58th COST/ 13th AMMST meetings

the past week my job scope had been very different. for one whole week, i was in dark suit, high heels (mine were not that high) and make-up. contrast this with t-shirt, jeans, running shoes and barely-managed hair. i made L4 of a 5-star hotel my work space and i took cab to and fro work. and the reason i had this job was because i am under a-star, the same reason i am working in one of their labs this year.

singapore played host to the COST (committee of science and tech) meeting and AMMST (asean ministerial meeting for science and tech), and a bunch of us a-star pple were called to help out with the organizing team. i was called to be liaison officer(LO), whose job description is 'to show singaporean hospitality' to the VIPs. the irony was, my principal was the singapore senior official. all of us wondered why he needed an LO; his PA was at the hotel the whole time, and he had a right hand man that sat with him through all the meetings. anyway, i was there, enjoyed all the perks of being an LO, minus the stress of missing re-scheduled flights and dealing with principals who had no concept of time (for some, meeting at 8.30= start having breakfast at 8.30...).i was brought to the club suite of the hotel for breakfast on one morning, had two six-course lunches, one six-course dinner at ritz carlton, and uncountable no. of tea sessions. i also enjoyed the hospitality by one of the best in singapore's service industry, which mel rightly pointed out that we might never be able to afford when we did our site recce a week ago.

in short, it was an interesting glimpse into the world of ministers and senior officials of different countries. i like the way my principal does things: short and crisp. the series of meetings he chaired ended in 1 and 3/4 days when they were given 2 and 1/2 days. maybe it is singaporean style, as the ministerial meetings chaired by SMS ended at 4 yesterday when it was slated to end at noon today. and my principal is never late. in fact he is always half an hour early. that can be stressful sometimes because it is difficult to catch up with him. some of the VIPs are fun pple. for instance, after the first welcome dinner, there was a karaoke session in which they enthusiastically participated in (we LOs were waiting outside hoping they would just stop so that we can go home), and one of the rep from the Philippines just loves to dance, always pulling people aside to dance with him ('we must dance again with music!'). some were always taking pictures, and of course there were some who were just quiet and reserved.

if i have done anything productive at all this week, it was to think ( not even write...=/)about what i want to write in my statement of purpose for my grad school applications. and to find solace in that almost everyone is in the same boat of fretting over the essays, and that i am not the only one who failed in GRE math and needed to do a second time. at the same time, i found out that i don't really know why i want to do research, let alone which field of research i want to delve into. i find most things interesting, but not one that is really really really really interesting such that it stands out among the rest. i met the person who staffed SMS (senior minister of state) and found out that he was an a-star scholar who decided not to do PhD. according to him, the organisation was understanding, and gave him exposure and opportunities even when he decided to go into administration. but i don't want to do what he is doing now, following a principal around, take minutes, brief him about meetings, etc. it was, in my opinion, very similar to what i did this week. though i enjoyed the time i had, it is because of the novelty of it, nothing about self-actualisation.

in two weeks time, i will be LO again, this time to a scientist from the biomedical advisory council of a-star. i'll see what i can make out of the interaction with my principal, an eminent female scientist from australia. in the meantime, i will go back to my cells, cloning, and pipettes, and to hand in a brilliant essay to my boss about iPS cells. and to write my applications. and to study for GRE. and to work at getting fit again. all before dec comes.


it is 7th nov today.



a conversation about my principal:
me: i think my prof is amazing. he had a meeting at 8 this morning, came for this for the whole day, and later he is going to edb for meeting at 6.30 and another meeting at 7.30. and he's not young anymore...
nicholas: think of it this way, if he can't manage it, he wouldn't be where he is today.