Night Vision Toastmasters (NVTM)

The theme this week is inspired by two tangentially related events.

One is the story that was in the news last week about the parents who have chosen not to tell anyone (including other family members) what their third child’s gender is. (If you’re not aware of the story, here’s a link to a Toronto Star article for the background.)

My first reaction to the story was pretty much “whatever.” I probably wouldn’t choose to do that if I had a child, but when I read about their 5-year old son’s clothing choices and the social pressure he has faced because of those choices, their decision made more sense to me. Others  feel much more strongly about the need to establish distinct gender identities—read the comments on the website for a snippet of public opinion.

The second event that inspired me is we’ll be holding our club evaluation this week. It’s an opportunity not only to assert that we are free to be who we wanna be, but to discuss how we’re doing as a club and where we want to go over the next Toastmasters year (the new TM year starts July 1 and runs to June 30). Please take a bit of time to think about what you hope to achieve over the next year, how effective the club has been in supporting your goals, and what you’d like to see change or continue. We should certainly be who we wanna be, and we need some guidance as to where we are going.

I look forward to seeing you all on Thursday.
–Sharon

Living in our modern society and equipped with high tech dedicated to helping us to do more in less time, do you have the word “efficient” flashing in your mind all the time? I do.

However, just recently, I started to see it differently, after a couple of events happened in my life.

What role does efficiency play in your life?

See you on Thursday!
–Jenny

Keeping a surplus of food or useful items on hand can ensure survival and comfort in case of scarcity. But sometimes people collect far more than they can reasonably use, or they keep things of dubious value. Some hoarders consider themselves to be collectors, but their collections have taken over their homes and their lives. What makes a hoarder tick?

If you’ve watched the highly popular A&E TV show Hoarders, which recently concluded its third season, you probably already know a lot about the subject, and I look forward to hearing you share with the club what you’ve learned—because I haven’t.

Together we’ll investigate this curious phenomenon and see what we can learn from each other.

See you Thursday!

Cheers,
–Volker

My girlfriend’s dad had knee replacement surgery this weekend, and this will be our theme for the meeting.

Have you ever had a knee replaced, full or partial, or know someone who had this procedure done? Or do you know anyone who has had another joint replaced (a hip possibly)? Are you scared of surgery in general?  Why or why not?
This is a speech-only meeting (no Table Topics).

I look forward to seeing you all at the meeting this Thursday.

—Chris

Do you like what you do? I’m curious: how many of you like what you do for a living? Do you feel blessed to be paid for what you love to do? Or do you loathe getting out of bed for another day in the rat race?

For those of you who are students, are you excited to be on the path to a career you’ve always dreamed of? Or are you anxious about the job prospects out there?

See you Thursday!
—Scott

Are quotations the hallmark of a snob or a tool of a scholar? What is you favourite quote and why?

See you Thursday!
–Sinisa

At this week’s meeting, we will talk about the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world – where they are located, why they are considered to be the best cycling places and where you might even decide to take your bike on your next vacation.

See you all on Thursday!

Jessica

(If you don’t see photos, please click on the post title to see the full post contents.)
This February, a group of Night Visioners took advantage of the free skating at Robson Square. Here are their photos.

The sun is out; the plants are starting to grow. The snow is melting, and allergies, oh no! With all of the changes happening at, finally, the end of April many people use this warmer weather as an opportunity (or a second opportunity, if it was also your New Year’s resolution) to engage in some form of exercise.

The Sun Run just took place this past weekend—over 50,000 people participated—and I thought to myself how much I want to do that next year.

Therefore, I’ve chosen fitness to be our topic for this week’s meeting. How often do you exercise? What is your preferred exercise (walking, jogging, biking, gym… it’s all good)?  What is your motivation to keep you going (partner, health, etc…)? What do you think of TV fitness infomercials?

See you all there,
–Richard

First of all, I’m really happy to see you all after my 4-week absence!Right after my 3-week road trip in China, visiting 6 cities and talking to lots of people, I think the timing is even better to have this topic. NightVision has many singles who might want to be a parent some day in the future, and we also have existing parents and a brand new mom, Rachel. Among us we have people who grew up in both cultures and were brought up in completely different parenting styles.

To make the meeting more interesting and effective, I’d like you to read the attached article before you come to the meeting to get some ideas about what we are going to discuss, but more importantly, to form your own opinion so we can have an interesting table topic session.

See you all on Thursday!

Jenny

article: http://tinyurl.com/3b3p6q8