Capital City Toastmasters

Rey started off the meeting describing the blind date she went on with a gay married man– tough to get lucky with that setup.  Actually, she’d have had better luck with the guy’s wife, who turns out is also gay.  The meeting was pretty much a disappointment after this high point. 
 
No!  It was an awesome meeting.  Robby explained the timer’s role and recalled a date with a cougar who picked him up and dropped him off because he wasn’t old enough to drive at the time.  Brad busted out the duct tape and shared the word of the day (carp), which apparently is not just a nasty fish. 
 
Amy was her usual amazing self as she dealt out the table topics like a master card dealer.  She reminded us that it is okay to bend the truth or tell a little fib when answering a table topic question.  Erin showed up with spades as she told a funny story about a guy who kept asking her bizarre hypothetical questions, never really liking her answers.  Robin played the cards he was dealt by sticking to Tennessee Tuxedo as the cartoon character he would most want to date.  Carol had us rolling with laughter as she told the story of the guy who nibbled and licked her ear, while she was driving, on a blind date.  I bet she took some of Amy’s advice to pull that one off.  Neil couldn’t think of any blind dates but shared a story of how his wife hit his truck one time.  Hey, it’s table topics!  You don’t have to answer the question.  Brendan told us of the time he pulled out a banana on a date and how it pretty much guaranteed he was not getting a good night kiss.  Now if his date had pulled out the banana, depending upon how she ate it, it might have been a different story.
 
Then it was time for the speeches.  Li gave her icebreaker, and it was amazing!  She shared about the cultural and language barriers she struggled with when she moved to the United States.  It was well organized, engaging and hilarious.  We heard funny stories of how the language you learn in books and class does not necessarily translate to everyday life.  “What’s up, Li?” 
 
Albert was next.  Let’s face it, after the glee of Li’s speech, Albert’s was a harsh transition.  From laughing about how Subway asks too many questions about your sandwich to an 18-year coma.  Wham!  Albert explained a program that allows you to make plans for your inevitable demise by dealing with 5 major areas of concern.  It was useful information.  After some technical difficulties and much talk about death and dying, he pulled the plug after going overtime but only 4 minutes. 
 
Between the 5 table topics and the 16 minute PowerPoint of death, we were running behind schedule.  As the chief evaluator, Brian introduced the DTM’s Louis and Maureen who in turn evaluated Li and Albert’s speeches.  A quick call for votes, timer’s report and grammarian’s report and the meeting was passed right back to Taline, who was sitting in as the presiding officer for our club president, Rey.  Taline wrapped up the meeting giving guests and unspoken toastmasters a chance to share, while Lora tallied the votes.  The winners were:
 
Best Table Topic:  Carol
Best Speaker:  Li
Best Evaluator:  Maureen
Most Enthusiastic:  Amy
Best Humor:  Li