FOOD: Pineapple-Cherry Dump Cake

[This was the first time I made a "Dump Cake", and it really was incredibly easy and incredibly delicious. I made it for today's Hawaiian-themed Toastmasters meeting, and it was ravaged! The pineapple upside-down cake I made for last week's Luau-themed meeting didn't get this much attention. Perhaps the PUD cake was "too formal" versus the non-shape-forming quality of the cobbler. *shrug*

All I know is that the dump cake was super easy and a lot less of a mess. We'll be seeing that one again soon.]

CHERRY PINEAPPLE DUMP CAKE [source: Cooks.com]

1 can (16 oz.) crushed pineapple
1 can (20 oz.) cherry pie filling
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1/2 to 2/3 c. chopped nuts
1/2 c. butter

In a 9 x 13 inch pan, dump in the pineapple and juice, spreading evenly. Pour cherry pie filling over the pineapple, spreading evenly. Add dry cake mix evenly over the fruit. Add nuts. Drizzle melted butter over top. Do not mix. Bake 350 degrees for 1 hour.

TOASTMASTERS: "Rock It!" Meeting

I was the TMoD for this morning's TM meeting. I had decided last week to give it a theme: "Rock It!". When I theme, I like to tie it to the particular day, and on March 24th 2006, Hannah Montana premiered on the Disney Channel -- hey, it was either that or the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.

And it was a theme that everyone got enthusiastic about. I feel so much gratitude to everyone participating and putting in the time and effort.

When I was introduced, I walked up to the podium and gave an intentionally lack-luster "Are you ready to rock?." and got a huge "Yeah!" [come on guys... make me earn it! :)]. I then untucked my white button up (and oh yes, I was also sporting a vest [love it!]), djushed my hair, put on some shades, and threw on a Hannah Montana wig (featuring a couple purple-highlighted braids). And having become much better(???)-dressed, I gave a more enthusiastic and rocker-screeched "Are you ready to rock?!" to my adoring fans!

Seriously, I loved everyone's energy and appreciate all the love that people put in today. Fantastic was our Thought of the Day by one of our newest members; she shared a Dave Matthews Band lyric to uplift and inspire us. Then our grammarian had a quirky, relevant, and easily-accessible Word of the Day: 11 (Eleven) "as in one more than ten" (from This is Spinal Tap). And our Table Topics Master, another newbie, went all miscellaneous with rock references -- rock as a gift, rocket ship conference room, dinner with a rock star, and Fraggle rock -- I totally enjoyed the eclecticism. All of our speakers were well-rehearsed, and for our business session, there were quite a number of recognitions to hand out.

It was very uplifting meeting, which made for two in a row! Last week had a St. Patrick's Day theme, and it also carried well throughout that meeting. We're having more fun, the speeches are great, and our club's on its way back to Presidents Distinguished.

Many thanks again to everyone who was there. Y'all Rocked It!

TOASTMASTERS: ACC Tall Tales Contest / RUN: 1.09+2.50 miles @??:??, Home<-sL->Gym+, Melbourne, FL

Tonight, the Advance Communicators [TM] Club held a Tall Tales Contest, the first of its kind that I've attended (or even heard of). There were eleven (11!) contestants!... nearly all of the District 84 and Division B officers. It was a great great showing and a hoot. All through the contest, I was imagining myself having to be up there giving a humorous speech. And in all honesty, I'm still intimidated getting in front of others to give a no-notes speech. Anyways, all did a good job. There were four or five who were pretty outstanding. And it was nice that I agreed with all of the placings (though, among friends, it almost seemed like the awards didn't matter). It was a nice experience, and I'm glad to have attended.

Well, the contest had started late and as mentioned, there were eleven contestants. The Tall Tales ran 3-5 minutes each, so the meeting ran just under two hours. Piccadilly Cafeteria typically closes at 8:30pm, and it was near nine when we quickly herded out. I was going to be really late for volleyball the gym, but I didn't worry so much. A nice drive home, I quickly got changed and ran out the door, shortcut to the Pro-Health.

Oh, forgot to mention that I had an entire Little Caesar's cheese pizza for lunch today. I was probably able to finish the pie because I stretched my stomach from all the sushi this past weekend (thanks Joy!). It was good though. Oh, and I also had a large Tropical Smoothie. Yeah, so I'm not remotely hungry tonight and will probably just have a small scoop of strawberry-banana frozen yogurt (and yes, the fake LC cheese did affect me tonight... *blurg/oh well*).

Getting back to the Pro-Health, I walked to the gym, saw the young kids goofing, waved to Brad, and signaled to him that I'd be upstairs running. And Good karma today. This morning I found out that I was put on a list for a Hospitality Pass (I'm staying vague on this one *wink/nod*), and tonight at the gym, I passed by the guy from work that I just light up from seeing. Small moments of happiness that's holding back the D&T urge. Don't get me wrong, I felt like I made progress at work today, which is fantastic, but I've been expecting a fall from Saturday morning's ContestMastering high. It's a short and busy week, so I may be able to fend it off... oh gosh, I veered off on another tangent. Ramble.

Again, getting back to the Pro-Health. I got in a ten laps (1 mile) -- I don't like the corners -- then spotted Brad on the 2nd floor... the kids were too much. I totally understand. So he did some weights as I put in some extra laps to hopefully accumulate my 3+ miles (I want my sticker!). The gym was closing, and we talked some more about this Sunday and Busch Gardens. I'm looking forward to a new park! (I will have to control myself). And then we just called it a night. I took the long way home. 1.09 miles on the road, 2.5 on the track. Woo!

At this moment it's just about 11:00pm. It's going to be a little longer before I select and add photos from, especially since I'll be combining posts *shrug*. Anyways, it feels good to blog. Here's tonight's sweaty Ceddy pics:

TOASTMASTERS: Division B Fall Contests

This morning, the Fall Contests for Toastmasters District 84 Division B were held at the Holiday Inn Conference Center, which was fantastic for me (so close). Anyways, everything ran smoothly, and we came out with our two winners.

For this event, I had both my point-and-shoot Canon PowerShot A710 (7.1 megapixel, 6x optical) camera, and a Nikon D80 (10.2 megapixel, 18-135mm lens) that my friends let me borrow.

The theme was "Fantasy". I saw a princess, a witch, a gypsy, a ship captain, a ladybug, Darth Vader, a Shriner, and a flapper.

Thai, Lady, Vader
Princess & Captain
Shrine On!
Witchy Woman &
Not an Abu Ghraib costume
Then there was me... in khakis and a white button-up... to which I just asked the other guests (using my best Puss-in-Boots voice) "Is this not your fantasy?".

Anyways, for the contest, I was a timer along with Gloria. She's such an extrovert, and it's refreshing from time to time not to worry about whether or not I'll have fun -- we always have a good time with it.

Before I get into the contesting, let me post pics of the food and get that out of the way.

The salad was tasty, as was the beef dish
(and I love pine nuts in my rice pilaf).
Then Gloria and I shared our desserts.
All was delicious! Okay, now for the contests...

First up: The Evaluation Contest.

New-to-District 84 (D84) John Sanderson was the test speaker, whose "My Life Reset" gave the audience some perspective on life changes, which he mentioned, are often prompted either by inspiration or desperation. Lisa R., from my area, Area 22, came out with the win, with Sylvia N. (also from our area but representing a different area) came in second.

Next was the Humorous Speech Contest.

There were five contestants, starting with Vladimir N. from Area 22 talking about street racing with friends and a car without brakes. Next, Bill B. gave an account of Navy boot camp, then Dan Brown discussed the differences between men and women (it's in their genes). Amy S. spoke and demonstrated the dedication of some fathers from the animal kingdom, and Fonnie B. shared some lessons she learned from her pet fish.

Amy and her Jack Hanna/Discover Channel speech are moving on to represent Division B at the District Conference in a couple weeks. Fonnie took second and Dan Brown third.

Overall, I was pleased with and agreed with the results. Congratulations and good luck to the winners.

As with many Toastmasters contests, there were raffles and a 50/50. I purchased 25 raffle tickets and went in with Gloria for another 25 50/50 tickets (the pot was about $117).


But before any of tickets were drawn, our Division B Governor Dee M. told the audience about something she saw done and wanted to do -- which was to give a gift to the person who was first to register for the event. And that was... ME! (woo!).


Upon arriving at the contest, Gloria brought me to the raffle prize table and asked which prize I liked the most -- telling me that if she won it, she'd give it to me. I had asked her the same question, and she said that she'd want the decorative candle set. Unbeknownst to me, I was being set up, and I got the prize that I wanted.

Is this not your fantasy?
In the actual raffle, I won a Yankee Candle, and I was able to return the favor to Gloria -- last year, she won the Toastmasters tote bag that I wanted and selflessly gave it to me. Anyways... we didn't win the 50/50 but we both went home with a prize and had a good time.


As for the camera-ing, I primarily used the Nikon because of its speed. It was a little bulky and intimidating, but it was good practice. Most of the picture did turn out darker than I expected, which was a disappointment, and for now, I think that I'm going to continue with my point-and-shoot.

UPDATE: again, we didn't win the 50/50 raffle, but I enjoyed drawing animals on the back of the tickets...


I love my Pilot VBall pens!

[eop]

TOASTMASTERS: Area 22 Fall Contests

This afternoon, Toastmasters Area 22 (of District 84, Division B) held its Evaluation and for Humorous Speech Contests at Picadilly's Restaurant at the Melbourne Square Mall.

From the Harris SpeakEZ were Michael C. competing in the Humorous Speech contest, Christopher F. in the Evaluation contest, and Tina O. also competing in the Evaluation contest but representing the Advance Communicators Club.

Christopher and Tina were are smiles
Michael and... (well, the picture will make sense later)

Debra S. was the test speaker for the Evaluation contest and talked about her "Btzzz" moments... a.k.a., senior/blonde moments or moments of less-than-optimal grace. All five evaluators did a good job, but it was Lisa R. that came out on top. Christopher did come away with 3rd place.


During the break between contests, Pim L. performed a traditional Thai dance:


Then for the Humorous Speech contest, Michael was the first speaker, talking about his experience "Driving with Trevor". Although he didn't place, Michael did an outstanding outstanding job and really did our club proud. Vladimir N. also had a great story, "Holding Hands with a Backseat", and took home first place.

Both of today's top contest winners will represent our Area at the Division level in a couple weeks, and I know that they're both going to do well.

That said, Michael didn't go home empty-handed -- he cleaned up during the door-prize raffle. He had four winning tickets! (see picture above)

I also didn't leave the contest empty-handed. I won one of the raffle prizes: a set of four glasses with a pitcher. Now only if I had three friends who would be willing to trek up to Viera to visit me... dah.

Before the drawing, I did get some cute photos of the raffle helpers modeling with some of the raffle prizes:


Anyways, Toastmasters was a nice way to spend a free Saturday. Now, I have to go prepare for the next few days... more Food & Wine Festival at Epcot tomorrow, then a few days away on business -- sopapillas, here I come!. Woo!

TOASTMASTERS: "Hope"

Today is Wednesday, so that means Toastmasters, and at today's meeting, I gave a prepared speech from the Advanced Communicator Interpretive Reading Manual -- Project #1: Read a Story -- the purpose of which was "to present a narrative using vocal techniques that help the audience to understand and enjoy the selection". Basically, I was to select a story and read it to the audience with a focus on vocal variety.

When I was called to the podium, I began with an introduction to the project -- how decide on the story was part of the challenge. I told them how I initially wanted to read from A. A. Milne's Winnie The Pooh, but all of the stories were too long; then I wanted to read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, but the story was too short and also too familiar; and then I wanted to read a chapter from the first book of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket -- good size and obscure enough but would've required a lot of background.

I told them that after all this, waiting for me in my mailbox Monday evening, was a letter, one that I'm sure many of them received and one that I would have otherwise thrown away. I told them that the letter was just perfect for this project, and how "the author wasn't important and that the purpose of the letter will quickly be clear." And then I began (clicking the images below opens the image [larger] in a new tab):


I read the letter softly and steadily, with carefully placed pauses and looking up after each sentence or two. And when I reached the end of the letter, I just motioned to the Toastmaster of the Day and took my seat.

I felt good about the speech. I could've worked more on the introduction, but I liked having that parcel of spontaneous speaking there to balance me reading from a piece of paper.

In his evaluation of my speech Christopher said that he thought I made a really good choice of story and that I did a good job accentuating the two climaxes with a subtle change of tone (not louder, but deeper). His suggestion for improvement was for me to let myself go more, to allow myself to show more emotion; he did point out that my speaking in more of a "narrative" voice for those delicate segments could've also been a conscious decision. And Christopher also approved of my decision not to "wrap" the story with comments.

As General Evaluator, Kathy recognized my growth as a public speaker -- how I'm speaking more confidently compared to months before. I would say that it comes from experience and preparation, though I really didn't have to prepare so much for this project; I was lucky to come across that letter. Still, I did put in a lot of work looking into the other story candidates, and perhaps just knowing that I put in the effort provided the confidence and street-cred I needed to show well.

It was a good meeting -- encouraging -- and I look forward to working on my next project... being a part of Christopher's Panel Speech in 3 weeks.

[eom]

JOURNAL: Still trying to get back into the habit.

It'll take some time to get back in the habit of posting. The mass of photos is intimidating and life's forever busy. Anyways, I did want to mention some random mentions:

yeah, I didn't go to either one of last Saturday's Area Contests for Toastmasters. I slept in and then focused on planning a multi-stop shopping-with-coupons excursion; and it was successful.

in procrastinating the speech I should I had to do for this Wednesday, I did manage to setup my computer's backup. I don't think that it's working but the sentiment and effort was there. Also, my car got a couple new tramp stamps... an SCR decal and I replaced my Clemson license plate frame with a "Love the Land" (i.e., Disneyland) frame.

last Friday, I rearranged my desk and bookshelves at the office so that it doesn't face the hallway. I figured that it'd be less distracting, I'd have better access to my whiteboard, and I just needed a change. So far, so good.

volleyball was okay last night. I did too many cat-jumps for the ball (where the ball was too high for me to should've tried). there were some serious donkeys on the court heckling (seriously?). happy hour with the regulars afterwards was a lot of fun. once I got home, I passed out on the couch while watching a S2 ep of Mad Men.

catching back up on S2 of Mad Men this evening, I'm definitely intrigued with Salvador, then I realize that that character's wife, Kitty, is played by Bianca from Wonderfalls (ep. Karma Chameleon); that actress is great!

the sign-up sheet for this week's Toastmasters meeting was sparse, so I sent out an email with a challenge with homemade rice crispy treats as the bribe reward. It worked. I'll still be pulling double-duty but food has a way of keeping things light.

Alright, this is enough for now. I have a bill to pay and a letter to finish and send out before bed. G'night.

:)

[eom]

GYM: Points Galore

the sky looked artful this evening
It's Wednesday which means two things: Toastmasters and volleyball. And today, one was good and the other not too good. There were needed breaks realized and a mystery solved. But which one's which and what is wherE?
...
Toastmasters
Okay, Toastmasters was the not-too-good one. And because so, I won't spend many words on it. There were just a lot of assumptions in setting up the meeting that just didn't pan out -- and I ended up rushing to get things together. It would've been seamless if I had five more minutes and also not had a full travel mug of coffee right beforehand. Luckily, we didn't have to twist people's arms too hard to fill in quite a number of big roles at today's meeting.

The speeches and evaluations were all good. It was just the table topics that bothered me. The theme was our president, and immediately I started to cringe. I really don't like politics being introduced at the meetings because it turns into hate-talk, and it's like having to listen to someone bad-mouth your mother and not being able to say anything in defense. Frankly it was very disheartening.

It took me a while to recover from the meeting, but at least there's a couple weeks before our next meeting, and I'm signed up to speak. I'll be keeping it light-hearted and universal.

Anyways,...

Volleyball
I can always count on volleyball to lift my spirits. Tonight, there were 24+ people there to begin with, and it stayed that way well past the first hour. This time, it was very fine because everyone there was amazingly chill -- and the newbies were of the HS volleyball girls variety, so none of the off-putting machismo demonstrated on Monday. I do have to say that there were really no weak links tonight, and the level of play was well above average.

Because of the numbers, we played points and teams for most of the session. Susan, Cara, Mike, Greg, me, and a rotating sixth person made up one team, and we did pretty awesome (even though scoring didn't really mattered). Communication on our side was good, and it was like everyone had their own specialty -- setting, spiking, serving, chasing,... plus we were all quite consistent.

I did well with the chasing, and my ups were visibly-improved. My serving was consistent, and my play at the net was cooler than Monday (no fantastic spike today but a lot of good knockdowns). The most fun point for me was when I was center and knocked the ball down on the completely wrong direction -- a hybrid of a spike and a pass; luckily Cara and Susan were paying attention and managed to put it back over the net.

With fifteen minutes to go, we were down to fifteen people and dropped points, rotating people in. I didn't so much mind the point-taking tonight. I would've also been perfectly happy just hanging out on the sidelines. Oh, about the mystery guy... we have a mutual friend and a little more than a year-and-a-half ago, we were at this friend's house for an Equality Florida fund-raiser dinner... small world, and in the good way.

Anyways, that was today. Now it's again past my bedtime. I'm getting a crown tomorrow morning... hopefully, I'll wake up in time for it. G'night.

In the meantime, here are tonight's post-gym pics:

GYM: I-Don't-Like-Points Volley

Tonight's volleyball was interesting. At first I was a bit skeptical/pessimistic about the prospect, but after an adjustment of the cast, it was back to smiles and good cheer. There was also a new [familiar(?)] face -- a mystery unsolved... and I do say that I am intrigued. A couple grands feats and a hasty move tonight, and overall an interesting evening.
...
After work, I stopped by WM & Tgt in search of Pushing Daisies season 2 DVDs but ended up going home and ordering them online. Then, I made a bagel sandwich (turkey and ketchup) and it was time to go head over to the gym. I drove. (I know).

When I got there, the court had maybe twenty+ people on it, including a lot of newbies, many of the basketball variety... It was quickly decided that it'd be most fair to everyone if we played points. I don't like points (I don't like that pressure) but that was how it had to be to appease everyone and also bring down the numbers -- some people leave after a couple games.

Down to eighteen, the newbie-basketball players were still there. They were the type that insisted on promoting their machismo -- something I have a strong aversion to -- and for this, I had no problem sitting out a game or two.

The regulars soon put together a strong team and took game after game. Typically, I'd feel bad about the imbalance, but I needed to see those guys eat some humility.

By the second hour, the basketball players were gone, and we were down to fourteen. We stopped playing points. It was like the sky opened up, and the sun poked his head out, waved his hand, and said "Hi there".

It was regulars and semi-regulars. There was one new person there, and he was good. He had a really good attitude and was immediately comfortable to be with. When the two of us made introductions, he mentioned that we've actually met before (and that we'd talk later). I had an idea but couldn't've said for sure.

NFJ (my name for him at the moment) played for the near length of the session, but left 10 minutes early. I considered also excusing myself but I stayed on (chicken). Then at gym-close, I hurried out to the lobby then parking lot in the slight hope that I'd catch him, but I didn't.

Honestly, I'm intrigued and am looking forward to Wednesday for some answers. I know that there is no rush but my curiosity gets the better of me sometimes.

Anyways, as for the actual volleyball-playing, I did well tonight. I started off calm and quiet -- legs still sore from Saturday's run/walk -- and was able to make some nice digs and sets. By the second half, my legs were more loose, and having just friends around, was able to open up. It was a good night for volleys.

The skinny dude put up some good two-handed sets and did some softer, more focused hits. Susan and Vivi were serving spectacular as usual, and blood donor was there and actually stayed to the end. One of the bears set me up for my first really really solid spike, which landed hard and squarely on the baseline (WOO!), and in the last few points and as center, I ran a ball back and made a very solid set to the front line. It was a spectacular feeling.

I felt like I did get a little more focused than I'd usually want to, but I was glad that I do allow myself that sort of escape sometimes. I'm second-guessing my rushing out afterwards, but I supposed I can consider it a mini-mystery for the others to get a resolution to on Wednesday. I do look forward to then, when I'll have a better head on my shoulders and more courage to take the steps I really want to take.
-----
Oh, as an update on other things, I will not be giving my canned speech at this Wednesday's TM meeting. I didn't bail. I gave up my spot to an eager new speaker. This also provides another TM the chance to practice giving an evaluation for the upcoming contest. Instead, I'll be giving my "Going Beyond Our Club" speech, from the Successful Club Series, in a couple weeks. My title for it will be "Let's Go Sailing". I'll be wearing me pirate dreadlocks and calling me-self Captain Jack Sbarro.

"Me pilfer flattened bread dough spread with a savory mixture -- usually including tomatoes and cheese and often other toppings and baked. That's right... I'm a pizza pie-rate."

[wait for laughter]

Then I'd go on and tell them that I'd usually take them on a journey of the seven seas, but because of the time constraint, I'm only going to show them three... "C's"... then briefly talk about the Club Ambassador Program, Contests, and finally the upcoming Conference... (get it?).

I'm also going to pass out prizes booty: some Cracker Jacks, a box of Chips Ahoy, and a bottle of ye [Ginger] Ale -- yes, I bribe my audience.

Anyways, so I have a couple more weeks to develop the script and also to exercise me scratchy throat. Speaking like a pirate ain't so easy.
-----
That's about it. It's nearly midnight, and I still need to snack and shower. We've got someone from site at the office, and I think we're going out to eat or something tomorrow after work. Until then, here is tonight's sweaty ceddy pics...

... and a pics from a 0.2-mile run on Sunday -- turned the corner, saw lightning, and turned back:

Still, I made a good sweat. It counts.

TOASTMASTERS: Div C&D Make-up Officers Training

I missed out on the District-sponsored officers training last weekend because I had company in town. The other six officers in our club were there and got trained. So, in order for our club to get "seven out of seven" I had to attend one of the make-up sessions. I couldn't/didn't want to wait for our Division B training in Cocoa three weeks away, so I decided to go to the make-up training for Division C&D today (Friday) in Orlando.
...
Being on a Friday, the training was held in the evening (registration at 6pm). This worked out with our early on-Friday schedule (end-of-day at 4:30pm). I stopped by 3 McD's (yeah, still searching for the panda) and the library (to return some media) before making the drive up I-95 to 520 all the way to the SAIC Conference Center.

I think I was the only non-C/D TM there, and I was fine that -- I'm comfortable making new acquaintances on my own. Anyways, there were three sessions that evening. The first was for Contest Judging, and the other two were the actual officers' training. I went to the contest judging presentation and the VP Education training (session 2)

I was tempted to just head back home after that, but saw some familiar faces in the common area and decided to stayed for closing announcements (since I was already there). There was a preview of District 84's Fall Conference "Anchors Away!" Nov. 6-8, 2009 in Daytona Beach, and I'm can't wait to go -- it's going to be a lot of fun [More information @ D84 conference website].

Contests, Leadership, Achievement, Presentations...
(what do you get?!)
[ha!]Anyways, the evening was quickly-paced, and I was glad to have attended. Not only will our club receive a 4-pack of CC Manuals for being "seven of seven", I learned that if we do it again in the spring, our club will receive a personalized TM gavel for our meeting!

On the way home, the sky was set for an incredible lights display -- a grand purple-gray, flickering with no rain and no visible bolts (yet). I made a quick intermission at my 5th McD's of the day -- no new plushes but a great great smile from the cashier. Anyways, once back out, lighting punctuated the sky and shunted raindrops fell from shunted clouds. It was one of those intimidating-but-beautiful weathers:

Photos:



Video:




This evening's trip for training was successful -- another checkbox filled-in for our club, and more experience for me navigating East Orlando (the new area of Orlando for me to learn, as it appears). I'm kind of looking forward to a Melbourne weekend. I'm taking a lesson from last weekend -- not to put too much pressure on myself and to enjoy the weekend wherever I am.

:)

GYM: Kind-of-Amazing Day.

The title says it all. For work, Toastmasters, volleyball... veryniiice.

Everyone at the office was in a good mood today. Plus I was able to get my one PTR as far as I could then start on the next one. I got help getting NetBeans set-up on my Sun (GUI work!), and I have some Java to look forward to (and I haven't touched that kind of code since 2000!). Then I also have another big PTR on its way -- and it's a mix of C/C++, HTML, and Javascript. Woo!
...
Today's Toastmasters meeting was also delightful. The two prepared speeches were very funny entertaining, the table topics were well-prepared, and I felt like I did a good job giving a speech evaluation. All of our members had a role and did great in explaining to our two guests(!!) the purpose of their part in the meeting. And we may have a new member of the club soon. The meeting was very organized and ran smoothly. Great job to all!

I was also able to show off a couple new forms I created for the member folders that I'm putting together as this year's VP of Education. I'm excited about getting them set up and hopefully, it'll be a good way of keeping track of everyone's progress. I'll make these available on our club's website when they're done.

I got to work a little late this morning, and with Toastmasters, I had some extra time to make up. I quickly went out for a late lunch -- a Southwest Salad with grilled chicken at McDonald's -- and managed to stay productive and get my 9 hours in. Then instead of heading straight home, I went downtown to pick up the running club's mail and to check out the library (I caught it on one of the two nights they're open past 5pm, so I was thankful for that).

And then instead of taking US 1 up, I went across 192 to I-95. This was for two reasons: First of all, there was a McDonald's on the right side of the road, and I needed to eat something before volleyball tonight -- plus they are having a Teenie Beenie Baby Happy Meal promotion, and I wanted to check out what was available (and they had the koala!).

Secondly, I wanted to avoid driving by the new Chick-fil-a.

The grand opening of the Viera Chick-fil-a is really tomorrow, but that just meant the line of tents for their First 100 promotion had been on since 6am this morning. I had wanted to participate not only for the year's worth of Chic-fil-a meals but also because it was sure to be an experience. I passed on it because I didn't have the fore-thought to put in vacation for it and because I was totally unprepared for it -- no tent, and busy as is to have given up an entire day-and-a-half.

So I tried to avoid the scene.

Still,... I snapped a pic from the exit ramp.

Tonight, I changed into volley-gear before leaving work, and after running the errands, went directly to the gym. There were 14 of us to begin with -- the game play was very very decent.

By the second hour, we kept steady with a dozen of us, and everyone was still amazing nice to each other -- none of Monday's meh-ness. The free-arms skinny guy actually played with two hands for a while, so there's hope yet. Communication on our side was absolutely fantastic. Our newbies were very good, and not to be under-estimated -- I think one of the guys actually served a perfect game.

As for me, I was fantastic with the calls and the short balls. I may have gotten all but one of my serves in, and overall, I was pretty awesome. I am not shy to say that tonight I was consistently making beautiful sets, and also got in a couple of good spikes. Tonight, there really weren't many spikes -- CBJ wasn't there, but Susan, ViVi, and BearJ were -- and there were a Lot of "amazing" rallies on both sides.

No +R guy either but Sylvia was there (I will learn all of the gym worker's names by the end of the year). The gym is really feeling like a second home now... like Orlando, like Toastmasters, and [dare I say] like the office.

So, it was a good day... a kind-of-amazing one.

Here are a couple more of tonight's sweaty ceddy pics:

Here's my toy (and you can bet that I'm going to get a few more of these)

:)