I just came off two Toastmasters meetings in under 24 hours. This Zoom app has been a godsend as much as the social distancing aspect has been a bummer. I’ve been able to visit meetings without leaving the house and still see my D13 Toastmaster fam. I’ve also been able to complete my Financial Peace University class as well despite not meeting in person.
What I’ve missed about not being able to go out is that I was becoming more social at my favorite hotspots (White Rabbit, Sun Dawg, Majesty). I enjoyed talking to a couple of women over a matcha 🍵 latte that morning at the Rabbit. What started out as a disaster when my friends ghosted me turned into a great day. I was also building my friend base at Cornerstone, getting to know some great people. My friends I’m taking FPU with have become more like family as well and I would usually see them at church. Let’s talk about the Toastmasters meetings then we’ll look ahead.
I attended my second Next Step meeting. The attire for the meeting involved wearing a robe or pajama top. With a five second walk to my room, I changed into my pajamas and enjoyed a great meeting. Lisa Leonard served as Toastmaster and introduced her husband Michael as the first speaker. Speaking from the Professional Speaker manual, he gave an entertaining but serious speech. Alicia Kordistos did a Research speech on San Jose, a ship that wrecked off the coast of Colombia in 2015. We took a few minutes after the meeting to talk about the speech and the buried treasure that went down with the ship. It made up for the socializing that I’ve missed not attending these meetings in person. Next meeting will have a Cinco de Mayo theme. Following the Next Step meeting, I reached out to Patti Thor and Michelle Teague about us planning a special memorial time for Charlie Wilson at the May Achievers meeting.
I was up this morning at 6:15 to get ready for the Dawn Patrol meeting. I got showered and fixed breakfast and logged in at 7:11, a few minutes before we started. Jackey Collier welcomed me to the meeting as did Mac and Doug. Jackey gave a award speech for her Division Director of the Year award. She thanked all her area directors for their hard work in helping her achieve her goal. She also thanked Stephanie Scott (longtime Toastmaster and Past District Governor) for her encouragement. We have some dedicated leaders and Toastmasters in the Pittsburgh area. Division Dynamic. Tim Tallon gave an impromptu speech about the Four P’s of losing your phone in your house. A funny speech yet it’s something we always do. Pocket, Purse, Pedestal, and Pain were those four keywords in the speech.
We did evaluation next and one of our guests was local (Aliquippa) but had since moved to Washington D.C.. She also served as a speech evaluator for Tim’s speech. We finished with Table Topics (first time Ive attended a meeting where we evaluate before we do impromptu speaking). The theme was looking ahead. After this break, let’s take a look ahead.
Stuart Strickland served as our Table Topics Master and his questions centered on looking ahead. I answered a couple myself on what I plan t do when things are back to normal and what will happen in a few years. This is what I plan to highlight in today’s blog.
Next week, I plan on attending my own meeting as well as Midday’s open house (they meet in Oakland) and Elk County’s meeting next Thursday. In terms of blogging, I’m going to take you back 20 years to my high school graduation and when I made a decision on college. It still seems like yesterday to me. I plan to dedicate ate those blogs to my good friend, and my former teacher, coach, and mentor, Kevin Clougherty. I’m wrapping up Financial Peace University Tuesday night and I’ve seen myself grow over the last few weeks. I just hope that the growth doesn’t get lost due to old habits.
Work is starting back up soon and new procedures will have be in order to keep everyone safe and healthy. I hope this rollout is pain free but I doubt it. Over these past few weeks of being at home, I’ve had a taste of freedom not traveling. I’ve missed some of the people I work with. But as I make my way back, I want to show that I’ve changed. Part of that change may mean it’s finally time to move on. We’ll see what the summer holds.
Last fall was great but to me it also set the table and built a new foundation for the next phase of my life. I’m approaching 40 and not only do I want to grow professionally, but socially and emotionally. I’m longing for someone to spend my life with and it showed last fall.
When everything opens back up, I plan to support small businesses. I look forward to having a burger and a beer at Oliver’s Pourhouse with Mr. Clougherty. I want to enjoy a matcha latte at White Rabbit and breakfast at Sun Dawg. I want to buy books at Majesty or Second Chapter Books. I want to shop in my own little Stars Hollow (as you can tell I ❤️ Gilmore Girls). What will the impact of COVID 19 have on our shopping malls and department stores? We’ll have to wait and see there.
Time to close off the blog. As I said I want to grow professionally, but in this time off I’m also starting to grow spiritually. I’ve been taking time in my Word reading inspirational books (I look forward to the Daniel Dilemma). I’ve started off my mornings in Scripture and learning about the True Vine in John 15.
The weekend’s here. Remember to live your best life. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it. Don’t forget to laugh because laughter is the best medicine. Remember that your smile is your best accessory.
Bye everyone. ❤️ you 😘 🤗.
Stylish 🍒 