In the last two months, I got to give three key note speeches. Becky deserves much credit for surviving my ritual stage fright. No matter how often I do this, I always feel like I have no idea what to say and it's not going to come together and OH MY GOD WHY DID I AGREE TO DO THIS. Finally, as I'm walking up to the podium, it jells.
I also got to give my speech on "Kohelet and K St., Lessons from Ecclesiastes for Lobbying" over Pesach. Happily, it did not suck. Because I could not do my ritual frantic writing of bullet points before speaking, it was a bit more disjointed and disorganized than I like. But it worked itself out. Chiefly, I was glad to have my folks see me in professional mode. I don't think they grok what I actually do.
Because Harold in public speaking mode is not like Harold in regular conversation. It's more like Yaakov in storytelling mode. And, like with storytelling, when it clicks, there is a connection to the audience. The story merges with audence, draws energy from them, and reflects the energy back magnified.
On the personal side, I need to make arrangements to get to my Mom's retirement party on May 16. Also, about half the stuff in the freezer turned out to be salvagable.
I hate insomnia.
