speaking up

SPEAKING UP

NEWSLETTER OF ABU DHABI CHAPTER 1950NEWSLETTER OF ABU DHABI CHAPTER 1950

Area 2, Division H, District 20Area 2, Division H, District 20

Issue 3, January to March 2014 Issue 3, January to March 2014

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CONTENTS

Page

1 From the President 3

2 Editor’s Desk 4

3 New Year Resolutions 5

4 The Guy Who Failed Miserably 7

5 Club Contest 2014 12

6 Am I My Favorite? 15

7 Our Body is the TEMPLE 17

8 Fatal Attraction 18

9 Ice Breaker Speeches 20

10 Our Buildings And Environment 22

11 Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow 23

12 Club News 25

13 VP Education Speaks 25

14 Members Progress Chart 26

15 Division H News 27

Speaking Up Issue : 3 Abu Dhabi Chapter 1950

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FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK

Dear Toastmasters,

I trust you enjoyed reading our 2nd Newsletter and I thank you all for your valuable feedback.

These 3 months have been contest season, with club and area contests, and I am so happy to see our senior

members as well as our new members participating in the contests. Each of you contested with different

goals in mind. Some of you wanted to test your humorous speaking skills; some wanted to test your im-

promptu speaking skills and some your evaluation skills. Some of you wanted to do better than your previ-

ous year’s performance. Some have never contested in a contest and wanted to give it a try. Some wanted to

have fun and some wanted to win. So no matter what the results were each and every one of you was a win-

ner, regardless if you took home the trophy or not – because each of you has achieved the objective you set

forth with.

At the same time, some of our senior members were busy during this period visiting other clubs and areas

and judging their contests. Our club did extremely well at the Area Contest winning in all categories. The

Division Contest will be on 25th April and I am proud Sanjay Vissa and Oudi Abuchackra are representing

our Club and Area in the Evaluation and International Speech Contest respectively. Good luck Toastmas-

ters! We will be there to support and cheer you.

The District Conference will be held in Oman this year from 15th to 17th May and as always many of our

club members will be attending. Abraham Thomas and I have attended each and every District Confer-

ence and let me tell you it is a one-of-a- kind experience. So register yourself and don’t miss it.

I would like to thank our VP PR Sasi Nair for his time and efforts in bringing up this 3rd issue.

Enjoy reading!

Loyola Pinto

President Abu Dhabi Chapter, 1950


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EDITOR’S DESK

Dear Club Members,

The third issue of the club newsletter is out. My sincere thanks to all the club members for their active

help and support in providing the articles and . I also would like to express my gratitude to our peer

group for their valuable inputs, suggestions and support.

As the year comes to a close we are getting ready to say good bye to the passing year and welcome the

new year. Closing of the year is the time we normally take stock of things as what we accomplished,

what we achieved, what we lost and what we couldn't do and what we could have done better etc. Its

also time for new year vows and resolutions which reflects what we intend to do and how we are going

to accomplish that. We have included a feature on new year resolutions as a reminder to how the new

year resolutions actually play out in our day to day life, the rate of success in achieving and

accomplishing the new year resolutions.

We get moved when reading stories that reflect the inspirational instincts which transforms lives. In

this edition we carry a real inspiration story of an accomplished Toastmaster.

As we pass through an important time in Toastmaster calendar, the contest time, Toastmasters are

already started or getting ready to test their skills at club, area and division level. We included some

snaps of the club and area contest in the newsletter. And take this opportunity to wish all the best to

TM Sanjay and TM Oudi in the upcoming Division contest, its great moment all our club member.

I must convey my regards to all those who read and provided comments on second issue of

Newsletters. As person behind Newsletter preparation it gives me immense pleasure as it is being ready

and commented upon.

I must convey my heart felt gratitude to MTM Saima Imran for the wonderful, innovative and all

capturing minutes of meeting which helped me a lot in Newsletter preparation.

As the Newsletter is in your hands, please read it through and send in your comments.

Happy Reading….

Sasikumar Nair

VP Public Relations

Abu Dhabi Chapter, 1950


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NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS BY MTM CHITHRA NAIR


Wish Everyone a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year - 2014

Top 10 New year Resolutions : Lose Weight Getting Organized Spend Less, Save More Enjoy Life to the Fullest Staying fit and healthy Learn something exciting Quit Smoking Help others in their dreams Fall in Love Spend more time with Family

A New Year's resolution is a secular tradition, most common in the Western Hemisphere but also found in the Eastern Hemisphere, in which a person makes a promise to do an act of self-improvement or something slightly nice, such as opening doors for people beginning from New Year's Day

News Years Resolution Statistics Data : Percent of people who are

successful in achieving their resolution 8%

Percent who have infrequent success 49%

Percent who never succeed and fail on their resolution each year 24%

Type of Resolutions and its percentage Self-Improvement or education related resolutions 47% Weight related resolutions 38% Money related resolutions 34% Relationship related resolutions 31%

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NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS BY MTM CHITHRA NAIR


Top 5 ways to stick to your resolution: 1. Make A Vision Board One of the most beneficial ways to stay motivated about your resolutions is to literally see your goals each day. A vision board is easy way to visualize your aspirations for the year and where you hope to see yourself in the future. 2. Use The Buddy System If you have a friend or family member that has a similar resolution as you, you can easily double team on those goals for some added support. 3. Write It Out Keeping a daily journal is another helpful way to keep track of your progress each week with your new goals. Use it to recap your accomplishments for the day or week, and to focus on any areas where you might be able to improve. 4. Hold Yourself Accountable It's completely up to you to stick to any resolutions you make. So it is crucial you don't let things slide by -- especially when you are first attempting to start new habits. 5. Don't Forget To Enjoy The Journey Each year we set resolutions with the larger goal of becoming our best selves possible. Remember to have fun with the process.

Some funny Quotes on New Year Resolutions: The new year will be like the old one if you keep on doing the same old things My New Year's resolution is to stop hanging out with people who ask me about my New Year's resolutions Dear God, my prayer for 2014 is a fat bank account and a thin body. Please don't mix these up like you did this year. I probably shouldn't be making any new resolutions this year...mainly because I'm still working on the ones from last year.

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THE GUY WHO FAILED MISERABLY BY LOY MACEDO

I tried getting into the Radio Industry for 8 years of my life.

When my 2nd marriage failed, when I came back from Dublin with no money and back to my parents house (after bragging to the world that I was going overseas to get a white man’s passport), I came back to Dubai with my tail in between my legs.

I summed up all my courage to try my level best to get into the Radio industry (City FM). After begging pleading, trying to get in through the CEO (who was an Arab Guy - courtesy TM Murad’s friendship with him), I was selected to be on a probationary period.

I worked day and night at the radio station - reaching there at 4am in the morning and staying there until 11pm. And worse part - I would come down to the station from Ajman (distance that took me around 2.5 hours in the traffic). I didn’t even have money for food - I would borrow food from others during lunch-breaks.

To make sure I would get into the radio industry - I would make tea / coffee for all the Radio Jockey’s. Very soon most of them started to treat me like a Office Boy. I did my

level best to do whatever it took me to get my dream job.

Finally, one day after 2 months of no pay, working like a dog - trying my level best to get into the industry

I asked the Head of the RJ’s - Cheaten - If I was selected. I suppose it must have been a wrong moment or that he was having a bad day because he did the unexpected.

In front of everyone present (it was an open of-fice) He barked loudly -

“You have absolutely no ****ing talent. You are come here chewing up everyone’s ****ing head and you are irritating me about your ****ing Job. You are not fit to be in the Radio Industry. You are a bloody liability. Why don’t you just get your ****ing stuff and get the **** out of here?”


The Guy Who Failed Miserably

LOY MACEDO

Award Winning Speaker, Writer,

Trainer & Mentor to many world

ranked speakers.

Known as “ The Tattooed Trainer”

To make sure I would get into the

radio industry - I would make

tea / coffee for all the Radio

Jockey’s. Very soon most of them

started to treat me like a Office

Boy

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Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and stared at me.

There was stunned silence.

I stood there absolutely ashamed. Hungry, Tired, Depressed, Hurt - and now completely broken inside. I wanted to cry. I just stood there like a statue. I didn’t know what to do.

That moment seemed to have lasted forever.

I sheepishly walked to my desk.

I quietly took my stuff - and in the presence of everyone staring in silence - left the offices of City FM and walked down to the street.

I called my mom to come and pick me up.

My parents came.

When sitting in the car - my parents inquired if I had finally got the job.

I just kept quite looking outside in the win-dow.

Mom and Step dad looked at my face and

didn’t say a word.

The silence spoke volumes.

I asked them to leave me to my Cousin Sisters house.

I got off there.

I was still silent.

Then I reached my aunts home. I was still silent.

I was still in a state of shock. I didn’t know what to do.

Finally, not knowing whom to call - I called the one person I thought I could speak to.

He was nothing to me other than a friend and role model

I called him up and when he said

‘Hello…..’ The tears I was holding back for so long - Exploded.

I burst out into tears.

I wept and cried, sobbed and screamed.

I did nothing else for the next 1 hour. I sobbed and sobbed and sobbed.

I wept bitterly….so bitterly, I could hardly breathe…..My heart was pounding from my chest…but I couldn’t stop...


The Guy Who Failed Miserably ……………………..contd.

Hungry, Tired, Depressed, Hurt -

and now completely broken

inside. I wanted to cry. I just

stood there like a statue. I didn’t

know what to do…..

9


After sobbing for nearly an hour, when my face, my eyes and my head started to pound, I finally stopped.

There were no more tears left inside....All I had was unbearable pain and numbness echoing through my body.

All the emotions, the hurts, the wounds, the pain, the torture, the suffering….everything just exploded through the phone in those long drawn minutes…..that rolled into nearly an hour of sobbing…..

All my friend did was listen.

He just listened.

After nearly an hour of me sobbing…..when I finished….He spoke…

I still remember those words even today…

He told me “Loy, I want you to keep one thing in mind’

Never, Ever, Ever, Ever Give up on your dream.

You will be put down but you need to get back up.

Les Brown was once upon a time like you - Failure in almost everything.

He rose to become an amazing radio jockey, a great speaker and today is a legendary trainer.

Your story is just like him.

I want you to believe in yourself and I want you to listen to him.

Come meet me and I will give you his Educa-tional CD.

I want you to call me if you need any thing….alright?

With that, he ended the conversation….but true to his word - he never left my side.

He ensured I collected the CD - not just that - he shared with me all his priceless educational material to help me achieve my goal.

He was determined to ensure I become better, stronger and tougher.

Even months after that - He always called me up to find out if I was okay, if I was still pursing my dream and to make sure I would never give up.

He was true to his word .

Now I wish this story had a near perfect end-ing.

I could tell you that I achieved my dream of be-coming an Radio Jockey.

Sadly, reality is far from the stuff of fairy tales.



He told me “Loy, I want you to

keep one thing in mind’

Never, Ever, Ever, Ever Give up

on your dream. You will be put

down but you need to get back up.

10


After that incident, I choose to be realistic and I gave up on that dream.

Simply because - I didn’t know Hindi to become a Hindi FM Radio Jockey and I didn’t speak English well enough to (nor was I humorous or experienced enough) become a English FM Radio Jockey. To be honest - I realized Cheaten was right.

So I decided to move ahead.

However, what I did become was a World Class Trainer, Speaker, Mentor and Coach.

Today when I look back - I am glad I never became a Radio Jockey.

Why?

Not because the grapes are sour.

Rather the lifestyle of a Radio Jockey is a very pressurized career totally dependent on peoples acceptability of you and your style of speaking / entertaining others. It is a highly volatile field. It involves a lot of pressure and your life line hangs by a thread. Whets worse is that - once you lose your job - Dubai being a

very young market - you will not have many other options to pursue your career. No Radio Station wants a Radio Jockey of another Radio Station. They always prefer fresh blood - unless of course you are a money spinner!

Instead today I live a very unique life.

I get up whenever I want, do whatever I like and live the life of my dreams.

I get to do everything I love - without having to listen to 'another boss' or worry about approval ratings from the public.

So what is the moral of my story?

1) You will experience failures - incredible failures on your road to success. Failure is acceptable. Giving up is not.

2) There are many times you will not achieve your goal or your dream. Most probably you are not meant to achieve it. Sometimes you need to be realistic about it. So Discover who you really are.

3) Just because one door closes - doesn’t mean all other doors close with it. Many new doors surprisingly open up. All you need to do is look around.

4) Sometimes - or rather most of the time - the very fact that you didn’t get what you wanted may actually be the best thing that has ever happened to you. Find goodness in the badness of what happens.



Today I live a very unique life.

I get up whenever I want, do

whatever I like and live the life of

my dreams. I get to do everything

I love .

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5) I thought being a Radio Jockey was glamorous. It is only today I know how terrible and limited that career path is. All that glitters is not gold.

6) Accept it that sometimes what you wanted - may not actually be what you will get. A painter no matter how hard he may try, may never excel as a singer. Yes, there are some who do it - may be you are not the one. Accept Certain Truths.

7) And finally - Always be obsessed about your long term vision - rather than the short term successes.

Oh…by the way before I conclude…..I think you should know this…

1) All the Radio Jockey’s of that Radio Station ended up getting terminated or lost their jobs within the next few years.

2) The guy Cheaten who humiliated me - got his contract terminated and he got sent back to India for good. No one remembers him today

3) One of the Radio Station In-charge - who was a close associate of that Station Head - Whom I would approach for advice and guidance - ended up many years later adding me up on Facebook. He didn’t know who I was

at that time but today he is someone who admires me for what I have become today.

3) And finally - that guy whom I called that day - turned out to be my best friend, my true friend and my mentor. His name is Mohammed Murad. And he is by far the Greatest Blessing I ever received.

So the next time you fail - just remember my story.



Being a Radio Jockey wasn’t

glamorous. A painter no matter

how hard he may try, may never

excel as a singer. Always be

obsessed about your long term

vision ...

So the next time you fail - just

remember my story.

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A PHOTO FEATURE ON CLUB CONTEST


Club Annual Picnic in Pictures

Table Topic Speech Contest Winners with Contest Chair, President & Chief Judge

Club Contest 2014

Humorous Speech Contest Winners with Contest Chair, President & Chief Judge

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A PHOTO FEATURE ON 2013 MEMORIES


Evaluation Speech Contest Winners with Contest Chair, President & Chief Judge

International Speech Contest Winners with Contest Chair, President & Chief Judge

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A PHOTO FEATURE ON 2013 MEMORIES


Table Topic Speech Winner

MTM Devi Narayan

Judging Panel - Chief Judge and judges - with President & Contest Chair

Evaluation Speech Winner

TM Sanjay Vissa

Internation Speech Winner

TM Oudi Abochacra

Humorous Speech Winner

TM Devkusum Datta

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AM I MY FAVOURITE ? BY MTM SAIMA IMRAN

I still recall the influence of a dialogue in a Hin-di movie named “Jab We Met” on my life, when the leading actress said, “I am my favorite”. Hearing this I asked myself “ Am I my favorite?”

Believe it or not, answer was really a big “NO”.

Sometimes we try to compare ourselves with people around us and then we are haunted by a feeling that we are not good and which lower our self- esteem but we are wrong.

Many of those who appear so confident from the outside are beset with doubts from within, which we are not able to see rather they hide it from us.

Valuing ourselves helps us to build our life on a secure foundation and become our own help-er, advisor, friend and therapist.

I tried to analyze my approach towards myself by looking in to different phases of my life and realized that right from my school life I started under valuing myself.

During school days the head students always fascinated me as they were like kings and queen in schools and I used to wonder if I could be the head girl.

At last the day came when I was selected as the head girl but instead of feeling proud I gave credit to teachers in selection committee think-ing that selection criteria may not be that hard. So I under valued myself.

I didn’t stop there but continued the same attitude to my professional life also.

When I was leaving my previous Company, Vice President Engineering had a talk with me and he admired my work and said “Saima, You have been a wonderful employee, I appreciate that you always work equally as men and nev-er gave any excuse for work”.

Hearing such appreciation from VPE should have made me happy, but I said to myself that there is nothing special in me, most people work same as I do.

There are many other moments in my life where I was the first person to put myself down before anyone else can.

When I started giving importance to myself, I realized that I am positively different from many others. This simple thought gave me so much of self confidence which is difficult to explain in words.


Am I My Favorite ?

we try to compare ourselves with people around us and then we are haunted by a feeling that we are not good which lower our self- esteem, but we are wrong.


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AM I MY FAVOURITE ? BY MTM SAIMA IMRAN

People usually tend to take you at your own valuation.

If you want to be respected by others, you have to respect yourself first.

If you ask for things and believe you deserve them, you get them with surprising frequency. So you must, must value yourself.

There are plenty of people out there who will put you down. Your job is to build yourself up and to get better and better through all the rejections.

Here are few tips, my observations, which may help you to make yourself your own favorite:

Sit for some time; write down your life achievements, your abilities and your good habits, which distinguish you from others.

Don’t be a football of other people’s opinion. Rely upon your own feelings, this will allow you to take your own decisions, others would not be able to impose their decisions on you.

Appreciate yourself and take the time to love yourself. We all have amazing talents and gifts that many don’t have.

Break the habit of trying to please everyone.

Even if you are sometimes disappointed of our achievements, should not under value you as by valuing yourself you will gain self-confidence, which will help to achieve whatever you failed to achieve earlier.

Love yourself and hold yourself in a high regard. Take good care of your body, appearance and energy.

Joint Toastmasters, becoming a toastmaster helps you to increase your self confidence and self esteem and provides a chance to show your personal greatness.

If you have a strong belief in yourself, in what you are doing and what you want to do, no adversity is too difficult to overcome.

I share a beautiful poem I read recently:

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.You can steer yourself any direction you choose.You're on your own. And you know what you know. And you are the guy who'll decide where to go. So decide to be your own favorite and best friend.


Am I My Favorite ? ……………………………..contd

People usually tend to take you at your own valuation. If you want to be respected by others, you have to respect yourself first.


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OUR BODY IS THE TEMPLE BY MTM ELIZABETH

Most of us have so many responsibilities in life so we forget to take care of ourselves. Health experts say put your self- care into your schedule, just like another daily routine. “Make a commitment to yourself”

We often ask ourselves, Isn’t it selfish to put myself first ? Or we tell ourselves

I don’t have time to take care of myself !

Most of us do agree however, That OUR BODY IS THE “TEMPLE”

Since our body is the only one we will ever have, we need to take care of it ourselves and we deserve it.

We rarely spend time in any relaxing or satisfying recreations. The reality in life is most of us likely need more true breaks, TIME FOR “SELF CARE”

So what are these – it could be a massage, sock in the tub or other forms of pampering revitalize you inside out and taking time out to treat your body.

It is not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and to make your happiness a priority. It is a necessity

Self care includes your physical, emotional and spiritual needs. When I need self-care, I start with sleep, diet, exercise because if you aren’t getting enough sleep, everything else can be compromised.

Three main components of Self Care

Physical - Moving your body whether in some structured sports or exercise or just dancing around, stretching or walking to the park.

Ride a bike, take a course in tai chi or water aerobics, take the early morning sun, go swimming and eat totally healthy.

Emotional - Are you spending time with people you love and who love and accept you?

Be accepting, kind of easy to forgive yourself. Get enough people in your life, that you can laugh with, share a pizza with. Hug someone close to you, telephone a long distant friend, write a letter to a friend who had hurt you, smile at a stranger and acknowledge yourself for accomplishments you are proud of.

Spiritual - Meditate, listen to a guided meditation tape, and visualize yourself in a peaceful place. Do some community service; learn about a religion different from your own. Practice unconditional love and forgiveness with self and others.

Self Care makes you a better caretaker. Self-care is foundational to thriving in your career.

While it’s true you can’t predict every outcome, there’s so much you can do to control your own health destiny and steer it in the right direction. It starts with believing that your body is, indeed, a sacred temple, worthy of worship and the utmost respect. So, how do you begin? By being an active participant in your wellbeing, rather than just a bystander!


Our Body is the TEMPLE

It is not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and to make your happiness a priority. It is a necessity

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FATAL ATTRACTION MTM KRITIKA

They say you are what you eat. I’ll tell you what you are Unhealthy ALL of you.

Yes, you don’t smoke, you don’t drink. You’re probably on a vegetarian diet, protein diet or maybe no diet at all. Yet, you’re still slashing hours of your life away every single day. And what do you know; it’s your food we should be blaming.

The fact that all of us are being slowly poisoned by the very thing that lets us live is a tad bit ironic.

Vegetarians, Non-Vegetarians, Fruitarians, Vegans you are all under attack. And the prob-lem begins right at the bottom of this process! And the problem was created by modern man. Modern man who tried to be invincible, yet greed got the better of him.

Brace your selves for some hard hitting facts. Studies show that around 70 percent of all antibiotics used in the world are in fact used in raising livestock to prevent them from getting infections especially because of the conditions they are kept it. Then you have a constant flow of steroids administered to them to increase milk production and speed their growth. These

chemicals are then stored in the fat cells of the animals and who do you think eats them combined with all their accumulated toxins at the end of the day? Then you have chemicals used in pesticides and fertilizers and chemicals like preservatives, emulsifiers, natural and arti-ficial colorings in the production of food, trans fats created while processing food, chemicals and contaminants from shipping and storage of food, the way we cook our food and more importantly the utensils we use to cook food in!

So much for thinking fruits and veggies are good for you. We can be more health conscious is by switching to organic food. And I know most of you probably do believe it is a complete waste of money however, when your life is at stake every single day, this is a very small price to pay.

Now if all that wasn’t enough to give me paranoia attack, I realized that with the increasing consumption of poison being passed off as food, the world’s eating habits have also come a long way.

Big is the new trend when it comes to food. Our attempts at being larger than life have definitely succeeded.


Fatal Attraction

The fact is that all of us are being slowly poisoned by the very thing that lets us live is a tad bit ironic.

We can be more health conscious by switching to organic food. And I know most of you probably do believe it is a complete waste of money however, when your life is at stake every single day, this is a very small price to pay.

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FATAL ATTRACTION MTM KRITIKA

Obesity rates are sky rocketing in the western world and sadly, UAE is not lagging behind in that race. A very “large” contributor to this is in fact portion sizes.

A recent study on McDonald’s in Japan showed that they cut down their serving size of coke and fries. In comparison with the US, McDonalds Japan now serves a large coke containing 181 calories as opposed to McDonalds US’s 310 calories in a large coke! Needless to say, just by a simple look, the Japanese are a much healthier race. They have decided to imbibe health even in a fast food chain by reducing the serving sizes. But in retrospect, food portions have increased considerably around the world.

According to the American Health Lung and Blood Institute, your Starbucks served a size that contained at least 250 calories lesser 20 years ago! Even supposedly healthy foods like Caesar salads have their calories doubled in the last 20 years! The average restaurant meal is more than 4 times larger than it was in the 1950s and the average adult is 26 pounds heavier. That is 26 pounds unhealthier than we should be.

While you think you’re getting your value for money by upgrading your food and drinks to a larger size for dirham or two, you are also poisoning yourself a little more, upgrading your waistline and thus shortening your life span considerably!

So, apart from the fact that modern day food is

poisoning us right from the production stage, it is also evident that we are ensuring the intake of even more unhealthy food! We have to understand that now is a good time to believe that less is actually more.

Modern living has created most of our recent illnesses. WE have created our own sicknesses, and very luckily, we’ve advanced enough to treat at least a quarter of them!

So the next time you eat, remember that we are ingesting a number of toxins whether we want to or not so it would be wise to try and not bring more harm to our bodies on purpose.

Not eating will probably kill you faster but remembering to watch what you’re eating will save you for a little longer!

It is the New Year and a change is in order. Let us step on those weighing scales and make sure they don’t creak under the unwanted weight on our bodies.

Let us try to do justice to this life we have been gifted. I didn’t intend to write a horror story but the reality is extremely frightening.

It is so much easier to ignore the truth and live for the day. But with our current lifestyle, living for the day is sadly all we can hope to do.!


Fatal Attraction ………………………………….contd

Modern day food is poisoning us right from the production stage, it is also evident that we are ensuring the intake of even more unhealthy food! We have to understand that now is a good time to believe that less is actually more.

20

ICE BREAKER SPEECHES


TM REYAAZ HASSAN TM Reyaaz started his with statement “ I must not fear, fear is a mind-killer, fear is letter death that brings total obliteration and I will face the fear.” Fear is one aspect of his life which he tries to over-come. He is from South Africa, had a wonderful childhood with his parents and younger brother. He works in Etisalat as risk manager. He so far has visited 27 countries. He enjoys travelling , explor-ing different places and meeting people. New phase in his life is being a father. He summed it up with a quote “ Making the decision to have a child is momen-tous, it is to decide forever to have your heart to go walking around outside you.”

TM MICHAEL JUDE ALFONSO

TM Michael was born in Bombay to a businessman dad and a house wife mom. He was a naughty child. He loves danc-ing which helps him to be more sponta-neous and confident in approach and behavior. He finds dancing as his inborn talent. He loves to travel and explore new places. He already visited a few countries. He completed his +2 in sci-ence stream as his father forced him. He is now doing BBA and his ambition is to be a successful business man in the field of hotel industry. He says he is a person who lives in the present and in the future.

21

ICE BREAKER SPEECHES


TM JASON ANGELO DIAS TM Jason was born in Mumbai to work-ing parents. His grand parents played a very important role in his upbringing. He loves to enjoy his life and likes talking to different people. Although he loves talk-ing to people he does not like people star-ing at him as this makes him uncomforta-ble. He also shared his personal experi-ences in life. He was an excellent student in school and had special interest in sports. He tries to discover new things and new people and learns whatever he can in everyday life. He follows the saying, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow and learn as if you were to live forever.”

TM BINSAL ABDULKADER

TM Binsal looks at life as a festival of friendship. He talked about his personal life, career and shared his personal experience in different stages of life so far and how his friends helped him to overcome the problems he faced. He talked about his dream of doing something for natural farming. He gives due importance to his wife and friends. He learnt how to be a good friend from his family. For him the word relationship is synonymous with friendship and hence life is festival of friendship.

22

OUR BUILDINGS AND ENVIRONMENT BY TM DEVKUSUM DATTA

Winston Churchil, the ex- prime minister of Britain and noble laureate in literature once said that, ” First we shape our buildings, thereafter, they shape us”. This statement is very profound, because not only -the design of a building can affect the lifestyle and psychological wellbeing of its inhabitants, but also the way we construct and shape our buildings, can have considerable impact on our environment.

Extensive research and studies have been done to find out new methods and develop new technologies to design and construct buildings which will be environment friendly. Some of them are mentioned below

Site Selection : select land can considerably lower the impact on environment by avoiding cutting of trees and disturbing natural habitats.

Landscaping : choosing plants which are local and which do not need watering round the year or need any special fertilizers can protect the environment.

City Planning or Urban Planning : use integrated approach, like having smaller shopping centers placed within walkable distance from the residential areas etc. and to encourage the use of public transport whenever necessary.

Material : It is advised to use local material as far as possible in a building

Use of Chemicals : Use chemicals that have V.O.C content which is within the stipulated limit. Use chemicals that are more environmental friendly.

New Technology: Application of new technolo-gies which bringing in new materials which are more environment friendly and need less natural resources to maintain.

It must be mentioned that in spite of all the new technologies and methods available now to create a green buildings, it is in the hand of the users to make a building truly environment friendly.

If we can follow simple rules, like not to keep the taps running when not in use, if we consider it our social and environmental responsibility to switch off the lights when the rooms are not occupied, if we just give a bit of effort to segregate the plastic and other recyclable wastes in our household and dispose them in a separate bin (which are available in many places in our city ), so that, they can be recycled, then we can really contribute to a greener future ,not only for us, but also for the generations to come.

.


Our Buildings And Environment

23

LAUGHTER CORNER BY TM SALIM SAYYID

I once asked my colleague “when did you realize that you were growing bald?”

He said “When I found that more and more drivers were causing accidents after being blinded by the reflection from my head.”

There are two types of falls that we can never

predict. One is the stock market fall and the other is the hair fall.

By the way, how many of you have hair fall prob-lems? OK, then by the time you finish reading this article, the rest of you will have the problem.

My hair started falling in installments. The first installment was when I was 25. When I asked my Mom “what I should do?” She said “catch the first girl you meet and marry her.”

My 2nd installment of hair fall was 2 years ago when my hair started falling all over the floor. So I asked Abraham Thomas “What should I buy for my falling hair?” He said “A good vacuum clean-er!”

Now don’t be carried away by this. Trust me; there is enough vacant space up here for you to build a villa. Some people do facelift, I have done hair lift to cover the patch.

Now, seeing my hair fall my friends started giving me advices. Herbs, honey, egg yolk, protein sham-poos, multi vitamins. After that, I think my hair died more from over-eating and indigestion.

A doctor friend gave me a bottle of oil to be applied daily on my scalp. He said “contact me only if the oil runs out or your hair runs out.”

Another friend gave me a bottle of wine. I asked him “How would that help?” He said “the more you drink the lesser you will remember about your hair.” and people take pleasure in pointing out that I am slowly getting bald.


Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

24

LAUGHTER CORNER BY TM SALIM SAYYID

I fail to understand why as you grow older hair falls out of your head, but starts growing out of your nose, ear and all other parts you really don’t want?

And people take pleasure in pointing out that I am slowly getting bald. In one meeting Sujatha comes behind my chair and says ‘Loy, I can see Palm Is-land on your head." “Really?” I wanted to say, “Can you see the villas as well?” But I tried to act cool and told her the barber had cut it too short. But frankly I was upset. I ask our President “what I should do?” He said “simple, don’t allow Sujatha to stand behind you. Anyway, after that I grew some hair here which I call goatee distractor, so that girls are distracted and look at the hair here ….instead of here.

Seeing me worried and losing self-confidence, a friend invited me to join a club called ‘bald and beautiful Toastmasters’. “What do you do there I asked?” He said “We meet and share our stories of hair loss.”

So I attended one meeting. Trust me; I had never seen so many bald Toastmasters in one club. In fact at one point I started feeling giddy because of the timing light being reflected from their heads.

The first speaker said - there are three ways a man wears his hair – parted, unparted, or like me de-parted.

Another in his opening said “God made handsome men bald.” “The rest he gave them hair.” All the baldies clapped.

The third one told us how every morning he looks in the mirror and takes attendance of the remain-ing hair.

There I also gathered information on hair trans-plant and wigs.

Next day I accompanied a Toastmaster to his hair transplant doctor. Guess what? The doctor treating my friend himself was bald. Perhaps his patients who were not satisfied got even by pulling out his hair.

His assistant was wearing a wig. ‘Nice wig” I said “looks original.” “Then how did you know it was a wig?’ he asked. I said ‘there is a price tag hanging from the back.’

Now seeing me getting desperate, my wife ordered special oil from India and applied everyday on my scalp. And lo and behold!.......in 3 weeks hair start-ed growing …on her fingers. By mistake she touched my nose and ears and hair started growing from there as well.

In fact they grew from everywhere, except from my head. Now my wife says that if I remove my shirt I look like a chimpanzee.

Finally, a lady helped my hair re-grow by applying a high frequency comb to activate my hair follicles. My colleague warned me ‘be careful, just like in mobile phone, the high frequency will damage your brain”. I said “never mind, eventually even if I don’t have brains at least I will have my hair.


Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow ………………………..contd

25

CLUB NEWS


Club Activity During January to March

Meeting Number Best Speaker Best Evaluator Best Table Topic Speaker

482

483

486

487

Kritika Kadekodi

Salim Sayyid

Umakanth Devarajan

Binsal Abdulkader

Shukla Datta

Devi Narayan

Jason Angelo

Jason Angelo

Abraham Thomas

Sanjay Vissa

Sanjay Vissa

Salim Sayyid

TM ABY HANS - VP EDUCATION SPEAKS

Our club is just 2 point away from achieving the goal of President’s Distinguished Club status. We will achieve it soon with a new member and completion of a CC. I hope to achieve it in the on-going or in the next coming month. As we have been consistently achieving this honor, which makes our club a special club in our Area I could assure you that there won't any exception this year as well. Its pleasure that our members have done very at Area Contest level. Two of them, TM Oudi Abochacra and TM Sanjay Vissa stood first in international speech contest and evaluation speech contest, respectively, and would be in action at Division Level. I look forward to seeing them contesting at District level. Let us support them by being present at Division contest venue. TM Narayana Pillai came second in Table Topic Speech Contest. I request all member to spread the news of Toastmasters among your friends and colleagues and encourage them to visit our club as guests.

26

DIVISION NEWS


Division H presented an education session on Evaluation Speech, Humorous Speech and Table Topics Speech on 24th January 2014 to sharpen the skills of Toastmasters in support of the up coming club contest session.

All the sessions were presented by Toastmasters from Abu Dhabi Chapter Club

EVALUATION SPEECH - ENJOY YOU EVALUATION BY TM SANJAY VISSA

TABLE TOPIC SPEECH - FEARDOM TO FREEDOM BY TM ABRAHAM THOMAS

HOMORUS SPEECH - CR A F T YO U R HU MO U R S SPEECH BY TM SUDHA DATTA

27

CLUB MEMBERS’ PROGRESS CHART


1013

106

1110

4014

33

108

73

103

01

1010

733

313

112

05

1010

451

342

019

1011

110

164

404

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Abdul Sattar Khan

Abraham Thomas

Aby Hans

Afreen Begum Shaikh

Althaf Ahmed

Anuj Tyagi

Bharat Mehta

Bhojraj N. Mane

Binsal Abdulkader

Chitra Gopi Nair

Devkusum Datta

Devi Narayan

Dr.Oudi Abuchacra

Elizabeth Vaz

Faiz Mohamed Hashim

Mayank Gupta

Hammad Rabbani

Jason Angelo Dias

Joseph Roy

Jayakrishnan T.K.

Kritika Kadekodi

Loyola Pinto

Masood Balkhair

Mohammed Rizvi

Makhbul Ahmed Khazi

Michael Jude Alfonso

Mohammed Akram

Mohammed Imran Jiffrey

Narayana Pilai

Rajgopalan Ramesh

Rao D. A.

Raveendra Rai

Reyaaz Hassan

Salim Sayyid

Saima Imran

Saravana Kumar

Sanjay Vissa

Santhana Anandraman

Shashi Kumar Nair

Shailesh Sawant

Srinivasan Ramasamy

Subramanyam Palabathuni

Sudha Datta

Sujatha Parthasarathy

Umakanth Devarajan

Projects Completed

Toastmaster Abu Dhabi Chapter Club Progress Chart as of

31 March 2014

28

TOASTMATERS WHERE LEADERS ARE MADE

SPEAKING UP

NEWSLETTER OF ABU DHABI CHAPTER 1950NEWSLETTER OF ABU DHABI CHAPTER 1950

speaking up

Documents

club contest

club newsletter

new members

division contest

editors desk dear club

senior members

new year resolutions

area contests