We had another executive meeting for Toast I.T. Toastmasters. I'm really glad to have this opportunity to serve the club as the secretary / treasurer, and I'm starting to get the hang of things. I'm planning to run for either VP education or VP membership in the upcoming elections. I know the position of vice president of education involves a lot of work - keeping track of people's progress, thinking of ways to help them improve their speaking skills - but that's exactly the kind of coaching I want to do. =) The VP of membership, on the other hand, is in charge of keeping in touch with members old and new, and reaching out to guests too. Either will really help me grow! =)

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The Tipping Point - excellent book! - describes three kinds of people who are critical parts of massive change: the maven, the connector, and the salesman. Connectors are "people with a special gift for bringing the world together."(p.43) Mavens are information specialists.(p.59) Salesmen have "the skills to persuade us when we are unconvinced of what we are hearing."

I'm _supposed_ to be a Maven. That's what computer geeks do - they geek. They grok. They learn something inside out. Strangely, though, I have the feeling that this isn't quite my thing, that this isn't quite what I'm meant to do. I guess it relates to my teaching philosophy. I'm not the expert! <laugh> I don't know everything, and I'm much happier helping people learn than trying to teach them everything they need to know. Besides, hanging out with people far more brilliant than I am makes me feel decidedly un-Maven-ish. =)

You know what I have _tons_ of fun doing? Connecting people with other people. I really, really want to help people make things happen, and if I can connect them with other people with similar or complementary passions, that would be totally awesome! I also _really_ have a lot of fun listening to people. I sell, sell, sell - not stuff, but ideas, passion, confidence... I sell people themselves. I sell dreams of what they can do. I _love_ doing that! (And to think I used to be an INTJ...)

So I need your help figuring out what I'm going to do with my life. =) Software developer? I can do that, but there's just so much else I _also_ want to do. I'd love it if you could help me imagine what my future can be so that I can prepare for it better. =D It's not exactly the kind of thing you'd find in, say, What Color is Your Parachute...

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Random Japanese sentence: 猫がソファーでねむっている。 The cat is sleeping on the sofa.