Who's proud of their workplace? I know a person who is ... he's called 'everyone!'

Almost everyone HATE work, but all love their workplaces - at least most of them wish they did; or had an awesome place to show off as theirs even if they hated their work more than they hated their own wives!

Now being a researcher can be pretty cool (you conduct path-breaking drug discoveries wearing a hoodie and denims ... now who'd trust their lives on someone who wears converse to work?) because you get to work in really cool buildings. Now, the government thinks healthcare is one of the topmost priorities in today's world. This makes sense. The government also thinks we researchers are actually gonna bring a change to society by improving life quality and well-being. This doesn't make sense. All we want to do in a bunch of these five years are get a bunch of them publications and cool our heels in some low-wage fantasy central government research institutes where we can play solitaire during productivity hours (believe me... this happens!)

Anyway... coming back to the point. So the government gives us a LOT of money to alleviate or cure diseases of public health concern. We use a fairly large sum of this money to build a LOT of cool skyscrapers with state-of-the-art infrastructure. After all, if you want the job done ... you better give me a good place to sit first. We graduate students who fall way down the scientific hierarchy in terms of funding, priority and respect at least get to enjoy the amenities offered in these places of research. This is precisely what I'll talk about - my workplaces !

Now for safety reasons (concerning my own employment AND a means of earning my daily bread which I wouldn't want to put into jeopardy) I cannot specify the names of these buildings. Lets just say 'its confidential' and appear a lot cooler to the ignorant layman.

One place I worked actually still gives me the creeps. Nothing of what I described above. Recall those places where the 'Saw' series of movies have been shot ... I'm sure one of them were shot or at least had the potential to be shot here. The endless corridors of doom ... that's what we call it - it was a typical place you'd want to lock graduate students up and force them to perform a series of endless experiments and the day they are rendered useless - you let them graduate!

The second one was even worse! Irrespective of the fact that my lab was on the 17th floor (which was pretty cool actually), this place was also a clinic with zombie patients everywhere. It was a mental asylum (literally!). The only thing that encouraged me to redeem my sanity everyday was the project I got to work on - neurology - something I was always fascinated with.

The path to success is filled with potholes and washed bridges; in my case, extremely depressing workplaces. It was then cool things began to happen. I got to spend some time getting trained in a brand new facility. Things were SO brand new, they literally had to be opened out of cardboard boxes. I even had to take my work seat out from a box and unwrap the plastic around it. It was the best! Downtown view from the window ... cemetery across another window (did I fail to mention ... cemeteries are tourist spots in the US ... they actually look pretty neat). Doors swing in and out automatically; cool IDs that I just need to flash and the whole building comes to life; lights have minds of their own; this felt like a country kid who was tending to buffaloes all his life has been put right inside the White House!

If this wasn't good enough, I then went onto work in a center which was the most artistic research facility I had ever seen. It had fountains and gardens inside close to the lobby area. The entrance doors rotated 360 degrees and threw people like me into shock and awe. The labs were a little cramped but who cares! Its the place that counts ... we had a wishing well inside and we threw in a coin every time we conducted a BIG experiment.

I currently work in a highly secure building (which has ion sentinel scanners and all that ... are you sweating already?) and it is at the heart of Oakland where I really need to be. Its undoubtedly a place everyone wishes they were in. The views from the 10th floor is swell! I can see the river from up here where I sit and type and gloat - all at the same time. It gets connected to every damn building I ever want to get into through overhead bridges - I can travel all over without even getting outside the building. Every floor does some of the coolest research ever (actually, they sound cool) - drug discovery institute; neuro-degenerative disease research; structural biology; neurobiology; zebra fish research and so on. There is 'supposed' to be some research relating to biological warfare going on somewhere here ... but that might be a speculation too. Everything's all so hushed up - that it appears pretty cool!

So that's about it ... the stage is set for some groundbreaking discoveries to happen ... I've got my chair ... I've got my Mac ... I just need to write a program for a disease-free world. Sometimes all of these are good for the esteem of a student - the rate at which he's kicked around in lab, at least the amenities offer some degree of justice to why he needs to come to work everyday. And unlike most professions ... its not just our work places we are proud about ... its our work too! Why? Because ... its so damn cool !