Stumbling into the Story

Hello everyone,

I had an interesting experience last night. My team won second place in a master chef competition. This is despite the fact that I'm really only well-versed in a few dishes, and can hardly be called a chef. It's a long story, and a fairly humorous one, that brought me to represent the Kowloon Queens. A normal Wednesday that I didn't expect to end with me in a three-piece suit, a checkered apron, and a medal.

Near the end of my Brand Management course, I received a message from a friend of mine. He wondered if I might be free. Long story short, a team needed a native English speaker, as theirs had quit last-minute. I agreed, and found myself mashing potatoes and bantering with audience members. I'm sure those of you who know me find it no surprise that I was feeling rather "in my element"; I love to present, and feel at my best when I'm generating excitement for a product or idea.

Well, it comes down to the judging, and I'm nervous. No one in the audience has spoken much about our dish, and I'm terrified that it didn't go over well. I should mention in advance that each team had to present a dish with a "theme". The theme was countries, and ours had been Japan. We ended up crafting a dish consisting of curry-mashed potatoes on potato chips, garlic bread with a red sauce (resembling the flag of Japan) over seaweed, and mochi milk tea.

I was stunned when we surpassed the audience favorite, team Chicken Wing (who had a fantastic nacho-based dish with amazing sauce) and team Michelin Stars (France, they had a cheesecake dessert) to place second overall! The judges apparently admired our dish (which was quite delicious) and our pleasant demeanor.

The lesson I learned is a simple one, but often overlooked: opportunity comes to those who jump at it. Some of the greatest successes in history were simply doing the right thing at the right place at the right time. But the right place and the right time don't come to you. Dive in! Go on an adventure! Networking is not, as so many places teach, the act of exchanging Facebook information with people at an event. It's sharing experiences. It's building friendships. It's demonstrating, consistently, that people should think of you when they want to accomplish something.

My time in Hong Kong is nearly coming to a close. I've been thinking about what to do with this blog when I return. Though I'm demonstrably terrible at maintaining it with consistently, I've rather enjoyed the act of blogging, and I may continue. I suppose I'll be in the market for a new name, however.

Have a wonderful evening, dear readers. And thank you for all your support.