You’re on a conference call at work – let’s say it is an internal call.  The conversation starts off with the niceties – hello how are you, darn its Monday again! But as the talks proceed you start hearing words and phrases that do not exactly translate literally. “We don’t have the bandwidth” someone says.  “Lets take that offline.” Comes the response.  Then we descend completely into this phenomenon known as “business speak.” Maybe we suffered a “paradigm shift” or or our solutions weren’t “scalable” or we needed to employ more “sustainable solutions”.  These abstract words and phrases have all but infiltrated our use of language.  You can probably sense my attitude towards the usuage of what is semantically defined as plastic words – it is not a positive one.  Whether they are a bane or a boon to the art of communication in the big picture, I think these plastic words have degraded our use of language and caused a break down in effective communication.

Plastic words – the phrase was coined by a German author who believed that language is changing in a unique and disturbing way.  Yes, there is actual theory behind this, not just my afternoon rant.  These words come to us in the form of top-down language  – an inorganic method where language is given to a culture and is created from some other realm that is alien to the culture’s vernacular.  Vernacular is your everyday colloquial language.  However, top down language is more scientific and it is brought to us by so called experts.  These experts are probably working professionals like you & me – business, technical, psychological and financial consultants and of course reporters and politicians.  They are the mediators – the point where knowledge is put into practice.  So what’s the problem you ask?  The expert silences critical thinking by appearing positive and enlightened.  The consequence is that it disempowers people – we are all forced to view the world through the lens of the experts. Plastic words condense a huge field of experience in one expression – the layperson lacks the power to define these words. For the first time in history there are indications of a universal language and this language is being generated in an inorganic, top-down manner. Plastic words are creating a homogenization of the English language and are reducing the diversity in our thinking.

Now don’t get me wrong – I love using plastic words.  I hear my dad using them all the time and I am familiar with the usage though not always the meaning of most. The truth is a lot of people who enter the work force are new to the terminology thus creating room for a lot of miscommunication to occur. My cousin shared an experience with me recently.  He was on a conference call with his manager and a customer apparently trying very hard to drive a point home.  His boss however felt this conversation needed to wait and cautioned that we should take this offline. My cousin – I don’t know what he thought it meant but the request was lost on him and he continued pressing his point until finally he received a text from his boss saying Ram shut up!  We had a good laugh over his story but the truth is this isn’t an isolated case – a lot of people take a while to catch on to the work place lingo.  The problem with plastic words is that they completely lack imagery.  When you think of the word modernization can you picture what it means in your mind’s eye?  What about scalability?  This lack of imagery leads to a higher chance of miscommunication. Plastic words replace precise words and blur meaning thus creating a detrimental effect on our language.

Plastic words take on a life of their own and change in meaning according to the intention of the speaker.  How are we expected to communicate consistently and clearly when the words themselves don’t stand for the same thing from one context to the next?  And can you imagine the whole world talking like this one day?  So should we just shrug this off as the natural evolution of language?  Maybe. Sure.  We don’t have “visibility” yet to the outcome of language “2.0.” But if we “drill down” to it, does it really “facilitate” effective conversation? Maybe we should “leverage” the knowledge I shared with you today and work on the quality of our communication “going forward.”  How about I “touch base” with you on your progress next week?

Jimmy Tran did the HP Northside Toastmaster club a very honorable service by representing the club at the Area Speech Contest, held on 18-March2011.  I hope you are able to appreciate the craftsmanship he put into his speech writing…

THANK YOU Jimmy!!

There are literally thousands of words in the English dictionary that I don’t know the meaning of or have ever used in my daily conversations with other people. However, there exists one word that, above all others, perplexes me and yet, I use it on a day-to-day basis. In fact, the word emanates from my lips several times a day. What is this word, you ask?

Let me first give you some background information on it. For starters, almost everyone defines it in a different way. The frequency with which it is used is also dependent on the source. Even the way it’s used varies from person to person. Some choose to use it very loosely, while others reserve it for a select few in their lives. Looking at the origin of the word, we find that it stretches back thousands of years. Still, uncovering the root of it does very little in addressing the sheer complexity of the word itself.

Simply think about it though, how do YOU define the word “love”?

Arguably the most powerful emotion in the known universe, love is also the most unexplainable. It can consume us so easily. We revel in it and somehow also wallow in it. Think about that. Are other emotions such as happiness capable of that? How about anxiousness? Or anger? Probably not. Yet to classify love as just another emotion is undermining the magnitude of the word and the burden that comes along with it.

The concept of love is so abstract and intricate that some see it as language, or a skill, or even a profession rather than an emotion.

Thus, trying to encapsulate it all in this brief speech is far too daunting of a task.

In fact, it’d make little sense for me to provide my own personal thoughts on love as I’ve only been in love but once. Sure, I love my family, I love my friends, I love writing, I love sports, I love Cheddar Jack Cheez-Its, and I love a breezy summer day. But the love I speak of today is much different. It’s the type of love that is glorified and revered through Hallmark cards, sappy movies, and pop ballads, and in that poetry book you read during sophomore year in college. In short, it’s the love that we all search for every day of our lives.

Fortunately for me, my search ended when I met this girl four years ago. I didn’t mean for it to happen, but that’s the way love operates. It disregards whatever situation you find yourself in. It’s unpredictable and unexpected. It doesn’t recognize the color of people’s skins, their cultural backgrounds, their gender, their age, or even the language they speak.

In my opinion, we don’t even get to really choose who we fall in love with. Through some cosmic chain of events, we as individuals become aligned with another person.

And so, here I am, four years later. Although it’s cliché to say, I have truly experienced the power of love. The absolute elation it brings upon you when you know you feel it for someone. How it just lifts you to another altitude and rids your mind of all the pain and concerns troubling your soul.  At the same time, it’s also dragged me down to depths so low, I’m still unsure as to exactly how I ever managed to climb out.

And, I know what you might be thinking. You’re just a kid. What do you possibly know about the pain of love? Well, while I may not have felt the sting of a lost love like some in here may have, I do know that all the pain and agony felt afterward…was worthwhile. And that if any of you could go back, you’d do it again. Once again – unexplainable.

Why else would we deceive ourselves into going through this process over and over again – fully aware of how love can break our spirits?

Clearly, love goes against every single ounce of rationality we have in our bodies. Our hearts don’t function off rhyme and reason though. It’s something far more basic. Whatever it is exactly, it drives us to do reckless things. Ironically, it is love, the purest element in the universe, that is capable of extracting some truly frightening stuff from within us.

Nevertheless, there is that sense of honor and integrity that I always feel when I think about love. That sense that love is a without a shadow of a doubt, a selfless act, and that you can’t love someone else if you love yourself more. That’s love though. One paradox after another.

Although I may have trouble pin pointing how it functions and where it stems from, I do know one thing for certain.

And that is I love this girl. I KNOW I do, because when I’m with her, I feel truly happy. She takes one look at me, her eyes piercing into mine, and I become completely vulnerable. Willing to risk anything and everything for her. Willing to go through all the highs and the lows because a life filled with stability just doesn’t seem worth living.

In a way, I love her without really knowing how.

As the saying goes, love is what makes the world go round and arguably just as vital to our lives just as oxygen and blood are. Just remember though, to love is to take risks. And when we take risks, we sometimes fail.

But don’t ever let that discourage you from taking down your guard and allowing yourself to care for someone more than anything else in this world.

Allow yourself to take a leap and count on someone to be there to catch you.

Allow yourself to throw caution to the wind and listen to your heart rather than your mind.

Allow yourself to experience something that, despite my best efforts just now, cannot be defined.

Poi is one of the traditional performing arts of the Māori people of New Zealand.  It’s developed many forms over the years, and is used worldwide as a hobby, exercise, or performance art alongside activities like juggling.

I started a week ago.  I’m by no means very good at this particular activity.  It’s a difficult art to master.  While adding in fire makes it more exciting, it certainly doesn’t make it easier; I’ve definitely burnt off some hair in the past week. Read more.

Job: Community Renewal Project – Director, Community Development

Education: B.A., Cal Poly SLO (San Luis Obispo, for those who are wondering); MBA, SDSU

Hobbies: Soccer, Skiing

The most exciting thing you have done: Sitting in the in zone where Dwight Clark made “the Catch”

Fear, you want to get over: Not living a life worthy of my potential

Favorite Food: A Big Breakfast

Favorite Holiday: Easter

Most exciting vacation: Europe – 9 countries in two weeks!

Future goals: Pursue a career in economic development

Being a Toastmaster: Hope to get better at speaking on my feet

A lot of what we practice within the weekly club meetings is to help each of us in the real world.  Here are a couple rules to keep in mind when participating within the meetings.

1.       Plan to come to the meeting at least 5-10 minutes early

a.       This allows for everyone to get acquainted and settled prior to the meeting and would not be disruptive to the flow of the meeting

b.       This is also helpful when the meeting room is further away from the front desk/lobby

2.       Please remember to turn off or silence your phone during the meeting

3.       Feel welcome to bring your lunch!

a.       The only caveat is to eat quietly to not disrupt the meeting and not to speak while having food in your mouth

4.       Greet everyone you see in the meeting, especially guests

a.       For some of us introducing ourselves is a difficult thing to do

b.      This will help build confidence and better your repo ire as you meet new people outside of the meetings

5.       If you have taken a role in the meeting, take a moment to review the background of the role

a.       These are found in the Club Welcome Packet or the CC and CL Manuals

i.       If you have further questions, please ask the week’s Toastmaster or your Mentor

b.      Not only does it allow you to familiarize yourself with the role, but also let guests know why we perform that role

6.       When speaking during the meeting, stand up

a.       This helps bring the attention of the audience to you

7.       When coming up to the lectern or podium, shake hands and do not leave the lectern or podium unattended

a.       This allows a unspoken “transfer of control”  between speaker and Toastmaster

b.      Leaving the lectern/podium unattended shows the audience some awkwardness and lack of interaction during the change of control

8.       Clap when roles and speakers are introduced and when they are done speaking

a.       When a meeting participant is going to the lectern, keep clapping until the control of the meeting is handed over – usually signified by a handshake

Please know that this is expected to be a living document – it will be updated as necessary.  As suggested in the meeting, we look to the General Evaluator to monitor and report on any improvements/successes during the club meeting.

Here are some topics we plan to cover in our meetings:

• Energy saving and solar power
• Composting and beekeeping
• Water conservation/consumption
• Recycling and hazardous materials
• Global Warming and Climate change
• Community Gardens and organic food
• Balcony gardening
• Environmental benefits of trees
• Biking, hiking and commuting
• Fossil fuels and transportation
• Social and green investing
• Design for environment and product stewardship

If you are interested, I would like to invite you to the Monthly meetings held at 11am of every first Tuesday of the month  at the HP Roseville Campus, in Garden Suite B.  The next meeting is on Tuesday, 5-October 2010.  This is not exclusive to HP employees – non-HP participants are encouraged and welcome!

For any questions or further information, please feel free to contact me, Rafael Palacios.

On behalf of the HP Sustainability Network – Thank you!

Timelines…..

We all have them. We start with birth, end with death and there’s a whole lot in between. Farmers have a timeline of planting their seed, watching their crop grow and waiting to harvest. What you can possibly do with your timeline is what I’m going to talk about today.

Here’s my timeline (graphic shown) and as you can see I’m more closer to death and really the past 15 years has really changed my perspective on so many things. I became a mother, I traveled extensively abroad, we all experienced 9/11 and I began to think more about my legacy and leaving this world better than I found it. Today I would like to portray myself as that farmer who’s planting my seed and introduce the concept of Global Citizenship. But first let me ask a couple of questions.

The Olympics comes around every 4 years and for 2 weeks during that time you have different nations, races and religions all living in the athletes village harmoniously for one common goal – the privilege to compete and to fulfill a dream. Why this is only possible for 2 weeks every 4 years for an extremely small amount of the population on earth? Why during the Olympics, we can cheer on the Iraqi soccer team, wanting them to win because they are certainly the underdog, but we are mortal enemies otherwise?  Hard questions huh?

We in this room live in California within the United States within North America on this Earth.

My friend, Peter Klein lives in Amsterdam (over 5000 miles away) within Holland within Europe on this Earth.

My other friend, Jon Danks, lives in Melbourne (8000 miles away) within Australia within the Pacific Rim on this Earth. Can you see a pattern here? Don’t we all live on this earth and although we may be American, Dutch or Australian, we are all earthlings? I don’t think people really understand this and many of us are just about my state, my nation, my possessions, me me me me me. There won’t be a United States or a Holland or an Australia unless we learn to live in peace together while taking care of what is ours, not mine.

Global Citizenship is an idealistic view of caring for each other and our planet and one that’s necessary to cultivate for our children and our children’s children. I don’t believe the end of the world will come sooner because of God’s Wrath but because of our own destructive behaviors. This really sounds like a bleeding heart liberal talking before you but I’m not that. I’m just a Mom who cares about the future of her children and who’s educated to reason that one day the well will run dry and the food supply will be too scarce to feed all us earthlings. That’s when it will really come to blows and everyone will be out for themselves.

Global Citizenship speaks to several aspects that needs to be addressed by us earthlings:

• Conservation of resources (water, land, wildlife)
• Reduction of emissions to improve air quality and reverse ozone erosion (cars, industry, cattle)
• Understanding and tolerance of our differences (cultural, religious or political)
• Adopting an altruistic mindset

So what can we do today, right now?

• Assess your consumption of water and utilities and make efforts to reduce usage
• Recycle and Reuse
• Reduce beef consumption, carpool, work from home
• Educate yourself on other cultures and religions because with education comes a greater understanding
• Educate others about Americans (not American Politicians) – Spread goodwill
• Offer service to others – Volunteer

In closing, I thought about our new earthling nation. Our flag may look something like this. (Picture of a white flag with the earth in the middle and people holding hands around it. It also contains 2 doves in one corner and a peace symbol in the other). Our anthem will certainly be something with a reggae beat. Our mascot will be a dove representing hope and peace. My goal today was to plant that seed with each one of you about Global Citizenship and I hope that seed grows and we can harvest year after year after year.

In the immortal words of Jimmy Cliff (famous reggae singer):

“It’s a long, long road to travel and it’s a rough rough way to go but my mind’s made up, my heart is fixed, my faith will see me though”.

I was born 21 years earlier in 1976, in a small town at the southernmost island of the Philippines. We didn’t stay there long since my father’s career kept us on the move. When I was three, we moved to Manila, the country’s capital city. The best  way to describe life in Manila is it’s a lot like living in a big city like Los Angeles—it is bustling, with lots of people, traffic on all freeways and, of course,  an abundant  amount of  pollution. We lived the typical middle class life—my father was a banker, my mother was a stay-at-home mom and I was an only child, studying in a Catholic private school.

At ten, my father’s career had us moving again, this time to Guam. Guam is an island territory of the United States, about a 5-hour flight southwest of Hawaii. In Guam I was growing up as a typical teen, eating lots of fast food, watching hours of MTV and, of course, hanging out with friends in the local mall.

Five years later, as I got used to life in Guam, we had to go back to Manila. The move back was unnerving. I had to deal with reverse culture shock.  According to Wikipedia, reverse culture shock is more surprising and therefore more difficult to deal with than typical culture shock. My experience proves that theory to be true. After living in Guam for 5 years, my Americanized accent sounded funny to the local Filipino kids. I felt awkward and, at times, isolated. I guess it’s the same feeling any new student in school gets. In the end it all worked out, I got my “Filipino accent” back and was once again considered as a local. Life was back to normal again.

Maybe because I was an only child, I longed for total independence. At 18, I got my wish. For college, I went to a small business school in New England called Southern New Hampshire University. My life at the university was, somehow, the beginning of the end.  I was on my own, young and starting to get reckless, just getting by in school and spending more energy exploring my newfound freedom. There were too many weekends, too many parties, which of course meant high alcohol consumption. It didn’t help my summer vacations were spent in Manila, which was more conducive to irresponsible behavior. My social circle in the Philippines was comprised mainly of bored private school graduates with money and not enough to do with it.

It was the summer of 1997 and I was 21. Back in Manila for another vacation, it must have been 1 am and it was raining. My friend and I left a party and drove away in small pick up truck heading towards another party. Of course, neither one of us was in any condition to drive. He volunteered to drive since it was his vehicle we using that night. Half an hour later, we slammed into the back of a stalled 18 wheeler head on, at about 70 miles per hour.

In the Philippines, wearing seat belts is advised, but not mandatory.  In fact wearing one might insult the driver, as if you have no confidence in his driving abilities. In the state of New Hampshire, where I was attending college, wearing seat belts is not required by law either. So call it whatever you want—luck, fate, blessings from a higher power—but that rainy night, I decided to wear my seat belt.

The vehicle we were in was a total wreck. It was so horrific that our crash made big local news. We both survived. I broke my collar bone in half and had massive internal bleeding in which the doctors had to rush me into the operating room to save my life. I spent a month in the hospital and another month recuperating at home. Meanwhile, my friend had a broken jaw which had to be reconstructed with metal plates.

The accident was turning point for me, but the funny thing was I didn’t know it. It took 10 years before I really came to terms with the fact that I could have died. In 2006 I got married to Tracy and a year later my oldest son Raffy was born. Only then did I realize how lucky I was.

To this day, I still wonder what made me wear that seatbelt. Was it luck, fate or blessings from a higher power?  Whatever it may be, it gave a second chance in life. I now look back on my experience in a more positive way. Whenever I’m having a bad day and nothing seems to be going right, all I have to do is look at my wife and our two sons and think back on that night 13 years ago. I remind myself that is my second lease on life and I plan live every moment of it.

I hope for each one of you to take a moment and reflect on yourselves, to find an experience as life-changing as mine, and I hope it brings you inspiration to live every moment of your own lives.

Thank You.

Dennis Asunto

Last week, the Toastmasters Fall area contest was hosted on the HP Campus.  The contest, which included the Humorous and Table Topics categories,  was well attended and a success.  It featured a number of excellent speakers, and, of course, food – potluck style!

Gerardo represented HP Northside at the contest, competing in the Humorous prepared speech category.  His stage comedy presence was very well-received – enough so that they asked him to compete in Table Topics!  Gerardo ended up taking home first-place trophies in both categories, reflecting his knack for humor that we at HP Northside appreciate and enjoy every week. Once again, congratulations!

It was tough competition among fourteen participants.  Every speaker was talented and animated, and the best part of it was that we were entertained.

Congratulations to all participants.  Everyone delivered quality speeches and a total package of laughter.

The next stop for Gerardo is the division contest, which will be held on October 12.  Fellow Toastmasters, you don’t want to miss this one.

Proud member of HP Northside,

-Hydee

Last week, HP Northside Toastmasters had the pleasure of hearing Jimmy Tran’s Icebreaker speech.  The reception was so enthusiastic that we asked him for permission to share his speech on the blog.  Here’s the transcript of his very first toastmasters speech.

Ladies and gentleman, I stand before you a sellout.

Every time I drink from my thermos, every time I use my EPP discount, every time I swipe my badge, every time I use my headset to talk on my cell phone, I am selling out, make no mistake about it.

See, when I was a child, I wanted to be a cowboy…but certain things stood in the way of that. One of them being that a real cowboy is actually NOTHING like the ones I saw in movies and television.

Still, it was a dream. Albeit an unrealistic one. I had other ones though – more feasible ones. None of them, however, involved working for Corporate America.

Yet here I am, working at a big company, bringing home a decent salary, answering to THE MAN. Well I used to, I now answer to THE WOMAN, I guess, but that’s temporary.

The point is I didn’t fully chase my dreams.

Oh yes, it’s one of these speeches.

You’ve heard it a million times before. Achieve your dreams, don’t let anything stand in your way! The words are so cliché that it probably physically hurts you to hear me recite them.

That’s because at this point, life has hit you with a lot. Even at my age, I’ve experienced some tribulations. We like to think that fate or karma or some type of system that rewards good behavior and punishes bad plays a part in our daily lives, but there are instances where we simply can’t explain why certain events transpire.

Life, in short, is tough and has JADED us. It almost feels as if society has been constructed to ensure you may never reach your true dreams. We’ve been programmed to fight and claw for the almighty dollar. In other words, most of us have been raised under the impression that success equals money. And to achieve success, we have to sacrifice. We have to throw our dreams to the wayside.

Now, that’s not necessarily true for all. Some of us did dream to become doctors, lawyers, executives, engineers, etc. I know that’s certainly what my parents dreamed I would become.

But what about my own dreams?

More importantly, what about yours?

Have they been cast aside so that you put food on the table, drive a nice car, make sure your children are experiencing things you never got to?

What I just listed are all obstacles. They are the reason we don’t go after our dreams.

The key is convincing yourself that YOU are the only thing stopping you from achieving your dreams. That YOU are standing in the way, not obstacles, and that it’s YOU continuously settling for the next best thing and choosing the safe route. But it’s also YOU who has some control of your destiny, believe it or not.

And yes, no matter how much you want something, it still may not happen, because as I said, life is tough.  The saying goes, though, better to have loved and lost than to not have loved at all? It’s the same with our dreams. I’m sure most of us would rather fail trying to pursue our passion than not go after them at all.

If you’re like me, and you’re unsure as to what it is you’re exactly passionate about. Ask yourself this: if no matter what, you didn’t get paid, what would you be doing?

I dabbled in journalism during my collegiate days, and it was during that time when I was exposed to a group of people who really knew what they wanted to do in life.

If you don’t know much about journalism, let me tell you now. It’s a tough gig. Hours can get long, transportation isn’t always paid for, and you’re constantly battling deadlines. Not to mention the pay is terrible. Yet, there were these reporters at every practice, every game, every press conference. The newspaper industry is literally dying right before our eyes, yet here are these men and women, more than willing to go down with the sinking ship.

Just to clarify, my dream has never been to become a sportswriter. As intriguing as it may be, I know I’m not passionate enough to make a living out of it. I do have other dreams though. Becoming a movie producer, a world class chef, head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. Some of those are a bit more accomplishable than others, but hey, they’re my dreams.

The problem is I’ve seen plenty of people give up on their dreams and convince themselves that it was the right choice. But are these people ever truly happy?

What’s the point of going through the motions in life and persuading yourself that this is the best you can do?

Whether we like to admit or not, life is fragile. It can end in an absolute instant. And when it does, you’ll have gone your life without accomplishing anything of personal significance.

So go out and make your life worthwhile. Don’t live with regrets. Don’t sell out. And that’s not four years of Berkeley education talking, trust me.

As for my path, I can’t clear my obstacles yet. I haven’t learned how, but when I do, rest assured, my thermos, my earpiece, my badge will all be packed away neatly in my HP briefcase as I go out into the world and start my real journey.