Roughly 6 years ago I began a corporate adventure with a sales company that has been quite good to me up to the present day. At the tender age of 25, I began this journey with an apprehensive mind-set due to the my previous places of employment which were absolutely disastrous. Shortly after I was hired, I was invited with my new team to a swank restaurant so we could get to know one another a bit better. A "team-building" event if you will. At the time, my idea of fine dining was Golden Corral, Mr. Gatti's, and on occasion (let's just say if I had a lady to impress) Poncho's. I was not the high-society, mover and shaker I have blossomed into today.
We were seated in a large circular booth and appetizers were served. The boss lady proposed we would go around the booth sharing tidbits about ourselves and goals for the future successes of our branch. I wasn't nervous per say, but I wanted to make a good impression and was racking my over-sized brain as to what to say. To take the edge off, I decided to dabble into the appetizers. They looked tasty, but I wasn't familiar with many of the dishes. I reached for the one closest to me and went to town. I was shocked to discover that I wasn't able to chew nor swallow what I had put in my mouth. I labored over this piece of food until I had to throw in the towel. I discretely spit it out and discerned that I must have chosen a bad piece. I went for round two and it was even more troublesome. I began to choke and cough violently to where I stopped the whole table down. No Heimlich maneuvers were administered, but it was a lengthy episode that destroyed the momentum of the exercise.
I now was at a cross-roads. It was explained to me in a condescending manor that this mystery vegetable known to uppity types as "edamame" is not meant to be eaten whole unless it is tender. I was told normal humans split it open to get to the precious soy beans inside. I was unaware of such cuisine and now came the moment of truth. Was I to be the butt of joke during this monumental Team-Building event? Oh no my friends. Oh no. The wheels began furiously turning in aforementioned giant brain and I spoke up to defend myself. I told the group that I knew exactly what edamame is and that I put on the display to portray my relentless work ethic and my out-side the box mentality. I explained how me eating the rough part of the inedible skin was a metaphor of how I break down barriers to get to the eventual decision maker to make the sale. While my competitors would waste time delicately splitting the edamame to get inside, I would let them flounder with the details as I went right for the beans……Right for the beans. As my inspiring oration continued, my voice unknowingly grew louder. Other tables began to take notice and by the end of my heroic speech about my future successes, I received a rousing standing ovation from both patrons and staff alike. I was now hailed as a Trailblazer who would not let any East Asian delicacy stand in the way of me and my lavish goals.
Some may question the validity of this story. If so, I can assure that it is completely true other than the speech part. For you see, the truth is that I choked on some Asian green-bean looking shit and everyone made fun of me for not knowing what edamame was. But you know what? Let them get their fingers dirty tearing apart that vile vegetable. To this day, I still go directly through to the skin and right for the beans brotha. Right for the beans.
