File 1 @ IMRE: "It’s my nth choice!"

Hi, long lost people. It has been 10 long (maybe, not so long) weeks since my internship started. Should update you people once in a while.

I’m now currently at Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), which is one of the many institutes under A*STAR. Yar, I know it sounds like high and mighty, but actually, not really once you start working there. For a start, it is actually located behind business school. So it is like I go back to school this half year for internship.

Given a choice, I’d rather go to a private company to do my internship. But you know, last year isn’t exactly what I’d call a good year, so they aren’t hiring much interns. Adding agony, the 45 of us were up against the 220+ savages from NTU, for those diminished number of internship “opportunities”. Luckily we are on an S/U basis, so… we… can… slack… a… bit…

IMRE wasn’t my 1st choice, or the 2nd, or the 3rd. I can’t remember, nth probably. I remembered I flunked the interview at Credit Suisse, due to all the pretty and captivating OLs there (Excuses!). Then followed by no responses from 3M, Micron, Rohm and Haas, I turned towards our dear government. Surely they have a place for a lost sheep like me.

They do. As usual, for an interview, I would dress up with business pants, well pressed shirt and polished leather Hush Puppies. As, my interviewer-cum-future-boss comes down, I stunned. I was dressed much better than him. Polo and jeans? I bet he was laughing loud inside.

Rather than he giving me an interview, I was more or less subjected to a sales talk. Many times, I heard this: “So, you interested or not?” My mind was all in a whirl. “Go back and study lah.” Vs. “I need work experience.”

I grabbed it. And here am I. And 10 weeks have gone. 14 to go.

People ask me so often: “So what do you do there?” My instantaneous reply: “You really want to know?”

－异客拍客 @ IMRE －