As an engineering student, I go through a lot of hands-on and practical session. And lab is one of them. This year, we don't stick with one lab technician only, our group will go through many lab technicians for different experiments. So we got to meet a lot of interesting characters.
What I am about to post may be a bit harsh, but there's where the perk lies. Reader discretion is advised.
1. Motor - DC and AC motor experiment was interesting. But the lab technician was even more interesting. He was unique with his own analogy. One time, when we obtained all the result, we quickly turn the motor off, not following the ordered manual. Then he came angrily and said, "Kamu kalau nak pergi tandas, kamu buka seluar dulu baru seluar dalam, atau kamu buka seluar dalam terus tanpa buka seluar. Hah?". Instantly, we laughed, violently. All boys in my group, so the excitement was understandable. And he laughed too. I did not know why he laughed. Perhaps due to his creativity for the analogy. What he meant was we should turn off the motor by its sequence, not aiming straight for the power source.
2. Transformer - I was always motivated by 'going back early'. When the lab technician said, "Okay, siap procedure, present result dan calculation, boleh balik awal. Minggu depan lab report mesti siap". The moment my group heard that, we became so pumped up nothing could stand our way. Still, experiment involving transformer was pretty dangerous. When we were done connecting all the wiring and setting up the components, we called our lab technician to switch on the voltage source. The source must be opened with a key because if the circuit was wrong and the source is switched on, we would die instantly in the explosion. So, we called him to check our connection and switch on the VS. When he came, however, at that instant we saw an open connection/open wire. He immediately said "Ok, volunteer sorang. Cuba pegang open connection ni, kita tengok dia mati ke tak. Mari, volunteer sorang. Nak sangat biar open connection, datang sekarang pegang!" he said fiercely. It was a sincere mistake. We became speechless. And then we dismantled it all and started all over again. Still, we managed to finish first. :D
3. Ammeter and voltmeter - we once used a huge ammeter and voltmeter one time. The screen was big. We connected everything, and we called our lab tech to open the VS. He eventually came, looked at our set up for a while, and said "Kamu, kalau makan makan. Makanan tu akan keluar balik tak bila di tandas nanti?". We answered "Mestilah sir. Takkan nak simpan lama-lama". "Cakap pandai! Cuba kamu tengok connection kamu, ada makanan yang kamu simpan dalam perut tu tak nak teran-teran!" he replied sarcastically. Later we realized that the IN connection of one of the ammeters still had no OUT yet. And again we were saved.
We had many more intense moments with our lab techs. Still, what amazed me was, they never forget to recite du'a before and after the lab session. Never! Not even once! They were not golongan yang berkopiah and look religious. Still, I saw they really valued the prayer and adab. Because of that, even with their dramatic over reaction to things, we 'salam and cium' their hands.
Even one of my female lab tech had 'R4BIA' symbol as her wassap DP. Amazing.
May Allah bless all my lab technicians, lecturers, and teachers. I love them.
