I keep having this recurring dream. Slightly different this time, but basically the same as the others.

Last week, I had this dream that I was entered in a cooking competition. It was about a dozen teams competing in teams of two. We were whisked away (pun intended) to a very large, secluded lodge in the middle of the woods on the side of a mountain. In the Great Room of the lodge was set up about a dozen island countertops, each with its own cooktop and prep area. Each team was assigned an island.

The entirety of the dream consisted of the moments leading up to the beginning of the competition. We were all held in a slightly smaller Great Room adjacent the competition room, and we had a chance to kind of get to know each other before doing battle. Most of the chefs were about my age, and a handful were older, but not by much. All were men. All were seasoned veterans, experienced chefs. Except me. I specifically remember there being at least one Italian chef present wearing a green-white-red chef hat. One of the competitors was one of my old roommates, who is now a chef Downtown.

I remember feeling very small in my relative inexperience. I always felt as if I was physically looking up to talk to the other chefs.

I know I have insecurities in this area. This is a totally new beast for me to conquer. Maybe it's just my subconcious reminding me of this, trying to keep my ego in check. If that's the case, it sure is working.

¶ 11:37 AM