inevitably invite some critisism. "eh, how can the pipette tip filling segment carry so many marks?" complained one of the mentor. And since when did tips filling become a LAB. TECHNIQUE huh?"
We say, in poor labs where aunties cannot afford to be hired to do them, we train and make students believe it is a one. besides, if we want it to be professional, it'll be called ISPLTC.
Anyway, we interviewed the winner.
Reporter: Hi, congratulations on your win. Are you surprised about your victory?
H.P.: Surprised? Oh come on. I knew i'll win loh. I told you all what. Haven't you heard? Anyway, do you think i'll lose after all the weekends and lunch breaks practices i had? COME ON.
Reporter: ok. I was told your performance during the pipette tip filling segment bagged you majority of the points. Was this the segment you practiced most on?
H.P.: Yeah. I even came up with a secret formula to pipette tip filling. But i'm not in the liability to tell you. I'm considering filing intellectual property rights after attending a IP seminar with John.
Reporter: Any inspirations from this experience?
H.P. Of Course! I decided to have a life-long career with pipette tip filling. I want to be a post-doc.
Reporter: you came a long way really. We recall just not too long ago, you have problems casting a polymeris-able gel and a blot-able membrane (with all the botched-up transfers and such). How or why the vast improvement?
H.P.: Practice practice and more practice. And lucky no segments on transfers la.
Reporter: We realised that you seem to have a penchant for doing things to your hair. Gatsby curls in U.S., loud alfro wig during the competition, and post-ISLTC orang-utan orange-pink crazy (Please, dun flare up now, we are merely quoting your mum). Enlighten us. Why with this obsession about your mane?
H.P.: Oh you like my hair? Cool what. Actually, i always have a thing for curls... but this gal, she ignite my passion for colours. Fierce colours. Actually, she used to have curls too..then one day, she came with her hair rebonded, with streaks of blond. Cool loh. I also want. Matching nice what. *blush*
Reporter: Oh.....so it's about girls
H.P: Eh sorry loh. It's not just girls. It's also a career safety net. As, my wonderful colleagues and mentor have pointed out. If research doesn't work out for me, i can always go work in the zoo (breakfast with Ah-Beng, poh-er the orang utan), arcade games R&D (Photohunt: Spot 5 differences between Poh-er and Ah-Meng) or join the tourism board. I even thought of a new slogan. Little Red Dot - the Missing link to Darwin law of evolution! That's way more cool than "Uniquely Singapore" right?
Reporter: Okay. One last question. How has this competition changed your life?
H.P.: Changed? I found life loh! The project of my dreams, a inspirational career goal to work towards and of course...the girl of my life... This is such a great competition. I want to win it twice. I decided to do my UROPS here. Hmm, who knows maybe thrice if i do my honours. Four times if i do my post-grad! Wow!
Reporter: Huh? That's why u choose to remain in LDX Lab?
H.P: Oh come on! You think it's only for such shallow reasons? No la. It's because Dr Liu said my hair is nice. I like working under supervisors with good taste.
*name was changed to protect the sanity of the lab. We cannot bring ourselves to say.. yes... Champion Poh.
Disclaimer: The above interview is NOT entirely fictional. But, it's probably 20% exaggeration, 60% taken out of context, 10% pure imagination and AT LEAST 10% real.
