college lab courses - (Sep/22/2004 )

is it a money thing? if i was going to an expensive school, would i be able to work independtly in lab?

i hate having lab partners. i am so tired of hearing:

'that's close enough', 'what are we supposed to put in there?',

and just the whole 'clock-watching' mentality.

It is NOT close enough, READ the labs before class, and it will take however long it takes to finish with the correct results.

Sorry, had to vent.

I understand you, I hate the clock watching mentality also.

But sometimes it seems like you just can't help it, you have no choice but to say "close enough."

I read the labs before class, as a matter of fact my whole lab group reads the lab before class (we have a quiz right before the lab), however we're so pressed for time that we have no choice but to finish now or leave the lab incomplete.

...believe me I hate it, but sometimes you just gotta do it

just wait till you're working.... you'll miss those crappy undergrad courses, with tutors who are willing to put up of with stupid questions... where it really doesn't matter if the thing doesn't work out, just so long as you understand the principle behind it... sweet sweet memories....
it'll all down hill from here on in.
hmmm, i start at 7 in the morning, and finish at about 5.... but could probably keep on going a little longer. and to think, i used to complain about lab classes that lasted for three hours. most days i either skip lunch, or eat a la desk.
try following the protocol set down....to the T, and still it doesn't work.... having my lab book criticised because i called it shakey incubation, instead of shaking incubation.... made to feel like an absolute idiot on a regular basis because i'm working on breast cancer, and the rest of the lab is on leukemia, and i didn't know what an ft3 cell was (duh, like everyone knows what that that is!!! )... having my miniprep kit swiped... packing the entire labs worth of tips and no one says thankyou... working saturdays and sundays, just to fit everything in.... my head hurts.
i miss "close enough", i miss, "well, it's five, we should stop now, i'll just give you the result."... i miss, "siiiiirrrrrrr, what does this mean?"..."can you do it for me???"
suck it in. you'll miss it when it's gone.

Ah the joys of full-time labwork. 12-14 hours a day (or in some cases 70h, I hate slow growing bastards btw), seven days a week...

Really, while it is frustrating to work with partners in courses, in my opinion during master/diploma thesis (depends on university system) is where you learn real labwork. Just take this courses as enjoyment

I like my lab, it's pretty nice

We have 7 hours to work, so it is very nice