My Speech

Well, tonight, at my Toastmasters club, I was in a Humorous Speech Contest, then in a Table Topics Contest.

The Speech Contest was to be a Humorous Speech of 5 to 7 minutes. There had been 3 of us entered, but Val dropped out for some reason, so it was Catherine and myself. We drew cards to see who would speak first, and I won that dubious honor, haha. I felt that I did pretty good. Then it was Catherine's turn, also a good speech. However, I am pretty sure she went over time and for that you are disqualified. However, that can not be confirmed, so it's just my opinion. Anyway, I took first place which feels great but would feel better if I could know I had taken it fair and square, rather than by default.

In the Table Topics Contest, there were 3 of us: Val, Catherine & myself, and we spoke in that order. With this contest, the contestants are all given the same topic to talk about, so must all leave the room and only return as it's their turn to speak. You are then given the topic and you have to do an impromptu speech. This is to be a 1 1/2 to 2 minutes speech. Being 3rd, I didn't get to listen to the other 2 speeches... sigh. The topic was "Fall is in the air. In the beautiful, sunny Okanagan, there are 4 distinct seasons. Could you please tell us which season you like the best and why." Apparently, Val chose to talk about Fall, and Catherine about Summer. I spoke about my love of Spring. Val won 1st place!! However, we get to send 2 people to Area Contest, so I am going on to this contest as well. I'm not sure if I won this spot, or if Catherine did and forfeited it as she did say something about not being able to be there that evening.

I had Joanne use my digital camera to video my speech, and all 3 table topics speeches. She did a good job of the speech, but had some problems with the camera during the table topics segment, so didn't manage to get more than bits and pieces of those. I am uploading the video of my speech, "Horsing Around" to YouTube so I can post it here for you to see.

After meeting feedback that I got included:
- it's not all that funny, needs more humor. This person thought I should add in a snake, but personally, I don't see any humor in a snake scaring a horse and getting someone bucked off. You see, the speech I gave was all true, but we can use fiction any time we want, and she felt that this bit of fiction would be funny.
- it's a story, not a speech... it needs a message and doesn't have one. "Milk" the humor.

So, lots to work on to improve this speech before October 3 when I compete at the next level, against people from other clubs. Next Monday, September 29, I get to give my speech again in our club as part of the process of preparing for the Area Contest. I will be giving my "new" version of tonight's speech, and sure hope I can make it better by then.

Cool Contest

This post is all about entering a contest to win a laptop briefcase. Not that I need one, I just bought a laptop backpack and cordless mouse the other day, but hey... the backpack is gorgeous and is also rather large so you never know when I might find it better to use the briefcase instead. It's nice to have flexibility.

Blog about your Blog is hosting another great contest where you can win a laptop briefcase (valued at $187.00CAD $149.60CAD) from Eco-Handbags. Eco Handbags produce unique eco-bags that are all made from recycled products.

I sure got lucky so far.... I found this contest just in time as it ends Tuesday. Wish me luck!

I won... I WON!!!

On Thursday I was over visiting Barb at Skittles and she had a caption contest going on. I entered it with something silly (of course). After there were a lot of entries, Barb chose her two favorites and posted them for people to vote on, using a real cool thing that shows the percentages of votes for each one. Today she has the announcement up that I won! The prize is a wonderful virtual guitar. Why a guitar? Read my Fridays Feast and you'll understand. How observant and smart of Barb to have picked my prize based on something she read here.

All the links in this post go to different places. Check them out if you have time or if you're curious about the photo or the captions involved in this contest.

Have a fun and wonderful day, and remember:

"We don't stop laughing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop laughing" ~ author unknown.

Your Vote Is Needed!!

The voting has begun!

It began yesterday and I just remembered it today, so I'm a day behind on voting. Voting takes place April 1 - 6. If you click on the above banner you will go to the poll where the voting is done. When there you will find a link to "All Votes In Their Entirety" and you are urged to click on it and go read all the quotes before voting. I did this and found that of the 57 quotes submitted, there are only 9 that I like and would vote for. I must admit that I read them all with as open a mind as I could (and I think I did fairly well at it), and the 2 quotes I submitted are among the 9 I liked.

I urge you all to go read the quotes and vote for your favorites. I also urge you to vote for mine, haha. I would really love to win this contest and receive a new template for my blog. And as much as I want that, I still want you to vote for the ones you truly do prefer and if that's mine then all the better. Each person can vote 2 times per day, so remember to go back and vote again for the duration of the voting.

The quotes I submitted are:

# 26 -

"A person's worth is contingent upon who he is, not upon what he does, or how much he has. The worth of a person, or a thing, or an idea, is in being, not in doing, not in having."

-- Alice Mary Hilton

# 39 -

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.

- Oprah Winfrey

So now go vote, then come on back and read more. :o)
Thank you for any votes you give for my entries.

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Entering a Contest #2

JEWLSNTEXAS is hosting a contest over at her blog. The best quote wins a new template design. Each person gets to enter 2 quotes, this is my second one. To see the first quote entry, click here. For more info on this, and/or to get in on the fun, click on the above banner. Please tell her who sent you. Thank you.

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.

- Oprah Winfrey

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Entering a Contest

JEWLSNTEXAS are hosting a contest over at their blog. The best quote wins a new template design. For more info on this, and/or to get in on the fun, click on the above banner. Please tell them who sent you. Thanks.

"A person's worth is contingent upon who he is, not upon what he does, or how much he has. The worth of a person, or a thing, or an idea, is in being, not in doing, not in having."

-- Alice Mary Hilton