Random topics, Youth and IPhones and SCUBA - manifest morning at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

DTM Jim D made us manifest our true feelings about random topics.  We soon learned that...

*   TM Emmanuel's Dad is his model and reference and allows him to blatantly ignore Ancestry and its maze of connecting dots.

*   TM Pam does not want to impose her historical beliefs on produce and finally figured out that a carrot is nothing other than a loquacious speaker!  She Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM BeckyJo once practiced vehicular airlifting to pickup a distracted friend's airline ticket in time to get the friend on the flight, once and for all time!

* TM Aleta admits that pigs have good lung capacity to oinc and she tried to put lipstick on a pig - her ex husband(s) but you know how that ended.

* TM Tom accepts little white lies if he's the little white liar but condemns them if he is the one being little white lied to.  

* I, Ana, would put Sixties Top 40s hits as a ringtone on my phone if only I had the manifest capacity to be techie savvy.

* TM Randolph thinks Fort Lauderdale is the ultimate tourist attraction and alas! a Gazillion Manifest Spring Breakers heard him.  As I see them chugging beer, I ask myself why should I pay for their student loans - do you ask yourself that question too????

Along came the prepared speeches...  We had a special treat today with a Guest Speaker all the way from Italy...

* TM Marilena delighted us with the eternal manifest dilemma of parents worldwide - succumbing to pressure from adolescent kids or accepting that insanity is hereditary: we get it from our kids.  She Won Best Speaker Award.

* TM Chris told us about flying, floating, meditating, exploring new worlds and seeing elephant fish in tutus, weightless and stressless.

And then came the evaluations...

* TM Tom praised TM Marilena for starting with a question, the call to action and the fact that alone we are a drop but together we are an ocean.  Overwhelmed parents of the world, unite!!

* TM BeckyJo enjoyed TM Chris for her masterful skill, her engaging style and her expertise with visual aids.   Long live Nemo!!  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

The Word of the Day was

MANIFEST, adj or verb

adj - clear or obvious to the eye or mind

verb - display or show by one's acts or appearance

Example:  It's not always manifest whether manifest is an adjective or a verb.  It's simply manifest!

Manifestly submitted,

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Prominent Women Quotes, Water and More Water - a fluid morning at EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

TM Marie inspired us with famous quotes by notable women.  We quickly found out that...

* TM BeckyJo is afraid of us, the rowdy, unpredictable, wild, ubiquitous EarlyBirds.  She'd much rather be burnt alive like Joan of Arc - ok, not quite.

* DTM Jim D. had a schoolteacher who was ubiquitous - both a blessing and a lesson all rolled up into one!  She trained him to, later in life, be able to serve 500 pancakes in a recordbreaking 6.5 minutes...

* TM Aleta lives her own life with great love - no small deed, indeed!

* TM Chris regrets not having found out more about her Mother's life and particularly about her Mother's jewelry.   She Won Best Table Topics Award.

* DTM Mary Helen realizes that hindsight is intelligent and still has lots of things to understand and not fear....  Hey, it is what it is....

* TM Pam loves her family very deeply and would just like to have a quick meal with Helen Keller to borrow some child rearing techniques.

* TM Paolo understands that victory is waking up, walking outside and enjoying life itself.  Things don't happen to you - they happen for you!

* I, Ana, try to display generosity toward others starting at home, although I don't always succeed.  Did Amelia Erhart wear Depends on her solo flights?  That is the real question.

* TM Randolph removed his Dad coat and became a kid while on a wild ride in Thrill Park, Orlandoland.

Regarding our prepared speeches...

* TM Tom startled us with the statistic that we humans are 60% water and soon we will be drinking canceriferous water taken right out of the underground aquifer.  Insider tip:  Buy shares of Evian... straight from the canceriferous Alps!!  He Won Best Speaker Award.

* TM Jim G. introduced us to Muck Diving, aka Goo/Sediment dead coral remnants where hairy frog fish, flamboyant cuttle fish, blue ring octopus, decorator crabs and other exotic millimetric critters abound.  Insider tip: buy shares in Nauticam Underwater camera company. 

As far as evaluations go...

* TM Paolo suggested that TM Tom center the camera angle and avoid the confusing winding road of Pathways although it was all said with great vocal variety.  He Won Best Evaluator Award. 

* DTM Mary Helen praised TM Jim G. for his astuteness in telling us that the popular Muck Diving is available in Riviera Beach, Florida, which will save all of us thousands of dollars flying the unfriendly skies. .  Insider tip:  Buy shares in magnifying lens companies.

The Word of the Day was

UBIQUITOUS, adj.

Yoo-Bik-Wi-Tuhs

Existing or being everywhere, especially at the same time.  Omnipresent.

Example:  Humor is ubiquitous at EarlyBird meetings.

Here is the link to the recording:  

https://youtu.be/jR0AuBVwWq8

See you next week!

Ana

Ubiquitous Recap Writer 

St Patrick, Age Is A Number and Maewyn Succat - an unduplicitous day at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

TM BeckyJo corroborated history's duplicitous nature when she revealed that St Patrick's real name was Maewyn Succat (St Patrick is catchier), his meanderings are dubious at best and he wasn't even canonized.  He did, however, invent green beer.

We also learned that...

* TM Tom is a tough Irishman who believes in elves and is meagerly forgiving because mercy droppeth from heaven smack onto the middle of a football field.

* TM Paolo burst our bubble by stating that spaghetti is Chinese, pizza is French and Italy's national dish turns out to be corned beef pizza.   It's all in the marketing!  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

* DTM Mary Helen asked TM BeckyJo to take it back, take it back, the Irish DO NOT like pork, she will not stand for this duplicitousness.

* TM Astrid is Puerto Rican and as such, proudly confesses that she's never even heard of St Patrick  but she absolutely knows there's always a duplicitous agenda behind it all.

* TM Randolph works a lot because kids are expensive but some day he will earn gold by singing and writing songs for other artists.  (Note from the EarlyBirds:  He will succeed, too!)

* TM Emmanuel would go to Russia and China in a yellow submarine and feel just like a fish in water.

* TM Chris pondered if there's any other kind of party but an Irish party and her favorite memories are of dancing on crutches at an Irish pub!

In our prepared speeches...

* Guest speaker TM Tim proved to us irrefutably that the key to success is to avoid Irish traffic lights on Tipperary Hill in Syracuse, NY.  He Won Best Speaker Award.

* TM Pam revealed that St. Patrick was best friends with Roman tyrant Coroticus who invented green beer to unclog corotid arteries.  The details are lost in the mist of history.  

As far as evaluations go...

* TM Randolph praised TM Tim and asked him to buy the Camera Angle instruction book recently published by our own TM Paolo.

* DTM Mary Helen marveled at TM Pam's ability to debunk a duplicitous saintly myth in 5 to 7 minutes, much longer than the time it takes to gulp a mug of green beer.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

The Word of the Day was

DUPLICITOUS, adj.

Given to or marked by deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech.

Example:  Sometimes we're attracted to duplicitous snake charmers because they are, well, just good marketers.

Here's the link to the recording:

https://www.youtube.com/

See you next week!

Ana I.

Duplicitous Recap Writer

50s, Icebreaker and Be Delightful - travel at the EarlyBird speed

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

TM Pam led us with interesting topics revolving around 50, the magic number.  We soon found out that...

* DTM Jim D. wants to keep the $50 bill exactly as it is, with Ulysses S. Grant in full mode time travel.

* TM Emmanuel marvels at couples who make their 50th wedding anniversary - that's what life and love is about!

* TM Jim recently experienced the 50s Golden Age of TV by streaming Sea Hunt with Lloyd Bridges on TM Chris's I-watch.

* TM BeckyJo plans to be a fiery redhead at the tender age of 80, vibrant and minus any pesky grays.  She Won Best Table Topics Award.

* I, Ana, don't believe in the motto Get Rich Or Die - although I've pretty much lived a comfortable life most of my life, so I'm just spoiled.

* TM Tom is glad he's past 50 because at 50 he didn't know Toastmasters or EarlyBirds and can't fathom life without them.

* TM Aleta voted multiple times for TM Pam to attend her 50th Homecoming College Reunion where everyone will recognize her without having to even wear a name badge.

And then came the prepared speeches...

* TM Paula delighted us with a descriptive self-introduction about her geographic moves and spiritual journey.  Excellent icebreaker, Paula!

* DTM Mary Helen relived her anguish at losing her handbag at the start of The Way (El Camino) but finding it thanks to the benefits of the tourism industry. She Won Best Speaker Award.

As far as evaluations go...

* TM Chris was wowed - as were we all- at TM Paula's vocabulary richness which escapes most native-born gringos.  Paula's speech encapsulated the essence of her being, the yin and yang.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

* TM Paolo repeatedly asked DTM Mary Helen why didn't she incorporate pizza and lasagna meals on her tale of the Camino?  What happened to Italy??  Grazie Tutti, Prego!

We were seniorly confused between the (2) Jims and we swapped people's last names, but other than that, the meeting traveled smoothly.

The Word of the Day was

TRAVEL, noun

go from one place to another, over a distance of some length.

An object that moves, typically in a constant and predictable way.

Example:  To travel or to teletransport - Elon, Elon, what musk we do???

Here's the link to the recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOrYDea8q0g

See you next week!  Spring Forward on Sunday March 12!

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Light Quotes, The Mighty Quinn and Pathways - a morning of prerogatives at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

TM Paula launched us off with thought-provoking phrases...

* TM Aleta finds the hilarious perspective in most things, simply because she's a hilariously perspectiveely personality.

* TM Pam agrees that there's comedy in contradictions.  She's always exactly right and her husband is always exactly wrong - and that's comedic all right. She Won Best Table Topics Award.

* I, Ana, have thought "that is a curious reaction" plenty of times in my married life and have decided to say nothing and say it often.

* TM Paolo explained that if he has said what he meant, it would simply be La vita es bellissima... la vita es bella.... la dolce vita.... and then the luce rossa stopped him.

* TM Tom said that humor is a sophisticated tool of the mind and St. Patrick's Day is coming, dear Mc Anythings.

* DTM Mary Helen has been suffering from acute language commingling syndrome, whereby Spanglish becomes PortuGerman.  Tudo ben, tudo bon.

* TM Randolph asserts that the way to tell the story is when his mind is made up, please don't confuse him with the facts.

* TM BeckyJo proposed to conduct our next EarlyBirds meeting in Portuguese to support DTM Mary Helen's linguistic derangement syndrome.

* DTM Jim D. has been contaminated by the linguistic syndrome and now thinks in Russian and counts in Croatian.  He and DTM Mary Helen are headed straight for linguistic marital counseling.

* TM Emmanuel does not want to sound too serious but cannot help it although internally he is doubled over with laughter.

And then came the prepared speeches...

* TM Tom, aka The Mighty Quinn, wonders where the lions are, but remembers that everyone's beneath the trees, feeding pigeons on a limb, and when Quinn the Eskimo gets here, all the pigeons gonna run to him...  He Won Best Speaker Award.

* TM Pam motivates others to do her bidding.  From Pathways she has learned to read instructions, follow directions, end at the beginning and upload it all to the cloud.  If her reach exceeds her grasp, what's a heaven for?  (But I digress)....

As far as evaluations go...

* TM Randolph likes TM Tom's teaching style of speaking and is all for bushes covering the water treatment plant eyesore.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

* TM Paolo commended TM Pam for her pause, projection, pitch, performance and suggested she avoid swinging in her seat.

The Word of the Day was

PREROGATIVE, noun

Right or privilege

Example:  It is our prerogative to be funny or serious, depending on our mood of the moment.

Here's the link to the recording...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVRYAOz6stI

See you next week!

Ana I.

Recap Writer by right and privilege

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

Spanish Sayings, Agile Philosophy and Starting Over - an unknackered meeting of EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

Our morning started with a linguistic twist - the Word of the Day (knackered) derived from The King's English and Table Topics translated from their original Castellano.

DTM Mary Helen offered food for thought and we ingested big morsels...

* TM Pam wolves down a PBJ sandwich for lunch before her husband and daughter have finished asking each other what will lunch be.  She loves them anyway.

* TM Astrid takes people's looks personally and finds their attitudes toward self-image to be completely passive-aggressive.

* TM BeckyJo fully concurs that it's getting out of hand - completely, unabashedly, decidedly, purposely.  It's outrageous.  Pay attention cubed.  If only we knew what IT is.  She Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Chris 'fessed up that we can count on her for whatever - except when she's not there.  She loves being invisible.

* DTM Jim D. retired because employees were testing his patience.  Now, his Harley club members seriously need penmanship lessons to avoid testing his patience.

* TM Paolo is getting out of the psychological swamp by taking a different approach to life in general. It's all about new directions Puglia/Rome/Miami.

* Guest Paula stays calm and focused on her yoga mat by listening to her breathing and clearing up worries from her stream of consciousness during Downward Dog.

* I, Ana, use ambiguous statements to avoid pointless arguments that prove to me, once again, that I'm always right.

Then came the prepared speeches, which resulted in an unprecedented tie...

* TM Maria introduced us to the Agile Philosophy, which allows us to wear the prom dress of our dreams while spending lazy afternoons on a tire swing.  She Won Best Speaker Award.

* TM Aleta reinforced the point that instead of waiting for exes to come to their senses, we must come to our senses and chop wood and clear brush as needed.  She Won Best Speaker Award.

Regarding evaluations...

* TM Paolo marveled that customers want Prosecco for the price of Chianti and really enjoyed the Agile value generation and collaboration provided by La Gioconda (Mona Lisa) by way of TM Maria.

* TM Randolph praised TM Aleta's speech enhancement - her red blouse under the black jacket added the finishing touch to demonstrate a successful post-divorce life in rural Pennsylvania.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

The Word of the Day was

KNACKERED, adj.

from British English, jolly good!

Very tired or frustrated

To kill, tire, exhaust or wear out

Example:  King Charles seems quite knackered in the leadup to his May 6 coronation.  The Knackerer's name is Redhead Harry Rotter.

Half the club is leaving for Buenos Aires, Indonesia and parts unknown.  The District and Area officers are presumably already there.  To be or not to be: That is the Contest!!

Next week, bring along your hat collection to the meeting!

Youtube link: https://youtu.be/Kre1LqJOOdE

See you then,

Ana

Recap Reuter

Evaluating the Evaluator, From Surviving to Thriving and More Evaluations - no playing hooky at EarlyBirds today!



Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

To support and give feedback to our Contest Evaluator, TM Paolo, TM Chris played for us recordings of (3) of his prior evaluations, which we then proceeded to evaluate.  In case you're wondering, the Word of the Day was NOT "evaluate" - but more on that later.

Several Club members then evaluated TM Paolo's evaluations:

* TM Tom suggested that TM Paolo act as an intermediary between the audience and the speaker.and wear eyebag concealer makeup when evaluating from Miami.  Preferred brand is Estee Lauder.

* TM Jose asked TM Paolo to focus on a stronger closing and evaluate partly in Italian.  It's good to leave the judges wondering what they heard.

* TM Pam declared herself our contest rule implementer and asked TM Paolo to add the words "In summary" to his evaluations - that will win the judges over.

* TM Marie praised TM Paolo's precise strategic analysis of the speaker's camera angle.

* TM Chris asked TM Paolo to tone down his Italianism while evaluating but accentuate it while speaking.

* TM Aleta asked TM Paolo to please please evaluate while riding a gondola in Venice.

* Tm Mary Helen asked TM Paolo to analyze the content and tone down the performance.

Next came our prepared International Speech contest speaker:

* TM Aleta bared her soul and shared her vulnerability with us after a failed marriage which led her to thrive, rather than survive, and to become proficient at changing the belts of John Deere tractors, a very lucrative profession.  All the women in the Club are seriously considering divorce as we speak.

As far as the evaluation goes...

* TM Paolo praised TM Aleta's black jacket, her facial expressions and encouraged a more energetic salutation.  He used several prior suggestions, including "in summary",  speaking Italian with an American accent and total avoidance of the word "GREAT".

Several other members of the club jumped in as impromptu evaluators, and we learned that...

* TM Pam has a photographic memory of contest rules, all gathered on a trip to Orlando.

* TM BeckyJo thinks TM Aleta needs to watch the flow of the speech and avoid staccatos or stilettos.

* TM Tom asked TM Aleta to explain that she's sharing her story.

* TM Chris encouraged her to use questions and tread well=trodden paths.

* TM Randolph introduced a new Pathways, "The Aleta Chronicles", and asked What's Next?

And so it was that after a free-for-all meeting of evaluations over evaluations and then some more evaluations, we concluded that a good evaluator will definitely win the contest if they use up all their time but do not surpass it by even one nanosecond.

The Word of the Day was

HOOKY, as in "To Play Hooky"

Unjustifiable absence from school or work.

Example:  One third of EarlyBirds revealed they had played hooky, the other third did not play hooky because they are "goody two-shoes" (a future Word of the Day), and the last third BECAME "Goody Two-Shoes" because they PLAYED HOOKY and got caught by their mother... and the rest is plain to imagine.

Here's the link to the recording:

https://youtu.be/Cv5pp0lnDcE

See you next week!

Ana 

Recap Writer

Would like to play hooky but it's too spooky

No longer a member? Use the following link/web page if you are no longer a member of this club: Not A Member https://3659.toastmastersclubs.org?action=NotAMemberNow&mid=00092592&_=kvre

Logos, Finding Jesus and Tortuous Bureaucracy - an audacious morning at EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

TM Maria led us with an inspirational poem about an alleged cookie thief.

TM Aleta got us thinking about famous logos and their significance.  We soon learned that...

* TM Maria likes to take a bite of the Apple and cannot conceive life without it.

* TM Astrid is herself an amazon warrior and the big one has taken over the world - pure and simple.

* TM Jose subliminally swooshes into his working out ensemble and is audaciously working on his own brand recognition. He Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Randolph has conceded that his family's favorite meals are definitely happy ones!

* TM BeckyJo called out for Bitman to come save America but unfortunately he's busy in Brazil right now.  In a non-sequitur, she concluded that BMW drivers are definitely crazy!

* DTM Mary Helen grew up with a 100ft tv antenna with blurry transmission from nearby towns but she developed a strong connection to peacocks.

* I, Ana, need to go shopping for Not My Daughter's Jeans - pronto!!

We had two fantastic speeches today...

* TM Marie kidnapped Jesus and is now her lifeguard in many ways.  Her husband dreams of buying a boat to be named "Walks on Water".... (to be continued)...

* TM Pam tried to find humor in the times of choler...  Coviewed?  US Passport Agencies are pretty positively Third World caliber and the birding trip will happen!!  She Won Best Speaker Award.

Along came the evaluations....

* TM Paolo praised TM Marie's amazing delivery which brought us to Italy and suggested she add drama and a call to action - have we all found Jesus or bought a boat??  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

* TM Emmanuel admired TM Pam's tailored speech, suggested she keep her dates in sequence and is formally requesting TM International for 20 minutes to evaluate a 20-minute speech.

The Word of the Day was

AUDACIOUS, adjective

Intrepidly daring, adventurous, recklessly bold, rash, insolent, contemptuous.

Example:  Our club members are intrepidly sagacious and audacious while never being contemptuous.

Here's the link to the recording:

Link to the YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8NXGKL0y18

See you next week!

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Travel, Patience and Structure - a meeting with panache at Early Birds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

We formally inducted our newest member into our Club.  Welcome TM Maria!!

DTM Jim brought up interesting table topics regarding travel and its joys and challenges.  We discovered that...

* TM Pam has experienced the transition from white gloves for air travel to the next person's foot on your armrest and no, thank you.  It's teleportation for a devout Zoomer like her.

* TM BeckyJo is a sideseat driver and has mistaught a whole generation of foreign students that in America it's the law to curse and scream at bad drivers.  She Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Tom miraculously survived driver's ed to his 4 children but his gray hair and shot nerves are the remnants of that traumatic experience.

* DTM Mary Helen misses her teenage years when 20 kids piled up into a Volkswagen bug and go to a drive-in movie.  Ah the days of the Wild West!!

* TM Val gets panic-stricken at the thought of her niece getting home on a self-driving car, let alone flying on a pilotless plane.  That will be a no, thank you very much!

* TM Jim G.'s motto is always go forward in travel - with panache, especially because it's hard to drive RVs in reverse.

* Returning TM Astrid fondly recalled her outlaw, maskless drive from NYC to Miami at the start of the pandemic with her good friend and having an absolute blast!!

In the area of prepared speeches...

* TM Emmanuel inspired us to achieve success by exercising patience and avoiding impulsive decisions while moving to Sweden, the most patient country in the world.

* TM Aleta gave us a roadmap for 2023 to start our day drinking water and stretching and writing a Gratitude Journal which will increase our blessings awareness.  She Won Best Speaker Award.

As far as evaluations go...

* TM BeckyJo asked TM Emmanuel to give us clear examples of "before and after", ie, cursing at other drivers versus enjoying a nice drive to work.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

* TM Marie praised TM Aleta for her timely topic and her exquisite use of hand gestures and polifacetic props.  

The Word of the Day was

PANACHE, noun

Energy, spirit and style

Flamboyant confidence of style or manner

Plume worn in a headdress or a hat

Example:  Many of our EarlyBird Toastmasters exhibit great panache in the wee hours of Thursday morning.

Here's the link to the recording.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqAhy3uaYeI

See you next week!

Ana 

Recap Writer