Leaders are Well Groomed and Well Traveled - an intriguing morning at EarlyBirds!

 

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

First-time Invocator and new TM Lois said a beautiful morning prayer and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, waving her own flag.  Great job, TM Lois!

 

TM Marie led us in inspirational quotes on Leadership.  We found out that…

 

• TM BeckyJo believes that trust is not deserved; it’s earned – by behavior and example.  Dignity is man’s best asset.   She was one of the Table Topics Trifecta Winners.
• TM Carmine’s consciousness evolves by currently reading from the Buddha and he’s achieving wholeness and harmony.
• I, Ana, create connections by inviting people to activities I enjoy and benefit me – Toastmasters is at the top of my list.
• TM Lois muffles the crazy noise in her head by attending Toastmasters and sharpening her listening skills.  She was one of the Table Topic Trifecta Winners.
• TM Randolph likes words of affirmation and expressions of personal admiration from others which reinforce his own self worth.
• TM Aleta pursues excellence and has fun while following the rules.
• TM Pam stopped the bickering between her daughters and achieved a clean house in the process although she did get some “I hate you”s along the way – a clear sign of mothering success.  She was one of the Table Topic Trifecta Winners.

The theme for today’s prepared speeches was “Well groomed, well travelled”….

 

• Impeccably dressed TM Paolo told us how to dress for success:  emphasize assets, conceal shortcomings.  Project confidence, assurance, success, sexiness before even opening your mouth.  A well-fitting man’s suit is to a woman what lingerie is to a man….    Stay stylish, my friends!  He Won Best Speaker Award.
• DTM Kip gave us a visual travelog of his recent trip to Alaska, aplenty with reindeer (caribou in the wild), eagles, napping otters, muskox, rugged individuals, waterfalls, dumb moose locking horns symbolizing male stupidity and most importantly, glacieritas galore – margaritas with a touch of glacier.

 

As far as evaluations go…

 

• TM Pam stated that TM Paolo gets the sale simply by looking the part.   He just looks dang good!  She Won Best Evaluator Award.
• TM Carmine praised DTM Kip for poetically teaching us not to spit in Alaska in the winter or we’ll crack the pavement. 

 

TM BeckyJo stepped in to be General Evaluator and made keen observations of the entire meeting.  She suggested we put the Word of the Day in the chat for those who arrive late and for those of us who arrive early and are forgetful.

 

The Word of the Day was

 

ACCLIMATE, verb

To become accustomed to a new climate or to new conditions.

 

Example:  We can quickly acclimate to drink glacieritas instead of margaritas near Alaskan waterfalls, surrounded by male (moose) stupidity.

 

The only correct plural of moose is moose. Sometimes, people add an S to moose, but that is incorrect. Moose derives from Algonquian, a Native American language. . My favorite animals are mooses and octopuses.

 

Dates to Remember:

 

Speech Evaluation Contest:  August 12

Humorous Speech Contest:  September 2

 

See you next week!

 

Ana

Recap Writer

 

 

 

 

Obscure adages, Pathways Trajectory and Socialism - an omniscient morning at Early Birds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

TM Tom started us off with some of his favorite adages, from the likes of Macbeth and McMuffin.  We learned that….

 

• TM Carmine has been pricked in the thumb, in the toes and other parts he cares not to mention and witches inflict negativity.
• TM Pam likes the non-native Whooper Swans found in Lake Eola and feeds them Australian Melba Toast.  She Won Best Table Topics Award.
• TM Aleta transported herself to the Garden of Eden where she and Adam hung out by a big ole fig tree in full fig.
• I looked up the meaning (to give someone the screaming abdabs (or habdabs) is a British expression for inducing an attack of extreme anxiety or irritation in someone) ... The modern British meaning is presumably a softening of the idea of delirium tremens.  No wonder TM Jeff  suffered from abdabs in college!
• I, Ana, put my head on the block whenever I take a risk or dive into the unknown.  Everything I’ve ever done is because I thought it was a pretty good idea at the time….
• TM Guest Lois will look up the word fettle because no one, except the Topic Master, has ever heard of this word before.  Keep us posted on your findings, Lois!
• DTM Kip thinks the guilt has been taken off the gingerbread and like the Great Gatsby used to say, we need to have some good ole fashioned guilt back.

 

Along came the prepared speeches…

 

• TM Aleta took us down the carrousel of her trajectory in Persuasive Influence in Pathways, from her surveillance video on a complex legal case to her McDonald’s hat, which prompted DTM Kip ipso facto, to book a flight to Southwestern Rural Pennsylvania with a wifi hotspot.  She Won Best Speaker Award.
• I, TM Ana, told about my life as a Cuban exile and hopefully inspired my audience to not fall for the siren song of insidious socialist demagogues who are keeping their guava pastries all to themselves.

 

And then we had evaluations…

 

• DTM Kip praised TM Aleta’s persuasive influence on her evaluators because he, Kip, had to wine and dine his evaluators before they consented to evaluate him.  This project is not a culmination but a starting point.
• TM Jeff appreciated the dissemination of information to Americans about the real situation in Cuba.  He encouraged me to use more visuals and props.  There will be a sequel!  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

 

DTM Kip kept us entertained with a variety of virtual backgrounds – from his college dorm room to his elementary school dining room to the NYC skyline with bats straight from the Wuhan Lab flying around.

 

The Word of the Day was

 

OMNISCIENT, adj.

Knowing everything; having infinite awareness, understanding and insight.

Ex.  We are not omniscient; we are fallible human beings.

 

Dates to Remember:

August 12 – Speech Evaluation Contest

September 2 – Humorous Speech Contest

 

See you next week!

 

Ana

Recap Writer

Travel Adventures, Analytical Initiatives and Unexpected Evaluations - another successful meeting of EarlyBird Toastmasters!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

Another successful meeting was started by Topic Master Marie, who took us on journeys to faraway lands.   We heard that…

 

• TM Tom reenacted his favorite movie, Romancing The Boulder, by dining with his wife in the same restaurant in Cartagena de Indias.  He kept calling his wife Kathleen throughout the evening, and she became his ex-wife soon thereafter.
• TM Carmine accomplished his goal to reach the tallest peak in Yosemite in spite of the 10,000 ft altitude by reducing his huffing and puffing to manageable levels.  Just Do It!
• TM Aleta thinks a trip to Publix is her dream vacation at this point in time, only second to her childhood family vacations in a Volkswagen bus along with her many siblings and The Parentals.
• Soon-to-be TM Lois perfected the art of the pivot by describing her greatest adventure while figuring out her lights when zooming into the meeting this morning. Way to go, Lois!  Everyone forgot the question.
• TM Jeff ‘fessed that he gets lost .8 times a day and cannot find his car.  This is a genetic trait directly – and inevitably – traceable to his Mother.   He Won Best Table Topics Award.
• TM Paolo confirmed that discovering everything new is the point of travelling in the first place.  Smell the flowers, taste the flavors.  Otherwise, just stay home, per favore!
• TM Jose now travels with his pillow and although it’s good to get away, it’s also good to get back.  The secret is in the transportability of the pillow.
• I, Ana, prefer to travel by plane because planes get you there faster – if you don’t count the extra security measures we endure since 2001.  I’m just realizing that what I believe is a complete myth.

 

In the prepared speeches…

 

• TM Randolph is an innovative musician who punctiliously plans to be spontaneous and whose wife thinks he’s too wordy.
• TM Pam comes from the Fine Family and has realized that she and her husband may not get older if they persist with the nonsense of denying reality.  She Won Best Speaker Award.

 

As for evaluations….

 

• In an unprecedented 25-minute evaluation, TM Carmine wondered why Mrs. Bastein thinks Randolph is wordy.
• TM Jeff praised TM Pam for her skillful combination of metaphors and stories, which she consolidates eloquently and punctiliously.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

 

The Word of the Day was

 

PUNCTILIOUS, adj.

Marked by or concerned about precise details of codes or conditions.

Example:  He was punctilious in the amenities provided to his guests.

 

First-time Grammarian TM Jose gave a punctilious report of outstanding expressions and flowery phrases.  Good job, Jose!

 

Ah Counter TM Tom only heard one Ah throughout the entire meeting.  Are we definitely avoiding crutch words and fillers?  Or was he still daydreaming about Kathleen and the Cartagena Romance?

 

Zoom Master:  TM Paolo gave us a very detailed visual demo of the equipment he uses for optimal Zoom performance:  a director’s high chair, a classic virtual background, 2 cameras – both at eye level when standing or -barely- leaning on the director’s chair.  Unrestricted chest capacity allows for better breathing and best voice projection.   Thank you, TM Paolo!

 

See you next week!

 

Ana

Recap Writer

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table Topic Extravaganza!! A fun morning at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

TM Randolph introduced some intriguing Table Topics Extravaganza Part I,  which helped us learn that…

 

• TM Paolo is inspired by his even-tempered wife who keeps calm in the midst of an offspring extravaganza…
• TM BeckyJo wonders about the secrets kept in the homeless community and would like to be homeless for a day… maybe.
• TM Aleta met her best friend in church by inviting him to visit her private paradise….
• I, Ana, am by nature a cowardly person and I overcome my fear to do it anyway….
• TM Pam, unfiltered, has no hidden talents, especially graciousness and patience, and has the attention span of a gnat….
• TM Carmine self censored things he did and would not do again due to audience rating….
• TM Jose would not change anything but would correct some things and repeat others that served him well.  Ah…  hindsight, hindsight…..
• Guest Lois equates summer with 3 words:  bright, warm and fun!
• Future TM Sofia has lots of fun summer memories, mostly the absence of school and homework, pool and playing with friends…

 

For Table Topics Extravaganza, Part II, TM Pam introduced one-word topics….

 

• “Low” - TM Aleta is reminded of crawling under something, visiting caverns with stalactities and stalacmites and her fear of heights.
• “Shower” – TM BeckyJo likes showers of praise, respect, and mostly  June showers which bring June orchids – she graced us with a visual tour.
• “Inversion” – TM Carmine launched into a merry-go-round of inversion conversion and revision derision.   He won Best Extravagant Table Topics Award.
• “Prognosis” – TM Randolph confiscated his daughter’s phone for 3 days as a consequence for her sins of omission.
• “Cyclone” – I, Ana, was unsure of the difference between cyclone and typhoon and in any case, I prefer just your average tropical summer storm.
• “High Pressure” – Guest Lois thrives under high pressure, it motivates her, and inspires her to say “Hocus Pocus, Where’s My Focus?”
• “Lightning” – TM Paolo believes that the speaker sets the tone by appearing at the lectern like a bolt of lightning.
• “Rain” – Guest Sofia likes heavy clouds that pour down rain so the ducks near her home can finally take good showers.

 

TM Carmine non-lugubriously evaluated our entire meeting and asked the functionaries to give their reports. 

 

• Ah Counter – Double duty done by Timer TM Jose, who, as described by TM Aleta, was AWE-some!
• Grammarian – TM Randolph reported noteworthy expressions, many of which are reported in this recap.  See above. His favorite was TM Carmine’s SALUBRIOUS.   Look it up.
• Zoom Master – I, Ana, expertly opine that we are all becoming experts at muting and unmuting ourselves.

 

The Word of the Day was

 

LUGUBRIOUS – adj.

Looking or sounding sad or dismal

 

Example:  Our Table Topics Extravaganza was everything but lugubrious.

 

See you next week!

 

Ana

Recap Writer

 

 

 

 

Oldies but goodies, Bloodsucking (poli)tics and Outliers - a great morning at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

I, Ana, led us down musical memory lane…

 

• DTM Jim D. reminisced about N’Orleans and NOT being born on the bayou….
• TM Jose’s favorite song is The House of the Rising Sun, which during adolescence he interpreted as partying all night and going home to play the guitar while watching the rising sun. He Won Best Table Topics Award.
• Youngster TM Randolph was intrigued by the idea that “Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad”, and will definitely look up the song when he arrives at The House of The Rising Sun.
• Returning TM Pam agrees Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and marveled that her grandson has not even heard about The Beatles* (not to be confused with Ticks)
• Guest Lois (aka Louisa) likes Dancing In the Streets – it makes her feel joyous, alive and full of energy.   Glad you came back, Louisa!
• If TM Paolo could choose a way to die, it would be singing Killing Me Softly With This Song – he enlisted some talented backup singers from the audience, too!

 

As far as prepared speeches….

 

• TM Aleta warned us about bloodsucking bulls-eye rash politicians (Borrelia burgdorferi) to be extracted from our skin with eyebrow tweezers and carefully right-sized into an alcoholic Ziplock bag where they can sip on their Corona with lyme.  These critters are otherwise known as ticks.
• DTM Mary Helen beckoned us to become outliers - an outlier is a truly exceptional individual who, in his or her field of expertise, is so superior that he defines his own category of success – to move to Rosetto, PA and to get rid of electronics to prevent our premature demise from technological frustration.  She Won Best Speaker Award.    After hearing her speech, TM Paolo is booking travel to relocate his family to Risotto, Italy, to enjoy the rice.

 

And then came the evaluations…

 

• TM Tom praised TM Aleta for her dynamite story and powerful introduction which allowed him to be an outlier evaluator in spite of a cardinal technical glitch.
• TM Pam was intrigued by DTM Mary Helen’s idea of being mentored by books and suggested that she circle back to the idea – of cardinal importance to the speech.   She is also out-and-out joining the Outliers Book Club.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

 

Zoom Master Report by me:

 

• Everyone is perfectly centered in their respective squares. 
• We beat the record of active Co-Hosts in EarlyBirds’ Zoom history (“when the cat’s away, the mice play….”).
• Today’s recording is up in the Cloud, somewhere.  For real.

 

We were all very happy to see TM Carmine back in the fold and signing up for a role next week. 

 

The Word of The Day was

 

CARDINAL, adjective

Of great importance

 

Example:  A recording of this meeting is cardinal to provide a good laugh to our absent members.

 

Note: The adjective is not to be confused with the noun versions –  can gringos please empathize with English-as-a-Second-Languagers in the room?   The Cardinals (Arizona football team), a galero (plural: galeri; from Latin: galerum) a red, broad-brimmed hat with tasselated strings worn by Cardinals (also known as Princes) in the Catholic Church, or Cardinalis cardinalis, popularly known as cardinal the red bird.

 

Next week we will have a TABLE TOPICS EXTRAVAGANZA!!! Come join us

 

Ana

Recap Writer