Toastmasters, Heart Surgery, Moving

In an earlier post in Feb 2013, I promised to share some interesting facts that not everyone knows about me. The idea came from a course that I attended at The Big Smoke Writing Factory (www.bigsmokewritingfactory.com ) led by Vanessa O’Loughlin. I shall tell you about 3 facts that I thought of when I finally sat down to do this exercise. More shall follow in another post I promise.

Fact #1

I hold a CC from Toastmasters International (www.toastmasters.org ). CC stands for Competent Communicator; it is achieved after completing a programme that involves giving 10 public speeches at Toastmasters meetings. I was a member of the Fáilte club in Charleville for many years. I have represented my club in competitions in different areas and I must say I enjoyed it. Being able to speak in public with confidence is a great asset for any writer. Reading your work out at workshops or in groups is not a big deal when you have experience in public speaking. This is where Toastmasters International is excellent. I have started an advanced course as in Toastmasters there are many challenges for members to set themselves. Go join your nearest club now, you won’t regret it.

Fact #2

Since leaving my parent’s home when I was 18 yrs old (and then marrying my hubby), I have moved home 4 times. That is a lot of packing and unpacking. It is true that moving house is stressful plus we did this with 4 young children thrown into the mix! I’m a bit of a collector so each time I moved there was more and more stuff to take with me. I even had boxes marked ‘new attic’ and that’s exactly where they went, from my old attic to the new one. Would I move again? One should never say never.

Fact#3

I had open-heart surgery on May 30th in 2008, I was in my forties. There is so much to say about this that I really don’t know where to begin. I have had viral meningitis when I was 19 yrs old and I had shoulder surgery since my heart op too. When I was 7/8 yrs old, I tried to jump over a roll of linoleum, my Dad was going to lay on our kitchen floor, while wearing roller-skates that I received for my birthday 2 days before. I ended up dislocating my right shoulder and also managed to turn my arm backwards. I was wearing a sling for a long, long time. I’ve fallen out of trees, anything that ends in ‘itis’ I’ve had, health has been varied to say the least.

More facts to post at a later date.