A Chipper and Chirpy Birthday Gathering

Life is too short and friends are too few! How lucky we ten goldies found each other. Over the years we have been keeping each other company and cheering each other up. Work and family are our responsibilities. They bring us joy and a sense of accomplishment. Yet without friends, life is not complete and can at times be exhausting. Friends help cheer and lift us up, and give us strength and motivation to start a new. Just like my nine lady friends who have the power to cheer me up and rid me of my stress and worries.

Irene, Linda and Pamela were born in December. Pamela talked about a joint birthday celebration a month ahead of time. She officially announced it after her trip to Russia. She was going to open her sweet home to hold the joint party. We couldn’t love more the idea, despite the fact that it would bring her and her better half Moses a hard time with the preparation. Details were settled after a few communications. Since the date was announced, I had been looking forward to it in anticipation of a wonderful celebration. Maybe I was the one who needed the gathering most, to release my tension.

It’s amazing that the three birthday stars happen to be good cooks too. They should have relaxed and waited for the most memorable day in their lives but instead, the three birthday girls spent the most time and energy cooking and preparing food for us. Pamela prepared fish, spaghetti, pickled apples, fruit and desserts and the most expensive crunch cookies - “Marco”. Irene braised beef and brought a big carton of snacks. Linda prepared two big pots of chicken and fish/meat ball soup. The rest of us who bought our share of ready-made food were truly touched. As always, I enjoyed all the food contributed by the other ladies too; the salad and brownie brought by Michelle, spicy chicken and garlic ham by Gina, the delicious and eye-pleasing chocolate cake by Lydia, sapid and flavored wine by Kate, and photo dish by Virginia, etc.

The party was set to begin at 2:00 P.M.
Michelle arrived first. Kate, Gina, Irene and I were the second. Linda the third and Lydia the fourth carrying the must-have delicious and eye-pleasing chocolate cake. Virginia having a shooting activity in the afternoon arrived after seven. Sherry was the only one who couldn’t make it this time because she had to receive her international friends coming from New Zealand. It was very disappointing to all of us because she is always the one who brings unexpected excitement to our gathering, and it would have been a perfect group of ten goldies. But this time due to Pamela’s hospitality and thoughtful arrangement, every moment of the celebration was so exciting and entertaining that we didn’t notice at all how quickly time passed. When someone realized it was time to bring peace and quiet back to Pamela and her family, it was already almost ten.

So, what did we do? There wasn’t any quiet moment even when we were eating, strolling in the big garden, dancing in their community dancing room, singing karaoke, or during the photo sessions. We kept talking, sometimes all at the same time. So hard to believe that we credit ourselves with being ladies, but throughout the whole day we were practically nine quacking women.

I must express my gratefulness to Moses here for his total support to Pamela offering every possible help and putting up with these nine over excited women.

This was the first time that three goldies celebrated their birthdays together. I wanted to do something for this special day to help excite the atmosphere. I prepared some props and gifts for my lady friends, something I bought a while ago for myself without using my head. I couldn’t help but feel guilty whenever I saw them. I hope they are practical to my ladies.

When we called it a night, we all thanked Pamela wholeheartedly for the truly lovely and memorable Birthday party! She was a sensational host offering irresistible food, garden strolling, dance, karaoke, all in a cozy, classic and roomy home to all the goldies.

I’m so addicted to goldies’ gatherings. I hope it won’t be long before our next gathering. Again Happy Birthday to Irene, Linda and Pamela! May joy, health and love be with them throughout the year and all the years to come!

Trini
http://picasaweb.google.com/taipeitmtrini/AChipperAndChirpyBirthdayGathering#

With gratitude to Virginia Lee for all the photos from her album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/vlee1009/101211GoldBirthdayIn3#

The Dynamic and Energetic FJU T/Ms Club

From time to time I receive invitations from other T/Ms clubs to share my experiences with them. FJU T/Ms is one of the clubs that I've visited regularly either once a semester, or twice when there were very special occassions. Over the past years, I've witnessed their progress and it has become a very energenic, dynamic and strong T/Ms club.

For a T/Ms to be strong and successful, club officers are the keys. Dedicated and passionate officers attract members to attend the meetings regularly to ensure a satisfactory attendance rate, and motivate them to get themselves involved in T/Ms meetings roles, activities and challenge themselves.

On Dec. 3rd, I attended their meeting #142 again. I was truly happy to make the long trip this time because Pamela happened to come back to Taipei a few days ago and accepted the club's invitation to take an assignment as Individual Evaluator.
A year ago, in the end of the year, Pamela went with me to their meeting for the first time. This time, we two make it together again. It was almost like a miracle as Pamela spends most of her time abroad either on business trips or in China office. What a pleasant conincidence and joy!

The driving with her sitting beside was very enjoyable and relaxing. Though we missed the interchange because of being busy in chatting, it didn't spoil the fun at all and we made it in time.

Below is the meeting minutes I wrote to show how the meeing went.

Quote
The meeting #142 was fun, energetic and enjoyable.

Let me use three R’s to express how I enjoyed the meeting.

1. Responsibility: Every speaker prepared fully taking their assignments seriously and applied creativity to bring something new to the audience.
2. Rich Program: There was a Variety Session and a Workshop. The master of the Variety Session involved every T/M in the activity, and the speaker of the Workshop convinced the audience that joining contests is the most effective and fastest way to improve.
3. Relaxing atmosphere: All the speakers especially session maters and the TME Janet Huang showcased their energy and humor to excite the audience.

In other words, the three keys to the success of the meeting are:

1. Preparation: TME confirmed with all the assignees before the meeting to make sure every detail was completed. Every speaker was fluent and confident.
2. Positive: Encouragement and support was offered throughout the meeting.
3. Passion: Every speaker received a big hand and loud cheer before speaking and a big round of applause after speaking.

Some guests that were invited from other clubs further uplifted the spirit and enriched the program. The workshop conducted by Sean Yang from IMTC, Language Evaluator Ping Wang from NCCU, Individual evaluator Pamela from Galaxy TMC all shared their experience and insights with the club members.

There’s always room for improvement no matter how successful a meeting can be. I have three suggestions for future improvement.

1. For the workshop, it would have been more encouraging if Judy Lee who has won numerous contests could have been invited to interact with the workshop master Sean Yang.
2. Control the time so that the meeting adjourns on time and we may have a longer intermission.
3. When introducing speakers, it’s better to offer the attributes of the speaker then the speaker’s name to arouse kind of curiosity and anticipation.

Congratulations to FJU T/Ms Club on keeping booming with more and more students from departments joining the club and ensuring quality and successful meetings every week.

Trini Ding, DTM
Unquote

2010 District 67 Fall Convention

A Halloween Seasoned Reading Gathering and Birthday Party

Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow-ripening fruit.
~ Aristotle.

We had an extra- ordinarily sensational reading gathering this time. It became a five-in-one activity. How did it happen? It was a long story. Why not get a cup of coffee first before lending me your ears?


1. Magazine reading
2. Birthday celebration for two scorpions
3. District Governors T/Ms sharing
4. Husbands' company
5. Halloween party

Magazing Reading Sherry, our mindmaster, invited Jorie Wu, our former District Governor, to join our Oct. T/Ms magazine reading and to talk about her strategy of helping her better half George Yen, also former District Governor, to be elected as the 2nd Vice President of TI. It was a breaking news to all TMs in Taiwan when it was first released. Jorie not only accepted our invitation, but also brought some cute strawberry bags, same as the souvenirs they brought to the International Convention, for everyone.

Birthday Celebration
Somehow Sherry learned Jorie's birthday was just three days away, and Lydia's birthday was also near. What a good opportunity to celebrate two scorpions' birthday in the gathering! We could have a double joy! Sherry ordered two cakes so that both Jorie and Lydia could enjoy their own happy moment and joyful feelings.

District Governors T/Ms sharingSince Lydia's better half Harry Fong is also our former District Governor, Sherry proposed it would be awesome if he could give us the honor to come, too. No wonder she's our mastermind.

Husbands companyLibby, our very dear friend though not a member of ours yet, was thoughtfully invited by Irene to join us. She was recovering from her memory loss and this gathering could be very helpful to her. Libby needs her husband to come along. Under such circumstance, husbands were welcome to celebrate with their wives.

Halloween PartyHelpful and generous Irene not only bought two large lovely birthday cards, but also purchased a wide variety of cute Halloween props. All the participants had fun modeling the masks for photo shoot.

All goldies except Pamela who had to miss it because of her business trip showed up. What a pity that she had to miss two birthday celebrations!

Michelle, Sherry and Virginia arrived before me. The afternoon tea time was limited to two and half hours, We must start our reading first. It was short and kind of a rush. But who cares? The important thing was that we did our homework and the purpose was achieved.

Though Harry couldn't come as he was also on business trip, Libby and Linda's husbands plus George made total 15 for the gathering. Our loud voices almost broke the roof.

When most of us arrived, chatting and laughing took place. The cute Strawberry bags created the 1st highlight. When Jorie took them out, every one was excited to choose the color they like as if we were winning an award. Then Irene took out the king size birthday cards for us to write our best wishes. Which should go to Jorie, and which should go to Lydia? We had to finish writing our wishes on in a hurry. We had the 2nd highlight.

Halloween Celebration was the 3rd highlight. Everybody were excited to try on the props one after another and pose before the camera just like kids. It was the most joyful and hilarious moment. Must thank Irene for the excitement she created.

Virginia made an exception this time that she not only helped us take a lot of good and interesting photos, she tried as best as she could to include herself in the photos as many times as possible.

Cake cutting was touching. When the cakes were taken out, the two birthday stars couldn't keep their eyes away from the cakes and took a long while before deciding to blow out the candles. Well, cakes are my favorite. I feel embarrassed to say how many pieces of cake I had.

When it was half past four, goldies left one after another for their next engagements. Irene, Linda, Libby, Gina, and Kate took the road respectively. Before the rest of us left the Cafe, we took a few final group photos in front of the Café then called it a day.

Time flies especially you are having a good time. When waving goodbye, I was already thinking of the next gathering Kate proposed to welcome Pamela home, and the party for Pamela, Irene and Linda's birthday.

Trini
http://picasaweb.google.com/taipeitmtrini/AHalloweenSeasonedReadingGatheringAndBirthdayParty#

Special thanks to Virginia Lee for all the wonderful photos she took for us:
http://picasaweb.google.com/vlee1009/101031GoldenHalloween#

A City Bike Tour at the End of the Fall

Two weeks ago I received a mail that promoted a bike tour in the Taipei City. My attention was captured. It said, “Come to have a city bike tour to enjoy the beauty of Fall before winter comes. The activity includes a lot of programs in addition to biking.

It was just what I needed; riding a bike probably for the very last time of the year, breathing in fresh air, appreciating beautiful scenery, exploring some beautiful parks and many more. I missed the excitement and joy I had while biking in Seattle with my sister. So, I made a quick decision and registered. I don’t have a bike, but I can borrow one. From whom? I thought of Pamela and Moses immediately. They both joined a T/Ms biking group and they have good bikes. It was pity that Pamela was still in China, or she would definitely join me.
I didn’t forward the information to other goldies as I was 100% sure that none of them could or would join it. We had to get up very early before 6:00 a.m. Unlike me, they are not crazy about biking enough to sacrifice their beauty sleep. And they don’t have a bike. The first and foremost reason was that though the program looked interesting, what if it turned out the opposite?

At Kate’s Birthday party, I asked Moses to lend me the bike. To assure him that I borrowed the bike for a good course, I e-mailed him the flyer of the activity. Hey, why not invite him to join? He was experienced enough to tell if the activity was worth attending or not. If he joined, it’d further encouraged me and I would not be alone. Whenever it comes a time like this, I’d feel sorry for myself that no one in my family could join me for the activity that I like.

Hooray! Moses wanted to join the biking. What a spirit! I didn’t bother to think whether he did find the activity interesting or he was actually worried about my biking skill. I planned to meet him at 7:20 a.m. to get the bike. Moses proposed 6:20 a.m. to play safe. We settled it finally at 6:40 a.m. I had to get up at 5:30 the latest. I just hoped it would not kill me by getting up so early as there was no way for me to go to bed early.

Things went swell. I had no problem to get up, arrived at Moses’ in time and followed Moses to the gathering spot way before others. I didn’t know there was a biking trail right starting from Moses community. We made a little detour, yet the unexpected forty minutes ride in the early morning was extremely uplifting. I just loved biking.

The only disappointment I had for the activity was that we waited for almost an hour for others to come. The weather that caused others to hesitate to come didn’t bother me at all. On the contrary I liked it cloudy and drizzling on and off. We should have felt lucky it was not hot at all
The rest was just easy and relaxing. We were divided into three groups. We rode in a slow pace keeping waiting for others. I was OK with it, but I was afraid that it was too slow for Moses. Comparing with us, he was a true biker.
Except all the benefits I mentioned above, I also learned some tips of riding a bike properly, history of the areas we toured, some good hiking trails introduced by the leader. I will definitely try these hiking trails as hiking is also my cup of tea, too.

The whole trip was easy. The real challenge was the long biking before and after the activity. It took Moses and I another 40 minutes to ride back to his home. That back and forth ride gave me the sweat I need.

Well, actually there was one minor thing that made the whole activity not so perfect. Right in front of Moses home, just when we were only about 20 meters away to get off the bike, both us had a small accident. When I saw Moses fall of his bike suddenly, I couldn’t believe it and panicked. Then it came my turn when I tried to clutch the brake. Who would know that the sidewalk was so slippery with rain? I fell really hard and it took me probably five minutes to get back on my feet completely. I think it taught us a lesson, always keep an eye on the road you take. You can never be too careful.

Trini

Kate’s Joyful and Sensuous Birthday Party

I’m not a party animal, but goldies’ parties are the ones that I won’t miss for anything else. When Kate’s Birthday Party was announced, my first reaction was“VIVA Kate!” We had another good reason to revive our youth.
Quick minded Sherry stood out and proposed, “We need to prepare a different dance to cheer up Kate and her guests, and add excitement to her birthday - the most important day of her life. Irene happened to have learned a new dance “Mambo No. 5” and suggested that we do this dance. After watching the movie clip Irene sent, and seeing Irene do the demo at Sherry’s birthday party, we all agreed unanimous that it’s the very one, not difficult yet full of passion. http://picasaweb.google.com/taipeitmtrini/KateSJoyfulAndSensuousParty#

For the last two weeks Irene spent her precious time hunting props – golden and red hats - to go with the red and gold bing bling tops, and coaching goldies separately. Everyone was busy with their work or engagements. It was hard to work out a time that was good for all of us. Nevertheless we still managed to get together on Saturday afternoon, the day before Kate’s party, to do the dress rehearsal. After two hours sweating, we finally got it all set. Of course we needed to do our homework in advance at home practicing on our own.

Kate remained silent most of the time. Being the Birthday Star, she couldn’t join us. But we knew she was busy, too, organizing her party and preparing herself for a big surprise.

When I and greeting every guest. After exchanging a few words excitedly, she waltzed away to attend other guests. Having no time to do the stage rehearsal, Irene briefly explained the line position to me. Being Kate’s dear pals, we were given the honor and privilege to do the opening dance. Soon after Linda arrived, the program began. Our efforts were rewarded, and our purpose was achieved. All the guests were cheerewalked in the Artco De Cafe (典藏咖啡館）shortly before 1:00 p.m., most of the guests were already there. The room was fully packed with loud cheerful chatting voices. Kate, the elegant birthday star, was dressed in red and gold ChiPao and busy in receiving d up by our exotic dance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPBfiuJrYvY
The guests were basically divided into two groups. Kate’s Chinese opera group, and T/Ms group. Opera group did operas, and T/Ms group did talent shows. The climaxes were when Kate gave personal shows - Chinese Opera, Ballroom Dance and a duet with William. Kate received a standing ovation for her gifted talents. We could tell that Kate dedicated herself and devoted a lot of time to make her Birthday party an unforgettable and joyful one.

Of course we didn’t waste a minute to chat, eat and taking photos. Thanks to Kate we had a very lovely and enjoyable afternoon. Again I wish Kate evergreen happiness, a truly beautiful future and a life full of smiles cheers. This is just the beginning of another wonderful year in her life!

Trini

Happy Birthday to Sherry and Virginia

Our birthdays are feathers in the broad wing of time. - Jean Paul Richter
All the goldies were born in the 2nd half of year. Since August, we have celebrated each other’s birthday one after another. This month it’s Sherry, Virginia and Kate’s turn. What amazed us is that Sherry and Virginia were born on the same day – Oct. 9th, the day before our Double Tenth Day.

It’s said that girls born in the 2nd half of the year is more beautiful. No matter if it’s true or not, we enjoy thinking that we are beautiful.

Sherry’s dear brother is a good cook. He always shows his generous love for Sherry by offering his home to receive her friends and cook for them. I’ve had the privilege to enjoy Jimmy’s dishes four or five times. I must say every time was a great treat.

Pamela and I arrived around 6:30 p.m. and were the 3rd and 4th to arrive. Irene and Michelle were already there and they were enjoying a great time with Sherry. Others will be arriving around 7:00 p.m. So, we took a short moment to read an article in the T/Ms magazine. Thanks to Sherry’s persistence, our reading can be continued. Surprisingly Sherry announced that Virginia would join us, too.

What a pleasant surprise! We hadn’t seen her for quite a long time. Sherry and Virginia share the same birthday by odd chance. She received a passionate welcome from us when she showed up with a bag of a famous finger-licking snack in her hand. I was mentally prepared to go home with a full stomach. Gina, Kate, Lydia arrived respectfully. Sherry’s husband Azen arrived in time with two bottles of wine in his hands. Apparently it was going to be a big feast!

When dinner began to serve, Jimmy kept receiving compliments from goldies. All the dishes were not only scrumptious but also healthy. Virginia, a photographer, took pictures of every dish whereas I buried my head in all the dishes to enjoy the food. I can’t list all the topics we covered while eating, but I am perfectly sure that Laugher never seized.

Time to blow the candles! Jimmy took out a beautifully decorated chocolate fruit cake. It’s the climax of the whole party. We sang “Happy Birthday Songs” to both Sherry and Virginia while Virginia played the piano. Ignoring my overloaded stomach, I had two pieces of cake. To add a little xxx surprise and fun to the party, I took out some cosmetic kits I prepared for goldies to do the lucky draw. After the game, it was the "must-have" group photo time. It further excited us. Standing in position, changing positions, posing and getting ready, zoop! One after another, we took plenty enough Pictures.Finally time to go and give quietness back to the hosts. I must thank Sherry and Jimmy for such an exciting and enjoyable evening! A JOY SHARED IS A JOY DOUBLED. It's the conclusion given by Sherry for her Birthday party. Let me share a quote with all the goldies - You're not getting older, you're getting better. – Unknown

Two weeks later, it will be Kate’s Birthday Party. Simply can’t wait for it to come!

Trini
http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/taipeitmtrini/SherryVirginiaSBirthday#