DDYPC Toastmasters Meeting - Pecah Ais

I had my first taste of an ice breaking speech + appointed Toastmaster of The Evening in the DDYPC session just now. Woo.. double wham.

They say i have the spirit and enthusiasm, but i don't think that i did very well. Anyway, wanted to post this speech that i had managed to draft this morning at 1. Gosh, at least it was not that bad.

It's my first ice breaker entitled 'Bang'. Read on. Haha....
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Dear fellow toastmaster,
I had the pleasure of receiving the invitation by our esteemed guest, Grace Tan from the Friendship Toastmaster to attend their session in Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club last Tuesday. Hang on there, this is not a promotional gazette of the wonderful session that I had, and how Mr Daniel here so-called volunteered me to take up one of the table topic session, titled “If I am A Woman Who Decided to Take Up A Sex Operation, What Skills Do I Require to Become A Man”.

Anyway, we were given a 10 minutes toilet break (and for some ladies to do some mass texting to their many boyfriends). It was shocking for me to see 14 missed calls from my brother, and a text from him that read something like, “Oit. Why don’t you pick up the phone. Abah accident” I had the shock of my life there and then. I quickly rush home, and I was thankful that both my parent did not sustain any major injuries, as the car came close to plunging to a 10m drain.

A series of event always lead to another. A month before, my brother just had an accident involving the motorcycle that he rode with another 1 tonne lorry. The motorcycle ran into the back of the lorry as it made a sudden emergency break right after the Jalan Kuching roundabout. Both his leg were broken and it took 5 hours and 2 doctors to operate on his rig leg only. Right now, he is undergoing physiotherapy to fully recover.

The run of bad luck in terms of driving did not actually start from my parent. I have to admit as this is an ice breaker speech about myself, I am actually the star of the whole show today. I am the most accidental-prone person in my family.

It seems that I always have a run with bad luck in terms of driving. I am not sure whether the saying that men are just a better off driver than women are annoyingly the simple truth that I dare not challenge or I am jinx. Ooowww….

My first accident happen almost 2 years ago, when I drove into the back of a brand new white Myvi. I need to make an obvious confession about myself. I am a workaholic. At one time when I was still working in Carigali’s Strategic Planning, I have worked non-stop for 3 whole months preparing for a board presentation. I worked on both weekends, and tend to go back at about 10 pm every single day. On the last day before the presentation, I decided to take some time off and hang out with friends in Shah Alam. The next day when the team was supposed to present the finding to Tan Sri and I was very eager to see the end of the project, I had my very first accident.

The first accident is always the scariest part. You don’t know what to do, or how to react. Luckily I posses my secret power of having Puss in Boots sympathy look, and the other lady was not quick to splash out on me. I was obviously angry at myself and at how stupid my driving was. It was supposed to be THE day, but turns out to be an unlucky day for me.

However, things tend to work out for the best in the end, as I was awarded a hefty Outstanding Recognition for my Performance Appraisal in that year. Somehow I thought, woo… perhaps I could run into an accident before each Performance Appraisal ends then all is justified,

My second most memorable accident happen approximately a year after. I was driving from Port Dickson after finishing the school program for the students whom I teach under the BAKTI program. The accident occurred after the Sungai Besi toll, just right in front of Mines Hotel.

It was a great Toyota impact. I didn’t manage to stop in time when the Harrier in front of me made a sudden emergency brake. My impact on Harrier butt causes its impact to the Wish in front. My car was badly damaged that I had to push off the door as it was stuck, and I felt lucky that I wore my seatbelt at all times. There goes my insurance claim again.

Fellow toastmasters,
I am going to stop now as I do not want to embarrass myself further. I could continue on the story and tell you about my other small accidents like the scratch you see now on my front bumper while trying to park, or the time when I got lost in Puchong and tried to make a u-turn and ran into another car at the other side of the road.

I think I have now managed to let you all know that through all these practice and experiences, I have now become a much better driver than before. Oh, did I mention to you that I’ve just gotten my full license on the 18 May 2008. And yeah, these incidents all happen within these past 2 years.

Perhaps I was too bold in terms of driving, perhaps I wanted that rapid learning experience and boast saying that yeah, I’ve done that, I’ve experienced that, I’ve made it alive! But all these accident happens either when I was tired, not thinking straight or even trying to bend some law.

Sometimes you would think that toastmasters club is set up to help people who wants to sharpen his or her communication skill, but what about those who wants to sharpen their driving skills? Let me tell you a secret. Learn from the expert … practice makes perfect. I am available for consult anytime, anywhere .. MOC…. Minimal of Charge. Thank you toastmasters.