Special Events - Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa

7:30pm – 9pm — STORYTELLING SHOW
True stories that happened to you! Join us as we mix professional storytellers with your fellow Mensans.

Chris KorbelPro Storyteller & Host

Is it possible that in a town where you are what you ride, the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus is a dealbreaker?

Brandon BurkhartPro Storyteller

Bungee jumping sounds like fun, until you’re standing on a shaky bridge in New Zealand, paralyzed with fear.

Brandi HoffmanFellow Mensan

When I got laid off and what I learned about the experience.

Katya DuftPro Storyteller

I was always a curious child but I managed to go a step too far, when I invaded a Soviet military ship with my classmates.

Emerson DameronPro Storyteller

I tried to start a new career, returned to Los Angeles in the middle of a housing crisis, and joined an unusual community.

Sarah DorfmanPro Storyteller

It’s nerve-wracking enough taping your first game show appearance, but imagine doing it during a pandemic.

Gregory WilliamsonFellow Mensan

The day I hiked through the Pyrenees mountains from France into Spain on an ancient pilgrimage after moving to Europe to challenge myself and push my personal boundaries.

Kelly SpillmanPro Storyteller

The most annoying thing about being a professor during final exam week is the number of students who beg for grades they did not earn – not on my watch!

Madeline Pinsky WalkerFellow Mensan

How my family escaped Russia – first on my father’s side from Bellarus, then on my mother’s side in Romania.

Ryan McGranahanPro Storyteller

Can a nervous 14-year-old enjoy his first date despite having to rely on his girlfriend’s intimidating father for transportation?

3:20-4:00 – Annual Business Meeting
The ABM is part of the necessary rules and regulations of a Mensa chapter. Join us on the Speaker line, or go to the Game line to chat with friends who are not interested in parliamentary procedure. It usually doesn’t go on too long, since the GLAAM Board has its monthly meetings to keep things running. Nevertheless, the meeting can wrap up sticky points from throughout the year. It’s your choice.

Let’s Chat!

There will be a few opportunities at the 2021 Virtual RG to simply chat with your friends. Make sure your friends know to find you on the Speaker side or the Game side:

12:00-1:20 – Lunch break
Raid your kitchen or have lunch appear at your doorstep. Sit and chat with friends, old and new. If you want to connect with someone in particular, make sure you tell them whether to meet you on the Speaker line or the Game line, both of which will be available to catch up with people, or just to chat for fun.

6:00-7:20 – Dinner break
What do we usually get for the first night of the RG? Pizza! Stacks and stacks of pizzas. You don’t have to, you can eat whatever you want at dinner. Nevertheless, some of you will order a pizza for “old times sake.” Again, make sure to meet your friends either on the Speaker line or the Game line.

9:15 – Beverages and Chat
In lieu of our traditional Pub Crawl, sit down with a beverage (alcohol or not, or even just water!) and your friends and chat as long as the host of the Virtual Meeting is willing to stay awake. One last game will be going on the Game line, so meet your friends to chat on the Speaker line.

Critiques

We don’t have forms for your critiques, but feel free to send a note to either Madeline Walker at Madeline@Spidellspecialties.com or Jay Friedlander at livesoutwest@yahoo.com with suggestions for next year. We hope that next year we will be back at our regular Regional Gathering, February 18-21, 2022, but who knows?