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As I finished my daily run around the neighborhood, I kept thinking to myself of all the possibilities we would have, and then a curious thing happened that has not happened in a long time. What if I couldn’t make games the way I imagined. I’ve never done something like this before, but have always thought about it, and critiqued every room I’ve been to (mostly to myself). I clearly remember the doubt in my head, as it ran through my body, it almost paralyzed me from finishing my run.
As I took a deep breath and looked to the sky, it took me a minute to compose myself. I pushed the negative thoughts to a side and thought back to the list of people I’d have to meet with. I looked at the list over and over, had names written and then crossed off, and then rewritten and then crossed off. The two that I need were onboard, the rest of who I would ask would need to complement our strengths or supplement our weaknesses. The third person I thought of was removed as quickly as the name was added because he had never done an escape room. Then I looked at my list again and had to juggle people around to see what would be the next person critical to our group. As I thought, I realized that I would need someone that would be able to keep their cool, or at least remind me to keep my cool.
As I approached him, it was one of the easiest conversations I’ve ever had. The answer was immediate, and we talked about the possibilities, and as sudden as the doubts crept into me, Quang was able to just laugh and joke at all the great possibilities we would have. The funny thing was the first question he asked me, “If we had Quan on our team?” We laughed as I told him that Quan was the first person I thought of. If anything, Quang made me much more excited about all the possibilities we would have, and how this would be such a great thing to be a part of. As we parted for the night, I felt a sigh of relief that everyone was so positive about jumping on board, and believing in the prospects of something that we would be able to create in our image.
Number 4 was quick to say yes. She had already known about what we wanted to do, and because she was always a part of the group, having her as an addition would only enhance the performance in the team. She’s all the brains and wit, without any of the emotions that I carry, so it would no doubt be in my favor to find someone that could think like me, without all the emotional fire that burns a person's thought process. I knew that if for some reason I was not doing a good job, this would be the person I would want to tell me. It’s the collective aura that she has to connect with individuals, and the calm persona that she portrays, that gives the group favor in adversity. Having her on board, was critical to balance the powers within the company. Ngan was also a nurse, so without work man’s comp, she would also be able to heal the wounded, if not physically then with Korean band-aids.
The original Number 5, was the one that got away. I wanted her presence with the company, but she was just too busy with her career. Also, she would be the one to push the group forward or to bring the group together. However, knowing that she was not available because she wanted to own her own boba shop, made it hard for me to ask her. She had already told me the plans to open something with her family, and with that one line, I wasn’t even able to ask her to come aboard.
The second Number 5, was also a dent to the group. He was everything I could never learn or understand. He’s the one that all teams need to make things happen. He would be the one person that would have the skillsets that none of us had. He would be able to program, create, fix, push, teach, and elevate our group to a new level. I remember the conversation I wanted to have with him at Kenzo’s in San Jose. I hate sushi, and more importantly, am deathly allergic to it. However, he and my younger brother Alex wanted to eat there, so I didn’t decline since I knew they had non-seafood items on the menu. Before popping the question, I knew I had to know a couple of things about him and where he was. For years now, he’s been in business or should I say he started a business with his own family. In the IT world, he was the creator, inventor, and mind for his company, even if I could get him to come over, the risk of running and operating two companies not related to each other is a big risk, and I knew that he would be able to supplement a field none of us had expertise in. But before I could even pop the question, he had already begun to tell me his situation, and how he’s the only one left trying to keep his company afloat because his family had other affairs they were involved in so they had to leave the company. With that one statement, just like the other one, I knew it wasn’t the time to ask him, and so with that, another one was lost.
The next Number 5, was the next best thing to IT and would turn out to be the youngest member of the group.