There goes my summer break, as well as any possibility of playing 12-hours of orange box followed by 6-hours of mambo followed by 12-hours of sleep. Haha. I can’t believe I actually considered doing that. After the exams, I’ll be attached to a materials research organization to do vacation internship programme, and my project scope is actually pretty cool.
I have no idea why I am so lucky / unlucky as to select a slot that only two people applied for. I’m saying this because it is not as related to chem eng perhaps, unlike companies like Singapore Refinery. However, I was understandably quite happy that I stood a 50% chance of getting it…. until I realised the other person is my friend (He put the project title on his msn nick)
Eventually both of us got selected. He was almost rejected because of his reservist but in the end our dear mentor appealed for another slot in his department and it supposedly got approved.
How they want us still baffles us. Considering what we said during the interview.
Interviewer: Of all the projects we offer, why would you choose this project amongst the rest?
Me: Because the project title has the most number of familiar sounding words. For example, we have learnt about “langmuir isotherm” in one of our basic chem engineering modules. Also.. I know a bit on “Brewster’s Angle” too.
Interviewer: Ok, I guess that sounds fair since you are only attached here for three months.
Me: Oh! And “ampiphilic”!!! I know biomembranes are ampiphilic! 
Interviewer: Did you have any experience in making small electronic devices?
Me: No.
Interviewer: How about configuring software and hardware?
Me: No.
Interviewer: How about programming?
Me: I took “introduction to programming” during my first semester.
Interviewer: How about soldering?
Me: What’s soldering?
Interviewer: How about drilling?
Me: Oh yea I drilled a hole in my house before.
Interviewer: Ok, so you have taken a course on fluid dynamics before right?
Me: Yes, we took it last sem.
Interviewer: Do you still remember the Navier Stokes Equation?
Me: No…. It’s an open book exam!
Interviewer: Ok, but do you know how to apply the Navier Stokes Equation?
Me: Oh yes, that one I know.
Interviewer: Do you know about the Reynolds Number?
Me: (a bit surprised) Err yes, since it’s the most common number to be used in Fluid mechanics?
Interviewer: Ok, very good, you know more than me already!
————-In another occasion———-
Interviewer: Of all the projects we offer, why would you choose this project amongst the rest?
My friend: Because the project title seems the most understandable. For example, we have learnt “langmuir isotherm” before in our basic chem engineering module.
(Note: We have no prior discussion on this question before.)
Interviewer: Ok, so what’s “langmuir isotherm”?
My friend: Oh, we learnt langmuir, we learnt isotherm, but we didn’t learn langmuir isotherm.
Interviewer: Who do you think should get this internship slot?
My friend: I have reservist for two weeks some time during this 3 month period.
———————-
Not that the interviewers themselves seem like experienced interviewers anyway. One suggested tossing a coin to decide, another said that would be an insult to us since they are not choosing us based on our merits, and, not long after, both of them launched into a mini-debate on whether or not to toss a coin to select us.
Fortunately, all is well eventually. Although that really means I cannot have team fortress 2 marathon.. But… that’s a small price to pay right?
