Wow! That was a great day for me. 4th November and I was all excited. After breakfast, I dressed up to prepare for the day. I was invited to the Assembly for the Selangor State Youth Week (wow how to translate that? - Perhimpunan Belia Majlis Sambutan Minggu Belia peringkat Negeri Selangor).
The only thing I knew was seven participants were shortlisted. I do not know if I am a winner but I must go for a bet. I reached there at about 15 minutes later. The invitation letter said we must be there by 1.00pm. Little did I know that the event only starts at 1.30pm and arrival of Guest of Honour was scheduled at 2.45pm!
Anyway, Andrew accompany me to this meaningful event. We were dressed in batik. See, what a lucky girl I am - accompanied by the most handsome boyfriend and ...... shhh..... (the surprise is yet to come)
It all started when I wanted to look for funds for CyberCare. It came upon me to get the Anugerah Perdana Pertubuhan Belia, aiming to win the state and national allocations for our organisation to pursue further on our noble services to orphanages nationwide. Along with that, I submitted my application to the Anugerah Belia Negara (in the category of Volunteerism).
The National Youth Day passed and I doubt the "no news means good news" phrase. I thought that the shortlisting and selection was done and the recipients were announced. However, contrary to my belief, I was called for an interview somewhere in July. Confidently, I posed in and got shortlisted.
As I said earlier, all I knew was there were 7 shortlisted participants in my category. I have nothing much to expect. This was the first time I applied for this award and I knew my profile wasn't too strong to get this.
The guest of honour, Hon. Chief Minister, Dato' Seri Dr. Khir bin Toyo came despite raining cats and dogs. I caught a glimpse of my friend, Norizan Sharif who was walking with him towards the hall. I sms-ed him but no reply came in.
All in all, I was in a very neutral mood at that time. I knew what I have done should be enough to be awarded but I was not sure if there are people who may deserve the recognition more than me.
The announcement finally came....... for the category of volunteerism... Second runners up..... (not my name)..... First runners up.... (not my name)....
"We can go home now," I told Andrew.
Champion goes to ... Encik..... (Aih!!!..... this means that I have wasted a few hours just to hear the bad news...) ..... Chew Hoong Ling!
@_@
(Have I heard wrongly? Was that my name? Huh!?)
I was stunned for a moment but I was leaping inside. Little did I know that my profile actually stood out among the applicants. Something inside me encouraged me to serve more and continue serving the people.
As I walked towards the side of the stage awaiting the announcement for me to collect the awards, I was really excited. Andrew, who took the role a my personal photographer that day, quickly step up to prepare a position.
One thing disappointed me was the MCs did not mentioned my name and skipped the champion for the category of volunteerism. They went on straight to the next category, leaving me standing like a fool at the side of the stage.
When they finally announced my name, I went up the stage, had a handshake with the Chief Minister and pose to the cameras. Chief Minister warned me, "This is a bit heavy for you." Yes, the trophy and the certificate was really heavy but I managed to balance it with my hands.
All winners were to remain on stage for photography session.
Phew.... is all over now.... I WON! I WON!.... and then we proceed to Subang to celebrate (no, not to celebrate this occassion) my friend, Jen Yi's birthday.
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