My last day in the lab went on as usual as any other day. Enjoying my last 10.30 coffee break, and having lunch at 1.30, accompanied by senior lab assistants who were discussing the possibility of equipment contamination because their results come out funny (I hope I have nothing to do with that). I distributed some post-cards I brought from Taiwan, with some scribblings and my name, just for the memory of Sim to stay a little longer in their minds - "h'm, Sim who might have contaminated the equipments causing a terrible mess-up for my Nobel-winning submission."
Enjoying my last tram ride home, strolling the last time along the old streets of Bordeaux, and bidding farewell to all the people connected to me for a brief 24 days. My only grief was not being able to see chief boss one last time and thank him sincerely for his care and my project. I did, however, stick a signed postcard on his door with the sterile laboratory scotch tape.
My big boss Bernard took a long time off for farewell, too. He might not stay in this lab come September, because without a PhD he is only on temporary contract, renewed in certain time intervals. I personally saw him sending applications to different universities all across France. I cannot justify if he would prefer to stay or change a new environment, only that I wish he gets what he wanted.
Ernest Hemingway once wrote "if you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast." Leaving for Paris tomorrow, I certainly am excited from top to toe. However, having to part Bordeaux chills my heart by half. I have so many thanks to say and so much hugs to give, yet it would be impossible to do all of that in the remaining hours.
Lastly, thanks to Président Nicolas Sarkozy, who is in Bordeaux tomorrow for the EU-Africa Meetings, I'd have to walk to the train station (instead of a tram ride) with my 2-month worldly possessions.
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