Please help, about to burst into tears - (Sep/02/2008 )

About 10min ago I, the new graduate student, went to wash my gel chamber. Opened tap, water came out, tried to close tap, whole tap came out and a flood of water rushed towards my face and splashed all over the place. It was like Niagara Falls in the lab.
It was a good minute before we turned it off somehow and then we mopped while people stared at me, that pitying im so glad it wasnt me look. Then they started asking what had happened. Then the boss showed up and so me completely soaked. Then I loudly stated I didnt know how it could have happened the tech assistant claimed I had shut it too harshly. Greaaaaaaaat I am suddenly tarzan?? Arent taps supposed to be able to be closed properly and nto come off just like that? Its not more likely that it was loose neway?
Im new and now everyone is going to think i break things. Im walking around in my bosses tshirt and jeans and people are still laughing and commenting because it was the highlight of their day. Why oh why?????

I finished my transformation and am walking around with a smile on my face, I wont let them see weakness even though i feel like crying whenever I remember the feeling of pure terror when the tap came off and the water rushed out.

Has anything like this ever happened to you? Maybe damaged costly equipment?

I need to know im not the only one.

Im not an idiot, this wasnt my fault it just looks bad.

thank you i needed to vent

don't worry nana, it sounds funny! i can imagine the water all over the place, someone should have filmed it so you could laugh later too

it seems you're too concerned about making a good impression on your labmates and boss. don't try too hard, just do what you have to do and you'll be fine. good luck, and be careful with those taps!!

It's okay, I did this too, whilst on a summer vacation project in a lab.

Like you, I have no idea what happened, the glass tap on the still just came off in my hand. Luckily it was above a sink so most of the water went there and not on me.

Your lab mates will rib you for a while, and it will forever be brought up as a joke whilst you are in the lab. It might even take a while to prove yourself to them, but dont worry, it will be okay.

Everyone has broken something and/or done something stupid in thier time in the lab.
I hope you feel better soon.

jeje.. lab life is dull, and it is the misson of everyone in the lab to make a fool of themselves once in a while for general entertaintment. its happened to us all, and next time itll be someone else. just laugh along and take it with humor. of course, its the highlight of their day!!! what else would be? a routine pcr? naw.
i once set the microwave on fire by accident, when i was doing my pregrad thesis, of course i felt like the stupid kid, but i realized after it had become an old joke in the lab that these little accidents are necessary to surivive monotony in the lab. and dont worry, as i said, next time till be somebody else. and youll eventually get another turn someday.
best regards!

Don't feel bad. My boss blew up the lab's microwave! (It was just one of those days).

I once lost a sample in dewar and could not fish it out. In the end we (Well me watching and the lab technician doing) had to pour off the liquid nitrogen in the carpark. A lot of the people (including a few PIs) in the department came out to see.

Let me share with you a lesson I learned a long time ago (say 2nd grade). Learn to laugh at yourself. It makes life a lot easier.

don't worry -- one of our labs students messed up our autoclave by autoclaving agar in a plastic bag (that melted causing all the plated with agar to shift and dump out the agar) and our autoclave was out of commission for a few weeks. She felt really bad but it wasn't a big deal - and you'll remember those lessons you learn from making mistakes forever. So don't worry - everyone falls down, getting up is the important part.

when I started my first scientific job i was 23, and I had a boss who always bullied me. I was new to the company and he didn't also teach me and wanted me out of there because I was better than him in many ways including science.

he finally managed to talk behind me to the main boss and one day all of a sudden the main boss came to me and asked me to leave the companyt. I was working my ass off, I didn't know what he was talking about until I found out the junior boss was responsible for all the misunderstandings.

So you'd better shut people up in the beginning or they will take advantage, and won't let you live happily in the lab. do this in the beginning. don't be afraid of losing your job. you won't.

Here are plenty of examples. . . http://www.protocol-online.org/forums/inde...showtopic=19469