Fictional Me

As I mentioned recently I've joines Toastmasters. I needed to do something for myself, and a colleague of mine did put some effort into advertising the group. And it's not that I have a fear of public speaking - I am vain enough to consider myself articulate enough to stand up in front of a group... But at the same time since English is not my first language I also that there some huge gaps in my perception of spoken language. I cannot hear myself speak and therefore I cannot correct myself, if that makes any sense. I'm certain that a fair share of Ums and Ehs and Ahs also find their way into my speech even without my realization. So Toastmasters became my first step in my quest to find the new and improved me. You know - the one who actually can sew, bake, parent, write? That gal is something else, I tell you.... But whoever she is - she is not me. Yet.

So tomorrow I present my first speech - The Icebreaker, to the group. Here is the beginning (that I'm sure will be rewritten three-four before I actually present it)

The fall

One of the vivid memories of my childhood is me racing the car. I believe I was 5 or 6 at the time. We were on a long trip to the Black Sea. My mom ran to the Soviet equivalent of the mall to buy me a pair of rubber boots. It was the time of Perestroyka so rubber boots were one of the many items that had disappeared from the shelves of the stores. While my parents shopped, my grandparents stayed by the car. I was picking flowers. I was probably about 20 meters away from our car when I saw another car coming. Clutching the flower in my hand I made a wish. If I could reach our car BEFORE the other car – my wish would come true. I gained speed and…. Crash landed just short of our car, the flower still securely clutched in my hand. My forehead, nose, lips and chin were scraped raw, my knees and elbows were all bloody and I lost a front tooth. Pretty as a picture! So there I was -- a dreamer, tripped by reality.

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Feel free to tell me about any "mostakes" in my not-yet-a-speech :)