 |
Yeoh Zi Qing
Head (2013) |
‘Time flies so fast’ – that’s the line that I
love to use a lot, especially now when I am already in the last year of secondary
school. It was just like a blink of an eye. I can still remember clearly my
journey as a Librarian till today…. I wanted to follow my brother’s (Jin Hao [2011
Head]) footsteps, becoming a Librarian in school, and it all started like this…
ATTENTION: It is highly recommended that you read on if
you like long stories; because mine is one of them, and I’m serious. :P
2009:
FORM I
After
applying to become a Librarian, we had to go through an interview. Did I just
say an INTERVIEW?!?! Even though my brother ‘prepared’ me with all the tips, on
what I should and shouldn’t do during the interview, I was terrified. I
memorised the school song, the vision and the mission of the Library, the names
of the teachers-in-charge and more. When
the day came, I waited in the Library with a few other students. The looks on
their faces, some of them seemed super-excited and I had no idea why. Some were
just sitting at the sofa, chilling with their friends; and some were just busy
reading up their ‘notes’. However, I had a friend, who was a basketball player.
His name was Kar Hei and was our senior. He offered to help me and told me to
not worry as I was super-nervous at that time. We hid between the book racks
and I continued memorising ‘stuff’ in there. One by one, we saw the students
going in and out the Reference Room [where the interviews took place]. Then, my
turn came. Luckily I did not mess up throughout the interview. When I came out
of the room, I met my first friend in the Library. Actually, I bumped into one
of my friend’s FRIEND, whose name was Brittany [2012 Head]. She was there for
the interview too! I was a little relieved as I knew I was no longer alone in
the Library. I waited anxiously for the
results of the interview after that. Every day, I would head to the Library
during recess to check if there were any updates. I was praying really hard
that I made it and I DID! Other students,
included Brittany also were selected.
Brittany and I were placed in the same duty day, which was Wednesday. Back
then, our after-school duty hours were until 4.00 p.m., and we had shifts. Every
Wednesday, we will head to the Library during recess and also after-school. Our
Daily Supervisor will make sure that we all signed-in on time. After that, we
will start off with arranging the books. We were to arrange the books on our
assigned racks, and mine was 500 (Pure Science [according to the Dewey Decimal
System]). Once we were done, we will always help out the other Librarians who
were in charge of the English and Malay Fiction racks. Then comes our BREAK
TIME!!! Brittany, Xurene [2011 Cleanliness Subunit Head] (she’s on Friday) and
I would sometimes take our own sweet time to change into our Librarian T-shirts;
to eat Maggi instant noodles, fried kuey teow, waffles in the canteen ... and
we will chat away until our lunch break was over (sometimes we even hang around
in the canteen for another 10 minutes to enjoy our waffles! WAFFLE WEDNESDAY!
:D)
We were also given a ‘small’ test by Serena [2009 Wednesday Daily Supervisor] once
in a while, just to make sure that everyone is on the right track when it came
to working. We probationary Librarians were also placed into different subunits.
I was in the Inventory Subunit with a few other probationary Librarians. Every
now and then, we had to process new books, keying into the computer as an
electronic inventory record, stamp the books, stick the barcodes and call
number tags on the books (with yellow or red stickers when needed), and put
them on the racks. I really do love my job.
Back then, I always go to the Library during recess, everyday without fail.
That was because I never really liked to go down to the canteen for recess. It
was always super crowded down there and I didn’t have much company anyways. I
only had some of my basketball teammates to hang around with. Most of the time,
we will just get a plate of nasi lemak
and eat while standing at one corner, as we waited for the bell to ring. Hence,
I preferred to just go to the Library, make sure my rack is always neat and
tidy, help the others to arrange the books, chat with Brittany, read the
newspaper [with the Star being my
favourite] and maybe do a little homework. Yes, it may sound a little boring,
but I just love it. I just love to be in the Library. I would rather be in the
Library than to be in my class.
During
our 6 months of probation, Mr Wong Tzyy Yu [then-Library Coordinator] had
organised a 5-day-4-night trip to Langkawi for the Librarians. The trip was
held right after our mid-year examinations. We had to use four types of
transportations in order to reach our destination. Firstly, we had to take the Light
Rail Transit (LRT) to KL Sentral, then a KTM train to Arau, and then we had to hop
onto a ferry bound for the island, before boarding a bus. I can still remember
what he told us. We could ONLY TAKE the LRT to KL Sentral (our rendezvous point).
Plus, he said he would wait at the entrance of KL Sentral with a M16 rifle, to
make sure no one comes in their parents’ car! Haha .... The trip was awesome!!!
On the train, we had 3 carriages, all to ourselves. The atmosphere in the night
train was filled with joy and laughter! Everyone seemed so excited, me
included! Sitting right next to Brittany, Alya, and Xurene on the train was
hilarious! We talked, walked around and chatted with the other Librarians,
interacting and making new friends, hopping to other coaches and hanged around
with others, listening to their jokes and scary stories. Basically, everyone
was running everywhere for the first few hours; and slowly, everyone settled
down. It was pretty cold in the coach and many fell asleep. I think, in less
than 4 hours, the Brittany’s arm rest fell off and made a loud THUD! The other Librarians around us got a fright
and woke up, then that was when it started all over again. In the middle of the
night, everyone started to talk and walk around again. When we were in
Langkawi, we visited many places. Be it north, south, east or west: we went everywhere
by bus. We managed to do batik canting, and brought our artwork with us too.
During the two-night stay in the hotel, the bunch of us walked our way to a
night market and did a little late-night shopping. I can remember clearly that
my roommates (Brittany, Alya and Ka Yan) and I bought loads of jelly, junk food
and nail polish. When we got back to the room, we had something resembling a slumber
party. Xurene came over to our room and joined us. We watched horror movies,
late into night in the room. We ate jellies and helped one another to paint each
other’s nails. Again, we talked and talked non-stop; to the point of waking up
late the next morning! The greatest part of the trip was, when all of us Librarians
‘conquered’ the cinema(located next to the hotel) and watched Night in the Museum 2. Some of us even
stayed back to watch Terminator Salvation!
Brittany and I almost got lost in the shopping complex as well! When we got
back to our rooms, it was already 2.00 a.m. and we saw Aileen [2011 Assistant
Head] and Kimberly. I guessed they were locked out from their room that night;
so we had them over to our room and they spent a night with the five of us in a
small room. How sad. :(
When we were leaving Langkawi, we were stranded on the port. Mr. Wong was
worried that we will miss our train! Luckily, we had all the guys to help carry
the luggage the girls were just told to run to the train! Everyone was rushing
everything; hoping that we will make it back in time.
LIBRARIAN QUALIFYING EXAMINATIONS! This was another thing that all probationary
Librarians had to worry about. I remembered that I was sick that day, and I
came late for the examination. Luckily I passed! We had our Appointment and
Farewell Ceremony in Holiday Villa, Subang Jaya; once the list of new Librarians
was out. I felt really proud and happy that day. Yes! I’ve finally gotten my
new uniform, new neck-tie and name tag. It was my first time attending such an
event. There was a buffet spread for everyone, as well as performances, such as
drama and singing! However, on that day, we had to also say goodbye to our
seniors, especially to our Head Librarian that year, Chia Xin Wei, whom I look
up to and respect a lot. A great leader she was! :)
That was basically it for 2009; a new beginning in my secondary school life. It
was then that I knew, that there would definitely be more adventures coming up
down the road...
2010
: FORM II
As my memories for 2010 begin, I remembered we had a farewell party on the 11th of February specially for Mr Wong, who was then our Library Coordinator and then was promoted to become our school’s Senior Assistant of Co-curriculum. With his departure, we welcomed Puan Tan Soa Tiam as our new Library Coordinator. A couple of us were saddened by this prospect, but we quickly got over it. It was pretty much a new start for all of us; a new journey to begin with a new Library Coordinator. We welcomed Puan Tan with open arms. At that time, I was transferred into a new subunit, the Aesthetics Subunit. How wonderful; I thought; finally something that I enjoyed and loved doing. As members of this subunit, we were again divided into pairs (I think). My partner for his was no other than… Brittany. We were basically told to take charge of a notice board in the Library and make sure we update and decorate the board based on the theme given every month. It was quite time consuming, but overall, it was actually FUN!
Somewhere after our mid-year examinations in June, we had a Librarian Camp at
Trans-Edventure in Kuala Linggi. There was only one word to describe this camp:
it was AWESOME! We met the coolest camp facilitator, Major Chris! I stayed in
the same dormitory with Serlyn [2013 Tuesday Supervisor] on a bunk beside me
and Su Min [2013 Inventory Subunit Assistant Head] on the bunk above me.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t sleep well during the camp; she was moving so much
that this caused the bed to shake (it was a double-bunk bed). Throughout the
camp, we had 5 MEALS A DAY! I was in the same group with my brother, Brittany,
Quek [Zuoo Yuon] [2014 Head], Kimberly Boey, Chanette [2010 Aesthetics Subunit
Head], Yi Sa [2013-2014 Assistant Head], Mike, Wee Soon [2011 Audio Visual Aids
Subunit Head], Kylie, Jonathan Ling, Ming Yuen [2012 Monday Assistant
Supervisor] and so many more! We were called the Jabbawockees (NOT the dance
crew) from Team Charlie. There were so many fun activities. Most of them were
team-building activities such as Dragon Tail, Punctured Pipe, Broken Bridge,
Mine Sweeper, etc. We also did abseiling and rock-climbing! I was really proud
of myself for that, as it was my very first time reaching up to the top. I
never knew I could do so, but so I did. : ) * Self-pat on the back *. We also
had to wake up early in the morning. We jogged a little and did some exercise.
What a great start to a day! We did jungle-tracking at night as well! Gosh, it
was pretty scary as we had to slowly walk into the jungle (it wasn’t a jungle
actually, just an oil palm plantation :P) because it got darker and darker,
until we couldn’t even see the person in front of us. No worries, however; as
one or two facilitators were there to guide us. We were told not to scream and
shout unnecessarily. We had to obey the rules in the ‘jungle’. We walked in a
line according to our groups. I can still remember, we had to walk through mud
and puddles of water (as it rained earlier). All of us were holding hands, with
Quek [Zuoo Yuon] in front and Brittany behind me. At one part, our group members
was a little left behind, and the people ahead of us were trying to catch up
with the groups ahead because everyone was afraid that we might get lost in the
dark. I guessed everyone freaked out and panicked, and that was when we started
to rush…. I was no longer holding Quek’s hand... I was GRABBING the collar of
his shirt! *I’m so sorry, Quek!* I was almost going to ‘lose’ him. Brittany
kept on telling me to slow down.... I was also going to ‘lose’ her as well. We
were so afraid, that we would be separated... IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ‘JUNGLE’! There
were also some sections where we had to jump across a small stream of water
with the help of the seniors in our group. Weirdest and funniest of all, when
one of our team mates (I shall not mention the name here, to keep his identity
undisclosed) FARTED a couple of times during the activity! He kept on saying it
wasn’t him who did it, when NONE of us said it was him. Silly guy.... My sports
shoes ‘died’ after walking through the mud. I didn’t have another pair. Luckily, Puan Tan
lent her shoes to me, so that I’ll still be able to participate in the
activities the next day. How sweet of her. Guess what? We also had a CAMP FIRE!
Every one of us helped to find dry leaves, sticks and twigs and anything that
we could use to get fire burning. Every group was required to come up with a
performance that night. We sang I’m Yours
and Hey, Soul Sister accompanied by a
guitar! There were so many bonding session with everyone throughout the camp.
That was where I actually got along and knew Yi Sa and Quek [Zuoo Yuon] better.
I was really happy with the teammates I had. :)
Not
long after the mid-year holidays, there was a carnival (Canteen Day I think)
coming up. We were to organise a haunted house! Yay! I was excited! EVERYONE
was excited! It was one week before the carnival, and all of us were busy
preparing and setting up the haunted house in the Lecture Room. It was nice to
see everyone helping out with the preparations. Xurene and I will be busy
sticking up the old newspapers on the window to block the light from entering the
room. Some hanged canvas on the windows, others planned and created the path. Everyone
was running everywhere! We skipped classes (for a good reason!) and stayed back
almost every day till 4.00 p.m. or maybe even 5.00 p.m. just to quickly get
things done. But in between all this work, we also had a mini-surprise party
for Tech Logg [2011 Assistant Head] in the room. I felt like we Librarians were
a team; just by looking at everyone, be it seniors or juniors, helping out one another every time. Puan Tan
comes in once in a while to check on our progress and stuff too. In the haunted
house, I was given the chance to become a ghost, more specifically a pontianak! Daryl [2010 Audio Visual Aids
Subunit Head] was a mad joker, Quek [Zuoo Yuon] was a human jack-in-a-box;
Vikki [2011 Monday Supervisor] and Siu Yue[2010 Inventory Subunit Head] were
the crying dolls; Hui Shyen[2013 Assistant Head] and Jonathan were hiding under
the tables tickling and spraying
people’s legs with water; whilst my brother and his gang were the ones making
sure things ran well. We were having so much fun scaring and seeing the
students getting scared and screaming their lungs out! Halfway through the day,
I even got tables falling on me as there was a bunch of playful students which
entered the haunted house. Although we were in the room for the whole day, without
much rest, all the hard work finally paid off. We managed to earn more than
RM4000 and also a little extra from the peripheral food stall. Isn’t that a big
success for us, as first-timers? : ) We could tell that Puan Tan was really
happy and proud of us. It took us a week to set up the haunted house, but it
only took us A DAY to bring everything down.... How sad. :’( However, we did
have fun while we were cleaning up the whole place the next day. We moshed
people up, used tents and canvas to wrap people up. Even so, the fun all
stopped when Puan Tan came in and scolded us for fooling around. Oh well….
On the 8th of August, we had our Annual Appointment Ceremony and Farewell Party at Armada Hotel. After years of having it in the same place (Holiday Villa), we were allowed to switch to another venue to have this annual event [at the request of Puan Azizah, our principal]. We were also allowed to change into our formal clothes after the Appointment Ceremony was over. I was glad that I was chosen to be the Assistant Head of the Aesthetics Subunit. Yay! I ‘UPGRADED’! :P On that day, I was helping out with the gifts. I also had a chance to play my gu zheng and acted in the drama that day. Not just that, I was also nominated as the ‘Most Helpful Librarian of the Year’ and I won! My close buddies also won awards too, Xurene got the ‘Fiercest Librarian of the Year’, Jonathan was the’ Probationary Librarian of the Year’, my brother won the ‘Most SERIOUS Librarian of the Year’, Pravin was the ‘Librarian of the Year’ and Quek [Zuoo Yuon] was the 'Cutest Librarian of the Year’. There were many other performances, such as some ballet from Je Xi [2013 Aesthetics Subunit Assistant Head], the fifth-formers danced to a Japanese song, some sang a few songs. We also had a band performing a few songs! Everyone was so pumped up that afternoon!
My second year as a Librarian kind of ended with a sweet and sour note though.
I was greatly sadden after hearing that Jonathan Ling had to migrate to New
Zealand with his family, and Kimberly had to go to Cambodia and study at an
international school there. Even Puan Tan was sad too. On the other hand, we
had a small farewell party for both of them in the Library just to wish them
good luck and thank them for their contributions to the Library. :’) *I miss
them a lot.... COME BACK, JONATHAN!*
2011
: FORM III
It’s my third YEAR! :D Everything was usual, nothing special happened early in
2011. Just that I almost got a heart attack from my Librarian friends, such as
Brittany, Xurene, Aileen, Wee Soon, Tech Logg, my brother... and I don’t quite
remember who else... *Sorry*. That was because they had a surprise birthday
party for me in the Media Room. I remember that Xurene ‘lured’ me to the
canteen after school on Wednesday, and she told me that she ‘accidentally’ left
her purse in the Library. I was cool with that, you know; and I went off to get
some food before we headed back to the Library. I guess she panicked a little
as I wondered off into the crowd and she was afraid that I’ve went back to the
Library. Anyway, as we were walking up the stairs, Xurene sped off to the Library
first and again I said, ‘Cool, okay, go get your purse’. As I was halfway
walking up the stairs, Tech Logg was at the opposite side of the stairs (in
front of the stationery shop) shouting ‘Zi Qing, don’t go up to the Library, Mr.
Wong is having a meeting with the teachers’. He was telling me not to go up. Then
again, I was like, ‘Why? Why can’t I go up? It’s just teachers having a meeting
anyway. It’s not like I’m going to barge in and interrupt them. No big deal for
me.’ So I just ran up the stairs and into the Library. When I got into the
library, all the lights were switched off, but true enough Mr. Wong was having
a meeting IN the Media Room. I saw Xurene, and apparently she has gotten her
purse. Then came Vikki, walking out from the Reference Room and she told me
that my brother (2011 Head, just in case
you forgot) was also having a committee meeting in the Media Room, and she
mentioned that he is a little ‘angry’.... It seemed odd. Come to think of it,
there was no announcement and no notice about ANY meeting during morning
assembly. Besides, how could my very own brother not tell me that there’s a
meeting on that day... and why Wednesday out of all days? Why before our
co-curricular activities start? It was pretty odd but I still had no clue of
anything whatsoever. Xurene and Vikki walked quickly into the room... so I
followed them. As I passed by Puan Tan’s office, she was in there and was
smiling back at me.... THAT was even weirder! Never mind, thought I, as I
walked into the room I saw Xurene having a BIG smile on her face... and
Brittany holding a cake. Then EVERYONE started singing the Happy Birthday song....
I was stunned for a moment. Shocked! Confused! And in my mind I was like: ‘WHAT
IS GOING ON IN HERE?!?!’ Only then I realised, that Brittany had planned all
this for my birthday. I couldn’t stop laughing as I was still in shock. Even
Puan Tan knew about the plan.... LOL! That was one of my best birthdays that
I’ve spent with the Librarians. *I love you awesome people!*
Early in May, we had a surprise birthday party for Puan Tan in the Library! We
also had our Annual Camp in school! I had really cool librarians in my group
too, such as Wen Loong, Wee Soon, Joey [2014 Inventory Subunit Assistant Head],
Choy, Vellu [2013 Cleanliness Subunit Assistant Head], Jia Hui [2011 Media and
References Subunit Assistant Head], Ainin [2012 Monday Supervisor], Huey Ning
[2014 Membership Cards Subunit Head], Ka Wai [2012-2014 NILAM Subunit Head],
Dhatccaini [2014 Cleanliness Subunit Assistant Head] and we also have our
lovely facilitator, Kuay Yee[2011 Aesthetics Subunit Head]! :) We made a
perfect team, which led us to victory! Well anyways, the first activity we did
was going around playing Scissors-Paper-Stone with other Librarians. If your opponent
loses, they’ll have a sticker stuck anywhere on their face, and the winner will
be the one who has the least stickers on their face. :D After that, we got
into our groups, and were told to design and create a logo, and a name for our
team. We were Team TWO FACED! We had a little cooking competition at the
canteen that Friday night, and our group made hamburgers, creamy mushroom soup
and frizzy orange juice! Some groups made pasta, fried rice vermicelli, macaroni
and cheese, salad, jellies and even SUSHI! Yum! What a delicious dinner we had
that night! After Puan Tan and Brittany gave a welcoming speech at the Co-curriculum
Arena, we had a short presentation on our logos and team names. The next
activity we had that night was a game, where we had to give instructions to one
of our blindfolded members that are a few metres away from us and that person
had to follow the instruction and complete the tasks. After our last activity
of that day, many rushed back to the Library and to the toilets to get a shower.
A few even played volleyball whereas some of us just took our own sweet time
and wandered around the canteen and some parts of the school because we didn’t
want to wait in the toilet queue for such a long time. It was already 2.00 a.m..
Xurene, Hui Shyen and I still haven’t showered yet. At first, we wanted to
shower in the changing room, but it was too CREEPY. Then we went to the other
girl’s toilet on the ground floor at Block B but it was DIRTY! We ended up
waiting outside the teachers’ toilet. We were amongst the last few to take our
shower. We finally got back to the Library and it was already 3.00 a.m.! Well,
not everyone was sleeping yet though. We saw Puan Tan sleeping in her office on
the floor. Brittany and Aileen were still wide awake, busy planning and doing
some stuff for the next day by the sofas. They went off to take a shower after
we came in. Hui Shyen, Xurene and I slept first; next to where Brittany and
Aileen were, with our wet hair! Who cares, I thought. I guess we only had 2-3
hours of sleep that night but Brittany and Aileen only slept for an hour maybe....
We didn’t have our breakfast the next day, as went straight on to our first
activity of the day! In Mandarin we call it the ‘Eagle catching little chicks’
game.... but it is better known in English as the Dragon Tail game. Our group won
the game! Yay! It was quite a fun day, really. Many activities were planned out,
such as water games and the beach towel volleyball, There was also a talk on
S-Lib and a team-building activity; and at night, every group had to perform or
act out a song.... The facilitators also danced and acted out Price Tag. We ended our second day with
Jonathan Chan singing a few songs with his guitar. Unfortunately, I couldn’t
stay on to join the fun, as I had a basketball tournament the next day, so I
headed back home but I promised that I’ll be back the next day. :)
Somewhere
in June or July, we had our Appointment Ceremony in school that year which was something
different. We had it in the Hall on the ground floor at Block A with the Prefect
this year. I guess I was pretty busy with the decorations, and I couldn’t
remember much. I just remember that my brother and his gang of fifth-formers
stepped down and Brittany became the new Head Librarian. Tech Logg, Pravin and
I followed suit and became the new Assistant Head Librarians.
Then, on the 30th of July, it was our Annual Farewell Dinner. This was the very first time we had our Farewell Party at NIGHT! We had it at Holiday Inn, Glenmarie. It was a really, REALLY busy month for us. On that day, some of us, mostly committee members, came 3 hours before the event started, and did many preparations. It was decoration time! Everyone was helping out with the decorations, including a few parents. The Audio Visual Aids Subunit members were busy testing out the microphones and other stuff. I was busy with the gifts that night. The master of ceremonies that night were Thazjit [2013 Audio Visual Aids Assistant Head] and Quek [Zuoo Yuon]. They made a really good team, getting everyone’s attention. Brittany was running up and down, EVERYWHERE! Gosh, busy woman she was. There was ballet again, some singing, awards…. *By the way, I was the ‘Librarian of the Year’, so YAY* There was dancing... and MORE dancing, before a drama and a short presentation to all the fifth-formers. When the event ended, we usually have this tradition where the fifth-formers had to stand in a row and the rest of us will go forward and give them hugs, shake hands, thank them and stuff. This time, I shed a few tears... Wait, I think I CRIED when it came my turn to say goodbye to Xurene and Aileen. I cried, because it was my last year with them and they were the closest fifth-former batch to me. Plus, Xurene, Aileen, Hasya [2011 Secretary], Wee Soon, Danny [2011 Treasurer], Kuay Yee were like my elder sisters and brothers as well as great leaders to me. I know some may wonder, why I cry even though we will still be seeing each other in school. However, what they do not know is that, it is a totally different feeling and the familial bonds we had with them are very strong. I was sad to see them leave though.
The Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR)
examinations were getting nearer and nearer. I spent almost every day in the Library
during school hours doing my revisions, even though I wasn’t allowed to. I love
it there. Puan Tan allowed us to stay in the Library and she even taught us
when we had difficulties in or maths! : ) A week before the examinations, the
school had a carnival to raise funds to build the roof over the basketball
court. This Carnival was a huge event. Even though we, the third-formers were
busy preparing for the examinations, we were still busy and dedicated to the Library.
We had a dunking machine and a drinks stall. I can remember clearly that every one
of us were running back and forth, from the dunking machine at the sandy area
to the teachers’ parking lot; even helping out with the parent-teacher
association’s stall. What a long and tiring, but FUN day it was. The next day,
some of us helped Puan Tan with the counting of the coupons. If I weren’t
wrong, we earned the most coupons :). but anyways, back to reality…. :P It was
time to face the PMR examinations! Once they were over, you know that many
students won’t attend classes anymore, but some of us came back and helped out
in the Library again. We spend every day in the Library; arranging, MORE arranging,
wrapping, processing books all day, every day. Sometimes Hans [2013 Monday
Supervisor] would bring his keyboard and play some songs. Other times, we watch
movies in the library; and there was one time Puan Tan made and brought a pot
of some sort of Chinese dessert *I think it was red bean soup* and cakes she made
herself for us to share. NOM NOM NOM! We ate in the Media Room too! Besides
that, Hui Shyen, Hans, Han Chuen [2013 Audio Visual Aids Subunit Head] and I
will bring our badminton racquets almost every day, and we will head down to
the badminton court and play badminton for hours even though we were not
supposed to. There was also a period of time where there were a few Officers
from the District Education Office that came down and visited our Library. I
didn’t quite know that we had cleaned the library, arrange dthe files, decorated
the tables in the Library with facts.... BANG BANG BANG! We had the guys fix
the unstable tables and nailed the plastic covesr onto the table with
thumbtacks. It was loads of work. When we heard that the officers were coming,
all of us instantly became the spies of the Library. We were running around the
school, hiding behind walls and stalking the officers wherever they went
because we wanted to know when they will be coming up to the Library, so that
we could prepare ourselves. That was so much fun. :D A week or so later, we received amazing news:
that our Library won the competition and was the best amongst all the schools
in Petaling Utama. : )
We
ended our year with our usual holiday duties, but also with some rumours
spreading around, saying that we are going to have a new Library Coordinator….
2012:
FORM IV
IT WAS TRUE! I was sad. I was really sad to hear that Puan Tan will no longer
be our Library Coordinator. It was only one-and-a- half years since Puan Tan
took over and we were getting along really well. I wondered how would the Library
be like when Puan Tan leaves. Will everything be the same when she leaves? Why
now? I had so many questions. I was so worried! I couldn’t understand and I
couldn’t accept the fact that Puan Tan will be leaving us to be the
Teacher-Advisor for the school cooperative. Even Puan Tan did not want to leave
us. *That was what she told me one day in her room * However, what has been
done is done. We couldn’t do anything to change the situation. I knew we still
had to move on. We couldn’t be selfish. Hence, we had a farewell party for Puan
Tan and we welcomed our new Library Coordinator, Puan Sabrina. We wished her
the best of luck in the future and said goodbye! Another new chapter was opened
with our new Library Coordinator. I was praying really hard that things will be
the same in the Library. I hoped that everyone can get along well with Puan
Sabrina and that we will make a good team.
This
time we had our Annual Camp at Trans-Edventure, Kuala Linggi - again. Many of
us were actually disappointed, and didn’t quite like the idea as many of us had
already been there before, me included. I thought that we could probably go
somewhere else, you know, on a trip maybe. But we (Brittany, Tech Logg, Pravin
and I) ended up getting a small lecture from Mr. Wong for causing so much fuss.
:P Whatever it was, we ended up going to Kuala Linggi again... this time... we
had company: the school’s cooperative! It was cool that Puan Tan was going too!
Anyway, having camp in Trans-Edventure again was awesome! *As usual* Even with
the school cooperative tagging along, it was a little different but still it
was fun. The members in my group were awesome. I had the Red House Captain,
Khai Hann; my classmate Jia-Jie, Hui Shyen, Han Chuen, Hong Ann, Kai Han and a
few others. Some of the activities we had were similar to the ones we had
before, but there were new activities, such as the flying fox, treasure hunting
and a cooking competition. At the end of the camp, TEAM DELTA, my team got the
most points and won! :) Kudos to everyone! :)
When the Appointment Ceremony came again, it was time for Brittany and her gang
to step down. Everything happened so fast, I thought… and I was then given the
opportunity to become the Head Librarian. Hui Shyen, Quek [Zuoo Yuon] and Yi Sa
were the Assistant Head Librarians. Not long after that, we had our Annual
Farewell Party at the Saujana Hotel. Hui Shyen and I were the organisers of the
event, and gosh... all the planning and all the work! We had to sort everything
out, from A to Z. It was tough but I’m glad that we did it. We have already
started to plan the event after the PMR examinations, and at last, all of our
hard work had paid off. I never knew that one day, I’d be organising such an
important event. This year, I cried like a baby too. Brittany was leaving. I
was so scared, that I couldn’t manage the Library. I didn’t know what I would
do without Brittany. I hugged Brittany tight and cried so badly, and how I wished
she wouldn’t have to leave! I wasn’t even ready to say goodbye! All the
memories I had with her…. Well, I was still lucky to have a very strong board
of committee members to work with, but I know that it will still be a challenge
for us. We were officially on our own now.
The next day, after the event, we were back to business again. A small carnival
was coming up, and we were tasked to do the haunted house again. It was Puan
Tan’s idea, so we accepted it and worked on it straight away. Just after only 2
weeks of setting up the haunted house, we had to take it down the very next
day. :'(
2013:
FORM V
2013: my final year as a Librarian. Well, there was nothing much that happened early in the year except our trip to CAMERON HIGHLANDS! : D This year, we were accompanied by the Peer Facilitators. On the 5th of April, everyone gathered at the assembly point after recess, and took off in 3 buses to Cameron Highlands. It took us like 4 hours, to reach our destination. When we arrived, Puan Sabrina, my Assistant Head Librarians and I sorted out the rooms for everyone and gave out the keys to them for their respective rooms. My roommates were Carissa [2013 Treasurer], Pui Yee and Shin Jin. When I entered my room there was a lizard on the wall. Everyone freaked out! :P What a great start, eh? After dinner, Carissa, Kang Yee [2013 Secretary], Shin Jin and I hung around in Lela’s [2013 Newspapers Subunit Head] room and watched SHARK NIGHT together…. What an epic night it was. That night, there was also a speech given by Puan Sabrina, and then everyone was sorted out into several groups. I was the facilitator of Group 1, whose leader was Hans Leong. Hence, every group was given only one day to plan and come up with a performance for the next day. When everyone of us went back to our rooms, many were still wandering around the hallway, chit-chatting with their friends, which was all totally normal. Some were just running around and around, everywhere around the hotel. I don’t know what got them to be that energetic. While the others were fooling around, Hans and I were busy writing up a script for our skit for the next day. The following day, we went to the ‘BOH’ Tea Centre, and the scenery there was beautiful! The weather up there was so cooling. Then we went to see so many beautiful flowers here and there. Later, that evening, we went to look at some cacti . After that, Lela, Mae Yen [2013 Media and References Subunit Head], Kang Yee and I headed off to the market and bought loads of stuff to EAT! CHOCOLATE-COATED STRAWBERRIES AND MARSHMALLOWS WERE THE BEST! I couldn’t have had enough of it; seriously. The next day, we were all not ready to go home yet, so we went to the strawberry farm *MORE STRAWBERRIES*, and a saw some butterflies as well. :) <3
After the trip to Cameron Highlands, I hadn’t been in school for many days (actually
a month) and I was super-busy with my volleyball
tournaments. Hence, I wasn’t able to keep up to date with the Library. I even
had to skip my mid-year examinations and retake the papers during the holidays.
Argh! During the second week of the mid-year holidays, we were preparing and setting
up another haunted house. *This was our third time doing this *:P. This time,
we had it in our very own Library! As you know the Library is much bigger than
the Lecture Room and the hall combined, so it took us 3 weeks to get it done,
but it took one whole long day for us to take everything down! :(
After
that, everything has come to an end in July. I officially stepped down as Head
Librarian (and as a Librarian). I couldn’t have stayed and celebrate with the
rest as I had to leave for my driving test immediately after the Appointment
Ceremony. That weekend, I attended my last Farewell Party. I was glad that both
my ‘sisters’, Brittany and Xurene, were able to make it to the event too. :)
Well, it was finally my turn to say goodbye to the rest. Everything happened so
fast. It was as if it were yesterday when I came into the Library as an
ordinary Librarian; and now, I’m standing there, in a row with the other fifth-formers,
bidding farewell to the junior Librarians. It was unbelievable for me. It has been
almost 5 years since I was first appointed as a Librarian. I’ve seen many come
and go, and now, it’s my turn to move on. :)
Time flies so fast.... Really, it does.
If you have read all the way till here, kudos
to you! However, there’s more though! :P
FINAL
WORDS
Before I end my story, I really wanted to thank and show my gratitude to my
lovely family. I want to thank them for their continuous support since the day
I was born. Thank you to my brother, Jin Hao for being a great and caring
leader/ brother to me when I was in the Library. Although we quarrel a lot, he
was the only senior in the school that I knew, when I first enrolled into the school.
He was also a great role model for all of us to follow. Thanks also to my mum
and dad, who are always so busy with their work; but they will always be there
for me when I need them. Like ALWAYS! They are the most supportive parents
anyone can have. Whenever the school or the Library had a function, they will
always be there to help. Just like when we were preparing for the annual
Farewell Party, they too will be running around and helping us out in any way
they can. They also give the best advices to me. They would never say NO to me
when I wanted to participate in any Librarian events, be it field trips, camps,
Appointment Ceremonies, Farewell Parties, haunted houses; you name it, they let
me get deeply involved with all of them. Oh well, what else can I say? Thank
you for all the guidance and care you’ve given, mum and dad. I can never ask
for a better family. Thank you for everything. You guys are the best!
I would also like to thank all my Library Coordinators. Firstly, thanks to Mr.
Wong for giving me a chance to become a Probationary Librarian, and to become
the Aesthetics Subunit Assistant Head. Secondly, thanks to Puan Tan, for being
such a motherly Library Coordinator, for putting her trust fully on me and for appointing
me as Assistant Head Librarian. Lastly, thanks to Puan Sabrina, for believing
in me; believing that I can manage the Library even when she was on maternity
leave for two months and also for giving me the opportunity to lead the Library
as the Head Librarian. I’m very grateful to have all three Library Coordinators,
although there were many reprimands and sometimes misunderstandings. I’ve learnt
through my mistakes and I have changed for the better. Thank you once again,
regardless of you reading this post or not, Thank you so much for all your
patience, loving and guidance you have given me.
Besides that,
Who is the person that
helps you without hesitation when you need help?
Who is the person that cares for you when you are ill?
Who is the person
that comforts you when you are sad?
Who is the person happier than you when they know you happy?
Who is the person who feels sad when they seeing you suffering?
Who is the person encouraging you when you feel helpless?
Who is the person being with you when you feel lonely?
Who is the person that tells you where you should go next when you are lost?
Who is the person, if not my friend, and who am I without them?
To Brittany Claire Jalleh,
You
were the first person and friend that I met in the Library; the one that I hung
out with at the side of the road. We would always sit down and have the
craziest conversations before the school bell rings every day when I was in a
first-former. We talked about everything and anything, and that would make us
laugh and laugh and laugh! You were a very understanding person; being such a
caring and CRAZY girl! However, when you were at work, you were super-serious. We
took the longest time to eat, to change, and we are ALWAYS late for after-school
duties. However, you gave me the best advice, and the courage; and taught me
how to be a leader. For that, I respect you a lot. You were a great leader and
a true friend indeed.
To Lim Xurene,
You
were one of the fiercest and scariest Librarians I’ve seen in the Library. When
you shouted to keep the students quiet in the Library, the Library would be in
total silence after that. You even dared to scold and fight back at those
students who tried to be funny with you! When we are not in the Library, we
will always go CRAZY! You were also one of the most caring friends I’ve met.
You always there to listen to anyone’s problems; and you loved going around giving
hugs. :)
To Wong
Hui Shyen,
You
were Miss Perfectionist; always wanting things to be DETAILED! You talk a lot
too and sometimes I don’t even know what your point is. You were my Assistant Head
Librarian and a good leader. You were always very helpful and hardworking. You
were always bullied by Edmund [2012 Cleanliness Assistant Head]. Although
we had loads of disagreements during discussion, but we know that our intentions
were the same, wanting the outcome and end-products to be the best at the end
of the day. We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs, laughing and crying
together, but we’ve always been there for one another to face any problems.
To
Aileen Yeo, Pravin Dave and Ding Tech Logg,
You
guys were the blurred-out one, the joker and the bell respectively. : P You guys
were great leaders and Assistant Head Librarians, and I’m very honoured to work
with you. There would’ve been no life in the Library if you weren’t around. You
crack up the weirdest, lamest, but funniest jokes in the Library; and they will
never fail to make anyone laugh, even when they are at their lowest.
To Quek Zuoo Yuon, Hiew Yi Sa, Carissa Ho, Foong Kang Yee, Hans Lee and Serene
Khoo,
You guys
were all book worms! Just kidding! You guys were the best High Committee
members I can ever have and I really enjoyed working with you guys. Do believe
in yourself, and continue the Library’s legacy. Trust your fellow Librarians. :)
I just want to thank all the people that I’ve mentioned above, and ALSO the
rest of the Librarians, be it former members, seniors and juniors: everyone in
the library. I’m so glad and thankful to have had a bunch of friends like you.
You guys have given me so many unforgettable memories and I’m actually very sad
to leave the Library. I would also like to take this opportunity to apologise
for my wrongs, and I’m sorry if I have ever done or said things that might have
hurt or offended you. I just wanted you all to know that any offense was
unintended, because when I’m serious with my work or when I’m chairing a
meeting, sometimes there would be SOME that would joke around when I’m being
really serious, and that does ticks me off a little, just so you know. However,
you might not know how much you guys, and also the Library, means to me. Without
all of you, I really am nothing in school. I’ve learnt and gained so much
knowledge ever since I became a Librarian.
Hence,
Thank you for your time.
Thank you for your jokes
Thank you for missing
me.
Thank you for being
caring.
Thank you for all the
words you said to me.
Thank you for
having meals with me.
Thank you for
having been silly with me.
Thank you for all
that you've done for me.
Remember
these words (my favourite tag-lines),
WE LIBRARIANS ARE A
FAMILY.
TOWARDS SUCCESS, WE
WORK TOGETHER.
THANK
YOU, YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE, FOR EVERYTHING. I’ll miss every single one of you
dearly. <3
Goodbye!
:)
Yeoh Zi Qing
Head (2013)
[Wait, the
post isn’t over! More pictures of memories abound below. Scroll down to see more
crazy moments captured below!]
This post is part of a series that will feature heart-warming posts from
the members of the High Committee of the 2013 Librarian Board.
