The humdinger vol 2

Integrity

Respect

Service

HUMOROIDS

Excellence

Advanced Toastmasters

The

Area 41 | Division H | District 105

Humdinger

Vol. 2 | December 2017

HUMDINGER Vol.2 | Dec 2017 Humoroids Advanced Toastmasters Area 41 | Division H | District 105

How is your Haal? | Ceanlia Vermeulen

Guest Speak | Divya Raj

Club & Member achievements

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contents

President’s message | Judith Serrao

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From the Editor’s desk | Pratima Mishra

Leaders, Let’s Laugh! | VP Menon

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Risky business | Derick D’Souza

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Culinary delights | Judith Serrao

Gallery

Toastmasters International: Board of Directors

The Editor’s

Desk

It is my utmost privilege and a great pleasure to write an editor’s note for my Humoroids Advance Toastmasters Club. The atmosphere in Humoroids Toastmasters is always welcoming and contagious it is a great opportunity to refresh our ethos on this aspect and be an improved version of ourselves each day. Wisdom you gain here is a powerful tool which we use to make correct judgments and decisions.

Quality gained through our experiences in life.

Wisdom is a timeless possession which becomes stronger by each passing day. It is a wonderful combination of two thoughts "Who we are" vs "What we do". Wisdom governs choice, the pursuit of knowledge, communication, and relationships. My journey with Toastmasters, is only 8 Years old yet it has reinforced an exceptionally huge amount of confidence and positive stride in every step for me. I believe this had led me to become a “better” and a “wiser” person.

Pratima Mishra CC CL VP Public Relations | Editor

Here is a "Big Thank You" to everyone who has been the guiding light, and had trust in me.

Enjoy the rest of the newsletter and we hope that it will enrich your mind and motivate you to reach your goals. And if you are not a member, consider coming to one of our meetings to have an experience you will neither regret nor forget.

Editor | Pratima Mishra Publisher | Judith Serrao Editorial Team | Shuchita Udas & Manmohan Sreedhar Design & Layout | Devlal Sahadevan

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President: Judith Serrao ACS ALB

VP Education: Shuchita Udas CC CL

LEADERSHIP Area Director

Secretary: Ceanlia Vermeulen, ACB ALB

Division Director

Hana Abdulhafiz, ACB CL

Treasurer: Archana Manmohan

Althaf Ahmed CC CL

HUMOROIDS ADVANCED TOASTMASTERS Area 41| Division H | District 105 Sergeant At Arms: Sunita Pinto

VP Membership: Tessy Sajo, CC

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District Director VP Public Relations: Pratima Mishra CC CL

Sunil Kottarathil DTM

Imm. Past President: Manmohan Sreedhar DTM

President’s

Message Judith Serrao, ACS ALS

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great year so far, Humoroidians!

Our Club is doing great this year. We are all set to achieve 10/10 DCP Points this year. All this has been possible only because of YOU. All this magic was created only because of YOU!!

Let us march forward with Toastmasters International's Core Values which are Integrity, Dedication to excellence, Service to the member, and Respect for the individual. These are values worthy of a great organization, and we believe we should incorporate them as anchor points in every decision we make.

I believe in the adage "Unity is strength". When there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved. Thank you to each one of you who worked hard, behind the scenes to achieve the success that will be ours.

The new energy brought in by our new members and with the support of the experienced ones, Humoroids has scaled fresh heights and is poised to do better than last year. Most of the guests who attended a Humoroids meeting has become a member. Those who haven't become members as yet, seem like they can’t get enough of us and are coming back to our meetings!

Thank you to each one of you who worked hard, behind the scenes to achieve the success that will be ours.

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Leaders, Let’s Laugh!

V P Menon, DTM | Club Growth Director, District 105

I have met many kinds of leaders in my life, but I have always been attracted to few leaders and one of the main reason for this attraction was their sense of humor. If you look around you, you will find that most successful leaders have a good sense of humor. Probably it has to do with their skill in enjoying life, loving what they do for a living, and not taking themselves too seriously.

Humor and humility go hand in hand for most successful leaders. A good combination of both these traits helps them to stay grounded and to keep their egos in check.

Some benefits of using humor:

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Humor is disarming. It lightens the mood, puts people at ease and cuts down on the intimidation factor.

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It relieves tension during crises

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It softens the blow of bad news

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Humor is great for team building

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It gets people to root for you

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It places emphasis on key points

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Humor is motivating

Personally, for me, after coming into Toastmasters and understanding how best to use humor, I have greatly benefitted from it. Both as a Leader and as a Trainer & Coach. Humor helps me to gain the attention of my training participants and helps build an immediate rapport with them. Once that rapport is built then everything else becomes very easy throughout the training session.

As a leader, humor has helped me immensely to connect with others in the best possible way and being able to work towards common goals effectively as a team.

All successful leaders have a sense of humor and the Toastmasters program is one great way to improve your humor skills. So, what are you waiting for? Start laughing, help others laugh and be happy.

“A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower

HOW

My dearest Humoroids family!

Christmas day during lunch a friend asked how was I doing, how my family was. I looked up, voice lowered, and just whimpered: “I’m so busy… I am so busy… I have so much going on.”

Then we added some masks, opened some crackers and had some good laughs.

In the same week, I ran into another friend and asked him how he was. Again, same tone, same response: “I’m just so busy… got so much to do.”

The tone was exacerbated, tired, even overwhelmed.

How did we end up living like this? Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we do this to our family, our children? When did we forget that we are human beings, not human doings?

What happened to a world in which we can sit with the people we love so much and have slow conversations about the state of our heart and soul, conversations that slowly unfold, conversations with meaningful pauses and silences that we are in no rush to fill?

How did we create a world in which we have more and more and more to do with less time for leisure, less time for reflection, less time for community, less time to just… be?

Ceanlia Vermeulen, ACB ALB

“The unexamined life is not worth living”, said Plato. I would like to "add us humans.” How are we supposed to live, to examine, to be, to become, to be fully human when we are so busy?

This disease of being “busy” (and let’s call it what it is, the dis-ease of being busy, when we are never at ease) is spiritually destructive to our health and wellbeing. It saps our ability to be fully present with those we love the most in our families, and keeps us from forming the kind of community that we all so desperately crave.

For some of us, like me, the lines between work and home have become blurred. We are on our devices. All. The. Freaking. Time.

Smart phones, iPads and laptops (I have 3!) meant that there is no division between the workplace and home. When my daughter is not yet in bed, I'm back online. When I open my eyes, I reach for my phone.

In many Arab cultures, when you want to ask them how they’re doing, you ask; Kayf haal-ik? How is your haal?

What is this haal that you inquire about? It is the transient state of one’s heart. In reality, we ask, “How is your heart doing at this very moment, at this breath?” When I ask, “How are you?” that is really what I want to know… This is the lesson I learned at the Christmas table of 2017. To sit and chat till midnight with no devices between us. Just us talking. (continued on page 8)

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( continued from….)

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I am not asking what’s your New Year’s Resolution or how many items are on your to-do list, or asking how many items are in your inbox. I want to know how your heart is doing, at this very moment. Tell me. Tell me your heart is joyous, tell me your heart is aching, tell me your heart is sad, tell me your heart craves a human touch. Examine your own heart, explore your soul, and then tell me something about your heart and your soul.

I don’t have any magical solutions. All I know is that we are losing the ability to live a truly human life.

Tell me you remember you are still a human being, not just a human doing. Tell me you are more than just a machine, checking off items from your to-do list. Have that conversation, that glance, that touch. Be a healing conversation, one filled with grace and presence.

W.B. Yeats wrote: "It takes more courage to examine the dark corners of your own soul than it does for a soldier to fight on a battlefield.”

Put your hand on my arm, look me in the eye, and connect with me for one second.

Tell me something about your heart, and awaken my heart. Help me remember that I too am a full and complete human being, a human being who also craves the human touch.

How exactly are we supposed to examine the dark corners of our soul when we are so busy? How are we supposed to live the examined life?

We need a different relationship between work and technology. We know what we want: a meaningful life, a sense of community, a balanced existence. It’s not just about “leaning in” or faster smartphones. We want to be truly human.

I am always a prisoner of hope, but I wonder if we are willing to have the structural conversation necessary about how to do that, how to live like that. Somehow, we need a different model of organizing our lives, our societies, our families, our communities.

This is what I want… I want us to have the kind of life where we can pause, look each other in the eye, touch one another, and inquire together: “How is your heart doing at this very moment, at this breath?” I am taking the time to reflect on my own existence; I am in touch enough with my own heart and soul to know how I fare, and I know how to express the state of my heart.

How is the state of your heart today?

Let us insist on a type of human-to-human connection where when one of us responds by saying, “I am just so busy,” we can follow up by saying, “I know, love. We all are. But I want to know how your heart is doing.”

Join me in this time of reflection - share your existence…

Can’t wait to hear your input during our meetings this year.

Greetings!

From a joyous heart..

Risky Business Derick D’Souza, ACS ALB

Comedy is a risky business.

Being part of a usual toastmasters club for couple of years and presenting 30 usual prepared speeches, I was coaxed into joining Humoroids by our founding member TM Devlal, with a hidden agenda of adding some glamour into the club.

I had participated in various humorous contests, won some, lost many and often got frustrated at my own writing skills which often eluded the big contests.

Humoroids came to the rescue just in time and I got addicted to it pretty quickly and thankfully this club had a place for different kind of comic writers.

Humoroids does go beyond the regular humorous speeches.

At one of the club meetings, I presented my first standup comedy session mimicking various toastmasters from my Division, which also became my claim to fame. Went on to win the Divisions first Standup comedy contest, did quite a few roasts at the club and was part of many sessions of the impromptu comedy show which we fondly call as “Twisted Topics”.

This would not have been possible without the rock star members and the humor professors at Humoroids who encourage a different brand of comedy within the boundaries of toastmasters and slightly beyond.

The third Wednesday of each month is the one I look forward to, because this is day, Humoroids celebrates the risky business.

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GUEST SPEAK Humour is, the one thing, which is enjoyed by all, irrespective of age, caste, gender, whatever.

It is one thing which can bind us all and generate a positive and happy environment. Even the most difficult situations can be handled with ease, if we are armored with a humorous mind and disposition.

Each one of us carry our own burden of life’s plusses and minuses. Let us all be equal in sharing a humorous disposition, and lighten this burden to live an enjoyable and happy life. All those who are lucky to have this positive trait should spread it liberally and bring about happiness in the lives of all around them.

And this is exactly what this bunch does and they call themselves "The Humoroids". This club is a bunch of like minded people who believe in the "Magic of Humour". Had I been in Abu Dhabi, I too would have been a part of this crazy group but alas!

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Working in Sharjah, if I had to travel across 2 Emirates on a working day to attend their meeting, the pull had to be strong enough! And you bet, not once in that entire meeting did I think back to how tired I was, in fact on the contrary, my turbocharger was super energized and I hit home sooner than I thought.

About their meetings, just as their name and their disposition, their meetings are humorous to the core. The Flyers are "Out of the Box", the invites are crazy, the Hosts are in character, the speeches are seriously humorous, the Table topics has a lot of theatrics to it and the evaluations are stupendous and to top it even the education sessions are quite unique and twisted.

Each segment so different from the other in context but that common thread of "humour" runs across the length and breadth of the meeting!

I attended their meeting more than an year ago and all I can remember is laughing my guts out and that little pirate with an insanely funny bone - Devlal Sahadevan dancing around the place with his Jack Sparrow like expressions!

Thank you Dev for introducing me to the world of Humoroids and everyone in it. Not only have you all made me fall in love with the club but a few of you have also allowed me into your lives as a FRIEND for life!!

Wishing you many more years of Crazy Fun and Laughter. Keep spreading smiles just the way you do so that it becomes a way of life for many who get into your folds!!

Divya Raj CC ALB Area 23 Director | Division B

Divya joined toastmasters 4 years ago and is a member of Burj toastmasters.

Her motto in life is “Live and let live, Live life queen size”.

She lives with her family in Dubai and works with Larsen & Toubro

Toastmasters can bake!

You don't have to spend a fortune for Cashew-nut Macaroons anymore. Make them at home, with this easy and simple to follow recipe. Melt-in-the mouth type, easy, few ingredients and less time….what could be better than this? The oven temperature and beating of the egg is very important. So pay attention to small details. Enjoy folks!

Ingredients:

Cashew nut macaroons A recipe by Humoroids Club President & Culinary maestro

Judith Serrao

Beat the egg white with a beater till it forms thick peaks. Add powdered sugar and beat for a minute or two. Ensure that the egg white does not deflate.

Fold the cashew nuts, baking powder and cardamom powder gently into the egg/sugar mixture. It should be fluffy.

Preheat oven to 170-180 °C. Line a cupcake pan with liners and smear gently with melted butter or ghee. Put in a tablespoon of mixture into the liners.

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1 Cup Cashew nuts cut into tiny bits

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1 Cup sugar (granules; then powdered fine in dry grinder)

Bake for 14 -15 minutes. They may appear to be soft when you remove, but will harden on cooling.

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1 large egg white only

Store in an air-tight box.

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1/4 teaspoon baking powder

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5 cardamoms (powdered fine)

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Butter or ghee for greasing the liners

If you want to make a large batch, don't try doubling the recipe. Make the quantity mentioned above, twice. This recipe made about 20-25 small macaroons.

Chop the cashew-nuts roughly. (Lay the nuts on a plain paper, hold a large knife over them, press the tip with your left hand and with the right hand hold the handle and go up and down in a chop-chop motion. This is a quick and easy way to chop them). Keep aside.

Clean a small bowl, wipe with tissue paper to ensure no water residue remains.

Separate the egg white, discard the yolk.

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A Culinary Showcase through the lens: Judith Serrao

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Club & Member Achievements

Sep 2017: The Club wins Smedley award for adding 5 new members

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13 October 2017: DTM Showcase, Division B. DTM Manmohan Sreedhar & Team wins the Debate contest of DTMs

Club & Member Achievements

13 October 2017: DTM Showcase, Division B. DTM M P Katrak wins the Best Speaker award

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Club & Member Achievements

13 October 2017: DTM Showcase, DTM Devlal hosting the Improve Game session

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24 Nov 2017: Division B Debate tourney won by DTM Devlal & team

Club & Member Achievements

17 Nov 2017: Pratima Mishra performing at Toastmasters Talent Show, Division H

17 Nov 2017: Sunita Pinto performing at Toastmasters Talent Show, Division H

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27 Oct 2017: Devlal performing at Stand Up Comedy event by Division H

17 Nov 2017: Devlal performing at Toastmasters Talent Show, Division H

District 105 appoints Humoroidians!

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The Gallery: Promotional posters

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The Gallery: Meeting photos

October

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The Gallery: Meeting photos

November

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The Gallery: Meeting photos

December

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The Gallery: Meeting photos

December

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Integrity

Respect

Service

HUMOROIDS Advanced Toastmasters Area 41 | Division H | District 105

Excellence