Joint Meeting of Grand & Excellence TMCs

It was Grand Toastmasters Club's last beaujolais evening (the annual beaujolais evening falls on the third Thursday in November). From December, Grand will hold the biweekly meeting on the first and third Wednesdays at Chung-cheng Community Center.

The joint meeting of Grand and Excellence TMCs was significant (same meeting venue, different time slots, the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays for Excellence, the 1st and 3rd Thursdays for Grand) for two club members to bond a new tie and to say farewell. Every Toastmaster member toasted to one another with two bottles of beaujolais Nouveau 2011.

Our Lives are defined by the Legacy we Leave

Toastmaster Mark Hunter made a strong impression on the full house of Toastmasters when he maneuvered his wheelchair to the auditorium on the 9th floor of McKay Hospital. When he gave us his business card, his smile radiated. The front side of the card stated the name with a photo, the other side was A Sink Full of Green Tomatoes--the title of the champion speech of Mark Hunter in 2009.

From an elementary school principal in Australia to the world champion of public speaking in Toastmasters, how did Mark make it? Mark told us that the journey to the world champion of public speaking was not easy and smooth, but it was an achievable goal for him. He wanted to be the world champion, he was on stage several times, he never gave up his goal in Toastmasters. He wrote his champion speech in 2003, he massaged the words day in and day out, till the day he claimed the trophy in 2009.

Sitting on the wheelchair, Mark was persuvasive with the hand gestures. Using his right hand to show love, his left hand to show skills, he created a miracle in front of him. At school, he taught the children to create miracles with love and skills. In Toastmasters, he demostrated the synergy of love and skills to spark out the miracle. He was happy that he could fly come talk to the Toastmasters in District 67. We were happy and honored to have him among us this evening.

I'm interested in public speaking. Every year, I look forward to participating in speech contests at the district level. I have faith in me. If I can make a little progress every year, I shall stand on the podium of annual convention to deliver one of my most inspiring speeches one day.

Division H X'mas Party Preparatory Meeting

It's the 146th birthday of Dr. Sun Yat-sen today. I got up early to join a group of 1500 people to sing "National Anthem 國歌", "Our National Father 我們國父", "Plum Blossom 梅花", "Ode of the Republic of China 中華民國頌", to show our respect and love to our national father. President Ma Ying-jeou also joined the 1000 people singing event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Repulic of China.

In the afternoon, Hsin-tien Women's Chorus of 27 members sang a Sichuan folk song "Hooray, the Sun Rises" on stage, among 46 choruses from all over the island. It was a meaningful gathering for singers to exchange ideas and to share joy in choral music.

After the concert, I saw the commemoration exhibition of ROC's 100th anniversary and watched the changing of guards in front of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's statue. I waited in line to receive a golden pin of our national father with our national flag. It was a precious gift to remind me of the singing event today.

After having a cup of afternoon coffee with Hsin-tien Women Chorus members, I rushed to Division H X'mas Party preparatory meeting at President Gina's place. Gina prepared a full table of food, including beef noodles as the main dish and Chinese style coleslaw as the side dish. Before dinner, Carol taught Brian how to brew freshly made coffee with her coffee brewing devises and porcelain coffee set. Erin helped Gina make the bubbled milk. I enjoyed two big cups of coffee, Kenya straight and TAS blended.

In the evening, Gina gave a comprehensive presentation with more than 200 slides about her recent tour in Russia. Roy, the tour manager, brought two Russian dancers outfits for Erin and me to try on. We watched the DVD of folk dance show at Nikolayevsky Palace in Saint Petersburg for two hours. I am responsible to choreograph a few Russian dancing steps for Toastmasters to have fun at Division H X'mas Party Saturday evening, December 17th. I wish many Toastmasters can enjoy the Russian Night produced by Grand Toastmasters Club.

2011/11/11/11/11

I knew when and where I was at 11:11 this morning. I was at Hsin-tien district office of New Taipei City with my music teacher and a classmate of the singing class of the classic songs in the 20's. We were looking for a venue for our year-end concert!

I knew something nice was about to happen. In the afternoon, I received a check of NT$300 dollars from New Taipei City Government to reimburse the money I paid to retrieve my scooter in the garage Wednesday afternoon, June 1st.

It was a rainy afternoon. When I got off work, I saw a big chalk mark on the wet pavement in front of my pharmacy. My scooter was towed away. I needed to pay NT$900 to get my scooter back.

I was fortunate to get the videoclip of the monitor to prove that my scooter was moved out of the parking block by another motorcyclist. In less than 10 days, I received NT$600 from the vehicle bureau of New Taipei City Government. But, it took more than four month to receive NT$300 from the Police Bureau. Better late than never!

YSIOA--Shape Sensation

While Toastmaster Lily Lin and I were having a coffee break at 85C after the singing class this afternoon, we were invited to have our bodies measured by a sales lady from Triumph. I was curious about what shape I was, I invited Lily to get on the pink truck of Triumph across the street to have our bodies mesured! I was S, among YSIOA.
YSIOA, the 5 identified body shapes, give recommendation on products for women's problem areas. We learned from a demo by a professional on DIY massgae technique to lift, firm and shape your bust. The commercial of Triumph on TV, touched upon my heart. It's ratio matters, not weight. And I bought three sets of underwear without the second hought.

The reason I was caught by the commercial of Triumph, was "Leo Burnett: Star Reacher" the book I have been reading in the past week. I became interested in commercials around my world.

Without much thinking, I bought three sets of underwear, two of the latest mode, one was a sloggi for traveling teens. I was excited to put on my new underwears during the college class reunion when I ventured down to the Kenting in a week.

Stereotype--A Golden Lady

The theme of YWCA Toastmasters Club's first meeting in November was stereotype. A week before, Toastmaster of Evening Kendrick Hu asked me about the stereotype that others thought of me, how others perceived me, whether the stereotype was true or not, and why. I responded that the stereotype of me was A GOLDEN LADY! It's true, because I'm over 50's and I have gold mine in me!

Upon the invitation of Toastmaster Alex Huang, Acting VPE, I delivered Project 3 Diffusing Verbal Criticism of the advanced manual--Interpersonal Communication at YWCA TMC this evening. The title of my speech was "Happy Anniversary".

Toastmaster Cheyenne Machtle played the role as my husband whom I left alone home all the time, because of my enthusiasm and engagement in Toastmasters communication and leadership activities. At breakfast one morning, he accused me of forgetting our anniversary and not being able to make it home for the candle light dinner he prepared for me the night before. I tried out five steps to diffuse his anger and criticism by 1. listening, 2. acknowledging, 3. asking questions, 4. paraphrasing, 5. agreeing with the truth. It was a fun and entertaining roleplay without any rehearsal in advance. We won a big laughter from the floor.

During the intermission, I put on the flamenco dress and performed Carmen for three minutes. It was the fourth time I sang "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" in front of Toastmasters audiences (first time at Grand TMC, second time at Happy TMC, third time at Lydia's 60th birthday party), I could memorize the lyrics in French by heart. This evening, I concentrated more upon vocalization and expressed more of my feelings and emotions. I was pleased with my performance at YWCA this evening.

Dr. Jap, Godfather of YWCA TMC, agreed to be my individual evaluator upon my request. He praised me for being able to explain how to handle verbal criticism with sincerity. He was pleased with the impromptu dialogue of Cheyenne and me in the role play. He recommended that I use a more specific title, such as happy silver or golden anniversary. He also suggested that I cut short of the lengthy opening and I paraphrase the question skillfully.

After arriving home, my husband told me that he didn't know that I wouldn't have dinner with him this evening. I acknowledged his complaint and agreed that it was my fault, even I told him about my weeky itinerary this week before. I apologized for not having written him an email this afternoon, so that he didn't have to wait for me for dinner. I felt good to apply the interpersonal communication skills to diffuse verbal criticism in the real life at home.

Happy Birthday to Lydia

It was a big day for Lydia. It was a big day for Harry. It was a big day for golden ladies Toastmasters. Our beloved Lydia celebrated her 60th birthday at her mansion this evening.

CARMEN : PRESENTATION
Hugues and Sherry are standing by the door before the performance.
(MC Michelle) 接下來請大家欣賞中華民國演講會友全球首演的歌劇卡門!
Hugues and Sherry walk hand in hand from the gate to stage.
(Sherry) Mesdames, Messieurs, Chers amis,
(Hugues et Sherry) Bon soir!
(Hugues) 各位來賓, 晚安!
(Hugues) Ce soir, Nous sommes tres heureuses de vous presenter des extraits de « Carmen », le célèbre opéra de Bizet.
(Sherry) 今晚很榮幸為大家演唱比才的歌劇卡門, 希望大家喜歡!
(La musique commence) (Hugues) Sherry Li, Carmen, « l'amour est un oiseau rebelle ».
(Sherry chant)
(Sherry) Et maintenant, voici le célèbre air « Toréador, en garde!» Vainqueur reconnus de nombreuses corridas, il veut à présent gagner le cœur de la belle Carmen…
( La musique commence)
(Sherry) 請大家熱烈歡迎戰無不勝，攻無不克的鬥牛士上場! Le Baritone Hugues, Toréador!
(Hugues chant)
(Sherry) Chère Lydia
(Hugues) 親愛的Lydia
(Sherry) Nous somme tous ici, aujourd'hui pour te souhaiter un joyeux anniversaire. Avec meilleurs vœux de bonne santé et de bonheur éternel.
(Hugues) 祝妳永遠青春美麗, 健康快樂, 天天開心!
(Hugues et Sherry) On t'embrasse tous! L'amour pour tous! Joyeux anniversaire! 生日快樂!
(Michelle Liu, MC) Interview in Mandarin, dear Hugues, thank you for the wonderful performance. I don't understand what you sing, but I admire your sexy uniform! Is this your first time to perform in public in Taipei?
(Hugues) 也許是最後一次 !
(Michelle) Dear Sherry, what do you think of singing the famous French Opera Carmen with this handsome Frenchman?
(Sherry) ㄇㄠˋ死了 !
(Michelle) 我也要, Hugues, 下次換我喔!

喜洋洋中文國際演講會

今晚參加喜洋洋中文國際演講會第324次的例會，除了與我的法文老師 Hugues一起預演卡門外，還有機會演練中文的幽默演講，真是獲益良多。

九月底才應可芸會友之邀到傑人會嘗試中文的幽默演講，今天再度上場，心安不少，感到自己的國語也說得比較流暢。看來以後，我得常到中文會去串門子，與大家一起切磋琢磨口語表達能力，讓自己的母語能更上一層樓！

感謝秀如會長特別準備的生日蛋糕，為十月、十一月及十二月的會友慶生！我四十四年十月九日生，上個月剛滿五十六！很高興能與中文會友一起過生日！

原訂於中場休息時間預演卡門，秀如會長建議我們唱開場，雖然唱的是七零八落，但是有機會能在喜洋洋預演，也為明晚的正式登台暖了身。接著我順勢穿著佛朗明哥的舞衣，演講「老年過動健忘症」，這種機會是千載也難逢。

今晚有機會見識到施新瑠演講「雞同鴨講」，真是讓我刮目相看。新瑠會友曾擔任日本東京演講會的會長，我是日本京都演講會的創會會長，講來我倆也是老朋友了，每次見面，還少不了用日語話家常。

中華民國演講會人才濟濟，英語、國語、台語、日語、西班牙語、德語會，也許有一天可以成立法語演講會，希望會講法語的朋友與我聯絡，我們一起來創個新會，如何？

****老年過動健忘症****

上個月剛滿五十六，不講的話，還真是看不出來呢！一樣妖嬌美麗，人比花還嬌，可是歲月，歲月可是不饒人呀！

人上了年紀，視茫茫、髮蒼蒼，外加上老年痴呆。別說上星期做了什麼，我記不得了，就連上頓飯吃了些什麼，我也得想個老半天。退休後的我可比上班還忙，每天忙著在家裡找眼鏡，廚房沒有、臥室沒有、廁所沒有，一看鏡子，結果腦門上架了三付老花眼鏡！想到一個聰明的辦法解決自己的健忘，把所以該做的事都寫在紙頭上，結果忘了把紙條塞到那裡去了！有時看到年經的帥哥，我也忘了自己有老公。

上星期一，我起了個大早（一看手錶，才六點），今天跟四位黃金女郎一起參觀桃園復興鄉小烏來的空中步道，大夥約好八點整先在火車站集合，不見不散！

我騎上摩托車，興高采烈，好個秋郊的黃道吉日，今天天氣好清爽，陌上野花香！

紅燈右轉，遭了! 路上有警察埋伏！

「駕照、行照拿出來！」

「一定要開單嗎？我才被公司栽員，今天早上的面試就快趕不上了！求求您，行行好，波麗士大人！」

「妳沒看到紅燈？」

「看到了，但我沒看到你們！在演講會看到紅燈，還可以通融三十秒耶。」

「歐巴桑，今天就放妳一馬，為了行車安全，紅燈不可以右轉，小心騎車，眼明手快，別再給警察逮到了！」

「謝謝你，年輕人！我真的看起來那麼老嗎？」一定是我出門前，忘了化妝了！

經過摩斯漢堡，聞到咖啡香，點杯熱咖啡，等熱咖啡的同時，順便上洗手間補妝！

喝完咖啡，精神一振，繼續上路！走在路上，找鑰匙！

糟糕, 我的鑰匙不見了，不在包包裡！該不會放在摩斯漢堡的洗手間吧！三步併兩步，回到摩斯女廁，沒找到。該不會是鑰匙沒抜下來？急忙跑回去看摩托車，鑰匙也沒掛在車上，該不會我把鑰匙跟著咖啡杯丟到垃圾箱了，再回摩斯漢堡翻遍垃圾箱，顧不得自己的貴婦型象了！最後到摩斯漢堡的垃圾箱找到了鑰匙，還找到別人的眼鏡及假牙！

（再看手錶）不得了，己經七點半多了，一路橫衝直撞、闖黃燈、闖紅燈、闖綠燈！喔喔喔，什麼都不怕，喔喔喔，向前行！

準時八點趕到火車站，怎麼沒半個人呢？該不會弄錯集合地點罷！耐著性子，繼續等，到了八點十五分，怎麼還沒人來呢？

打電話給瑪麗，『妳說什麼，明天才去玩，今天是星期一？』生平第一次提早報到，感受到過動兒的興奮。想來也不錯，幫自己白賺了一天耶！

回到家裡，打開電腦，看到瑪麗的電子郵件，恭喜我中標—老年過動健忘症，東西丟三落四，從早天到晚，東一點、西一點，結果一事無成，每天都被時間追著跑！

老公對我的情況大大感到不安，印了一張他的彩色大頭照，註明他的姓名，電話，放在我的皮夾裡，以防萬一我忘了他是誰，我是誰。再三嘀咕我要快找醫生，到了醫院，跟醫生說了我的狀況，醫生二話不說，親切的朝我微笑，要我先繳費，再說。

人過半百，就像半杯水！看我們怎麼看、怎麼想！保持歡喜心接受老年過動健忘症，一笑以置之。只要人生還有挑戰等待我們去面對，我們就勇往直前、全力以赴。

Grand is Fun!

President Gina Cheng has exerted her every effort to make Grand Toastmasters Club a fun place to learn and to grow for members and guests. She invited her aunt Toastmaster Janice Chang from the US to deliver a keynote speech "A Tiger Mom's Reflection" at Grand Toastmasters Club this evening!

Toastmaster Janice was born in Taiwan in 1949. After she continued her advanced studies in the US, she decided to settle down there. During her forty years in the US, she used to join two Toastmasters clubs, one was a community one, the other was a coporate one. Janice and her husband Ben arrived in Taiwan the night before our club meeting. Janice brought a big bag of assorted chocolate bars to Grand to celebrate the belated Halloween! We all felt her passion to TREAT!

Being one of the early birds, I was lucky to chat with Janice and Ben. With a big chocolate bar in one hand, I savored many assorted Oden (おでん), including radish, konnyaku, squid balls, brocoli, President Gina prepared at her kitchen to welcome the hungry membersd and guests. Oh, I was supposed to be on a diet to lose five kilograms! But, who can resist the temptation of mouth watering food in front of our eyes?

During the intermission, I sang «l’amour est un oiseau rebelle» of the famous French Opera Carmen with a red white polka dot flamenco dress on. It was my first trial to sing and play Carmen in public (or in private, to be exact, because it was in front of my club members). With the encouragement of my members, I felt more confident to venture out of my club to perform on stage!

After 20 minutes intermission, Janice told us her story of living and raising kids in the US. She quoted "Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother" by Amy Chua, and shared with us how Tiger Mothers raising children the Chinese way. Amy's story is about a mother, two daughters, Sophia and Louisa. Janice's story is about a daughter Celeste and a son Eric. Both stories are about the academic and musical achievements, and about a bitter clash of cultures, a fleeting taste of glory.

I don't have any children. I can't imagine what I would do if I were a mother. Would I be like Chinese parents to produce math whizzes and music prodigies? Chances are, I would adopt Toastmasters parenting, I set my children free to explore their world on their own, and let the nature take its course. I will be strick about the commitment to do what they like and do it well. That's how my husband and I lead our lives now!

Action speaks louder. I need to read Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (虎媽的戰歌) by Amy Chua (蔡美兒) to know about the action plans of the Tiger Mothers.