ChinaPa in May

Who would have thought year 2014 would have become a fantastic party-goers year for golden ladies Toastmasters? After District 67 Spring Conference 2014 in April, golden ladies held a celebration party at Music Corner with one of the best house bands in town. We decided to try out all restaurants with bands in Taipei to experience the crazy wild night life together!

Many thanks to Pamela for recommending newly moved and renovated ChinaPa at the Core City for our gathering in May! Nine golden ladies plus one young lady toastmaster, the niece of Pamela, made the perfect 10 for the evening party. We started dinner at 7:30, followed by chitchatting, drinking, and laughing. Gina brought ten colorful rings she bought in Peking when she visited the Peking Olympics in 2008. We couldn't wait to put them on and share our ties and frienship with one another.

When the band started singing and performing, all golden ladies kept dancing on the floor non-stop with the band. When we left ChinaPa at half past one this morning, one waiter approached me and complimented golden ladies energy and passion for life! I'm sure golden ladies Toastmasters shall soon become the talk of town among night clubs in Taipei!

Cooking Class--Manti （Turkish Dumplings）

Whenever there is a cooking class for general public at Antatolia Formosa Association, I jump at the opportunity to savor the authentic Turkish delicacies.

We made two kinds of Turkish dumplings in shapes (won-ton and shau-mai) this afternoon, May 25th. Turkish dumplings are smaller than Chinese ones in size.  They are more like Italian Ravioli.

All participants were eager to watch the demo by  Berrin, from mixing the flour, making a dough, slicing into fine square-shaped dumpling skins, filling with minced beef, and wrapping the dumplings. Turkish dumplings are served with Yogurt Sauce mixed with chopped schallot, garlic and a bit chilly powder. Yummy~~

Fight or Flight

Be it chilly and rainy on the street, we shared our thoughts about the challenge of the big data from Helen Lin and the threat of unprecedented rampage killing incidence in Taipei from Yoland Wu! Everybody was in a great shock about the college student manic who killed 4 and wounded 20+ passengers on MRT this afternoon, May 21st.

In this rapid changing word, we are obliged to hone our skills to help others to help ourselves. From now on, when I take MRT, I shall get near the alarm. Just in case of emergency, I can save as many people as possible. In stead of flight, I choose fight. I shall use my bag to protect myself to fight the killer (maybe, to save the killer, too).

It was the night Immediate Past President May Hwang nominated incoming club officers at Grand Toastmasters Club. Before the meeting, I prepared 18 slides of Revitalized Education Program (REP) Update and uploaded them on Picasa and urged club members to study them in advance to know their duties in the coming year. While Toastmasters International is facing new challenges to revitalize the education program, it's important that club officers get the firsthand information from the headquarters.

During my 10 minutes talk, I tried to mimic the Webinar scenario and asked the members to see the 18 slides on their smart phones while I delivered my update. Without me standing in front using the powerpoint presentation, it was a new experience for me and for Granders.

After a quick glance at the REP Update for 5 minutes and Q&A for 5 minutes, I believe members are as excited about the REP as me, especially incoming EVP and MVP, who will be invited to join beta test in early 2015! I hope that incoming club officers of Grand Toastmasters Club cherish the revitalized education program by participating in the beta test with eager and passion.

Let's embrace the big changes in the education program and excel ourselves in communication and leadership skills in the biggest non-profit educational organization of Toastmasters where leaders are made!

Revitalized Education Program (REP) Update in May

Without hesitation, I signed up the first session* of REP Update - May 2014 Wednesday, May 14, 2014 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM PDT (Thursday, May 15, 2014 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Taipei Time), the moment I received the invitation from the headquarters of Toastmasters International.

Without any knowledge and experience of Webinar, I feel excited to get connected to headquarters sitting in front of my desktop in Taipei, to understand the update of revitalized education program through a video conferencing software provided by Citrix Online. Now I need to know more about Webinar before Thursday morning, May 15th.

Webinar, short for Web-based seminar, is a presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar that is transmitted over the Web using video conferencing software. A key feature of a Webinar is its interactive elements -- the ability to give, receive and discuss information. Contrast with Webcast, in which the data transmission is one way and does not allow interaction between the presenter and the audience.

Just imagine, Toastmasters from all over the world could participate in a cyber meeting without leaving home. Isn't it exciting to enjoy the revitalized education program with a group of toastmasters ( I wonder how many District 67 Officers would be at the first session?) from all walks of life, all corners of the world in different time zones?

* First Session  Wednesday, May 14, 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM (PDT)
   Second Session Thursday, May 15, 7:00 AM - 8:00 AM (PDT)
   Third Session Friday, May 16, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM (PDT)

PS: I almost gave up the REP Update in May, because the system Window 2000 of my desktop couldn't support Webinar powered by Citrix Online. I had to cancel my registration at the last minute Wednesday evening, May 14th. But, my husband didn't give up. He got up early to set up Window XP on my laptop Thursday morning, May 15th, just in time for me to participate in  the first session of REP Update with success. The one hour REP Update conducted by Sally Newell Cohen, Chief Operations Officer, Toastmasters International, was very informative and exciting.

During the REP Update in May, there was only presentation transmitted over the Web. There was no interactive discussion between the presenter and the audience. I didn't know why, maybe there were some technical problems! While the headquarters is yet to decide which video conferencing software will be used for Webinar! I look forward to more interactive Webinar REP Updates in the near future!

The Visionary Leader

Toastmaster Jimmy Wu wished to share his investment experiences in the US stock market with Granders only. Gina opened her cozy apartment for the gathering today, May 4th, entertain 14 members from Grand. The lunch menu included fresh fruits juice, chicken soup with pineapple and bitter melon.

Before Jimmy Wu's workshop, I used to watch cnYES from time to time. From now on, I shall include CNBC, Bloomberg, Seeking Alpha as my favorite websites to poke my nose in a new gold mine in the US stock market. Hopefully, I could be as successful as Jimmy Wu in financial investment one day!


Ian left before lunch to join the Marathon in the EAST at 6PM. Gina prepared a super rich lunch box for him to enjoy on the train. Star and Maureen left immediately after lunch to celebrate Mother's Day with their families! I love the homemade chocolate cookies Maureen brought to the gathering today. Yummy~

After lunch, I gave a presentation on the Leadership Excellence Series -- The Visionary Leader, with an aim to get my ALS (Advanced Leader Silver) after I complete my term as Area H1 Governor 2013-2014. The reason why I choose the visionary leader, the first topic of the Leadership Excellence Series, is to address the subject of leadership for members to become successful leaders inside and outside of Toastmasters.

In toastmasters, after a member gets CC and CL awards and serves as the club officer for six months, he or she can receive ALB award by conducting any two presentations from The Successful Club Series and/or The Leadership Excellence Series. I'm eager to apply for my CL, ALB in July 2014.

In the visionary leader, I talked about how leaders create and communicate a vision for their organization to help it be successful. Being Area H1 governor, I am happy to lead my area to become the first President distinguished area in District 67. It is my firm belief that a club with a vision is a club of inspiration and aspiration! Grand is about to celebrate the 40th anniversary. Let's come up a vision for Grand Toastmasters Club.