Earlier this week, my cousin complimented me for the work that I put into my blog. She said she gets a lot out of my content and appreciates my take on life. I feel the pressure to be like these Instagram influencers and content creators who run around Pittsburgh and wish I could be like them. Therefore, I appreciate the nice remarks from my cousin pertaining to my blog, especially when it doesn’t feel like what I’m saying is making a difference.
Last night, I visited Western Maryland Toastmasters. The club chartered in May of 2024 and is the first club in that part of the state in 30 years. There was a chapter in Cumberland that had disbanded in 1994. They don’t have a set location yet, but are working on it. They were meeting at the library as well as a Comfort Inn. For the summer, they’re having their meetings at a ceramic shop in LaVale. Just as she did with the Laurel Highlands club, President Sharon Imes started this chapter as well. A few of the members in Western Maryland also belong to Laurel Highlands (Sharon, Gary, and Griffin).
Here are my takeaways from last night’s meeting. The location was nice and very colorful (judging by the background I saw when I attended online). The club president did a great job kicking off the meeting and all the members were hard at work getting ready. Sharon addressed all the guests online and in-person, including the club mentors (both online).
Two icebreaker speeches were given, by Sergeant at Arms Jacob, and Carmen. Both speeches were uplifting, and had us thinking and some of us crying. Table Topics were a hoot, as Griffin talked about the things that drive us all nuts. My topic was loud cel phone talkers. One of the members talked about packing peanuts (and it was pretty humorous). Gary served as General Evaluator and serving as evaluators to provide valuable feedback were Kelly for Jacob and Autumn for Carmen. I met Kelly at Summer TLI with Sharon and Gary. All other roleplayers did an excellent job (Timer, Grammarian, and Ah Counter). The meeting got 3 “E’s”. “Be educated, be elevated, and be entertained.”
Sharon taught us that the Toastmaster should “stay, wait, and shake” before leaving the lectern, and to keep applausing until the speaker comes up to encourage them. The business portion consisted of planning for a big event in the future. This is something I have been familiar with before with Laurel Highlands. We heard some great quotes as well, including R.I.O.T. (Relax, It’s Only Toastmasters) and “It’s never a disaster when there’s a Toastmaster.” All guests had the opportunity to give feedback about the meeting.
I will make plans to visit the club again in October and November, likely via Zoom again. I got to try out my new mouse and it worked wonderfully. This will primarily make blogging and other things I do online a breeze. Setup was a breeze and the port was super easy to find. In a secondary way, it also made attending the meeting more fun.
Finally, my vacation week is now a few weeks past, and thus my birthday is too. I got this nice, new journal and some new pens, as well as some gift cards from Giant Eagle and Old Navy (I have some Super Cash to spend at the beginning of August). Speaking of, I just got a new haul in from the latter and so far, everything fits. I now have some new outfits for meetings or if I’m going out to dinner or to the mall or in town. I can pair the jeans with anything and it’ll look perfect for upcoming meetings or a coffee date with myself in town.
Stylish 🍒 