Q: Are you staying in for the Olympics?

A: Yeah, I think so, my aim is....there's no limit, so I'm going for
it, and that's farther
down the line...right now, I'm just getting myself set up, see how I
want to structure the
season, talk to Skate Canada, see which internationals we're gonna
choose, and then go from
there.

Q: Can you talk about why you made the coaching change?

A: One is I felt I needed a change, and two, Ushi right now, she's
working, she's part
owner at that arena, there's 4 arena's, there's 4 pad complex, and
she spent a lot of time
away, and they need her there, and she also said, you know, I don't
know if I'm going to be
ready to commit to that type of commitment to you. And I said 'well
thats fine'...it's
kind of a situation where we parted ways evenly, we each needed to go
our separate
routes, so it ended up being a nice thing for us. We still talk and
everything is fine.

Q: So how did you decide on Linda?

A: When I was skating the last number of years, coming to Richmond
Hill to train, Linda and
I used to talk a lot, she used to pick my brain on stuff, working
with Kenny Rose, who's
the last year's Junior Champion, and we used to talk about how we can
help Kenny, and what
would be good, and what I've gone through, and all that, and through
that process I got to
know more about Linda, what her mind set is, and how she approaches
skating, very
professional, there's no bullcrap when it comes down to training, and
it doesn't matter who
you are, World Champion or Junior Champion or Novice Champion, it's
the same everywhere.
And she just has a very open mind, and very supportive...and that's
what I need. And it
ended up being that way, and someone that I feel I can trust, and
that's the most important
for me, and technique, it's all the same, I mean we talk about the
same technique, we're
just talking the same things out, and another set of eyes, that are
very keen, very
skilled, to see what needs to be changed, what needs to be adjusted,
and she has that, and
that's why I think it's a perfect combination.

Q: Whats the response been like, from other competitors,
international skaters?

A: Well, I haven't really talked to anybody in particular, at that
level. I know that the
friends that I have talked to have all congratulated me, I'm getting
like 20 calls a day,
just saying 'hey, we're glad you're back, we really miss you, and we
think you can do it,
and this is great for you'...cause they, the people that know me,
know that I wasn't myself
for the last 4 years, that I was either just low, or depressed, or
not on top of things,
emotionally not connected....physically is a different situation,
injuries come from
within, you know, you draw your own negativity. And unfortunately
that happens, and I got
through that, and I'm just ready to move on, I'm ready to do my
thing.

Q: So when you talked so much about being at peace in Salt Lake City,
was that just words
at the time, or was that just how you were actually feeling?

A: No, actually, I was honest at the time, I mean, to come to grips
with what I was
dealing with. At the time, I came back, and said, you know, I'm done.
I didn't know if I
was going to be done for now, but I was done. And I was thinking
ahead, well, maybe I
should look beyond. So I did, I totally let go of skating completely,
absolutely, I just
did shows, and had no intention of coming back. Interestingly enough,
as I got closer, I
went to Worlds, even before Worlds, I was going to go to Worlds and
commentate, and I
didn't get excited for the first few days, I just sort of watched it.
And then, for some
reason I got a different outlook. And my mom, it was funny, cause my
mom was there, and a
lot of people were coming up to her and asking when I was skating,
and she said I wasn't
skating, and people were, you know, wishing I was out there, and had
a lot of positive
feedback, and I talked my mom, and I said 'I had this weird notion of
coming back for some
reason, I don't know why'. And she goes 'I know'. And I said 'how'd
you know that?' And
she said 'I've just known you're not done yet'. And interestingly
enough, my mom kind of,
she knows me really well, she knows that eventually, when I was
ready, I'd come back, cause
I was not finished yet.

Q: Athletes, world champion athletes like yourself, have come back
after retirement, and it
jut wasn't there. Sometimes it can almost be embarrassing for that
athlete. Do you worry
at all yourself about ever being in that position?

A: Alot of times when an athlete comes back, they come back for
external reasons. A gold
medal, winning a championship, getting the accolades, being in front
of the media, in front
of the press, that's what spurs them on. However, it's not enough. To
be at this level,
it's not enough. It's gotta be for you, you gotta have the right
reasons to do it, you've
gotta be able to get up in the morning every day, get yourself ready,
be driven to go for
it, and that's what gets you there...there are a few that have done
it, but that's the only
way you're going to do it. If you do it for the wrong reasons, forget
it, it's not gonna
happen. Plus, too, I've only been out for a year, so it's much
different than retiring for
5 years. I was thinking about not coming back this year, about coming
back in 05, but it's
too long away from competition. That's why this fall I'd like to do a
number of
internationals, get my feet wet again, just to get the feel, and then
go out and do it.
So, I'm not afraid, I had that part of my career already, that's not
ever gonna change,
and, uh, no matter what I do now, it's all icing on the cake for me.
I'm just glad I can
be part of this and feel good about my skating.