After two and a half weeks of steady face-fuzz forcing, a colleague approached me, cheeks as smooth as a baby's backside, saying: "You want to see a real mo? Look at my face before I go home this evening, it'll make yours look like a billiard ball!"
Now,I guess what he was really trying to say to me was, "Why are you wasting your time, boy? If you can't grow a moustache down to your knees in under 24 hours, you're not a real man!"
Of course, this kind of attitude doesn't really help our fight against a disease that has been called New Zealand's second biggest killer of men.
In fact, the macho posturing and ultra-competitive attitude is partly to blame for many men going undiagnosed with prostate problems until it's too late.
Real men don't have problems, especially when it comes to what they perceive to be the essence of their manliness.
To borrow a well-worn phrase: Yeah, right!
Don't get me wrong. I do love a bit of healthy competition.
As a former long-distance runner, I would give my all to beat the next guy and have had a number of foot-to-the-floor, gut-wrenching, lung-bursting, jelly-leg-making sprints over the last 200 metres of a half marathon.
These days I relish pushing the envelope with yacht racing, hoping to beat our opposition with slicker crew work and tactical savvy: And I've broken the mast trying!
There is an element of competition associated with Movember that's related to the amount of money raised and the style, care and attention to decorating one's face with fur. But, it's never a race.
As far as my own whisker growing abilities go, I would say I'm pretty much average: I've seen hairier and I've seen less hairy. But to judge a Mo Bro by the length of his 'tash is to miss the point.
Every bro should be applauded for his commitment and self-sacrifice (see previous blogs) to help raise awareness and (hopefully) bundles of cash that may go towards finding a cure someday.
And as for you blokes out there who think a man can only prove his worth with the aid of a tape measure?
I say, "It might be twelve inches long, but I don't use it as a rule."
Click here for photos of Alex's progress