Volte face, High Speed AVE, Starting Over - a self-debating kind of morning at EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

TM Aleta led us In a volte face, volta faccia, voltio radical Table Topics with a Twist,  We proved, without a shadow of a doubt, that we are nothing but a bunch of flip-floppers.

* TM Randolph loves kitties, dislikes kitties, loves kitties once again, all within a minute and a half.

* TM Paula cherishes chocolate, dislikes cream-filled chocolates, adores warming up with a cup of hot chocolate.

* TM Astrid loves Walmart, despises Walmart's employer abuses of employees, loves to shop for ANYTHING at the supercenter.

* TM Paolo looooves to have breakfast at Denny's at 3 am surrounded by distinguished diners, is appalled even driving in front of Denny's, only ending up fine dining at the nearest one.  Mood swings are his forte.

* I, Ana, love a vase of flowers, am grossed out by having the change the putrid water from the vase after a few days, love the flowers again except when petals land on the floor and must be swept away.

* DTM Jim D's favorite activity is a red wine degustation, although sometimes too much of a good thing is too much of a good thing, and one must pay for the joy in the morning, but drink up is the motto for today.

* DTM Mary Helen loves green, especially the color of money, fantasizes of flashing a wad of $1 covered up by one single $100 bill for effect and decides not to be greedy and showoffish all within the allotted time.

* TM Tom recognizes that public speaking is a fearful activity but when overcome it brings us closer to others although open mics have gotten more than one in trouble.

* TM Marie praises runners for enjoying the outdoors although she prognosticates hip and knee replacements before the age of 40 and a successful runner is one who avoids being mugged on the path.

* TM Jose recommends eating Big Macs 3 times a day for 365 days in a row as a weight reduction plan although it must be downed with a good glass of wine or beer mug to melt away arterial clogging and taste is the same at any establishment in the world.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

Along came the prepared speeches....

* TM Jose educated us about the speed-train system in Spain where you can get anywhere real fast - if the train fits through the teeny tiny tunnels.  

* TM Aleta has honed her success story speech about being  Dropped Like a Hot Potato/Rebound Like A Triumphant Irish Rose to unimaginable levels.  If only we could find a contest for her to participate in!  She Won Best Speaker Award.

As far as evaluations...

* TM Tom praised TM Jose for his mastery in organizing a speech where we all learn something and incorporating the fact that sometimes trains just don't fit (and then you must acquit?)  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

* DTM Jim D.assured TM Aleta that if she goes through it, she will grow through it.  Even if it's an Intergalactic Contest, by golly she will participate!

The Word of the Day was

VOLTE FACE, noun

VOLTA FACCIA, noun in Italian

VOLTIO RADICAL, noun in quasi-Spanish

Turning around, to face opposite direction.  Abrupt and complete reversal of attitude, opinion or position.

Example:  

I had a volta faccia in Stromboli, where the volcano erupted and the dish was created - not to be confused with a calzone.

Here's the link to the recording:

https://www.youtube.com/

See you next week, U-turners!!

Ana I.

Recap Volte Face

Topsy-Turvy, Gregarious Casino Royale EarlyBird Meeting

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

It was definitely a gregarious meeting today - out-of-sequence sequence and an extraordinary abduction.  We officially welcomed new Toastmaster Paula M. into our midst!  Welcome, Paula!

* Our self-admitted over-committer, TM Aleta, inspired us with her tale of her Casino Royale Dead Money project - the final stretch on her road to DTM (Don't Time Me)..  She is scholarship chair, secretary, parliamentarian, tractor fixer, snow-plower, fire stoker who defines herself as adroit in managing 24 rogue actors.  She Won Best Only  Speaker Award. 

* Immediately -if not sooner- evaluated by TM Paolo - who displayed his usual gregarious enthusiastic self and roguely defied any time constraints.  He Won Best Only Evaluator Overtime Award.

And, last but not least, we had RomCom Table Topics.  We found out that...

* TM Marie thinks if a girl has 9 goats and her fiance has 1 goat, she needs to look for a goatier guy - they're usually found dancing the Sirtaki in Santorini or Mykonos.

* TM Paula stated that therapists would be jobless if patients simply applied the motto "Snap out of it" to their lives.  Think of all the money people would save!!

* DTM Mary Helen wants the fairy tale - people to follow her script and behave as they should.  If they did, it would be a reality tale, not a fairy tale.

* TM Pam forbids her husband to have a heart attack at least until her personal trainer gets her in tip-top shape to take care of him.  So there!

* TM Aleta, ever a fan of old movies, agrees with the adage that divorce lasts forever, till death do us part.  Except for crazy people who marry the same person twice, when there's soooo many people on Planet Earth.

* DTM Jim D's parents were married for 60 years and gave each other symbolic Valentine Day cards throughout their resilient years of marriage.

* TM Randolph discussed self-awareness with his daughter to make her more aware of potentially suspicious surroundings.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Tom has given his heart to heartless women, and concluded that he should have written the movie script for "Say Anything" (1989) and he would have at least gotten a pen!

The Word of the Day was

GREGARIOUS, adj.

social, sociable, fond of company

Example:  Extroverts are gregarious, introverts are ungregarious.  The world's population is polarized on this pesky little adjective.

Here's the link to the recording: 

https://www.youtube.com/

See you next week!

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Remarkable phrases, a drifter fish and artificial speechwriting - all in a day's work at EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

First-time Topic Master Paula adroitly gave us plenty of food for thought.  We were to discover that...

* TM Aleta indeed chose to let it go after removing the me from blame which left her with only bla bla bla and then building a life beyond her wildest imagination!

* TM Chris misses RV travel where she exercised her superpower - doing nothing without having to exert herself as air travel forces her to do.

* TM Paolo made the best decision by joining EarlyBirds two years ago because he loves it loves it loves.  Ti voglio bene! E amore!

*TM Tom dazzled us with his je veux etre habile dans ma tache avec la commission municipale alons enfants de la patrie le jour de gloire est arrive.

* TM BeckyJo's funny duckling streak was inherited from her odd duck mother and partly circumstantial - breaking her patella while unadroitly training the house cleaner.

* I, Ana, spent my whole senior day yesterday unsmiling and trying to get senior verification with a Malaysia-located non-English speaking call center verification team member of a certain telephone service provider.  I Won Best Table Topics Award for most confusing Table Topic.

* TM Emmanuel got such a long topic that he could not tell the beginning from the end and had to refer us to his earlier invocation about love.

And then came prepared speeches...

* Our guest speaker, TM Joshua, told a tale about a fishspeaking kayaker and his maladjusted friend fish who got eaten up by jonathan livingston seagull and had an awakening about acceptance of life on the reef.  He Won Best Speaker Award.

* TM Chris's artificial intelligence-created speech took us on a 46-hour journey to the most pristine diving on Planet Earth and we all now invoke our superpower of doing nothing from sheer teletransport exhaustion.

As far as evaluations go....

* TM Jim G. praised TM Josh for his good command of fish language.  Jim adroitly lobbied for votes and...you guessed it.    He Won Best Evaluator Award.

* TM Tom was surprised, like the rest of us, at the sudden twist of events and finding out that a certain Chat GPT wrote TM Chris's speech!

General Evaluator TM Paolo - inveterate  and professional maniaco de la moda - adroitly counseled  TM Joshua to sexily slightly open the top buttons of his camicia for the contest and... he's got it made!  As effective as lobbying for votes.

The Word of the Day was

ADROIT, adj.

Clever or skillful in using the hands or mind; having or showing skill and cleverness in handling situations.

Example:  Our collective goal as US citizens is to adroitly avoid paying taxes through the roof while simultaneously adroitly avoiding legal consequences for our adroitivity.

Here's the link to the recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXCAg0IlIVQ

See you next week!

Ana

Adroit Recap Writer

Next Best Thing After Chat GPT

International Idioms, Fashionistas and Wild Obsessions - an emphatic morning at Early Birds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

First-time Table Topics Master, TM Maria, dazzled us with visual international idioms, most of which no one ever heard of!  We soon learned that...

* TM Jose dislikes cucumbers but sees himself as alternating between Cool Hand Luke and Raging Bull (a legend in his own mind).  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM BeckyJo became her best Eyetalian version and emphatically stated that with or without holes, we can always have donuts.  Cara mia!!

* TM Randolph was not too keen on breaking fast with an onion - unless it's sandwiched into a quarter pounder at his favorite burger shack.

* Guest Paula likes to slide in on a prawn sandwich as a voluntary responsible participant in the surfing contest of her life.

* TM Tom dislikes hair on his teeth but does not cease to be amazed by the Dutch and how they build cities underwater.

* TM Emmanuel can't wrap his throat around swallowing a camel, even a baby one.

* TM Chris would not tie a bear to anyone mostly because the bear would be unhappy.

* TM Marie is happily married to a gourmet cook but the downside is that all her cheeks are getting bigger and bigger.

Regarding prepared speeches....

* TM Astrid reminded us that dressing is symbolic and only those under 40 should attempt nude dressing in dopamine colors under the overall metaverse.  She Won Best Speaker Award.

* I, Ana, recounted my love affair - NOT- with wild animals and my broken promises not to ever gossip again.

As far as evaluations go...

* TM Randolph was amazed at TM Astrid's speech, its subtleness, what lies beneath and her quest to deflect avatars.  He cautioned her to keep her distance from the camera.or face the risk of falling through zoom time.

* TM Chris thoroughly enjoyed my zany descriptions of the Wild Wild World of Montana Moose and Goose.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

The Word of the Day was

EMPHATIC, adj.

Strong and clear without any possiblity for doubt.

Example:  Our self-introductions today were unfalteringly emphatic.

Here's the link to the recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH0dwHlK4r8

See you next week!

Ana

Recap Writer