Sunday, August 14, 2005
This is the first speech I've ever delivered in a Toast of Mensa meeting. I don't need to tell anyone how terrified I was when I delivered this speech. For most people, the fear of public speaking is worse than the fear of dying. As Seinfeld puts it, "At a funeral, most people would rather be in the coffin than at the lectern delivering the eulogy". My speech, by the way, was much-applauded (I don't know why...). I managed to feign confidence. I consider delivering my first speech before a group of strangers with high IQs as one of my greatest victories. By the way, everything that I said in my speech (except that part about my guardian angel)is true.
Good evening fellow Toastmasters and welcome guests. Before I begin my speech, allow me to convey my appreciation to everyone of you who made me feel that I belong here. You see, I have never felt more welcome anywhere else.
For those who do not know me yet, I am Diane. My full name is Diane Cecilia Aldecoa de la Cruz. Giving our names is the first thing we do when we introduce ourselves. Tonight, I will take a few steps farther. I will tell you the meaning of my given names, why my parents named me so, and how I am living up to my name.
According to my mother I was conceived on a full moon and was born on a Monday, the moon's day. If you check the perpetual calendar, you will find that my date of birth, October 27, 1975, indeed fell on a Monday. It's not hard to see why my parents named me after the Roman moon goddess, Diana. They couldn't have thought of a more befitting name.
My father gave me my second name, Cecilia, in honor of the patron saint of musicians. Making music has always been the family craft. Everyone in our family is adept in playing at least one musical instrument. For my part, I play the piano, the guitar, and the flute. I love music. I owe my existence to it because it brought my parents together. They both used to be in a band. Mom was the lead vocalist and Dad was the pianist and the musical arranger. They met when the band was formed, and from then on, their romance blossomed.
When I studied Latin, I learned that "Cecilia" means "blind". I eventually found out that Saint Cecilia, after whom I was named, was indeed blind. With these two names, "Diane" and "Cecilia", I realized that I have an appellation that means "The Blind Moon Goddess".
I've always liked my first name, and more so when Princess Diana became popular. No offense to my namesakes and to the visually impaired, but I hated "Cecilia", my second name, because I didn't want to be called "blind".
I complained to my Mom about this, telling her what my second name actually means. She just smiled and said, "Well, it isn't so bad. Look, you're living up to your name. You have a lot of divine qualities, but you are blind to them. You're like a goddess, but you don't act as if you were better than anyone else. "And," she said with a wink, "you have the sex appeal of a screen goddess, but you're not even aware of it, which makes you even sexier." Of course, that was my Mom, my number one fan, speaking. As far as know, I have the sex appeal of a doornail.
My friend offered a better explanation as to how I am living up to my name. She said, "Yeah, your parents couldn't have named you more aptly. You're indeed a blind moon goddess. You're a bit of a loony, your head is always up in the clouds, and you act as if you were blind." I am sure that she meant it as a joke, but I am starting to think that it is true. You see, absent-mindedness is one of my worst faults. I've lost count of how many times I have tripped and fallen. I have fallen down the stairs and hit by cars on several occasions. I have been through a lot of near mishaps on account of my absent-mindedness. Thanks to my guardian angel, I have never suffered from any serious injury. That I have never had a broken bone is nothing short of a miracle. Sometimes, I imagine my guardian angel looking so tired and exasperated, with his wings ruffled and his golden halo bent out of shape. I bet he's beseeching God for another assignment.
My absent-mindedness has led me to a lot of embarrassing situations as well. Let me tell you about one. Almost a couple of years ago, a group of politicians visited Kalibo, my home town, to join the Ati-atihan festivities. The highlight of the festivities was the celebration of the Holy Mass, which was held at the town plaza. After receiving the Holy Communion, I headed back to where I was seated. I was oblivious to my surroundings because I was steeped in prayer. My head was once more up in the clouds. I was zapped back to reality when I felt that my left foot had stepped on somebody's toes. When I looked up to see who the unfortunate person was, I had the shock of my life. I saw a familiar face, with eyes turning into little slits as the person smiled sheepishly. Guess who it was? It was Bong Revilla! He probably looked even more embarrassed than I did. Of course, I apologized profusely before I tried to disappear from the knowing eyes. Later, my friends would tease me, "Hey you should have asked for his autograph," and I would brag jokingly in reply, "That's so baduy! I stepped on a politician's toes and all he did was smile at me. Now, how many people can truthfully say that?"
Well, that's just me, Diane Cecilia, the Blind Moon Goddess, living up to her name. Once again, good evening.
Posted @ 4:29 PM
