Things I want for Christmas...
Favorites
Photo Albums
Recent Posts
My Links
November 2011
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
Toastmasters Awards!
As most of you know, I am very active in Toastmasters. It's of course an excellent way to develop communication and leadership skills, but it's also a rewarding social activity.
I have won a number of ribbons over the years (you can see some here). But this year I won my first Toastmasters trophies at the annual Evaluation Speech contest. Toastmasters contests start at the club level. The winner of the club contest goes to the area contest (First-Place trophy, far right). The winner of the Area contest goes to the Division contest (Second-Place trophy, center). The winner of the Division would then go to the District competition. Next Year! As you can see Toastmasters is very hierarchical.
What is an evaluation contest? One of the critical aspects of every toastmasters meeting is the evaluation. Each person who gives a speech receives a verbal 2-3 minute evaluation. The contest judges who is able to give the best evaluation - one that is logical, constructive, and supportive.
At the beginning of the contest a "test speaker" gives a speech - which can be almost anything. After the speech, the 5 contestants then leave the room and have 5 minutes to prepare their verbal evaluation of the test speaker. One-by-one the contestants return to the room and give a 2-3 minute evaluation of the same test speaker. The judges (who get to see the test speaker and all 5 contestant evaluators) then vote on the best evaluator.
This combination of constructive feedback with supportiveness is an excellent skill to have as a manager!
Skiing at Powder Ridge, MN and Life 101
I went skiing at Powder Ridge, MN. This was the first time i have gone skiing since I ws 12 years old! that's a long time! I was a bit nervous that I would spend a few frustrating hours on the bunny hill trying to remember how to snow-plow or falling down on slippery skis. But I was surprised that after two trial runs down the bunny hill I felt confident enough to tackle the big hills!
The temperature was -4°F when we STARTED sking around 6:00 pm - and it just got colder. It was coldest riding up the chairlifts in the wind.
I ended up skiing down ALL the hills at Powder Ridge at least once. I went down the "trick" section with all the jumps and obstacles, but of course I stayed on the flay areas. There were a few steep areas that were a LOT of fun to zip down, but happily ended in a nice safe flat area to slow down easily.
I had a great time. I wish I hadn't waited so long to go skiing again. Why has it been so long? It was always going to be "next year." I was either just about to start a new diet or was on a diet but not close enough to my goal weight to go skiing. Seemed like a LOT of weight making me top-heavy and unstable and hard to balance, plus a lot of strain on the muscles, and wear-and-tear on the joints, plus the added possibility of injury when I inevitably fell. In retrospect, it was a lot of fear and "what-if" thinking that kept me off the hill. This year I am doing great on the diet, but I am still NOT near my goal weight. I again told my brother, "Next year I will be able to go skiing with you!" But I quickly changed to "Screw that! No more waiting! I am going THIS YEAR!" So we went, and it was FUN! Far easier and faster than I thought in the car on the way to the hill.
And so I was reminded of an important life lesson - far greater than one ski trip. Don't wait. Don't let fear hold you back. Don't wait for the mythical "perfect time" to act - that time does not exist. The time to act is now. Get out there and make the best of your life - imperfections and all. We are all in this together. The people that look good get admired for sure. But the people that try no-matter-what get respected.
So see you on the slopes!
Christmas Card 2008
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
I am sitting home now on my comfy recliner typing on my laptop thinking of what to say...
I am really looking forward to Christmas! Mom, Gail, Eric, and Caleb will arrive in ONE WEEK, and I have a lot to do before then. We rented a house in Mill Valley (just north of San Francisco). Click here for photos. We have lots of ideas for the week: Muir woods, Napa Valley, Fisherman's Wharf, and the list goes on...
I bought a Wii video game! Click Here I have never really been interested in Video games, but I played Wii at a party, and it is a LOT of fun at parties! Wii has lots of fun puzzle and family-oriented games. It will be great for Christmas when the Family is here. The name "Wii" sounds like "We" as in "We play together." My favorite game is Boom Blox. You take turns throwing balls at blocks and win by knocking them down.
For New Year's eve, I am going to Minnesota as usual. I will attend Mike Tvedt's annual party, then spend a few days at David and Kristi's.
I am still single, but I have been getting frisky lately. So, I have tried dating again. It's new and exciting (and even a bit frightening) for me. I went to a few local singles dances, which were OK. I tried Speed Dating which was GREAT. Speed Dating Web Site. I met a LOT of great women at the events, got practice talking to them, but most of all I had a lot of fun. I got a few matches, but nothing that went anywhere.
My goal for 2009 is to start dating. No more waiting. No more thinking. Stay tuned!
Work has been going great. I like people management. I have been learning a lot too. I have a great team - and it just got much bigger. We just shipped Flash CS4, and started and the latest and greatest.
Have a great new year!
JeFFa
2008 Christmas List
Cozy Soft Throw Blanket (Dark Brown or Faux Animal Pattern) Large. My current one is 60 inches and is too short. 50-State Quarter Collecting Map Gourmet Beef Jerkey (Or any unusual meat product)
Night Willow
This is the corner down from my place. I walked past it a few times and saw this cool scene, so tonight I brought my tripod and captured it.
Night Trees
I really like the light and shadows of night photography. This is a 30-second exposure. The colors in the photograph are brighter and clearer than when I was standing there. The downside is that the photo almost appears to be monochromatic because the orange light dominates the scene.
I used a 10.5mm fisheye lens which caused the rounded distortion near the edges.
Black Rolex
I used a manual flash just before taking the photograph to cause the numbers to glow.
My College Photography Class Final Project
I took several photogaphy classes at the University of Minnesota. This was my final project for one of them. This was from my favorite class. Most photography classes were Black-and-White, but this one had color!
These photos were originally shot on 35mm slides. I recently found the old carosuel and scanned them in.
