A bit of a growth spurt

By Tamara Lee


Today I watched a car ad on TV and it filled me with glee.

That is a sentence I never thought I would ever write in a piece of non-fiction.

One day a few months ago, my friend S was wandering down the street when he was suddenly approached to be in a car ad; just plucked off the street then and there and plunked into the backseat of the car. S, an unassuming young man with a brilliant mind full of aerophysics and political theory, said, “Sure, why not?” The result is an amusing and oddly apt representation of the bespectacled fella singing the words to Falco’s “Rock Me Amadeus.” And I can’t wait to see it again.

Taking ourselves out of our comfort zones leads to some of our greatest stories, and some of our greatest life-events.

In the year-and-a-bit since we all clamored to start this blog, I've been expanding my writing interests and trying to hammer out the clunks, especially with my non-fiction efforts.

Before then, I wouldn't have considered sending in an essay to a national publication. But that was two years ago. My collective cohorts here at the CWC have been so very supportive, and the regularity of this blog has helped me feel more comfortable with a byline, that gumption was bound to happen, I guess.

So I sent something to the Globe&Mail, a couple months ago, and they decided to publish it. "Facebooked into a Corner" was Friday's Facts&Arguments piece. I was especially amused by the print edition's accompanying artwork; if you get a chance do have a look.

It seems to me, over the past year, there has been a lot of growth in the talents and gumptions of our CWC gang. Some have left to concentrate on those successes, and some continue to grace us with their humour and insight each week. I'm thrilled every time I hear about one of their "career firsts," which usually starts with a foray out of the familiar. I'm not sure if the blog has anything to do with their gumption, but I can say it has for me.

Next up, fixing my stammering fiction. I plan to apply to a Master Fiction workshop. That is, if I can scare myself out of the comfort zone long enough to send off my application.


(Image credit: Still from the Falco video for "Rock Me Amadeus," courtesy of the 'Official Falco site')