Things to come

Once upon a time, I wanted to be a writer. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to write about or who would actually pay me to do it, but that seemed less important than the desire to do it. Sports journalism became a hobby of mine during my time at Western after a debate with the UWO Gazette's then-sports editor, James Pugsley. Good ol' Pugs had decided to run his mouth about Intercollegiate Athletic spending so I decided to shut it for him. As luck would have it, he was working late one night when I was doing overnight security at the University Community Center and the debate continued. This led to an offer to write for the Sports section. And thus, it began.

Over the years, I've gotten a bit sidetracked, but thanks to this move to Montreal, I finally have something to write about again. It's a whole different world up here. I'm seeing and experiencing things that I never could have had I stayed in London, Ontario. But anyone who's been reading my columns for the last little while can see that. So inkeeping with my newfound desire to explore and experience, I decided I would take a stroll down to the Musique Plus building to see if I could arrange an interview with one of the VJs. It was worth a shot, right? I managed to get a contact name and, the following day, sent him this e-mail:

Bonjour!

Mon nom est Al*n R*****te et je suis un anglophone écrivain indépendant. J'ai déménagé à Montréal il y a quelques mois parce que j'avais l'envie d'apprendre plus de la culture québécoise. A mon avis, votre chaîne et vos animateurs (VJs) sont très importante dans les vies quotidiennes des jeunes québécoises et québécois. C'est avec cette idée en tête que je vous démande si c'est possible que je puisse interviewer un de votre équipe de VJs pour mon site (http://albhere.blogspot.com). Je suis en train de faire des commentaires sur la musique, la culture et autres choses qui me frappent.

J'ai une liste de questions sur la culture québécoise et autres choses comme ça et j'aimerais bien savoir leurs opinions. Je prendrais probablement moins d'une demie heure de leur temps. Mon numéro de téléphone est 514-***-**** ou vous pouvez me joindre par courriel. Laissez-moi savoir si c'est possible ou non.

Sincèrement,

Al*n R*****te
***

And wouldn't you know it, but the guy called me back! We had a nice little chat on the phone. He asked me a bit about my blog and what sort of questions I wanted to ask, and then asked me to send him a sample of 5-6 questions that I would like to ask and he would see if he could arrange something. Sounds good to me. At this point I would like to thank my friends, Morgan, John and George, as well as my blog-muse, Paige, for their suggestions. Guess I'll find out soon enough if my questions made the grade.

I think the moral of the story is: Go after what you want. Make your own opportunities. You may get good results if you're willing to ask the questions in the first place. Stay tuned!