🗺️ Crossing Rivers in the Dark

🧭 Side Quests. Secret Words. One Very Brave Family Story.

Alexander Wu, acting president for the evening, opened with a quick announcement — officer elections are next week — then turned to the guests. The icebreaker question: What comes to mind when you think of the word "adventure"?

One guest offered: freedom. Self-expression. The greatest thing you can give yourself. A warm room full of strangers nodded. And with that, the side quests began. 🗺️

🎤 Toastmaster of the Evening: Gautam Nair

Gautam Nair set the tone with a story that earned immediate laughs: a noble silent meditation retreat — waking with monks at 4 a.m., noting every footstep, every breath — only to speedrun his way into a petty argument with his girlfriend approximately five minutes after achieving enlightenment.

The lesson? Sometimes the side quest you sign up for isn't the one that teaches you. Sometimes it just shows you the real quest you've been avoiding. Gautam introduced the Word of the Day — lark (noun: a source of or quest for amusement or adventure) — and invited everyone to share their own detours.

🎤 Prepared Speeches

🧘 "The Happiness List" — Val Vislobokov

Valeriy Vislobokov delivered a two-minute special on a deceptively simple therapy homework assignment: write down what makes you happy. It sounds easy. It was not. What emerged was a list of absences more than presences — not being stressed, not being in pain, reading 200 words without a child interrupting. The crowd laughed with recognition. The deeper revelation: most of his happiness depended on externalities outside his control. The one exception? Nature. Being in the mountains. Feeling, for a moment, like an adult.

💬 "Go home and make a list of things that make you happy. Maybe for you, it will also be a difficult endeavor."

🧊 "Beyond Approval" — Kushal Parashivamurthy

Kushal Parashivamurthy delivered his icebreaker — and what an entrance. "Have you gone mad?" His mother's words. He meant them. Growing up in southern India surrounded by education, sports, music, and judgment, Kushal learned the invisible rule: to be accepted, perform. So he performed — until something inside started shrinking. A master's program in Canada became the escape. But you can leave an environment without the environment leaving you. A Himalayan ridge full of strangers — nobody performing, nobody seeking approval — broke something open. A one-way ticket to Chile. Thirty-four countries. And finally, his mother calling back: "Son, you're doing the best thing in your life. I wish I had come with you."

💬 "People don't resist your choices because they're wrong. They resist them because they're unfamiliar. Give them time — and give yourself permission to be you."

💍 "Who's in Math Five?" — Derick Le

Derick Le took us to a dimly lit college dining hall, freshman year. Two long wooden tables. A voice from behind: "Who here is in Math 5?" Without turning around, he raised his hand. Breakfast the next morning. Walking to class together. Sharing a textbook because man, those things are expensive. Six months later — dating. Ten years later — a proposal in Napa overlooking the vineyard. 2025 — married. What he thought would be remembered as his first night of college became the first night he met his wife.

💬 "Sometimes all it takes is for you to just raise your hand."

🎨 "Living Design Systems" — Ella Rochelle-Lawton

Ella Rochelle-Lawton continued her conference speech on public art and community — specifically how murals in San Francisco's Tenderloin tell a counter-narrative. Third graders excited for a field trip to a park whose neighborhood story usually centers on fentanyl and overdose. But for them? It's joy. A mural that says this space is for us. Ella wove through the work of Vanessa Espinosa (aka Adana) — murals strengthening communities across Oakland — and the living, conversational nature of street art. Not a finished, untouchable piece. An ongoing exchange.

💬 "Street art isn't about a finished, untouchable piece — it's about an ongoing exchange."

🏆 🏛️ "My Family" — Alexander Wu

Alexander Wu warned the room: graphic descriptions of violence. Then he began. His great-grandfather crossing the Yellow River at night during the Japanese occupation — separated, freezing, hours in the dark, finally finding his brother on the far bank unable to speak or move. The 1950s — surviving because a cook smuggled food home; a neighbor's father saying "I already ate" so his child could eat, then dying of starvation that night. 1989 — his mother on a free vacation to Beijing with classmates. Those friends who went out that night never came back.

The room was very still.

Alex closed with a challenge: we say "children are starving in Africa" like it's hypothetical. We joked about SARS and Ebola as distant problems — until 2020 knocked on our front doors. Family histories are national histories. The distance is an illusion.

💬 "How much do you know about your family? I pray that the Japanese invasion, the famine, and Tiananmen Square are not our next unwelcome guests."

💬 Table Topics: The Secret Word Game

Table Topics Master Alexander Wu introduced a twist — each speaker received a secret word known only to them and Alex, which they had to weave into their improvised response. The audience then guessed. It was, as General Evaluator Albert Yan put it, "the most engaged I've ever seen a table topics session."

• 🦷 Luzee Bautista — Tell us about a time you almost didn't go somewhere but did. A dental surgery with a cute doctor and no pain. Secret word: extraordinary. Guessed instantly.

• 🏆 ✉️ Amber Dawn — What's a random hobby you have? Hand lettering — a meditative state, a form of telepathy, a pen pal in Germany, a retired vet in Florida who sends capybara stickers. Secret word: music. Nobody guessed it.

• 🚌 Claria (Guest) — How did you come to your current profession? Architecture to management practitioner, immigration challenges, the desire for interview coaching. Secret word: bus. Slipped in at the end like a lark.

• 💪 Yuri Burov — What felt like a waste of time but wasn't? Going to the gym — culturally unfamiliar, the eternal hair dilemma post-shower. Secret word: hair. Delivered with dry wit.

• 🥔 Noe Perez — A side quest you wish you'd taken? The creative road not taken — finance pays bills, but painting feeds the soul. Still searching for the profession that merges both. Secret word: potato. Impressively hidden.

• 🐕 Moad (Guest) — An unplanned conversation that stuck with you. An uncle's advice during family chaos: "Focus on your future." Twenty years later — the chaos is small memories; the advice shaped everything. Secret word: dog.

• 🚀 Tim (Guest) — Tell us about a time you got completely lost. Growing up with mountains as compass points, then visiting Texas — flat, featureless, mentally lost. Lesson: don't go to Texas. Secret word: outer space. The audience guessed it immediately.

🎯 Evaluations

🧭 General Evaluator — Albert Yan

Albert Yan led the evaluation session and closed with praise for the secret-word format: "I don't think I've ever processed every word of a table topics session before." He shouted out members who took dual roles — Vedant, Alex, Amber, and Val — and Noe for stepping in as photographer for the first time.

🏆 🌍 Vedant Bothikar — Kushal

Vedant Bothikar opened with: "Have you gone mad? — the way you delivered that first sentence was gamechanging. My heart is still pounding." He praised Kushal's delivery, vocabulary, and speech structure — particularly the mirrored line about environments not leaving you. Vedant's one push: own the stage physically — open up gestures, move with intention, and begin weaning off notes.

📐 Blair Vorsatz — Derick

Blair Vorsatz highlighted Derick's masterful scene-setting — the who, what, where, when, why all layered before the story opened. He praised the twist ending and visual storytelling. Blair's one push: consider which scenes are essential to the message — every anecdote should advance the narrative. A stronger hook ("the most mundane experience that transformed my life") and a more direct call-to-action would help the message land.

🏆 📖 Amber Dawn — Alex

Amber Dawn commended Alex's hook ("Usually people have stories. My family was different"), his subtle use of the speaker triangle, and the congruence between movement and content. Amber's one push: vary tone and pacing intentionally — slow down at the emotional peaks, speed through time progression, and let strategic monotone create distance before bringing variation to connect.

🎨 Val Vislobokov — Ella

Val appreciated having an artist on stage in a city where artists thrive. He suggested Ella thread one theme — uncertainty — throughout the speech to tie disparate sections together. Val's one push: volume, volume, volume. Great diction, great tone — but the message needs to reach every corner of the room.

🎵 Lark Took Flight Tonight

Caitlin Brown (Grammarian) reported six uses of the Word of the Day — slightly above average. Standout language included Kushal's "You can leave an environment behind, but the environment doesn't leave you" and Ella's description of public spaces as "living design systems."

Vedant Bothikar (Ah-Counter) set an ambitious challenge: three filler words max for prepared speeches, five for table topics. All four prepared speakers met or beat the target — and one table topics speaker hit a perfect zero.

Luzee Bautista (Timer) kept the meeting on track — all speakers qualified. One buzzer-beater earned a special shoutout from Albert.

🧠 Pop Quiz Highlights

Quiz Master Amber Dawn tested the room:

• 🧘 What happened as soon as Gautam got home from his silent retreat? → Got into an argument with his girlfriend

• 🎨 What themes were in the mural about home that Ella showed? → Affordable housing / community belonging

• 📐 What school subject had an unforeseen influence on multiple speakers' lives? → Math

⭐ And the Votes Are In...

🏆 Best Prepared Speech: Alexander Wu
🏆 Best Table Topics: Amber Dawn
🏆 Best Evaluator: Amber Dawn & Vedant Bothikar (tie!)
🎀 Icebreaker Ribbon: Kushal Parashivamurthy

📣 What's Next at GGTM

📅 Wednesday, June 3, 2026 | 6:00–8:00 PM
📍 San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, 235 Montgomery St, 7th Floor

Officer elections! The first hour runs as a shortened meeting — one Toastmaster slot, streamlined format. The second hour: candidates present, members vote. If you've been nominated, respond by Saturday. If you haven't — show up and exercise your right to vote.

Coming in June: A speech marathon (tentatively June 17) — seven or eight prepared speeches, no table topics. Perfect for members chasing Distinguished recognitions or newcomers ready for their icebreaker.

District news: Starting July, District 4 merges with half of District 57. Future contests will include clubs from Berkeley, Oakland, Sacramento, and beyond. The competitive landscape expands — but the Wednesday ritual stays the same. 🗺️

💛 Thank You

To Gautam for guiding us through the evening. To Alex for running table topics, acting as president, and delivering a speech that left the room silent. To Amber for the quiz, the notes, and a zero-filler-word table topic. To Val, Kushal, Derick, and Ella for bringing their stories. To Vedant, Amber, and Val for thoughtful evaluations. To Albert for steering the feedback. To Caitlin, Austin, Luzee, and Noe for keeping the gears turning.

And to every member and guest who showed up on a Wednesday evening and followed someone else's side quest with full attention — that's the lark worth taking. 🗺️

Questions? Feedback? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you!