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Published by MicroSpeak TM, 2019-06-18 06:25:59

MicroSpeak_Newsletter_Edition_9

MicroSpeak_Newsletter_Edition_9

A Year of Fun and Learning— Yes!

Newsletter Issue # 9 MicroSpeak Toastmasters in MPHL:
June 2019 Celebrated 1 Year!

By: Kirsten Joy Segura, LD2

I t was February 23, 2018, when MicroSpeak vocabulary and some that we are using until now.
Toastmasters Club conducted a demo meet- Those words are fathom, peculiar, perquisite,
ing in MPHL. The MicroSpeak-MPHL’s 1st asseverate, fungible, the famous sacchariferous

meeting was conducted last April 11, 2018, with and a lot more. MicroSpeak-MPHL after a year

the topic “First Time”. had 14 members, 10 active and improved mem-

Time is very fast, and we never felt that it has bers. In a year of actively participating, it was visi-

been already a year ago and we are still standing Continue on Page 3...

strong as we celebrated

our MicroSpeak-MPHL’s

1st year anniversary, last

April 4, 2019.

In a span of one year,

MicroSpeak-MPHL had

conducted 25 meetings

and some of these are

Crazy, Jeepney, Hakuna

Matata, Logos, Fame,

Cakes and Pastries, Nich-

Page 11 olas Sparks, and the

#SpeakWithFun #BreakThroughToMicrochipLeadership 1980’s to name a few. MPhil MicroSpeak Toastmasters Club members as they celebrated their first year
Twenty-five words of the anniversary.
day, which boosts our

COT 2 For 2019 Cycle By: Crisanta Mendoza, ALB, CC

J anuary 12, 2019 – Toastmasters District by Kelvin Joya, and the Toastmasters' Promise by
75, Division H and Division K officers gath- Pey Catapang CC. The Toastmaster of the Day was
ered once more for round two of Club Offic- Armand Almoradie, an Innovative Planning Level 5
ers Training. Club officers from as far Los Banos achiever after just nine months with Dasmariñas
City in the south and Bonifacio Global City in the City Toastmasters club.
north all met at Unida Christian Colleges in Anabu,
Imus, Cavite. MicroSpeak Toastmasters club offic- The program proper started a little past 9 am with
ers President Rico Rafael Torres, VPE Daniel Program Quality Director Ann Danga’s welcome
Gorospe, VPM Crisanta Mendoza, VPPR Maelene remarks. She shared the acronym FOCUS, which
Makalintal, and Secretary Junelle Joy San Juan was one of her key takeaways from a Toastmas-
ters event that she attended to in Dubai, UAE.
attended the training. FOCUS stood for Future, One, Challenges, Unique,
Service. The emphasis on service was Service
The event started with the registration at 8 am. At Leadership and Volunteerism. To break the ice
9 am both directors Dolly Delos Reyes and Thoto after the welcome remarks, Toastmasters Joshua
Ferido of Divisions H and K, respectively, called
the meeting to order. The Invocation was led by Continue on Page 4...
Jeremiah Jangad, the Philippine National Anthem

Inside This Issue... Newsletter Heroes
News and Events
Featured Articles 1 Here are the MicroSpeak Toastmasters Club's most passionate and
Grammarian’s Corner 6 dedicated article writers for this issue.
The President’s Corner
Featured Article 7
Entertainment & Club Details
8

9 Arlyn Orense Daniel Francis Gorospe

15 Haniel Louiz delos Reyes

News and Events

Division H: Constellation of Stars! By: Maelene Makalintal, IP2

S tars! contest committee started to be filled with everyone to enjoy the whole day event.
That’s how the participants of Joint Toastmasters from different clubs who After DD Dolly’s remarks, we all went
Area Speech Contest of Toastmasters Divi- participated as judges, contestants, timers, through the contests proper and the win-
sion H looked like, held last January 26th, at and ballot counters. And of course, packs ners were announced on the later part of
Fluor Daniel Corp., Filinvest, Alabang. Each of supporters from each club were not
club from Areas 71, 72, 73, and 74 sent missing during that day. Just a bit late after the program.
their best speakers to represent their re- 8AM, the Contest Chair, TM Anne
spective clubs in different speech contests: Macalintal, called the meeting to order. TM TM Jen Espanto led the Evaluation Contest
Evaluation, Impromptu, Humorous Speech, Kate Gapul was the Toastmaster of the day as the Contest Master. Represented Area
and International Speech. The fortunate for the whole event and facilitated each 71 were TMs Daniel Gorospe, Abe Clari-
speakers who won the Club Contests, prior contest with the help of the respective Con- to,and Nadia Betonio. For the Area 72, we
to the Area Contest, were given a token to test Proper. TM Ching Bognot lead the invo- solely have TM Fatima Jubilado. Area 73
be the representative of their current club cation and the National Anthem. And before were represented by TMs Leah Catapia and
TM Kate headed to the contest proper, Div Duchess Munsayac. TMs Bartek Waseiwski,
on this much-awaited Area Contest. Matthew Ventura, and Annette Tayao from
Dir Dolly De los Reyes delivered her wel- Area 74 completed the set of evaluation
come remarks and words of motivation for contestants. TM Rain was the test speaker
and delivered his speech “Pamilyang Pilipi-
nas”, which was evaluated by our competi-
tive contestants. Each contestant carried
their evaluation for TM test speaker’s stint
in different styles, which gave the audience

new ideas in conducting an evaluation.

The photo-op session with the participants of the Joint Areas 71, 72, 73, and 74 Next, we had the Impromptu Speech Con-
Contest. test, presided by Area 71 Dir James Kelvin
Lopez as the Contest Master. This could be
the most exciting part of the event, obvious-
ly because each area was well-represented
by their very competitive Table Topics Club
Contest winners. Area 71 starring with TMs
Ken Pascual, Abe Clarito, and Junelle Joy
San Juan. Area 72 were represented by
TMs Leslie Saban, Mhelody Manahan, Tza-
rina Saldana and Paula Cruz. TMs Paolo

Gabriel and Russel Santos stood up for

Right before the meeting’s call time at 7:30 the rest of the participants and wished Continue on Page 3...
in the morning, the venue prepared by the

Brain Teaser #1:
A pallid visage in plain sight revealed by its foe.

It does not fast, it does not feast, and yet does shrink and grow.
Much grander and yet more minute than those it stands beside.

Unendingly stalking around, a circuitous stride.
What am I? __________
Got an answer? See Page 14.

Speech is power: speech is
to persuade, to convert,
to compel.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Page 2

News and Events

...from In the Beginning was the Word, Page ...from Division H: Constellation of Stars, Page 2.
9.
Area 73. And TMs Ralph Dayrit, Alu Guevarra, and Bartek Waseiswki led the fight for
Propaganda and the Politician’s Doublespeak Area 74. It’s the most participated contest. No wonder everyone was still enthusiastic
Doublespeak is a language that is and energized even though it was almost lunch time.

intended to deceive or confuse people be- “What do you want to happen in your life at 60?”, this is the question Contest Master
cause the words being used can often be TM JK recited to each participant as they were called one by one. Well, as expected, no
understood in more than one way. It may one failed the judges as well as the audience with their description of how they wanted
take the form of euphemisms, unsupported to have life at the age of 60. I’m sure, even the non-participants did answer the same
generalizations, or deliberate ambiguity. This question on their minds, because I did.
is the reason why this is most useful in propa-
ganda and political statements. It pretends to After everybody had lunch, we’d been all ready to crutch ourselves and laugh out loud.
communicate something but really doesn’t. TM James Isaac Exequiel was the Contest Master of the Humorous Speech Contest.
TMs Franz Dominguez and Murriel Natiola emerged from the club contests for Area 71.
Words can be a friend or a foe, cred- TM Raul dela Vega solely represent Area 72. TMs NJ Celis and Ed Ramirez compete to
ibility or an asset, depending on how one represent Area 73. And TMs Jose Marie Garde and Annette Tayao ended the humorous
uses it and to what situation it will be used. speech contest with belly-aching speeches.
Words by itself can convey a deeper truth, an
idea or a message. However, it can also dis- The last held was International Speech Contest wherein, TMs Rico Rafael Torres, Raul
guise, and confuse the reader. Nevertheless, dela Vega, Ed Ramirez and Jose Marie Garde represented their respective Areas. These
words are the basic structures on pretty amazing speakers didn’t give their judges a hard time choosing the Area representa-
much everyone’s means of communicating to tives.
others.

...from MicroSpeak Toastmasters in MPHIL, Area 71 Winners from MicroSpeak: (from the left) TM Rico for International Speech, TM Botch
Page 1. for Humorous Speech, TM Daniel for Evaluation Speech and TM Junelle for Impromptu Speech

-ble that members had gained confidence and That was a spectacular first portion of the program. Every speaker gave their best shots
improved their speaking skills. Before, every- just to grab the slots they need to move forward to the Division contest.
one was afraid to volunteer, but now, they are
very eager to participate. And all of them are Four areas. One representative each area per contest category. The second part of the
happy, proud and thankful to be a part of this event was for the announcement of winners. After some time of deliberation by the
club. ballot counters and the timers, Area champions have been named!
A simple celebration was held last April 4,
2019, after the regular Toastmasters meeting For the Evaluation Contest, TMs Nadia Betonio (Area 71), Fatima Jubilado (Area 72),
at the 3rd floor’s pantry and everybody was Dutchess Munsayac (Area 73) and Annette Tayao (Area 74). The Humorous Speech
happy and excited for the snacks, as well as Contest has been surpassed by TMs Murriel Natiola (Area 71), Raul dela Vega (Area
celebrating everyone’s gratefulness to be a 72), Ed Ramirez (Area 73), and Annette Tayao (Area 74) again for her second contest.
part of MicroSpeak Toastmasters Club. Everybody in the event area were stunned as the announcement of winners continues.
The leaders, as well as other Toastmasters,
are working hand in hand to achieve club Moving up to the Division Contest, for the Table Topics Contest were TMs Junelle Joy
goals and to help each other to learn and San Juan (Area 71), Tzarina Saldana (Area 72), Russel Santos (Area 73), and Alu Gue-
grow together. MicroSpeak-MPHL Toastmas- varra (Area 74). And the obvious winners for our International Contest were the above-
ters Club continues its journey to help individ- mentioned participants as well!
uals to speak with fun, improve and learn.
Looking forward to more members, more This year’s Joint Area Contest has been very successful having our brilliant speakers
learnings, more fun, more awards, and more who made their own stars and eventually ca new constellation in the Toastmaster Inter-
improvement. Together we will grow and national, or should I say Toastmaster Universe!
speak with fun, breakthrough to Microchip
learning and will achieve our goals as individ- Congratulations for Areas 71, 72, 73 and 74 representatives!
uals and as a MicroSpeak Toastmasters Club.

NEWSLETTER ISSUE # 9 Page 3

News and Events

...from COT 2 For 2019 Cycle, Page 1. Standards Evaluation. VPPR Maelene was one volunteer for Micro-
Gripo and Chelsea Kate Lavilla facilitated the Bring Me and Trip to Speak who tried to act out one of the six. In the last part of Learning
Jerusalem games where our very own VPE Daniel participated. The Session 1, President Rico and Secretary Junelle also shared the
next part of the program was a learning session on “Building on best practices from MicroSpeak that contributed to the nine Distin-
Achievement for Continued Success: Moments of Truth/Club Suc- guished Club Points that the club had as of the training. Learning
cess Planning/Best Practices” as facilitated by DTM Raul Dela Ve- Session 2 was the District Recognition Program as presented once
ga, Division H Mentor. Volunteers were requested in front to facili- more by PQD Ann Danga. The last learning session in the morning
tate a charade-like game for the six Moments of Truth Club Quality was “Toastmasters Mentoring” by DTM Nomel Gilongos, Division K

MicroSpeak TMC’s representatives for the COT 2 at Unida Mentor. There was an emphasis on successful Mentoring as
Colleges, Imus, Cavite.
the key to member retention in any club.

After the morning session, lunch break followed with packed
lunch and pansit variants from Ambers. Toastmasters also
had the opportunity to network and mingle with other offic-
ers from different clubs in the two divisions. The afternoon
session began a little past 1 pm with Club Success Plan
Review and SWOT Analysis by Sarah Dikmen, MS4. The
usual activity was to meet with fellow club officers and list
down all the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and
Threats that they see in their clubs. Division directors Dolly
and Thoto took the stage once more to recognize the Early
Club Achievers in the two divisions. The last learning ses-
sion in the afternoon was the “Speech Contest/Judging
Judges workshop” by PQD Ann Danga and District 75 Inter-
national Speech Contest Champion for 2018 Neb Perez,
ACB, ALB. The program concluded with a photo opportunity

for all the officers.

MicroSpeak TMC Goes to DivH Contest! By: Kirsten joy Segura, LD2

I t was a really fun, memorable and Speakers) for the 3rd place, TM Abe Clarito Toastmaster techniques and how we can
fruitful event attending the Division H (Fluent Delivery) for 2nd place and TM An- apply it in our life. One of the speakers was
Speech Contest 2019. It was held last ette Tayao (Aboitiz Taguig) hooked the 1st TM Jose Maria Antonio Garde of Fort Boni-
February 23, 2019, at 23rd floor, Willis place as she captured the judges with her facio with his speech entitled "Choice Re-
intense delivery and comprehensive evalu- action". Third place was awarded to TM
Tower Watson in BGC, Taguig City. Ed Ramirez of BF Community with his
ation. speech entitled “Friday the 13th” while
There were four speech contest categories second place was grabbed by TM Raul
Evaluation, Humorous, Table Topics, and TM JK Lopez (Johnson and Johnson) was
International Prepared Speeches. Registra- the contest master for the second contest, Dela Vega of Metro South Alabang with his
tion started at 8:00 AM and Division H the Humorous Speech Contest. One of the
Director Dolly Delos Reyes call the meeting contestants was our very own MicroSpeak Continue on Page 5...
to order and gave us inspiring opening TM Murriel National with his “Kung Fu”
remarks. TM Ching Bognot took the role as
Toastmaster of the Day and she also leads The photo-op session with the participants of the Division H Contest.

the Invocation.

The first contest was the Evaluation
Speech Contest, TM Franz dela Fuente
(Aboitiz) served as the contest master.
Contestants were TM Matthew Ventura,
Fatima Rustica Jubilado, TM Abe Clarito,
TM Nahdiya Betonio, TM Leah Catapia, and
TM Annette Tayao. Firefighter TM Con Abra-
ham act as the Test Speaker and the title
of his speech was "Boy Scout, Be Pre-
pared!". The speech evaluation contestants
keenly listened to the speaker's very in-
formative and timely speech about EDC
(Every Day Carry). And after his speech,
each contestant delivered their evaluation
for TM Con and help him improve in his
next speeches. In the end, the winners
were TM Nahdiya Betonio (Flour Master

Page 4

News and Events

PTC launches The Biggest Loser! By: Harold Calderon

T he Philippine Technical Center (PTC) launched its first offi- As the contest proceeded, weekly weigh-in was done to monitor
cial “The Biggest Loser” challenge last February 09, 2019. each participant’s progress. Fitness bonding activities like after-
Its aim was to promote employee wellness and healthy work jog and Zumba sessions were organized to help create sup-
lifestyle making working in PTC more fun. The challenge was 8- portive environment for the participants. Final weigh-in and photo
week long with the supervision and guidance of the PTC nurse, shoot were done on April 10, 2019.

Judith Fuentes. For everyone’s safety, each participant was reminded to strictly
refrain from using diet pills, laxatives and similar weight loss aids.
To be eligible to join, each participant must be in good medical Excessive and extreme forms of exercise were also prohibited. A
condition and with Body-Mass Index (BMI) of 25 or more. A regis-
tration fee of 500 pesos was also collected from each. Proceeds of Continue on Page 10...
the pot money
was used to fund
the prizes given to
the 1st and 2nd
place individual
winners and the
1st place team
winner. 18 partici-
pants registered

in all.

The contest prop-

er started on Feb-

ruary 18, 2019

with photoshoot

and weigh-in of all

18 participants. PTC’s Biggest Losers: (from the left) Harold Calderon, Maria Jesusa Soriano, and Trish Basilio’s before
and after the challenge photos.
Vital signs were
recorded as well.

...from MicroSpeak TMC Goes to DivH..., Area 71 representatives, TMs Rico and Botch, third Place, Russel Santos (BF Communi-
with Contest Master TM Daniel and Asst. ty) was the second place and the first
Page 4. VPPR Kirsten in Division H Contest at Willis place was awarded to TM Tzarina Saldaña
Tower Watson in BGC, Taguig. (Alabang Metro South) as she impressed
speech entitled “Love Won’t Wait Any- the judges on how she injects humor and
more”. First place in the Humorous
Speech Contest was again awarded to her interpretation on the topic.
TM Anette Tayao of Aboitiz Taguig as she
captured the audience and judges with The last contest was the International
her very funny speech entitled “Maybe, Prepared Speech Contest and the contest
Maybe Not”. She really did a great job in master was TM Leejay Perez (Flour Dan-
her humor about how other mistaken her iel). TM Jose Maria Antonio Garde of Fort
for being pregnant and the lesson she Bonifacio with his speech entitled “ I Saw
wants to convey is to never judge the The Sign” was the first speaker. His
person on what we see. She really deliv- speech is about how he was able to have
ered her speech with style, confidence, the Sony lens he was longing for by ask-
ing specific sign if he should purchase it
wit and make the audience really laugh. or not as well as asking specific signs in
other situations in his life. The second
The next contest was the most awaited speaker is TM Edgar Ramirez of BF Com-
and nerve-wracking Table Topics Speech munity inspired us with his speech enti-
Contest and was headed by our Micro- tled “A Missing Piece” which is about how
Speak VP for Education TM Daniel Fran- he was able to help and inspire a person
cis Gorospe as contest master. Contest- who felt lost and he was the missing
ants were TM Leslie Saban, TM Paolo piece and hope of that person’s life and
Gabriel, TM Rusell Santos, TM Bartek got the 3rd Place in this contest. He was
Wasiewski, TM Anna Guevarra, TM Tzari- followed by TM Rico Rafael Torres of Mi-
na Saldaña and TM Abe Clarito. The sub- croSpeak who surprised the audience by
ject that the contestants must give their
opinion was " Everyone is needed, No act singing " Honesty is such a lonely word,
of kindness is too small." After hearing
their speech the winners were Anna Gue- Continue on Page 10...
varra (Aboitiz Taguig) awarded as the

NEWSLETTER ISSUE # 9 Page 5

Featured Speech

A Pitcher of Stones

Haniel Louiz delos Reyes

Ever since I was a child, I have always been an introvert and with that, also came the fear of speaking in front of
people. I grew up burdened by that fear, especially through my student days. I still remember the feeling of my
hands trembling whenever I had to deliver a report to the class. That went on until college. The weird thing was,
during my graduation back in 2015, I was sitting there listening to the Magna Cum Laude delivering his speech. I
already forgot the contents of the speech, but I would always remember the feeling of being compelled to set a

goal. I said to myself, someday, I’ll also deliver a speech like that in front of a large audience.

As I was thinking about this goal of mine, another crazy idea popped into my head. I thought, If I get the top spot
in the board exams, I get to deliver my speech! I don’t know what in the world possessed me that day but, I was
serious. What came next were countless hours of studying. Then came the day of the exams. When I got the

questionnaire for the first exam, the first thing I did was to scan the first page, then the second, then the third. Af-
ter that, I closed my eyes and said. “Lord, please forget about being in the top spot, just passing would be nice.” I
couldn’t answer most of the questions and this was just the first subject! Fortunately, I was able to answer most of
the questions and I did pass. But I failed spectacularly in getting the top spot, and with it, the opportunity to deliv-

er my speech.

I consider myself as an optimist, I view failures as learning opportunities. However, I didn’t quite manage to un-
derstand the lesson from this one. I didn’t get what I did wrong. Not until three years later, when I attended my

first Toastmaster’s meeting.

I laughed at myself for not realizing something so simple! I’m sure the person who delivered the graduation speech
wasn’t speaking for the first time in front. I’m sure he already had dozens of speeches delivered before. This realiza-

tion made me remember a story I heard when I was a child, The fable of the crow and the pitcher.

Once upon a time, there was a crow who was very thirsty. After flying around a
few minutes searching for something to drink, it finally saw a pitcher of water.
The crow landed on the pitcher and attempted to drink. The problem was the wa-
ter was too low to be reached by its beak. What the crow did was to continuously
drop small stones until such a time that the water rose to where its beak can

reach.

Many people, including me, have become victims of being frustrated in the pro-
cess of reaching the water but conveniently forget to make the effort to put in
the stones. That is the lesson that I have learned. Now, as I strive to fill up my
pitcher of stones, I feel privileged to share this experience with you. For my part-
ing words, let me leave with a quote from the famous painter, Vincent Van Gogh.

“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.”

Page 6

Featured Member

Getting to Know the Enigma That Is
Daniel Gorospe... By: Robert Caguioa

Enigma (noun) - someone or something that is mysterious and impossible to
Understand

Who do people say I am? These words, often quoted from the
Good Book, were actually part of the opening line of Dan-
iel’s Ice Breaker Speech. The Ice Breaker speech is one
where you introduce yourself to the other members of the
club and with this choice of words, he reinforced how enig-
matic he can be. Allow me to invite you to a journey in an
attempt to get to know the man. Let us begin by examining
how exactly do other people think of Daniel?

To some, he is the most eligible bachelor around; not some
promiscuous Cassanova but a dashing debonair, nonetheless.

Others see his stern, no-nonsense, comply with the “tuck-in-rule” attitude and im-
mediately recall Gunnery Sergeant Hartman; the abrasive, in-your-face drill in-
structor in the movie Full Metal Jacket.

Still, others see in him a gleaming example of leadership. Someone with a knack
for bringing about order from chaos; using his sharp organizational skills, setting
up schedules, following up action items and taking down precise minutes of the
meeting.

Yet others see him as a true friend, a trust-worthy confidant; on whom you can al-
ways rely on for sound advice regarding matters of the pocket and matters of the
heart.

Noting the variety of ways by which Daniel is perceived, one can only wonder. Can
Daniel ever truly be known?

Continue on Page 10...

Grammarian’s Corner Brain Teaser #2:

A while vs. Awhile Ye bards, whose deep skill all dark mysteries can clear,
Pray attend and discover my name;
A while is used as a noun phrase, defining
a period of time. Four brothers I have, and the fifth I appear,
But our age is exactly the same.
Awhile is used as an adverb, defining a
short time. Yet I to their stature shall never attain,
Though as fast as them always I grow;
Ex. It’s been a while since you visited.
Let’s wait awhile. By nature I’m fixed a dwarf to remain,
And hence the riddle you’ll know.
NEWSLETTER ISSUE # 9
What am I? __________

Got an answer? See Page 14.

Page 7

The PresidenT’s

Corner Rico Rafael Torres, ALB, CC, PM1

Go outside and walk under the sun during lunch break and let
me know how it feels.

It is sweltering out there! Hello, Summer!

Our life is affected by the changing seasons. It will not mat-
ter where you are in the world, or what your status in life,
something will change when the season changes. It could be
your choice of clothes, hair style, or food choices. It can be
your (extrinsic) motivation to exercise, the time you set your
alarm clock, or your eagerness to schedule the next vacation.

My brother gave me compression shirts as a Christmas pre-
sent. I run with them underneath a second shirt early this
year. They were perfect for the cold early morning runs. Now,
I am starting to feel uncomfortably warm in them. I met our
long-haired colleague in the pantry this morning. He is already
thinking about getting a short haircut. Everyone is craving for
the delicious, creamy halo-halo (with ice cream on top, please.)

Summer is when people start losing weight in preparation for
the outings and excursions. Thanks to our company nurse for
organizing the PTC Biggest Loser Challenge. Congratulations to
all participants, we are all winners! We want to start our day
earlier, so we don’t get stuck under the heat of the sun. Traf-
fic and heat do not mix well. Ask your officemate who com-
mutes to work. The promo fares and vacation package ads start to appear in our emails and feeds.

We started another season (also called a cycle) in Toastmasters. Twenty members committed to continue the journey to-
wards becoming a better communicator and leader. I congratulate all the members for this commitment. You are all one step
closer to your goal. I will not say it will be easy. I will say that sticking to the process: attending meetings, performing roles,
presenting speeches, volunteering for Table Topics, is all worth the effort. As Tom Hanks (as Jimmy Dugan in A League of
Their Own) said: “It’s supposed to be hard! If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great!”

Stop. Read the quote again. One more time, please. Thank you.

I invite everyone to reflect on our personal goals for this cycle. What do we need to do to reach these goals? Is it going to
be easy? The hard is what makes it great!

Next month, we will elect (or select) the new set of officers for our beloved club: the MicroSpeak Toastmasters Club. This
will begin a new season for us all, and we will all be affected. We say in our promise that we are willing to serve the club as
an officer when called upon to do so. Again, I will not say it is easy. I will say that it will be fun. If we help and support each
other, encourage one another, and continue to have productive, lively, and entertaining meetings, we will be President’s Dis-
tinguished Club!

There are seasons in our lives when we want to give up. We feel overwhelmed by situations; when we are already tired and
there seems to be no end. So many things to do, so little time. I am scheduled to present a speech, but I still have loads of
work to do! I don't know what to do first. How many times this year have we felt any of these? Remember what is said in
Ecclesiastes 3:1 “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:”

I will not say it will be easy. The hard is what makes it great!

Together, we will continue to have fun learning!

Page 8

Featured Article

In the Beginning was the Word…

By: Edmund M. Nietes

What is a word? The first meaning that a typical brows- ically disadvantaged, slums turns into substandard housing, and
being broke already means one has a negative cash flow. Mass
er search would give you is “a single distinct meaningful element of media reports of genocide or filicide instead of using the word mas-
speech or writing, used with others (or sometimes alone) to form a sacre or slaughter or child murder and killing became neutralizing
sentence and typically shown with space on either side when writ- in most espionage parlance.
ten or printed.” Merriam-Webster’s online site, on the other hand,
would define it as a speech sound or series of speech sounds that One amusing example of soft language, according to
symbolizes and communicates a meaning usually without being George Carlin, is the evolution of the word ‘shell shock’. Shell shock
divisible into smaller units capable of independent use. No matter simply means a condition when a soldier's nervous system has
what dictionary or references you might have used, you will ulti- been stressed to its absolute peak and maximum. In World War 2, it
mately collect a series of similar definitions. But what is interesting became commonly known as ‘battle fatigue’. Fatigue seems to be a
about these definitions are two things that made a word a subject nicer word. In the Korean War, the word evolves into ‘operational
of careful reflection: meaning and communication. exhaustion’, something that seems to fit more to an Android or a
humanoid robot. The element of humanity is not anymore appar-
Every word then must have a particular meaning and can ent in the phrase itself. Presently, we encounter such word as Post-
communicate an idea by itself. Even simple expressions communi- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a totally alien term that can be
cate something such as ‘yuck’ and ‘eww’ (disgust), ‘duh’ (contempt classed to other words of medical conditions. In the end, it became
for stupidity), ‘tsk’ (impatience) or ‘uh-oh’ (concern). However, a totally desensitized term from all the pain of the condition itself.
there are some that may sound like a word but that doesn’t neces- Soft language may be intended to present the word in a better
sarily mean anything sensible. This kind of talking that sounds like light but most of the times it totally transform the original meaning
words or speech but that really has no meaning at all is what we of the word. Most politicians are said to have this particular set of
commonly known as gibberish. Examples of these are scribble skills in soft language.
scrabble, capstcha, iggily baggily, pigglywiggly, and bazinga, alt-
hough this one’s being used more popularly now because of Shel- Black Comedy and Foul Language
don Cooper’s character in the hit sitcom series The Big Bang Theo-
ry. There are also words that may not sound sensible but do actual- Black comedy, also known as dark comedy or gallows
ly have specific meaning like the word ‘zenzizenzizenzic’ which is a
numeral word in English meaning the eighth power of a number as humor, is a comic style that makes light of generally considered
in “The zenzizenzizenzic of 2 is 256.”
taboo subject matter particularly those that are normally consid-
It would then be sensible to ask now, what gives meaning
to a word? How does it assume or represent a particular idea? If ered serious or painful to discuss. Comedians often use it as a tool
one of their goals is to communicate something, why are they
sometimes so confusing or vague? How do they evolve through the for exploring vulgar issues thus provoking discomfort but encour-
years and to what application have they been utilized already?
age serious thought and amusement in their audience. The general
Soft Language - Hard Truths
Soft language is a phrase coined by American comedian justification of this kind of approach of language use is in the prop-

George Carlin to describe euphemistic expressions that "conceal er use of context and intention, as well as the delivery and timing.
reality" and "take the life out of life." It is a way of replacing previ-
ously used words to somehow lessen its impact or make it gentler Some words may be viewed in the same way as a black
to hear. This kind of practice is totally widespread in the English
language nowadays that the real truth of a statement is being sub- comedy, taboo and prohibited but the proper context and inten-
jugated by fancy phrasings.
tion of using it varies the meaning of such words. Examples of
In George Carlin’s example, poor people became econom-
these are expletives, imprecation, or swear words. Take for exam-

ple the word ‘shit’. Generally considered to be foul language and

not normally use in mass media or live broadcast, the word tends

to have popular use in slang or colloquial conversations. Basically, it

only means animal dung, excrement or poop, and the term ‘holy

shit’ itself may be referring to the excrement of holy animals like

the cows in India.

Continue on Page 3...

NEWSLETTER ISSUE # 9 Page 9

...from Getting to Know the Enigma..., Page 7.

Daniel once presented a case for why it is impos-
sible to truly get to know (and by extension in-
troduce) someone. Citing the Judeo-Christian
Scriptures, he implied how the Tetragrammaton
(loosely translated as "I Am") invites deep phil-
osophical reflection into the nature of Being.
Simply stated, humans make sense of words by us-
ing a subject-predicate pattern. Introducing
oneself as "I Am" without the predicate
(description); leaves something hanging and would
be a great invitation to meditate if only you
were not introducing yourself.

...from MicroSpeak TMC Goes to DivH..., Page 5. Having said that, let us now attempt to put a
predicate to Daniel's "I Am". In his Icebreaker,
everyone is so untrue". His speech “Honesty is the Daniel led us to the Greek Philosophers Socrates
Best Policy” was about how we instill honesty in a and Heraclitus. Socrates who was famous for the
person, how not telling the truth backfired when he quote "Know Thyself" was also ascribed with the
lost his eyesight (Traumatic Cataract) during child- quote "I know nothing". Oh, the paradox! Hera-
hood and the importance of honesty. The next speak- clitus meanwhile, was quoted to say, "No man ever
er is TM Raul Dela Vega of Metro South Alabang in steps in the same river twice". This is a meta-
his speech "A Familiar Song" which is about his fa- phor that describes how we keep changing with the
ther's favorite songs and how these songs inspired passage of time. If that were true, then how
and give impact to his brother and father's life. TM would we know our true selves if we keep on
Raul bagged the 1st Place in this contest and he in- changing constantly? How then would we introduce
spired the audience and judges with the importance ourselves, let alone ask someone else to intro-
of music and song in our lives and loved ones. The duce us.
last but not the last speaker was TM Franz dela
Fuente of Aboitiz Taguig was awarded as the 2nd place Daniel himself proposed a solution to this conun-
with his speech “The Big C”. His speech is about his drum. He based this on the writings of Sigmund
mom who suffered from Cancer and how they man- Freud where he stated that the key to rediscover-
aged to fight about it. The Big C is not cancer that is a ing oneself is by spending time with oneself
disease of the body, but it’s a genuine sense of care which brings us back to the Tetragrammaton and
that he learned that little things can mean big and reflecting on the nature of Being all over again.

important to others. Continue on Page 12...

In her closing remarks, Past District Director Dulce ...from PTC launches The Biggest Loser, Page 5.
Rañosa gave an inspirational speech and stressed the
importance of Toastmasters such as self-esteem participant had the choice to opt out of the program anytime if health was at risk.
booster, meeting and gaining friends anywhere, and The challenge was meant to encourage lifestyle change for employees, PTC’s
networking by attending trainings. She added that as greatest strength, and did not intend to endanger them. Proper nutrition and ac-
a public speaker you can change the world by inspir- tive lifestyle were highly promoted.
ing and spreading ideas and this will help you to be-
come a better person and gain skills that will lead you The winning “Biggest Loser” was awarded 30% of the pot money while 15% for
to career advancement because as a Toastmaster you the second place. The winning team also received 30% of the pot. Tokens were
will improve in confidence, poise, creativity, leader- also given to participants who was able to complete and submit the health guide.

ship skills, and professionalism. During the PTC’s Summer Activity last May 6, 2019, Nurse Judith Fuentes joyfully
announced the winners of “The Biggest Loser” challenge. Harold Calderon bagged
the First Place in the Individual category, as he lost 18.46 % of his weight within 8
weeks. While, again, Harold Calderon, Maria Jesusa Soriano, and Trish Basilio
won the First Place in the Team category, as they lost a combined 15.69% of their
team’s total weight.

Congratulations to all who participated and lost significant percent of their weight!
——You guys are our fit-spiration!

Page 10

...from The Sun Also Rises..., Page 13. sions”. Hemingway masterfully illustrated for posterity
this era through Brett Ashley’s longing for a lasting love,
The novel follows the story of a group of American and though, as I mentioned above, the story is surprisingly
English friends on a trip to Paris, France and San Sebas- contemporary.
tian and Pamplona, Spain (are they the millennials of the
20th century, whose lives were being outpaced by modern My High School English teacher once told us her students
forms of…transportation?). The novel earned critical ac- that a good book will never make us alone, that it can
claim for Hemingway for his detailed description of both bring us to places. These two elements were at once pre-
banks of the River Seine in Paris and the picturesque ter- sent while I was “into” the book. The feeling of alienation
rain of the Spanish countryside. To the people of North was palpable, not that I identify with any of the cast of
America, the novel gave them a glimpse of the events of a characters but in the sense that I could sympathize with
bullfight, the La Corrida. What Youtube could do through their plight of disillusionment – they appear outwardly
videos today, Hemingway did through the written word in
his day.

The true acclaim of the novel, happy but alone. Something is amiss.... A quick survey
though, comes from the por- of the 1920s of Hemingway may provide several clues:
trayal of the characters and Europe was still reeling from World War I; modernism was
their psychologies. Who owns sweeping across the continent and may be deliberately
Lady Brett Ashley’s heart? Is overthrowing the old order; the cold industrialization of
it the American Robert Cohn? towns, sciences, universities, economies; the preemi-
How about the drunkard and nence of decadent Paris, France as the cultural capital of
undischarged bankrupt Mike the world.... Given these backdrop, it is easy to see how
Campbell, her fiancé? The the cultural landscape may lead to the “lost generation”.
teenage matador Pedro As stated above, every book has its story.... Some people
Romero? Or the ex and best pick up a book after watching its movie adaptation. As a
friend Jake Barnes? Does La- person who invests in nostalgia (connectedness with the
dy Brett know who she loves? La Corrida past), I may pick up a book for what may “appear” to be
Or she doesn’t know what or random reasons. But there is a connectedness in this
who she wants? How could weeks and months of flirting method, a counter to disillusionment. The Sun Also Ris-
and short romances through romantic cities not yield for es...this book has 2 stories.
Lady Brett endless love? How jaded about love is Brett?
Does she just like men fighting for her? Is she waiting for
her ex Jake to make the (second) move? Is Jake being
timid or is he distancing himself? What does Jake think of
her now? Bizarrely, for Lady Brett and Jake, could it just
be the simple matter of drinking too much martini?

If your head spun with all the questions I put forward, it’s
because it’s hard what to make of Lady Brett’s and her
companions’ love story and complicated relationships.
They are a depiction of the “lost generation”. Back in the
1920s when our great-grandparents were tilling soil, the
Western World was undergoing spiritual upheaval. The
back cover of my copy of the book describes the era of
the “lost generation” as an age of “moral bankrupt-
cy...spiritual dissolution...unrealized love...vanishing illu-

NEWSLETTER ISSUE # 9 Page 11

...from Getting to Know the Enigma..., Page 10. the world out there was. Most of the
people in the convention were bankers,
Suffice it to say, this exercise in cir- marketers and advertisers. He learned
cumlocution doesn't bring us any closer that there was a lot more to learn out
to knowing Daniel. However, there is there.
one predicate that we can all commonly
associate with Daniel and that is: Toastmasters has helped Daniel to im-
Toastmaster. Let us now take this op-
portunity to peek into the life of Dan- prove personally and professionally.
iel known to us as a Toastmaster.
The biggest real-
Daniel has been a Toastmaster since the
inception of the MicroSpeak Toastmas- ization for him
ter's Club. He was the club's Charter
Vice President for Education. was in the proper

His motivation then, for joining the way of giving an
club was to support Doug's initiative to
improve the communication skills of our evaluation. Ac-
employees through Toastmasters.
cording to Dan-
Since joining the club, he has gone on
to hold other positions from Club Presi- iel, the “but”
dent (2016-2017), Treasurer (2017-2018)
and once again Vice President that connects

for Education (2018-2019). good points to

He is an accomplished Toastmaster, being criticism makes
one of a few Toastmasters at MicroSpeak
to achieve the Advanced Leader Bronze, the praise insin-
Dynamic Leader 5 on the Pathways track.
He has represented MicroSpeak in all cere. When I
four contests at the Area Level
(Prepared Speech, Humorous, Table Top- watch survival
ics, Evaluation). In 2017, he reached
the District level for the Humorous shows where judg-
Speech contest with his witty composi-
tion entitled "Car Problem". That year, es evaluate con-
the District competition was held during
the Toastmaster's Midyear Convention at testants, and the
Bacolod, Negros Occidental. According
to Daniel, this was the most memorable judges say “but”,
event he had participated in. This
event helped him realize how different my TM learning

come to the fore.

All the praise

looks insincere

because the judg-

es focused on the

criticism/improvement. In reality, you

can compartmentalize the praise separate

from the criticism.”

Daniel recommends joining Toastmasters
to our colleagues here at PTC. In Dan-
iel’s words: “If you want constant prac-
tice to improve your communication and
confidence, TM is for you. If you want
structured thought process (intro-body-
conclusion) and audience-centric commu-

Continue on Page 14...

Page 12

Featured Movie Review

The Sun Also Rises…

An Evocation

By: Daniel Francis Gorospe, ALB, DL5, VC1

Every book has its story, apart from the book’s story.

I picked up the book “The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway from a
bookstore to evoke the memory of years past when I was unable to
provide an answer to a quiz show question (the answer is “The Sun Also
Rises”). But another team did! Our team was lucky the top 2 (of 4) fin-
ishers of our first round group advanced to the next round, extending
our campaign that started on the wrong foot after being grouped with a
Goliath of a team. The Sun Also Rises… This occasioned one of the
deepest friendships I’ve ever had, founded on books, literature, the joys and pains of life, after I became friends with
the captain of that team. Like me, she’s a bibliophile (she’s married with a kid; stop your malicious thoughts!).

I did not immediately read the book. It took a few more years before I read the book. I read most of it during the van
ride from Bangkok to Chachoengsao, and back, while on an MTHAI business trip. It was an engrossing read, that at
one time, I didn’t notice I dropped the bookmark. As I looked for the bookmark about me, a helping hand picked up
the dropped bookmark and gave it to me. He said he found it amusing that all I did during the one-week van ride is to
read the book. He said he’s an American and he never read a Hemingway. We struck up a conversion thereafter. He
said he’s an IS Manager and used to be a Microchip expat to Thailand for over a decade, and he was in MTHAI then for
a short business trip. I cannot recall his name now.

You don’t need to be a literati to read the book. All you need is a purpose. In my case I wanted to flood my thoughts
with good memories – an evocation. What if I read the book before? What if I know the answer even if I hadn’t read the
book? What chain of events would NOT transpire had we answered the question correctly? Would I be writing this for
MicroSpeak?

What-ifs aside, the book stands on its own merit. This is a Hemingway after all. It’s a story about hapless individuals
looking for love (piqued your interest yet?). What strikes me the most while reading the book during those van rides is
the modern, nay, contemporary depiction of dating and love in the 1920s. The book was published in 1926, close to a
century ago, and it’s not an exaggeration that this could be the love story of someone in PTC…from the 3rd floor!!! :) It
is that contemporary!

Continue on Page 11...

Want to know more about MicroSpeak Toastmasters Club? facebook.com/microspeaktm

NEWSLETTER ISSUE # 9 Page 13

...from Getting to Know the Enigma..., Page 12. es. I’m reminded of Steve Sanghi’s Ag-
gregate System. The multiplying factor
nication, TM is for you. I see a con- in team success is leadership. Leader-
nection between communication and the ship is now a science, it’s no longer a
scientific method. If you want constant special skill someone is gifted with.
practice in leadership and influencing, Everybody can be a leader. Leadership
even if your title at work does not come is now democratized. The thrust of TM
with leadership and influencing opportu- is to harness “the leader in you”
nities, TM is for you. Best of all, if through a curriculum that gives you self
you feel that you can help someone im- -paced practice and constant applica-
prove, you can share your talents in tion. You see this thrust best in the
TM.” TM monthly newsletters. Making leaders
and communicating ideas and purpose that
Toastmasters is where leaders are made. move projects and teams forward is the
reason for being of Toastmasters.”
This seems to be the new slogan behind
We began this journey in an attempt to
Toastmasters International. When asked unravel the enigma behind Daniel. In
the final analysis, although we did
for his reflection on this mantra, this get to know a bit about Daniel as a
Toastmaster, there is still much about
was what Daniel had to say: “The world
him left un-
has evolved. Pure engineers are at a known and per-
haps it's ex-
disadvantage. 40-50 years ago, a micro- actly how it's
meant to be.
processor was designed by one person. Perhaps Daniel
is not a mys-
Even in professional sports, it used to tery to solve,
but rather
be that you are someone whose
predicate you
guaranteed suc- are left to
explore.
cess with Su-

perman. That’s

no longer the

case today.

Moving projects

forward in a

team setting is

the norm. Even

small players

(like assis-

tants) are

critical piec-

The Enigma—TM Daniel, as he deliver an introductory remarks during a
MicroSpeak TMC meeting at PTC office.

Was you brain teased? Send your Inquiries? Interest? Club hopping?
answers to
Shoot an email to
[email protected]
MicroSpeakToastmastersClub
Prizes await you! @microchip.com.

Page 14

Entertainment || Club Details

MicroSpeak
Toastmasters Club

Club 5086074, Division H, District 75
Chartered November 30, 2015

Club Mission

We provide a supportive and positive
learning experience in which members

are empowered to develop
communication and leadership skills,
resulting in greater self-confidence and

personal growth.

Together, we will continue to have
fun learning!

Club Officers

Rico Rafael Torres
President

Art By: Sara Jemima Manalansan & Jerick Barbacena Daniel Francis Gorospe
Vice President for Education
Pathways Tracker
Crisanta Monica Mendoza
Vice President for Membership

Maelene Makalintal
Vice President for Public Relations

Junelle Joy San Juan
Secretary

Shaira Mai Marcelo
Treasurer

Francisco Galinato
Sergeant at Arms

NEWSLETTER ISSUE # 9 Page 15


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