🔄💪 GGTM Turns 90: The Night the Agenda Ran sdrawkcaB

🔄 Reversed. Subverted. Remembered.

You know a meeting is going to be different when the Toastmaster stands up and says, "Let's turn the agenda upside down."

Sergeant at Arms Gautam Nair set up the room on time — a detail that deserves extra credit this week, because the usual lectern side was abandoned entirely. Speakers walked to the opposite side of the room, delivering from across the table instead of behind the familiar podium. Even the room itself was subverted.

The meeting was called to order — and then everything went backwards. 🔄

🎤 Toastmaster of the Evening: Tavisan Ramesh

Tavisan Ramesh chose the theme Reminiscence — and he came to it honestly. One night while cooking, he found himself drifting back to New Year's Eve 1999. The neighborhood. The celebration. The dancing. The fact that he was young enough to be happy without needing alcohol. "I wish I could go back," he said.

But Tavisan didn't just pick a theme — he subverted the entire meeting structure. Evaluations first, then table topics, then speeches. Speakers delivered from the opposite side of the room. And because one role wasn't enough, he served as both Toastmaster of the Evening and General Evaluator.

The Word of the Day: subvert — to undermine or overturn something established or expected. Fittingly, it was written backwards on the whiteboard — TREVBUS — because of course it was. 🔄

📝 Subvert Made the Rounds — and Broke a Few Records

In the meeting's reversed order, the functionary reports came first — so we'll honor that here.

• Ah Counter Ryan Davis delivered the night's most dramatic report: GGTM broke the filler word record. Albert led the pack. Valeriy had a clean night.

• ⏱️ Timer: Zero disqualifications. All speeches and evaluations within time — evaluations clocked in at roughly two and a half minutes each.

• 🗳️ Ballot Counter: Helen Fream

• 📸 Videographer: Michelle Wen — capturing moments paparazzi-style.

• 📝 Note Taker: Prateek Singhal — capturing highlights for the newsletter and running the pop quiz.

🎯 Evaluations

Here's where it gets strange — and brilliant. The evaluators took the stage first. Before a single prepared speech had been delivered. They knew the speaker names and maybe the pathways project — and that was it. What followed was part prophecy, part improv, and entirely unforgettable.

The twist didn't stop there. Because the evaluations came first, the speakers would hear their feedback before stepping up to speak — and were expected to incorporate it. The evaluators weren't just critiquing. They were setting the stage.

As Tavisan put it: "Our evaluators were reminiscing about events that may or may not have happened." 🔄

🧭 General Evaluator — Tavisan Ramesh

Tavisan noted the meeting started a little late and a couple of roles were unfilled at the beginning. But the room was set up on time — kudos to Gautam — and the energy was high. "We had some inspiring speeches and great evaluations."

🏆 Blair Vorsatz — Albert

"I will be evaluating a speech I haven't heard," Blair Vorsatz opened — "which is exactly the kind of overwhelming problem that Albert will later be talking about. He's going to teach us how to solve it." And so Blair took Albert's own future advice: one observation at a time.

Blair predicted the military boot camp story would be the perfect pathways project for vocal variety and body language. "The vocal range fits right into the story. He can talk about his dread before boot camp, the strength pushing through it, the relief afterwards. He didn't have to manufacture this. It organically appears."

Blair's one push: turn "one more" into a vocal refrain. "Whisper one more at the 50th push-up. Grunt out one more during a plank. Shout one more when he finishes a race." He also challenged Albert to extend the metaphor beyond workouts — one more email, one more dish, one more message to a friend. "This isn't just about one more pushup. You can take it into the rest of your life."

💬 "The best speeches don't tell you what to think. They make you forget you were thinking."

🗣️ Vedant Bothikar — Alex

Vedant Bothikar — evaluating blind — predicted Alex would open with a question to hook the audience, deliver theatrical impressions of the authors he's reading, bang the lectern like a politician on three different points, and even drop to the floor for push-ups to physically demonstrate the Atomic Habits inflection point. "You didn't just talk about meaning — you made all of us think and question our lives."

🏆 Valeriy Vislobokov — Nithila

Valeriy Vislobokov opened at full volume: "What a fantastic speech. Fantastic. Fantastic. We all laughed, we cried, we grew introspective, we became closer as Toastmasters." And then, without missing a beat: "Your speech truly elevated us — not unlike the way my suspenders elevate my pants."

Valeriy's one push: avoid dated acronyms or brand references that might age the speech. "To make it truly timeless, use something else." He also predicted that when Nithila used the word of the day, she'd look directly at Tavisan every single time — "and I felt that really pulled the audience in. Specifically Tavisan."

And then came the voting. But Tavisan didn't say "vote for the best evaluator." He said: "Let's take a minute to think about the feedback you gave to the evaluators." A small subversion — but a meaningful one. Not judgment. Reflection. 🔄

Critiquing the future — and nailing it. 🔄

📸 Table Topics: Pass the Phone

Table Topics Master Shubham Saloni brought her own subversion to the evening. Instead of throwing out topics and watching speakers scramble, she flipped the format: she'd give a teasing summary of the speech before the speaker took the stage, the speaker would share a photo from their phone and tell the story, and then Shubham would reveal the actual topic afterward. Reminiscence with a twist. 🔄

🐄 Helen Fream — Shubham teased: "She told two stories about one picture." A university photo from her stepbrother Matt — sleeveless sweater, inflatable cow stuck to the ceiling, cow-print shoes, cow-print wallpaper. Her original email: hell_madcowmail.co.uk (still active). → Topic: A time you were in a phase.

👧 Irene Suwarno — Shubham teased: "A picture that represents growth." A photo with her niece from 15 years ago at SeaWorld Orlando. Irene spotted her on Instagram recently — recognized the name, not the face. "If I met her someday, I will never recognize her." They'll reunite in Bali in two weeks. → Topic: A person who is unrecognizable to you.

🌉 Prateek Singhal — Shubham teased: "All the chaos from that chaotic moment." A "fun" family trip to San Francisco. One parent wanted to leave at 8. The other didn't wake up until 8. The disagreements escalated from departure times to marriage timelines to when he's moving back to India. → Topic: A huge disagreement with your parents.

⚾ Albert Yan — Shubham teased: "It takes a lot of courage to share your most embarrassing picture." Last week at Oracle Park — Dodger fans in Giants territory. They brought a co-worker who only knew cricket, hyped up Ohtani as the GOAT. Ohtani struck out. The Dodgers imploded. The new guy ended up cheering for the Giants. → Topic: A time you cheered for the wrong team.

🏆 🍩 Ella — Shubham teased: "This influencer is amongst us — tell us about your one-million-like viral Instagram photo." Her best friend of 20 years, sitting in Honolulu with a box of Leonard's donuts. A storm hit. Her best friend — the laziest person she knows — was more than content to stay in. After 20 years, Ella learned her best friend is lactose intolerant. "I spent a lot of my afternoons out on the balcony while she was blowing it up. And just like her — my photo really blew up." → Topic: A memorable travel experience.

🐱 Senita (Guest) — Shubham teased: "Main character energy — as if you're the star of your own movie." A nephew's wedding in Colombia, a fractured foot, a last-minute pivot from Cartagena's beaches to a restored heritage plantation with quiet courtyards and the ultimate catio full of Maine Coon cats. → Topic: When was the last time you were at a catio?

🚇 Valeriy Vislobokov — Shubham teased: "The most random photo on their phone." His daughter perched on a green carry-on suitcase on BART, clutching United Airlines collectible cards — a 737 and an Airbus 321 Neo. On the plane, thrilled to get them. When a United flight attendant on BART offered another? Completely unenthused. → Topic: Your most random photo.

🙏 Michelle Wen — Shubham teased: "Stories of gratitude — everything going right in their life." Her new job — a 10-minute walk from her apartment. She hasn't owned a car in years. The job reconnected her with an old passion: car modifiers who talked about four-cylinders and V8s. → Topic: What are you most grateful for?

🌊 Ryan Davis — Shubham teased: "Life gives us moments we don't think much of, but later they mean great value." A photo by the ocean turned into a metaphor. You can surf the waves when things are good — or the surfboard slips and nobody knows what's going on. "Life gives us things. We have to learn how to navigate them." → Topic: Something that became meaningful in hindsight.

And once again, Tavisan subverted the voting: "I'd like you to recheck who you voted for." Not just vote. Recheck. Remember. Reminisce — even about something that happened ten minutes ago. 🔄

🎤 Prepared Speeches

The grand finale — delivered last, as the agenda intended all along. Except tonight the speakers had already heard their evaluations. The feedback was in. The bar was set. Now they had to clear it. 🔄

🏆 💪 "Get One More" — Albert Yan

Blair's challenge: make "one more" a vocal refrain at different emotional intensities — whisper it, grunt it, shout it. Extend the metaphor beyond workouts and into life.

Do you ever start running and immediately want to stop? Albert Yan does. But his girlfriend — a long-distance runner in high school — gave him a piece of coaching advice that stuck: Don't think about the finish line. Just focus on passing the person in front of you. Just get one more.

Months later, Albert returned to Taiwan for military service. Boot camp. A physical exam at the end — bayonet drills, grenade throwing, a written test. And then the body: push-ups, a 100-second plank, and a three-kilometer run when he could barely manage one.

At push-up fifty, his arms burned. Just get one more. At second thirty of the plank, everything screamed. Focus on the next ten seconds. And at the final stretch of the three-kilometer run — legs on fire, lungs heaving — he stopped thinking about the finish and just focused on his feet. He passed.

And then came the life extension — just as Blair had asked. "What are the biggest challenges in your life today? Is it a project? Is it a relationship? Is it a direction in life?" Break it down. And when even that feels hard — just get one more.

💬 "What seemed like an insurmountable challenge, when broken down into little steps, was actually quite doable."

From Taiwanese boot camp to the GGTM lectern — one more step at a time. 🔄

📚 "The Most Important Thing" — Alex Wu

Vedant's predictions: an opening question to hook the audience, theatrical author impressions, three lectern bangs, and push-ups on stage.

Alex Wu opened with a poll — just as Vedant predicted. Who here has read How to Win Friends and Influence People? A few hands. The Secret? A couple more. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People? Fewer than expected — which is odd, because that book has sold 400 million copies. One in 200 people on Earth. "So do you think 400 million people are highly effective?" Alex asked. "Probably not."

So what went wrong? Alex has been reading self-help books himself and emerged with two rules. Rule one: don't dismiss the book. Your friend might say, "It just tells you obvious things — like smile and give compliments." But knowing and implementing are not the same thing. Give the book a fair shot. Rule two: don't take it as gospel. The Secret invokes quantum mechanics to justify gratitude — that's bogus. But the book still has value. Pick what works. Discard what doesn't.

And when it came to showing how small habits compound? Alex didn't just explain — he dropped and did push-ups on stage. Vedant called it.

The proof of concept? Alex's co-worker read a few self-help books, got very inspired, quit his job — and became a magician. 😜

💬 "I didn't come here to follow the agenda. I came here to subvert it."

No photo of Alex's speech available — but trust us, the push-ups happened. 🔄

🥪 "Two Stamp Tuesday" — Nithila Raman

The great heroes of change — Gilgamesh, Odysseus — all needed one thing to propel them forward. Motivation. Nithila Raman discovered hers at the age of two: a slice of chocolate cake printed on a piece of paper and taped to the bathroom door. Toilet training, accomplished.

What followed was a life powered by food. confetti cupcakes if the whole class scored above 95% on the math quiz (December 2012). A banh mi sandwich as a reward for surviving Friday office hours during a brutal computer systems class (2018). And then, as an adult, the masterpiece: Two Stamp Tuesdays at Gus's sandwich shop in San Francisco. Buy a sandwich on Tuesday, get two stamps on your punch card. Instead of eight sandwiches for a freebie — now you only need four. The first half gets eaten at work. The second half stays in the office fridge — insurance that you'll come back the next day. There was a tsunami warning once. Nithila still came in. The siren song of that second sandwich was stronger.

Then came the notification. Halfway through the sandwich. Her company was shutting down. "What do I do?" she asked herself. "I keep eating the sandwich. I'm not really hungry anymore, but it's still technically my lunch." And the second half? She was going to leave it in the fridge. She was going to come in tomorrow. But there was no work tomorrow.

She took the sandwich home. She ate it for lunch the next day. Turns out you can do that.

💬 "Whenever I tell people how I found out I was losing my job, I always start with the sandwich — because I think it encapsulates what a ridiculous moment it was."

🤔 "I Thought I Knew" — Vedant Bothikar (2-Minute Special)

Vedant Bothikar went on a team lunch at a Chinese restaurant. One co-worker — let's call him Brian — started describing the food with detail and authority: how different cities in China have different styles, the flavors of Beijing and Shanghai, names Vedant couldn't even pronounce. He was nodding, impressed. So after lunch, he asked, "Hey Brian, which part of China are you from?"

Brian looked at him. "I'm from Korea."

The lesson landed clean: assumptions are easy. Understanding takes time. "Take off your glasses, wipe them off, and see people as they are. Next time you meet a person — instead of assuming, just ask."

💬 "I didn't observe. I assumed. And I realized we all do this — not just with countries, but with people."

Two minutes. One assumption. A lesson that'll last longer than both. 🔄

And with that — "Let's take a moment to think about the feedback we gave our speakers," Tavisan said. Not vote. Think. Remember. One more small act of reminiscence. 🔄

🧠 Pop Quiz Highlights

Quiz Master Prateek Singhal tested the room's recall — and the room went eight for eight.

• ✊ How many times did Alex bang his hand on the lectern? → Three

• 🐄 What was on Helen's ceiling at 17? → An inflatable cow — stuck there

• ✈️ Where is Irene going with her niece? → Bali

• 🥪 Which sandwich did Nithila get after Friday office hours in 2018? → Banh mi

• 🇹🇼 Which country did Albert do his military service in? → Taiwan

⭐ And the Votes Are In...

• 🏆 Best Prepared Speech: Albert Yan — "Get One More"

• 🏆 Best Table Topics: Ella

• 🏆 Best Evaluator: Valeriy Vislobokov

🎊 Welcome to the Party — Fashionably Late, as Intended

In the night's final subversion, Club President Shubham Saloni welcomed guests at the end of the meeting instead of the beginning — because why not? She asked them to share a small moment from childhood that still makes them smile.

Dennis (Guest, fifth visit) lights up whenever he reconnects with childhood friends — the kind of conversations where you fall into shared memories without trying. Senita (Guest, former member) grew up in Puerto Rico and still remembers driving up into the mountains — "I thought we were going up to the clouds." Darius (Guest, first visit) recalled the night before his aunt's wedding: the entire cake, left in the fridge, devoured secretly by a pack of cousins in the dark. No one confessed. Nothing was left.

Shubham shared her own: summer vacations in India, cousins everywhere, and mangoes that were — in her words — divine. 🔄

🎉 Ninety Years in the Books

April was GGTM's 90th anniversary month — and what a month it was. Club President Shubham Saloni closed the celebration with a round of applause: "Thanks to all of you to make it such a fun month."

One last piece of anniversary business: a raffle for two tickets to the District Conference on May 9th in Foster City. The wheels spun.

First ticket: Jay Yamamoto. Second ticket: Albert Yan. Backup: Ryan Davis. May the speeches continue. 🎉

📣 What's Next at GGTM

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

The agenda is back to normal — or is it? Only one way to find out. Sign up for roles and speeches at 56.toastmastersclubs.org. And mark your calendars for the District Conference on May 9th in Foster City.

🔄 Thank You

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who made the April 29th meeting one for the memory books — especially the memories we hadn't made yet.

To Tavisan, for flipping the script, moving the lectern, and giving us a meeting we'll be reminiscing about for weeks. To Shubham, for a phone-gallery Table Topics format that turned nine speakers into storytellers. To Gautam, for setting up a room that was about to be completely rearranged.

To our speakers — Albert, Alex, Nithila, and Vedant — for delivering speeches that made us laugh, think, and rethink how we feel about sandwiches. To our evaluators — Blair, Vedant, and Valeriy — for critiquing the future with style, suspenders, and startling accuracy. To our functionaries — Irene, Ryan, Prateek, Michelle, and Helen — for holding the reversed pieces together.

And to every member and guest who showed up and shared a photo, a memory, or both — you didn't just attend a meeting. You subverted the ordinary into something meaningful and memorable. 🔄

🍺 gnisreveR deeN t'noD sgnihT emoS

The meeting ended. The walk to Irish Bank didn't. The stories got longer. The pints got shorter. And somewhere between Montgomery Street and the first round, someone asked, "So what do we do next week — run the meeting in a different language?" Don't give Tavisan ideas. 🔄

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