Sitting in the Mx offices finishing a little article on Neighbours characters getting their on Twitter accounts, I get whisked off by a reporter and a photographer to do a vox pop 40 minutes before deadline.

The subject: “Wankiest suburb in Melbourne”

The mission: Get seven responses each in St Kilda during the middle of the day when there’s no-one around and it’s raining in the 20 minutes before deadline.

From my previous experience of vox pops I knew I wasn’t great at them. Maybe it was shabby appearence and aggressive nature or perhaps my musk. There was really no way to tell but this time I was armed with a damn fine haircut (cut by an ex-Iranian soldier who I was tempted to call Zohan), a snappy suit (all quality op-shop) and the determination of a lemming to confirm.

But alas my first attempts were a complete failure and I went back to the other reporter to see how she was doing. She had already got two and didn’t seem too happy with my inability to complete this obviously simple task.

With a few tips I was on my way and after asking about 50 people I got my seven responses and was informed the editor had decided to promote the vox pop to a full story. So we filed by phone about 10 minutes before deadline and made it into today’s edition.

On my lunch break, Mx was being put out at Flinders Street and flipping through found my byline. I let out a rather audible “woop woop”, copping a few odd looks from passers-by but not caring all that much.

Sunday Herald Sun tomorrow. Should be a different pace considering their deadline is Saturday.

A few things I figured out from today’s vox popping.

1) “The two metre rule”: Two metres is all you have to reel a person in so you have to speak quickly. Don’t bother with “excuse me’s” and “sorry’s” for people walking quick because as soon as they get past that two metre limit, it’s all over baby.

2) People working in cafes were always good, not one of them turned me down. Anything that breaks the monotony of a slow day.

3) Don’t underestimate any job because it could turn into something bigger.

Rock on

R.