Sunflower 2009

It was a rainy Tuesday evening, Sunrise Toastmasters Club had their New Year Mock Countdown Event at their last meeting at Taipei City Library Wan guan-yin Branch, December 30th, 2008. It was a windy Wednesday evening, I walked into Sunflower Toastmasters Club year-end Party at Golden Flying Club, December 30th, 2009.

After D67 Fallcon 2009 in late November, Toastmaster Athena Lien, District Governor 2003-2004, thanked me for counting her in Taiwan Toastmasters Chorus to sing at the diner party. She was also happy to visit the elderly home and perform singing the previous day. She told me that she was amazed by my enthusiasm and energy to bring toastmasters together to reach out people in different communities.

After being flattered, I couldn't turn down her invitation to the Year-end Party at Golden Flying. One more reason prompted me to the party is to check out the new look of Golden Flying after a recent remodeling. I admire Athena's determination to devote herhself to English education in Taiwan. She started Golden Flying Training Center single-handed more than a decade ago.

My eyes were wide open to two big tables covered with turkey, stuffing, salad, vegetable soup, fruits, desserts, red wine food, drinks, when I walked into Golden Flying, a full house of party goers. My mouth watered and I felt at ease surrounded by many familiar faces, more than half of the attendants.

The party program started at 7:50PM with a short greeting from Toastmaster of the Year-end Party Bill Wan, followed by President Skylar Hu's Reminiscence of 2009, and many talent shows. After a while, I finalized realized it was the year-end party of Mandarin-speaking Sunflower Toastmasters Club. I was probably the only guest from other Toastmaster club.

At the end of the party, President Skylar Hu lead a session of gratitude by saying thankful words to her members, holding a candle in her hands. After her inspiring speech about what a warm and supportive toastmasters club is to develop members together, she circulated the candle among members from one to another. When I got the candle, I stood up to talk about my coming visit in Mongolia in January to charter a Toastmasters club to nourish the learning attitude of human beings in the north. Every member came to greet me after my announcement.

I arrived at Sunflower Toastmasters Club's Year-end Party as a stranger, I left Sunflower Toastmasters Club with lots of blessings from the members, including a young gentleman from Sweden who is an eager student of Mandarin in Taipei. I shall always remember this evening. I wonder what would take place in Toastmasters, on the 30th of December, 2010! Let's wait and see!

Masquerade Christmas Ball 2009

We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, and a happy New Year! Glad tidings we bring to you and your kin, glad tidings for Christmas and a happy New Year!

Fun time is with family and friends. Fun time is for Christmas. Fun time is at the birthday party of three golden ladies, Pamela, Irene and Linda. Pamela booked a country cottage log house for ten at Yangmingshan National Park, Linda prepared the main dish of chicken soup hotpot for at least a dozen stomachs, plus three bottles of booze, Irene bought many side dishes enough for an army.

It was a special masquerade slumber party for eight golden ladies. Thanks God, it's Friday, we could dance all night, till the sun came up. In the wee hours of the morning, I ventured out of the wood cabin in the rain to take a good photo of a bunch of middle-aged women pranksters. Who cared what people said about our wacky behaviors, they were just jealous of me and you. We wish people could feel and act as we did on Christmas, dancing all night till we dropped merrily exhausted.

Saturday morning, we jumped out of warm beds to welcome the new day in unison like high school girl scouts in the winter camp. We didn't snuggle one another in bed, we dressed up as soon as we could for a big buffet breakfast at the restaurant. Before twelve noon, the check out time, we played a few group games, Do As I Say, Simon Says, Heart Attack, with the twin kids of Pamela's European friends.

The rules of "Do As I Say" were simple. If I say one, people raise the right hand. If I say two, people raise the left hand. If I say three, people clap their hands. If I say four, people clap their hands twice. If I say five, people jump from the ground. In stead of calling the numbers, I sang the song of 533, 422, 1234555; 533, 422, 13551; 2222234, 3333345, 533, 422, 13551, or GEE, FDD, CDEFGGG; GEE, FDD, CEGGC; DDDDDEF, EEEEEFG; GEE, FDD, CEGGC. Can you decipher the musical notes? Sing it out and try out the game yourself for fun!

After Christmas, it is the last week of year 2009. In stead of flipping through thousands of memorable photos in the past, it's time we planned an extraordinary year of 2010, aimed at audacious New Year resolutions, left ebullient footprints on the hearts of people around us.

Toastmasters Friends from Afar

Toastmaster Watanabe Yoshihito was curious why my husband Azen would allow me to study in Kyoto for one year by myself ten years ago. "Sherry doesn't belong to me, she belongs to herself," Azen responded. "Every morning I prepare breakfast for my wife. She works very hard. At home, I do the housework. So my nickname is Yoshiko," Yoshihito introduced himself at dinner. "Me, too, I make breakfast for my wife. I do the housework. Sherry doesn't work, she is busy with charity affairs. She is my QUEEN," Azen saluted me.

Toastmaster Watanabe invited two Japanese toastmasters to join his four days tour in Taipei, Area 33 Governor Kazunori Toyomitsu (also IPP of Musashi-Kosugi Toastmasters Club) and Toastmaster Kiichiro Saito of Akabane Toastmasters Club. Watanabe had visited Taiwan for more than ten times, but it was the first time he took the challenge to speak in Mandarin. In addition to delicious Chinese food, Watanabe seemed interested in Chinese culture and Chinese language. He was thinking about delivering a speech in Mandarin in Taipei in 2010 and he planned to charter a Mandarin-speaking club in Tokyo in 2011.

Friday evening, a big welcome dinner of Peking Duck, Peking hotpot, shrimp dumplings was held at a famous Chinese Restaurant in Ximen District. A second party of coffee and tea was followed at McCafe. It was after midnight when I got home full of excitements. Saturday afternoon, three Toastmasters from Japan joined the last regular meeting of Peace Toastmasters Club in 2009. In the evening, we enjoyed a boisterous Year-end Karaoke party for three hours and called it a night early, because Watanabe and Saito needed to join the half marathon in Taipei early Sunday morning.

Sunday afternoon, we ventured to the hot spring resort in Wulai. Even though all hot spring houses in Wulai were booked with tourists because of the cold front in town, we were satisfied to see the beautiful Wulai waterfall. Toastmaster Toyomitsu admired Wulai Waterfall very much and compared it with the famous Kegon Waterfall in Nikko.

Farewell dinner was served at my brother Jimmy's place. He prepared a full table of dishes, from fried soybean noodles to pork radish soup. We drank a bottle of aborginal millet sake I just bought in Wulai. It was a joyful and cheerful gathering of Toastmasters friends! My family looks forward to Toastmaster Watanabe & Friends' next visit to Taipei in 2010!

Division H Christmas Party 2009

Grand Toastmasters Club hosted Division H Christmas Party 2009 this evening. I volunteered to lead a dancing session to lift up the holiday spirit. "Dancing PK", as I called it, involved all participants at the party. Two groups, men and women dancers, were formed on the spot. Dancing PK contains two parts, the traditional dance (hula dance for women and aboriginal dance for men) & modern dance (Wonder Girls' "Nobody" for women and SuperJunior's "Sorry Sorry" for men).

In Toastmasters arena, everyone is no stranger to impromptu speeches. Members are called upon to answer table topics without prior preparations. At D67 Fallcon 2009, some toastmasters experienced a so-called impromptu singing for the first time. This evening, it was the first time we took the challenge of impromptu dancing. Every participant was excited to twist his or her body for fun with fellow toastmasters, including incumbent D67 Governor James Lin, DTM.

After a brief and short explanation of basic dancing steps of Hula, Aboriginal and two most recent popular dances of Korean Rock groups, the finger guessing winning group started to dance. For traditional dance, women dancers claimed the trophy with their sexy Hula Dance. For modern dance, men dancers did an amazing job dancing Sorry Sorry, because several young toastmasters already learned the hot dancing steps by heart.

Dancing PK is more than dance. Not only does it tickle the bones of members to shake their booties, but it also motivates members to be the best dancers they can be. On top of that, Dancing PK is good for health. It warms up the party atmosphere. It brings people together to dance on their two feet. I look forward to another impromptu Dancing PK at Toastmasters gatherings soon in the future.

All's well that ends well. The last meeting (party) of Grand Toastmasters Club was meaningful. Many toastmasters membrs of Division H came join us to rejoice the birth of Jesus Christ and to say farewell to 2009. We look forward to a properous Grand in 2010 when Grand will celebrate her 35th anniversary.

Ballroom Dance Party

Toastmaster Lydia Lin invited me to a ballroom dance party to support her dear ballroom dancer friend Lillian Wu, Sunday evening, December 13th. The moment I walked into the huge dancing hall, all my nerves were tickled at once. My eyes were wide open to all dancers on their best shoes waiting at the rim of the dancing floor. It was like every couple of dancers were eager to claim the trophy of championship on the arena in the most elegant or passionate way. I felt like an ancient Roman observer full of excitements to see the gladiators at the Colosseum.

It was the first time I realized that there was no better way to explain the better half than the dancing partner on the floor. Be it Modern or Latin ballroom dance, every dancer exerts the best effort to dance to the music, with his or her partner. They see none other than the better half in their own eyes.

What a joyful and successful evening we had, even though all kinds of small accidents happened on the floor, such as eyelashes, earrings, head decorations of female dancers flew out of the rim. Fortunately no couple bumped into each other and fell off on the ground. All male dancers were excellent leading partners with an extra of cautious eyes on their back.

I put on eyelashes of spider web designed by Shu Uemura, but mine felt dwarfed comparing with the fashionable and exaggerating ones worn by ballroom dancers. Being an aficionado of eyelashes with a huge stock of eyelashes, I shall put on the most shining ones garnished with diamonds for my next ballroom dance party!

Lillian Wu danced gracefully on the dancing floor. Her smiles beamed with joy when she waltzed in the arms of her partner. I adored her joyful spirit and feminine feature very much. Will I glide into the dancing floor one day? Well, it only depends upon my better half if he is willing to hold me in his arms to waltz, to tango, to chacha. I am ready anytime to join Lillian Wu and Lydia Lin to mingle among the beautiful and graceful ballroom dance couples on the floor.

Yangmingshan National Park Year-end Party

There are an array of scenic spots in Yangmingshan National Park. The best place to see the autumn leaves is the Boy Scouts Training Center where Yangmingshan Volunteers Interpreters held the 2009 Year-end Party today.

The main lobby of Boy Scouts Training Center was huge to accommodate more than two hundred people. But we had only a group of 90+ volunteers today to welcome the new volunteers to join our big family and to welcome long time no see veterans for homecoming. It felt a little cold especially in the rainy morning!

I knew ahead of time that it was going to be a challenging job for me to serve as the master of ceremony for a group of independent interpreters. Volunteer interpreters are good at natures, but they are not party animals. Unlike Toastmasters, volunteer interpreters are less sociable. They are not using to telling jokes in public. They are not trained to deliver tabletopics (impromptu speeches) any time and any place. So I designed a few group activities in advance to involve as many volunteer interpreters as possible.

The bingo game was a success to begin with. Every participant was given a bingo sheet at the entrance with a matrix of 25 squares (five by five). Each participant was required to put his or her number (registration number) in the middle and have numbers and signatures of 24 participants on the same sheet. In this way, every participant has a motive to say hello to acquaintance and/or to break ice with the strangers.

For the group activities, two groups of volunteer interpreters were asked to compete with each other, the finger-guessing game, eagles and chickens, relay race with various objects, in various forms. The winning group was given a signifying handmade trophy. All new volunteer interpreters were invited to play the "follow my order" game. The winners were awarded with presents. All participants were invited to play the Limbo Rock game to show off how good they could twist their bodies.

In addition to colorful Christmas decoration, audio Karaoke facilities, we also provided many costumes of Mr. Santa, Miss Santa, clowns, to add a great deal amount of seasoning flavor to the atmosphere. Every participant was eager to try on different caps of clowns to have photos taken.

By the time when the year-end party was over, every participant was satisfied and exhausted. In the afternoon, the sun came out to greet us to cheer the success of building solidarity among volunteer interpreters. If I have a dream, that will be a masquerade party of 200 volunteer interpreters. That will be simply historical and awesome!

Autumn Leaves — Nat King Cole
The falling leaves drift by the window,
The autumn leaves of red and gold,
I see your lips, the summer kisses
But I miss you most of all my darling,
When autumn leaves start to fall. ...

The First Grandson Shower

Toastmaster Linda Tseng invited golden ladies to celebrate the birth of her first grandson at home. Be it the Toastmaster magazine reading gathering in December, we spent most time enjoying the sumptuous lunch of traditional dishes for the new mothers during the time of childbirth, sesame oil chicken, mushroom glutinous rice, just to name a couple. We didn't see Linda's daughter-in-law, we didn't see Linda's first grandchild, either. Both of them were still in after birth caring center for mother and babies.

As a fashion queen among golden ladies, I love to visit Linda's big house in Wu-gu, because her two daughters had a big warehouse of fashionable clothes at home. Linda told me that her daughters had been extremely busy with their shop at the newly opened Taipei Bus Department Store. I was lucky to catch both of them today to browse their new product lines. I like their brand "So That's Me", a perfect name for me and their products of an affordable luxury. So, I bought a pair of winter leggings and a scarf for myself today as early Christmas presents.

After shopping and lunch, I didn't stay to join golden ladies to read the Toastmaster Magazine November issue. Linda offered me a ride to rush to an award ceremony for volunteers in Hsin-chuang. Trini and Pamela must have read something. But, I shall definitely find time to read the magazine by myself sometime soon. Many congratulations to Linda for being the first grandmother among golden ladies and many thanks to Linda for the wonderful kickoff party of a newborn grandchild in busy December 2009.