One week in and I'm pleased to report growth along my upper lip is starting to show strong signs of progress (or should I say, mo-gress). It's great to see I'm not going it alone; I've noticed lots of guys around the city sporting stage one moustaches. Hong Kong seems to have really embraced Movember.
The reaction to my clean-shaven face has been quite astounding. People in the city have only known me with a moustache, so it's been a week of double takes when I get recognised. Even my family is talking about the new "youthful" Chester. Of course, all this chatter presents many opportunities to slip in the topic of prostate cancer, which is exactly what Movember is about. My lack of moustache is doing its job by prompting people to chat and think about men's health.
It's not just about the boys, though. Elizabeth, my much better half of seven years, has always been a big fan of my mo. However, last week she became a Mo Sista and let me part with it. Besides registering as a Mo Sista on the Movember website, she's been doing her bit to encourage friends and colleagues to donate to my Mo Space page and grow their own moustaches.
Hong Kong is 10th on the Movember leaderboard with HK$1,094,757 raised, despite having the fewest registrations among the 21 official Movember campaign "countries". It just goes to show how generous and supportive the community here is. So far, more than HK$264 million has been raised worldwide from nearly one million participants.