A Career & Parenthood

Back in Malaysia, I got myself reemployed at the Library of USM (Universiti Sains Malaysia), Pulau Pinang. I was also quite preggers with my second child. As the Chief Librarian said, "Better to employ a known devil (?), than a new unknown angel". Huh? Anyway I got back into career mode a.s.a.p.

I underwent orientation at all the divisions again, because after all I had been away more than six years. Then I tried to be an examplary librarian, complete with glasses (but no bun on my head). I worked in several Divisions, including the Readers Services, Referernce, and also the Media Library at the Centre for Educational Technology & Multimedia.

A section of the Media Library, CETM (CNB 2003)

The visit of the Minister of Education to the Media Library, CETM

I also tried to balance between work and family, but it was not easy. As I recall, someone said to me, "You seem to be running around like a headless chicken". Of course I was. I was driving to work, sending the kids to kindergarten, fetching them from the kindy, taking them to lunch, sending them back to afternoon classes, going back to work, fetching the kids from classes, and going home to cook and clean, etc., etc.

Did I mention kids? Yes, B and her sister. Our second daughter A was born in August 1982. I remember that she was quite a big baby because I was huge as a whale at the end of nine months. I had a near death experience soon after her birth because the attending physician was careless and left the afterbirth in my uterus. When they wheeled me into the operating theatre, I distinctly heard another doctor say, "I think we're losing her, she's going". Anyway I lived (else I would not be blogging about it here, would I?).

Little A all ready to go home from the PP Maternity Hospital (1982)

Little B, little A and me (1982)

Working at the Library meant that apart from the routine, we also had to upgrade our professional skills as librarians and update ourselves by training sessions, attending Workshops, Seminars, and Conferences. Later, after some experience and as senior librarians, we conducted the training (for both students and library staff) and delivered papers at Seminars and Conferences. I was privileged to attend, and sometimes deliver papers at seminars/conferences at national, regional, and international Conferences.

A photo session after a Senior Library Staff Meeting

Welcoming the guests at a Regional Conference organised
by the Library (1994)

It was not all work at the Library. This was our Boria
performance at the above Conference (1994)

In all I was a librarian for almost three decades. I enjoyed my library career, having started as library officer at USM, worked overseas at the Stockport Public Library and the Salford College of Technology in England, then worked at USM Library again before retiring as Deputy Chief Librarian. Meanwhile, B and A grew up (and graduated from uni), and M and I brought them up as well as we could. Que sera, sera.