Lab moment

So I seem to have this habit of having one truly mortifying lab moment in every lab I start working in.

I think this one may take the cake, but I'm going to let you, gentle readers, be the judge of that.

My friend Chris and I have a bit of a bet going on. Each of us claims that the lab we're working in now is messier than the other's. A few days ago, he upped the ante by actually snapping pictures of the mess. Not to be shown up, I naturally grabbed my camera with the intention of proving to him that my lab was, in fact, messier than his lab.

So here I am, surrepticiously snapping photos while my co-worker Jason has stepped out for a few minutes. But I wasn't fast enough-- and he walks in on me taking pictures of the mess! For a second, we both freeze: I look like a 4 year old who's been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and Jason just has this striken look, still clutching the door knob, as though he's contemplating just leaving the lab and pretending this never happened. Then he grins.

Him (with a wicked Australian accent): Ah, so you're taking pictures of the mess, are you?
Me (voice high-pitched with embarassement): Ahahaha! No no of course not! I always take pictures of the labs I work in!
Him: ...Right. 'What a good lab should not look like'.

We had ourselves a good laugh. But since then, I haven't brought my camera to work, and he's started cleaning up.

Here are the pictures.
First, Chris' lab:



I have to admit that he's got a point. It's a total mess.

Now mine:

This is a picture of the fume hood I work in. Everything is meant to be sterile, but as it is, I'm terrifyed of knocking over the precarious tower of nasty looking tubes.

Why so many chairs? There are only two of us in the lab, and Jason has his own office! Maybe it's because the pink chairs are too crusty to actually be used. At this point, Jason walked in before I could take truly incriminating pictures. But note the scary-looking fridge in the back. Good luck finding anything in there!