What the Dickens, A Purpose-Filled Life - A Vivacious Evaluation Contest at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

Our Test Speaker, TM Bianca, delighted us with a purpose-filled speech about a purpose-filled life.  The answer?  Love, joy and be a go-giver.  Go-getters please abstain from signing up to be Test Speakers!

Our participating evaluators exceeded all expectations:

* TM Paolo praised TM Bianca's elegance, eloquence and confidence and asked her to step back and redirect the angle of the camera to inspire us more.  He Won First Place.

* TM The Tom asked TM Bianca to show the HOW to attain those goals and talk more about regrets, if any, while standing back from the camera.  The camera distance seems to be a recurring male thing.

* TM Terri liked the logical progression of achievements and the emphasis on spiritual principles that guide us coupled with TM Bianca's vivacious gestures.  She Won Third Place.

* TM Marie highlighted TM Bianca's enriching questions aimed at the audience, suggested she stand up to enhance vivacious gestures and avoid 'gonnas" and the like. She Won Second Place.

While we waited for the Contest Judge to count and recount the hanging chads and votes,  TM Aleta woke us all up with classical quotes from The Second Bard (aka Charlie Dickens) and we were to discover that...

* TM Chris rightly believes that attitude is what makes us perceive the same event either negatively or positively.

* TM Bianca has been bent, broken, reinvented, reshaped, flexed and remolded and the result was a vivacious person who focuses on what she can do.

* TM Terri believes giving is better than receiving and it is our sacred duty to give to the homeless and the poor, but make sure it's an honest charitable organization!

* TM Tom sees the world through the filter he was taught as a boy and agrees that no one is useless if they can lighten someone's load.

* TM BeckyJo shed some copious tears in her life, on the front pew at church, where no one intruded in her tears, and thus she made space for God's grace.  She Won Best Table Topics Award.

* I, Ana, stated that the trifles of life make the spice of life but the best is not to sweat the small stuff, and it's all small stuff anyway!

* TM Pam confessed that she is at a mashed potatoes level, not at an ethereal level, and that's the best thing she's ever done.

* TM Marie likes mutual respect when dealing with those who share her blood and those who give and receive her blood.

* TM Paolo could not fan the sinking flame of hilarity with the wing of friendship and pass the rosy wine because he's still recovering from transatlantic mid-aiir imbibing of a good rose on an Alitalia flight.

The Contest was conducted rather smoothly in spite of a few pesky technical glitches, handled seamlessly by our Chief Judge TM Pam S. 

The Word of the Day was

VIVACIOUS, adjective

Happy and lively in an appealing way.

Example:  EarlyBirds Toastmaster is certainly a vivacious group of Thursday morning early risers.

Below is the link to the recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZCyaO_8N5g

See you next week!

Ana I.

Vivacious Recap Writer

National Days, Progress Not Perfection, Find Your Voice, Let's March! A libertarian meeting of EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

Our International Speech Contest took off with a great invocation by TM Terri about 

C L A R I T Y !!!

Voting was a real challenge because all our contestants were fabulous!!

* DTM Mary Helen focused on New Year's Resolutions, after concluding that growing up she was a Rebel Without A Clue.... and she still writes grocery lists while riding Uber to the airport.  She Won Third Place.

* TM Chris became a lawyer in flower power Berkeley, handled divorces in Haight-Ashbury and finally found her passion in computer teaching and soulmate TM Jim G.  She teaches while singing a capella.  She Won Second Place.

* TM Paolo related to Roman Cicero and especially the Greek Demostenes, who overcame stuttering and commanded the masses to march into war while eating moussaka and gyros.  He Won First Place and will represent our Club in the February 24 Area Contest.  Congratulations Paolo!!!

While the votes were being counted and recounted (after all, some of us are in Florida), TM Marie delighted us with some National Day table topics.  We discovered that...

* DTM Jim D. reminisces about Vernors' Ginger Ale, Sanders'  Ice Cream and Hot Fudge, but Detroit is waaay too snowy, icy, frosty and coldy for him.  Hello, Florida!  Bye Bye Michigan!!  

* TM Jose thoroughly practiced Know Your Customer while in Sales, but now he's become a Libertarian who hangs up on telemarketers while feeling lots of compassion for them.  Ahhh the joys of retirement!!  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

* I, Ana, a self-designated wordsmith, have a neurotically keen eye for detecting typos and misspellings (except my own) and will emulate TM Marie in reading segments of Roget's Thesaurus every night before bedtime while using one of Roget's slide rules.

* TM Terri likes Dunkin Donuts coffee, not only on National Gourmet Coffee Day but every day - although she is switching to tea for medicinal... oops. meditative purposes.  Her new motto is "It's tea for me!"

* TM Aleta credits her avoidance of yo-yo weight gain/loss to her intensive woodchopping, brush clearing, timber logging, bonfire building, mulch distributing... while doing jumping jacks and cartwheels on her property.  It works!

* TM Ricardo's motto for 2024 is "Avoid Procrastination" and he plans to get started... some time... later... much later.

Our next TLI (Toastmasters Learning Institute) is scheduled online for:  Saturday February 3 in the morning hours.  Login details to be forthcoming.

The Word of the Day was

LIBERTARIAN, noun

Someone who is more culturally liberal than a Democrat, and more fiscally conservative than a Republican.  Methinks.  They believe in a limited role of government.

Example:  Rand Paul and John Stossel are well-known Libertarians who resist the expanding, all-encompassing role of Big Brother in our lives and other aromatic by-products.

The Contest ran very smoothly, the ballot submissions were flawless and our Club moves forward.... Let's March!!!

Here's the link to the recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuP0CReLG8g

With a libertarian flavor,

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Fwd: AARP Topics, The King and I and Mentoring - an assiduous morning at EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

DTM Mary Helen got us thinking about a variety of topics, and we found out that...

* I, Ana, left behind the disease of "more" and as I've aged, I look for satisfaction in things money can't buy....

* TM Terri pursued a banking career and fate had her professional life detour into a rewarding career teaching inner city kids.

* TM Ricardo asked governments to stop printing money to drive down inflation.  Argentina's government is trying to do just that!  We're praying for success.

* TM Marie puts love into every situation.  She tries to love the unloveable - such as the 70 year old celebrating in the Playboy Mansion South vapid theme.  P u h l e e e a s e !

* TM Pam urged us to call now or request calls.  It is a Limited Time Offer for real.  She Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Paolo asks the experts (us) every week, and it's what the Topic Master is doing right now.  We have the best communication skills of all the clubs he knows.

* TM Aleta asks herself very often why did that get so expensive?  She tries to deflect that sad truth by looking at the big picture.

* TM BeckyJo proposes investing 1/1000 of nothing into nothing because it is so cheap! Hop on the bandwagon, people, and be done with it.  Make the bitcoin millionaires, billionaires.

Along came the prepared speeches...

* TM BeckyJo had us in for a surprise as she recounted rolling down Suicide Hill with a ball of humidity in her DJ hand, to honor the passing of The King, the most prolific musician of the universe.  She Won Best Speaker Award.

* TM Pam likened inducing childbirth in her pool by feasting on mangoes to mentoring others in Toastmasters by teaching them how to take the Pathway of La Leche Dynamic Presentation.

As far as evaluations go...

* TM Terri was totally surprised to learn that Elvis was the real King of Siam.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

* TM Paolo enjoyed TM Pam's ride to a time when there was no internet, no cells, no texting, no tweeting.  How did we ever manage?

TM Ricardo was first-time Ah Counter and beat humankind's male record of accomplishing 2 things at the same time.  Go Ricardo!!

The Word of the Day was

ASSIDUOUS, adjective

Showing great care and perseverance

Synonyms:  diligent, industrious

Example: Politicians are NOT very assiduous in searching for facts and figures.

Next week is our International Speech Contest.  Come one, come all !!

Below is the link to the recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIdRRG7D1Ds

See you next week!

Ana I.

Assiduous Recap Writer

Ethics, A Beautiful Smile and Resolutions - a vertiginous morning in EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

TM Terri led us in a heartfelt, uplifting invocation.

TM Aleta had us wear our thinking caps  with thought-provoking topics on various aspects of ETHICS:

* While flying in a helicopter, DTM Jim D. realized that ethical behavior begins at the top, way above bank and tax fraud, amidst the pristine clouds.

* TM Terri refused to be part of a made-up, inflated teacher roster to fake teacher-student ratios in the public school system.

* TM The Tom was that rare specimen, an ethical lawyer, who taught his clients to explore the benefits/burdens of their choices.

* TM Paolo, speaking from his Italian Man Cave, has enough diversity and inclusion with his 6 children, as diverse as they come and insisting on being included!

* TM Ricardo stated that ethical technology is a tricky thing, due to so many unclear workarounds, as witnessed at his last consulting job.

* TM Jose pondered on the consumer changes our children will face in our vertiginous society in order to create nuclear fission with the approval of OPEC after taking a quantum leap.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

Along came the prepared speeches...

* I, Ana, researched and expounded on the beautiful smiles of gringos, due to outstanding dentistry..  We have come a long way from the ivory and gold teeth of our first President George Washington!  Brush, slush, gargle, floss - to get rid of the moss.   I Won Best Speaker Award.

*, DTM Mary Helen reconfirmed the challenges of following New Year's Resolutions.  She has a list of 72 foods to avoid and I personally think if she alphabetizes her list, she'll be able to adhere to her resolutions.  Therein lies the solution.

As far as evaluations are concerned..

* DTM Jim enjoyed my speech but asked me, for the umpteenth time, to stop flailing my notes in front of the camera! I just don't listen.

* TM Paolo praised DTM Mary Helen for making an art of preparing for the unprepared and asked her to put more drama into the salutation.  He Won Best Evaluator Award..

The Word of the Day was

VERTIGINOUS, adjective

Causing vertigo, especially by being extremely high or stepp

Relating to or affected by vertigo

Rapid ascent or descent

Example:  As we age, life goes by at vertiginous speed.  Like the trite and vulgar saying goes, "like when you're reaching the end of a roll of toilet paper".

Here is the link to the recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox7LS4_eMYU

See you next week!

Ana I.

Vertiginous Recap Writer