Holy cows deep in clover

Forwarding address? Sure thing!

2010-01-27T14:47:00.001-08:00

Hi all!

If you've been following - and I do apologize for such poor updating - I would like to point you to a couple places that I'm a bit more active.

First, you can check out my site at www.ryanreichert.com - once it's launched this will be the hub for all goings on in my life.

For wine specific writing, you can visit oe•no•phile.

This blog may come back into play at a later point, but for now I won't be adding anything further.

Cheers!

Ryan

WSET Update

2009-02-18T14:01:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

So last November I completed the Advanced level of the Wine & Spirits Education Trust program (see my post earlier in 2008 re: Intermediate level).

I got my results back late last week, and Passed with Distinction, which is the best you can do overall. I just wanted to share.

Oh, and for anyone that hasn't stumbled upon it yet, I have a wine blog at: blog.oe-no-phile.com

Take care,

Ryan

2009-01-05T20:31:00.000-08:00

My new baby.

"Going West"

2008-10-15T08:41:00.000-07:00

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/going_west.png

Fall is upon us

2008-10-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

So somehow we're already half way through the month of October. This year really has seemed to fly by without a second thought. I guess that's a consequence of getting old... right.

So anyhow, we are having quite an amazing fall here in NE Ohio. Overall Ohio isn't where I'd like to be for the rest of my life, but I have to at least concede that it does have some redeeming characteristics - colorful, sunny, cool fall days would be one thing that comes to mind. The leaves are all starting to change colors, and there's a crisp chill in the evening air. It's time to visit orchards and pick apples and find misshapen bright orange pumpkins. Rows and rows of jugs filled with amber colored cider line cooler displays in all the grocery stores.

This weekend I'm going on a little road trip with one of my bestest buds, Libby. We're going to drive up to Niagara Falls, and then head south through New York and into the hills and valleys of Pennsylvania. Really this is the kind of trip old ladies from coast to coast delight in - leaf peeping I believe they term it. Winding through the Allegany State Park (NY) and the Allegheny National Forest (PA) - god forbid we spell things with any consistency here! - I'm sure we'll get to see our fair share of fall foliage.

The majority of the trip will focus around a portion of Historic US-6 which we'll follow from Port Allegany all the way back home. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures of our adventure and make a special post/album that I can link from this blog.

In other news, life is going very well. I remain overjoyed with both of my jobs - the accounting and the bartending. I'm taking the Advanced level for WSET this fall, and sitting for the exam at the end of November. I'm really quite nervous about it, as this class is much more in depth than the previous level, and I need to continue comitting lots of geographical and viticultural information to memory. We've also got a blind tasting to conduct, but I'm not as concerned about that as I was initially.

Life continues.

Be well everyone.

Take Over the World w/ Tofu

2008-08-27T09:29:00.001-07:00

So I cannot stop raving about this recipe. My friend Christopher passed it along to me from the Post Punk Kitchen.

Tofu Basil Ricotta

prep time: 10 minutes | cooking time: none | makes About 2 cups
Use as a filling for stuffed shells, mixed with tomato sauce in pasta or as a topping for pizza. By popular demand I edited this to say that you should press the tofu before preparing.

Equipment:
Tireless hands, a bowl

Ingredients
1 pound firm tofu, pressed
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
handful fresh basil leaves, chopped fine (ten leaves or so)
salt
dash fresh black pepper

Directions
In a large bowl, mush the tofu up with your hands, till it's crumbly.

Add lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper and basil. Mush with hands again, this time you want it to get very mushy so squeeze through your fingers and mush until it reaches the consistency of ricotta cheese. May take 2-5 minutes.

Add olive oil, stir with fork. Add nutritional yeast and combine all ingredients well. Use a fork now, because the oil will make it sticky. Cover and refigerate until ready to use.

Direct link: http://www.theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/index.php?RecipeID=5

I made this up last night and added some zuchinni, mushrooms, and spinach. Then I used the filling for some lasagna using out of the jar sauce and no-boil noodles.

I baked everything for 45 minutes at 375, and then let it sit overnight. It cut very nicely, holds together very well, and was an excellent lunch today. It is vegan, but you could easily add some TVP crumbles to give it more texture. I've learned that the "meat" crumbles are especially good in pasta/sauce dishes - I can hardly tell the difference - then again I'm a little more forgiving that other people I know!

France takes on the world... well, New Zealand, South Africa, and California at least

2008-08-15T07:12:00.001-07:00

Last night I hosted a gathering for the Cleveland French Language Meet-up group at my apartment. The purpose of the meeting was to hold a wine tasting comparing French (old world) wines to some of their New World (anywhere but Europe) equivalents.

I chose three varietals - Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir - and found some good couplings with the help of Maggie @ Whole Foods. Here's what we tasted:

Sauvignon Blanc

Domaine Guy Allion – Le Haut Perron Sauvignon Blanc – Touraine, Val de Loire (2007)
Giesen Sauvignon Blanc – Marlborough, New Zealand (2007)

Chardonnay

Cave de Lugny Chardonnay - Mâcon-Villages (2006)
Ondine Chardonnay – South Africa (2004)

Pinot Noir

Domaine Michel-Andreotti Pinot Noir – Côte Chalonnaise, Bourgogne (2006)
Parducci Pinot Noir – Mendocino Valley, California (2006)

We also had two other wines - a starter of Brut Spumante from Italy and then finishing with cheesecake served next to a Muscat from Samos, Greece (which was part of last monht's Counter Culture event at WF).

There were 10 of us there including myself and a friend, Angela, from my WSET course. She doesn't speak French, so I think she might have been a little uncomfortable at first, but as we moved through the tasting I think everyone relaxed a little and she was fine.

I poured everything (except the Spumante and Muscat) blind, placing them in paper bags. Evreyone got some information and then a little "score card" to indicate which of the two wines they preferred and to take guesses at whether each was old or new world, and what the varietal was. At the end we tallied everything up, and the person with the most correct answers received a bottle of Root:1 Cabernet Sauvignon, a really tasty Cab from Chile.

With the counts completed for everyone's preferred wines, the French wines took first place resoundingly. Of the three new world choices there were a few votes for the Chard and the Pinot, but everyone agreed to liking the French SB much better than the NZ one.

This provided an interesting juxtaposition to an evening earlier this week when I went out with the people from the Cleveland Wine School. We got to see a screening of Bottle Shock, a movie chronicaling the events leading up to the famous 1976 Judgement of Paris. This was a blind tasting arranged by an Englishman living in France to try and expand his business in wine, and putting California wines up against the likes of some of the best from France. Surprisingly - especially to the French, who comprised the entire tasting panel - the top wines amidst the Cabernet Sauvignons and Chardonnays sampled were from California! Starring Alan Rickman and Bill Pullman, the film was enjoyable and very well made - my favorite parts being some of the beautiful shots of the California landscape.

So, I've had a good week, and am excited to host future wine tastings for our French Language group. I'm even considering starting a weekly wine tasting group on Meet-up, but have to put a little more thought into it and see if there's any other interest.

I encourage everyone to go out and grab a bottle of wine you've never tried before - or better yet, find a knowledgeable staff member wherever you like to buy wine, tell them what you enjoy, and ask them to point you to something different that you might also like.

Cheers!

Warm days and warm nights

2008-07-29T18:51:00.000-07:00

As suggested it's been rather warm here lately. Not necessarily in a bad way though. Up until today it was rather pleasant, getting hot but with relatively low humidity, so it was dry. I imagine this is the kind of lovely weather our friends to the West get to have day in and day out... bastards. Then again they have intermittent fires and earth quakes to contend with... hm, I wonder if it would be a worthwhile sacrifice.

That said, tomorrow I believe it is going to rain - I can feel the moisture building up in the air, condensing. I love the rain, but the inevitable humidity before or after is not my kind of weather. I sweat when I sleep, and that means my sheets are gross and need to be washed constantly. I suppose we could get AC, but I'm terrified about what that'll do to our electricity bill. I've not even gotten the first one yet, so until that comes I'm not in any rush to cool the place down with anything more than some well positioned fans. And it's not as if people all over the state, country, and world don't live without the modern convenience of air conditioning. We'll survive. There are far worse things that I could be challenged with.

Since my last entry I've seen The Dark Knight - actually, it was that night. Some friends and I went to a midnight screening at Severence in Cleveland Heights. It was a fantastic movie, and I can't wait to see it in an IMAX theatre. There should be a trip to Pittsburgh, or Columbus, or maybe Cincinnati in the near future. I'll be brief, but echo what everyone else has said, and note that I think Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker was phenomenal. I'm not determined to see a posthumous Oscar, but more so let down that they won't be able to do any overlap with the next film unless they re-cast.

I went to a wine dinner last night at Whole Foods. The last Monday of every month they have a themed tasting for $45 called Counter Culture - it's held at their cafe-style prepared foods counter in the specialty section. Maggie, my wine lady, told me about it Sunday, and I signed up immediately. A tour of Greek wines and accompanying Mediterranean influenced cuisine. It was really stunning, but I won't go into great detail about it now - I have the menu which I can perhaps upload a photo of or transcribe. (Edit: I scanned a copy below.) In general Greek wines are tasty.

Heard it on NPR

2008-07-17T13:06:00.001-07:00

Very interesting look at the actual meaning of the infamous "jihad."

I wanted to share it with anyone reading, so I'll just link it up - as I don't want to get sued for re-posting copywritten material on my blog! (I'm still waiting for Paris to sue me over those Eiffel Tower pics!!!) Below is the opening paragraph with a link to the full article

What Does 'Jihad' Really Mean?

by Jamie Tarabay

After years of using the word "jihadist" to describe terrorists who carry out attacks against civilians and the U.S. military, the Bush administration has finally realized that doing so actually pays those groups a compliment in the eyes of some Muslims. (full story...)

I'm sure this is probably nothing new to some of my more gloablly educated readers, but regardless I hope you find it as interesting and perhaps enlightening as I did.

Cheers!

Mobile Blogging

2008-07-17T11:50:00.001-07:00

So after digging through all kinds of third party applications and other websites looking for some way to post to my blog remotely, I discovered that this entire time (well, I'm not really sure for how long) Blogger has it's very own Mobile Blogging service. So now I can blog from my iPhone without having to log in - or anywhere I can access email for that matter.

Hopefully this additional posting option will lead me to make more frequent postings.

So what's been going on in life over the last couple months... June went by so quickly. I can't believe it's already July, and half way through July at that!

June was our last month in Cleveland Heights, and we have now moved to Shaker Heights, about 4 miles away, to the upper suite ofa nice duplex on charming Winslow Road. Another friend, Dan, has also moved in with us, so we are now three. Things are working out well enough currently, though I think the whole move process was somewhat stressful and took some adjustments for everyone. You'll have that I suppose. Everything got in easily enough though, and now I'm focused on working on one or two rooms.

The main living areas (living room, dining room, bathroom, kitchen - to some extent) are all arranged and unpacked. There are still some things that need to be done in the kitchen. My bedroom is mostly unpacked but things need to be rearranged and set in their place.

Shortly after moving in we got a visit from Rebekah, who was passing through Cleveland a few days before heading back to Spain. We spend a lovely evening with her and enjoyed a nice home cooked meal.

Later that week we had a sorta housewarming and 4th of July party at our place. Uneventful for the most part, but fun.

Working a lot lately, and listening to a lot of NPR.

iPhone got an update to the software (as well as a new phone, but I don't think I'm going to waste the money getting one). I've been playing around with the new features and applications that are available. Lots of cool stuff.

I want to start working on some ideas I've had for a wine website, an application of my own for the iPhone, and my consulting gig. I need to sit down with some friends who have expressed interest in helping - and I'll need it, given my lack of web/programming knowledge.

The advanced class for WSET starts in about 6 weeks. I'm busy reading through the text still. I'm hoping to do better on this exam than I did on the Intermediate, but that's going to mean devoting a lot more time to memorizing and really engraining information into my mind. Also need to start doing a lot of at home tasting (not to get drunk! lol) because we'll have a blind tasting as part of the exam. I'm nervous.

Winery is working out very well. We've had a busy summer, but it's rained on and off almost every weekend since it's been truly warm. Sort of odd. Vintage Ohio is coming up at the end of the month, and I'm kind of in the air about whether I really want to help. Cindy sounds like she's set on putting me in the special reserve tent for our Chardonnay, which is a wine that qualified for Ohio's new quality wine program.

Also, regarding wine, Tony - my former prof at Kent - is in need of someone to help him teach his classes this fall, and said he was interested in having me there. I'm really excited about that, and I think it would be a fantastic experience.

So that's about all for now. I signed up for a Twitter account, so if you're on there feel free to look me up.

Cheers!

WSET update

2008-05-27T13:06:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update to let everyone know that I got my scores for my Internediate level WSET certification. I passed with merit - not the highest achievement, but 2nd in the rankings. I probably could have done a little better (not sure what the numerical score was), but I'm pleased with it.

I'm registering next week for the Advanced level which starts in September.

Bought a domain name: oe-no-phile.com - I'm going to set-up some kind of wine information site and start using the Ohio Oenophiles group/blog more seriously.

In other news we're moving at the end of the month - not far, but to a nicer place. I'll update later with contact info.

Cheers!

Ryan

to the West and Back

2008-04-25T07:08:00.000-07:00

So we're back from our great California adventure. We had a really wonderful time. Spent time in San Francisco, Napa, Sonoma, Santa Cruz, and other wine regions of norther California. All in all we visited 50+ wineries, and I purchased 35 bottles in all - I'm anxiously awaiting their (safe) arrival in Ohio! Since I work at a winery we ended up being able to taste wine at 99.9% of the stops we made for no charge (saving up to $300 per person!) Also, most places extended a very generous industry discount on all purchases which made the 35 bottles much more affordable overall.

Here is the photo album from the trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/ryan.reichert/California

There are some photos missing at the end from our visit to Copia. I believe I've maxed out the albums photo limit, so I'll probably be updating that link above soon to one where all the pictures will fit (and also deleting some of the duplicates!) The beginning photos from SanFran are a little confusing to look at - we were taking pictures of the gathering crowd and the running of the Olympic torch up Van Ness just minutes after arriving at our hotel. It was a real surprise! Everything else I think is pretty self-explanatory.

I'll post more details soon regarding what we did day-to-day, and a list of all the wineries we went to as well as all the wine purchased.

Until later!

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-15T07:21:00.000-08:00

I dug this out from my RPI journalist days... enjoy.

V-Day found not all hearts, candy, and roses
Posted 02-12-2003 at 2:47PM
Ryan Reichert Senior Reporter

With Valentine’s Day rearing its head yet again there are people worldwide complaining about how their significant others are inconsiderate because they don’t buy bunches of roses and pounds of chocolate to commemorate this special event. Little do people realize—unless you’re really into researching random stuff in your spare time—that when Valentine’s Day began it had little to do with flowers and love in the form of concentrated sugar. Instead, like some other holidays, such as Easter—to name one of the more serious holidays now devoted to chocolate and bunnies—Valentine’s Day had both a somewhat grim yet promiscuous beginning.

There are at least three saints named Valentine throughout history who are said to have been martyred for the sake of love. Of course, this is according to the people who wrote the Bible, so one can never be completely sure. Anyhow, two of the more famous Valentines were a Roman priest and a bishop of Interamna, two famous Italian cities. Both of these men were put to death somewhere around February 14, and later buried in Flominian Way, the ancient the road leading to the entrance of Rome.

As far as the story of Bishop Valentine goes, in 270 A.D. Claudius II was the ruler of the Roman Empire and ruled that soldiers were not to be married because he saw married men as inferior soldiers, weakened by love. Secretly Valentine had been performing secret ceremonies and wedding young couples, sort of an underground Vegas drive-thru with a little more class.

Well, Claudius found out about this, like Roman emperors did, and had Valentine captured and tortured. When he then refused to stop his practices and renounce Catholicism, he was clubbed, stoned, and finally beheaded. Ouch. Now that’s really not a pretty way to go.

So many years went by, like they do, and the world was a fun place. I’m sure you’re all starting to wonder where the promiscuity comes into play. Well sit back, because it’s the fifth century A.D., and the Pagans are abounding. In celebration to their god of agriculture and shepherds, Lupercus, the Pagans held a festival around mid-February. Conveniently coincidental? I think not.

The month of February had become a month symbolizing love and courtship, and so what better way to celebrate than to worship a god of corn and sheep? Well, the Pagans had it down, and every year held a lottery in which willing young women entered their names into the drawing, and then the more than willing young men drew one name each. The two were then paired together for their “mutual pleasure” for the remainder of the year. Just think, you might not be alive today if there were contraceptives in the fifth century A.D..

Needless to say, this celebration of young men’s rites of passage was much frowned upon by the Catholic Church. Who would have guessed? So most likely in an effort to rid the world of sin, the big C.C. came in and said “No, no, no! This will not do,” and changed things around.

In 496 A.D. Pope Gelasius outlawed the Lupercian Festival. Gelasius wasn’t a stupid man though, and knew that the Roman people enjoyed their games. So in trying to make the whole lottery concept more pre-schooler friendly he devised a system where both men and women would draw names of saints, and then for the rest of the year imitate that saint’s life. Sounds like pre-PBS Mister Dress-Up to me, and you shouldn’t have to guess that the Romans much preferred the previous festivities.

In the end, the Pagans had their day, and reinstated the Festival of Lupercus, but instead geared it towards honoring Saint Valentine, and in courting their potential partners men wrote elaborate love letters and ballads expressing their sentiments. This, as you may have guessed, evolved into the modern day Hallmark Valentine card, and February 14 thus became Valentine’s Day.

So this V-Day be a good significant person, but don’t gorge on chocolates and die of pollen induced allergy attacks, but think about all the fun and excitement that went into making it a holiday. What better way to spend your time?! Additionally, I think the whole Pagan lottery idea is something the administration here at RPI should consider putting into effect. I’m sure it would go over wonderfully with a lot of people. So, the moral of this story: Be good. Be just. Hell, be romantic. Otherwise, like Claudius II said: “No head for you!”

Best bartending one-liner ever

2008-02-10T16:37:00.000-08:00

So I'm working at the winery yesterday and I had one of those wonderful moments where the best reply comes right to you exactly when needed. I think it may be the best winery bartender line I've had every.

Scenario: Two women approach the bar to sample wine.
Setting: Grand River Cellars wine bar

Me: "Hi ladies - My name is Ryan. What will you be having today?"

Lady 1: "We're not sure, but we like sweet-ish."

Me: "Well...... I'm German."

END

A thoughtful quotation

2008-02-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

Here's something a friend sent me today:

Be mindful of the link between present action and desired future outcome. Ask yourself: if I repeat today’s actions 365 times, will I be where I want to be in a year?

As if my world doesn't revolve around wine enough

2008-01-29T05:57:00.001-08:00

Griffin Technologies has allowed my love of wine to expand to new parts of my life. Yesterday I received my new iPhone Elanform via UPS.

The case is a polycarbon (or some kind of plastic!) shell with an exterior made of actual cork. Now how about that for a wine lover? It makes my phone a little thicker, and prevents me from using the dock that it came with, but more importantly it will hopefully protect my phone from getting banged and scratched up should I - forbid - drop it at any point.

So I know some might squawk about how this takes away from the aesthetic of the iPhone, the silvery, streamlined, shiny state that Apple has become so good at producing and marketing. I'm not really bothered though because this reflects something more about me Where some other leather or latex case might take away from the product, I think this is an acceptable addition.

I'd love to know what you all think.

My bean pole nephew

2008-01-28T08:33:00.000-08:00

I'm sure I've talked about him, but I don't think I've ever posted any pictures. This is my little one year old nephew, Joey. At Christmas there was a picture of him wearing a Santa hat in front of the tree with a gift wrapped in red paper. I Photoshop'd it so it was B&W with the red accents. Mom hung it in her living room, and decided she wanted to rotate different pictures with the same editing, so this is the one I just finished for her yesterday.

I just like showing him off - he's pretty adorable.

That's all I've got.

Soups!

2008-01-18T06:30:00.001-08:00

So I got my hands on a stick blender, and made some soups. Here's what I ended up with:

Soup 1
Chicken base
Potato
Turnip
Cabbage
Onion
Peas
Celery
Garlic
Seasoned with salt, pepper, sage, and a little lemon pepper.

Soup 2
Chicken base
Butternut squash
Carrot
Potato
Onion
Seasoned with salt, pepper, nutmeg, chili powder, and a little cajun seasoning.

Yumalicious.

Welcome to 2008

2008-01-11T08:35:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone!

Sorry I've not made any updates in so long. My resolve to write continuously in a journal always fades with time. I guess I should just accept that I'm not a consistent blogger and be happy with that! All in all I have a hard time forming habits – which is good and bad depending on what you're considering.

My holidays went really well and it was great to get to spend time with my family and friends. Our trip to Toronto got put on hold (indefinitely – maybe next year?), so I just passed the weekend with Lindsay and Danielle in Toledo. It was still a good time, and most importantly I got to see them and Libby, just fresh from Spain and looking mighty fine. I'm very proud of her. She too found that the Camino can really make you think about life and see that perhaps your immediate future decisions aren't necessarily the best or only options. She'll do just as well I'm sure.

Christmas was a joy. Mom bought me an iPhone which I'd been coveting since returning home, and now all I have to do is pay the $70/month phone bill. No matter – it's well worth having the little device. A Phone, music, e-mail, web access, weather, stocks, text messaging, a camera, and more. That's a lot for something that's not much bigger than a deck of playing cards.

The rest of my family and my friends got me some great and in many cases very useful gifts as well. A huge box of household goods/cleaning supplies from my grandparents – who also have re-stocked my supply of socks and underwear much to my pleasure – an espresso machine, books, bar stuff, fantastic J. Crew boxers from Hannah, and gift cards. I'm very grateful for everything.

I saw Charlie Wilson's War on Monday with Dan and thought it a very good movie. I like Tom Hanks and Philip Seymour Hoffman even more so. Julia Roberts took on an interesting religiously driven fundraiser from Texas with an up-do. Very interesting indeed.

I really love our neighborhood and the surrounding area. Shaker Square is less than 5 minutes away and they have a cinema, shopping, and food there. In Coventry there's always something going on, but the streets are generally quiet at night. I'm really pleased with the apartment we moved into, and though we'll look for something in the spring before our lease is up, if nothing presents itself I won't mind staying one bit. If feasible I'm going to look at purchasing something.

Politics have also been relatively exciting lately. The Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries are over, and still there is no clear leader in either party. I'm really interested to see how this continues to unfold for everyone, especially people like Gulianni who has taken the approach of winning over larger states rather than the initial more influential ones. Good idea? Bad idea? I suppose we'll see.

That's all I've got for the time being.

R

New Year's Eve, Canadian Style

2007-12-14T08:32:00.000-08:00

So Lindsay, Danielle, and I have decided we're going to take a little mini-excursion and drive up to Toronto. The best time to go also happened to be over the weekend before New Year's. So, we're just going to spend New Year's Eve in Toronto, and after a bit of planning it looks like it's going to be a really awesome trip.

Google now has a Notebook feature which allows you to consolidate information from various sources and create a "notebook." You can then share them, allowing others to callaborate on what the content is, and also publish them as web pages. Danielle created one for our trip to Napa, planned for April '08, and it inspired me to do some research and make one for our weekend getaway to Toronto. I'm going to try and "publish" it as a web page and post a link here for anyone that may be interested.

So I'm not really sure why it never occured to me that Toronto would be a good place to take a trip to. It's only 4 hours from Cleveland or Detroit, it's in another country, and it's a REAL city. I honestly knew nothing about Toronto up until yesterday, but now I'm all about it. The city seems like a really hip place, and there are dozens of cultural/"themed" burroughs or neighborhoods all over.

Apparently there is a huge underground "city" consisting of walkways that cover most of downtown and connect to shops, restaurants, and the like. Intriguing.

In addition to that, I guess the CN Tower located there is the tallest building in the world. How did I miss that?! They also have some great looking museums, a zoo, and wineries in the surrounding area.

We found accomodations that will run about $60 a night for all three of us. It's not a big hotel or a chain, but rather a more locally owned hostel. We'll be able to rent a private suite for $20 some-odd a person, which is a lot better than staying at the Marriott for $100 a night - even if this palce doesn't offer the luxuries a larger place would. It's right downtown, and within walking distance of a lot of things.

We'll be leaving early Saturday morning and coming back Tuesday the 1st, driving via Detroit, since there aren't as many tolls - driving through PA/NY there are crazy tolls.

Fun times. It'll be good to get away for a few days. Has anyone been to Toronto? A fan? Not a fan? Tips or advice on what to see/do? Please comment!

So, let's try this web page thing.... Here's a link: http://www.google.com/notebook/public/03441802270199684352/BDSfhIgoQ36jIpe0i

Let it breathe, let it breathe

2007-11-16T08:14:00.001-08:00

So I've strangely taken to automatically aerating any beverage that I put in my mouth. I don't seem to be able to help it. And then I realize I'm sitting there pulling air in through my teeth while sipping my coffee, and think I may have truly gone over the edge.

On the upside, doing so does significantly magnify the flavor of just about anything.

Silly wine nerd that I am.

In other wine-related news, my friend Steve has suggested I begin a wine-vidcast. I've got the equipment, and he's got the know how and interest enough to offer hosting and such. Does anyone have any feedback? As he pointed out, I certainly wouldn't be the first - but then, to quote him "Microsoft wasn't the first either." I appreciate any commentary on the subject.

I also just recently received an amazing FREE book from the Spanish government, outlining many of Spain's best wines and the regions they come from. It's a hundred pages or so of high quality, glossy color photos and text. Here's the link to order your own: http://www.winesfromspainusa.com/WFSUSA/Guide/WineGuide.htm Again, it's 100% free - no shipping cost or anything. A great deal.

Santé!

Another meal reminiscent of Spain amongst other things

2007-11-13T10:37:00.000-08:00

Last night for dinner I made rice with feta cheese, spinach, and stock. Paddy and Rebekah showed me this recipe and it made a nice lunch or dinner on several occasions. It turned out surprisingly well - I was concerned mine would be off because I didn't season it correctly or add enough spinach or cheese. Hannah liked it as well.

I can't believe that next week is already Thanksgiving. The year will be over before we notice it. I'm not working at all Thursday through Sunday of next week - having dinner with family on Thursday, doing lunch with my friends on Friday, and then going out to tour some of NE Ohio's wineries on Saturday with Lindsay, Danielle, and perhaps some other fun people.

Smart car is being released in the US in January 2008. I'm torn because I really would love one, but I need to 1) worry about the partial car payment I already have and 2) don't necessarily want a $250-300 car payment every month. They get at least 40mpg, and range from $11,000-16,000 retail. That's not bad aside from their size. While incredibly zippy and chique looking, I worry that my size (height more so than weight) would make owning one less than 100% comfortable.

I joined FitWorks over this last weekend. It's a local member gym that can be found in Columbus and Cincinnati as well. There are a number of them in the Cleveland/Akron area, and the Richmond Heights location is less than 15 minutes from our apartment. I'm paying $30 a month to go any day of the week and workout, attend special classes, and meet with instructors during the week. Not bad considering I got a superb discount for signing up during a promotion, and if I ever leave the state they'll cancel my membership for no charge.

I'm reading a book called Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robinson, the older brother of Augusten Burroughs (Running with Scissors, Dry). He has Aspergers Syndrome, a form of autism, and Burroughs has brought him up in several of his works. It seems Robinson (Augusten Burroughs changed his name from Chris(topher) Robinson) with urging from his brother decided to write a memoir on his life with Aspergers ("Ass Burgers," as punned by Burroughs).

Also confronting a challenge by Libby to finish Big Sur, despite my desire to leave parts of it unread so that I can continuously go back and find something new. Does anyone else do this with books they enjoy so much - in a sense you don't want it to end. I realize common sense would dictate just re-reading, but somehow it just doesn't seem that would be sufficient. Nonetheless, I'll probably finish it before she returns so we can discuss as she would like.

In other unrelated areas of life, both jobs are going very well. My 90 days are swiftly approaching at CTPartners. I don't think I've ever been so pleased with a job in my grown-up career. My boss says I'm doing very well, and I'm pleased with how the role of the Search Desk is developing. I'm excited to see how it continues to develop as we move forward, and have somewhat an idea at present, but mustn't get to far ahead of myself.

At GRC I asked Cindy when she was going to start letting me learn how to make the wine, and she told me to talk to Ed. I guess he's our official winemaker, some man that I didn't know existed let alone have ever met. I'll have to find out when he comes around. I'm doing a good number of the cellar tastings lately and have been trying to help with things that may be slightly beyond the realm of the bar. Cindy is open to my curiosity and seems to enjoy my initiative.

Living with Hannah has been an absolute joy. It's so nice to come home and see someone you like as opposed to coming home and being by yourself. I really do prefer it to my last two living situations (Cuyahoga Falls/Akron). And I really couldn't ask for a better roommate. The apartment itself is really coming along, and we just need some more "advanced" living room furniture before I'd be happy calling it done. Right now we have one couch and a bar/buffet but no other seating or table space. It's kind of awkward when people come over, so we need to work on remedying the situation. A bench project is in the works, and maybe we'll get some time to find a coffee table and chairs as well.

That's what I've got for the time being.

Be well.

Change in '08

2007-10-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

“Obama is, in fact, committed to respecting the opinions of cultures of others even when religious beliefs aren’t involved. ‘There are universal values that I will fight for,’ he says. ‘I think there may have been a time and a place in which genital mutilation was culturally appropriate, but those times are over. I’m not somebody who believes that our foreign policy has to be driven by moral relativism. What I do believe is that we have to apply judgment and a sense of proportion to how change happens in any society–to promote our ideals and our values with some sense of humility.’”

The New Yorker
May 7, 2007
Profiles – The Conciliator
Where is Barack Obama coming from?
By Larissa MacFarquhar

Reading this is what drew my support for Obama.

Reading the article below on CNN leads my practical side to think that my joke of “Team Opression ‘08” might be the strongest bet Democrats have at the White House in 2008.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/26/obama.nice/index.html

This just might be the future vision of leadership for this country.

If you hate your job, then get a new one!

2007-10-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

I don’t understand people who go to work and do nothing but whine about how horribly overburdened they are, or just complain about their work or work environment in general. If your job is too difficult for you, or you hate it so much then put in your two weeks notice and find a new one. The problem – I know – is that people are lazy, and that people with these bad attitudes feed on others feeling miserable as well, so it’s easiest for them not to look for a job they’d enjoy and to pull their co-workers into their seething pool of despair.

These people make me angry, and I’d like to punch them all in the nose.

Now, as a disclaimer, I’m not making any reference to my own job or workplace. Everyone here is happy to be here and happy to be doing what they do. And if they’re not they keep it to themselves. Positive attitudes and friendly co-workers make everyone in the office happier, and I think more productive. Who wants to work hard in an office where no one is happy? What would the purpose be anyhow? I’ve seen a lot of this in my short time period in the work force, and it makes me sad to know how many organizations out there consistently employ unhappy, unmotivated, unproductive people. And to think of the people that would be so grateful to have one of these jobs. Someone whose life might be completely changed for the better by having the job that someone else wastes and complains about. It makes me sick.

People that spin their heads and wave their hands in the air claiming to be “too busy” are full of it. No one is too busy to do anything – nothing in life is that important. And if there’s a problem then it’s probably associated with the person themselves. Too many files? Be more organized. Too many people to call? Work on your time management. I think this is often a mixed case of people a) thinking they are more important in the grand scheme of things than they really are and b) disliking their job.

Expanding on point a) above, people have a really inflated sense of ego that comes along with a title at work. People feel that their title actually means something more than it really does. I’ve studied several organizations that solve this problem by throwing out titles entirely, or by using one common title for everyone. Gore & Associates, Inc., the company that manufactures GoreTex waterproof sports material among other things, runs their entire business with nothing but Associates. Everyone is an Associate, from the secretary to the CEO (which don’t exist obviously). Using some other interesting practices – they never have more than 100 people in one work unit or office – they have been an extremely successful company (for more information on this organization you can refer to Malcom Gladwell’s The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference).

It fascinates me that we can live in a place where people are afforded so much opportunity, and could feasibly do something in life that made them truly happy. Yet people stay, for years sometimes, in jobs they hate, working with people they don’t really like but delight in making miserable, and not pursuing their own happiness in life. It’s baffling, yet all I can think is that by doing so the people like that are only making it easier for me and others who care about their lives resulting in a feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment. I can only hope the best for anyone that feels the same.

Jonesing for Espana

2007-10-17T18:17:00.001-07:00

Right now I'm cooking a beautiful seafood paella, listening to some lively classical Spanish music, and am longing to be back in Moratinos.

I had a taste for the savory Spanish rice dish and the next day as if by some divine intervention found a paella cookbook at Barnes & Noble in the bargain section. The next day I found a grab bag mix of frozen seafood that reminded me of the festive medley they have at Lupa.

I'll let you all know how the paella turns out - my first ever, and surely it won't be a fraction as good as the ones Paddy can make, or that rabbit and snail one I had - but with time they'll get better I hope.

Re: Walls, Perception, and Henry Miller

2007-10-11T13:20:00.000-07:00

“Instead of bucking your head against a stone wall (why do we get headaches so often?), sit quietly with hands folded and wait for the wall to crumble. If you’re willing to wait an eternity, it may happen in the twinkling of an eye. For walls often give way quicker than the proud spirit which rules us. Don’t sit and pray that it will happen! Just sit and watch it happen. Sit thus, indifferent to everything that has been said and taught about walls. From dwelling on the headache which you will notice has departed, dwell on the emptiness between things, and finally on the emptiness of things. When this vast emptiness is filled with nothing but emptiness you will awaken to the fact that what you regarded as a wall is not a wall at all, but a bridge possibly, or a ladder of fire. The wall will still be there, of course, and if you had only ordinary vision it would be much like any other wall, but now you’ve lost that kind of vision and with it the difficulty that a bricklayer has in understanding what a scientist means when he explains what the elements of a wall really are. You have an edge over the scientist because you feel no need to explain anything. What is, is (Page 165).”
...

“I speak with inner conviction because I have been through the struggle. What I am trying to emphasize is that, whatever the nature of the problem, it can only be tackled creatively. There is no book of “openings,” as in chess lore, to be studied. To find an opening one has to make a breach in the wall – and the wall is almost always in one’s own mind. If you have the vision and the urge to undertake great tasks, then you will discover in yourself the virtues and the capabilities required for their accomplishment. When everything fails, pray! Perhaps only when you have come to the end of your resources will the light dawn. It is only when we admit our limitations that we find there are no limitations (Page 397).”

The two passages above are from Henry Miller's Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch. Ever since my stay in Moratinos with Rebekah and Paddy I have poured over this wonderful book. Paddy suggested it to me, and I quickly connected with the text. I think above all else my outward laughter at certain points while reading pleased him immensely.

Since leaving Spain I had to go out and purchase my own copy of Big Sur. To this day I have still not finished the book in it's entirety, but continue to dip into it time and again to take away bits of Miller's insight and perspective. I see much of the person I hope that I am, or the person that I would like to become at some point within his writing.

Coming back to the point at hand though. I found the two passages within the text, much unconnected in proximity. However the individual ideals that each represent really struck me as intriguing. The first is clear in suggesting that obstacles are not always such, and that if we make the effort we can see them for what they really are. The second passage, on a somewhat similar note, remarks that often obstacles we come up against are for the most part within ourselves, and thus under our control should we choose to take that control. Nothing is impossible.

I know that lately there's been a lot of hype surrounding another book, The Secret, and the general consensus is different depending on who you talk to. Some regard it as a theory of positive thinking leading to positive outcomes. Others will tell you that no matter how hard you think about a pile of money it's not going to make a dime appear. When it's all boiled down it comes down to a difference between optimists and pessemists, or "idealists" and "realists" as they like to refer to one another. I would be lying if I said that I'd ever considered myself part of anything but the former camp. While yes, I'll agree that "magical thinking" does not necessarily exist as a phenomenon - despite what some people, including Augusten Burroughs will have you believe - that there is a certain truth to the ideal of positive thinking. Whenever I've faced a challenge in life or approached a difficult situation I've always found that finding the good, or more often than not the humour, in the subject helps it to not be such a challenge.

I think this idea relates well back to the statements that Miller made regarding walls and how we have the power to transcend them and revise our obstacles into something better - opportunity. Control is an amazing thing. The concept of the Locus of Control is a very important concept that I took from several of my classes in college. You either have an internal locus or an external locus - things are within your control or they are not. Studies have shown that the former perception leads to people living happier lives and being free of abundant mental stress. Likewise, just the opposite for those who rely heavily on an external locus. This is really what Miller is talking about, and to some extent what I'd be lead to believe The Secret (I've not read it for myself, so can't claim any authority over it's content) hinges it's philosophy on. It's not something mystical. It's just the power of human perception.

I'll drink to that!

2007-10-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

I have a history of being a lack-luster journal updater. I’m not very good at staying on top of a daily account of life, though I need to try harder.

Since my last entry I’ve moved to my new apartment with my roommate Hannah. The move was made much easier by family and friends, though did not take as much time or effort as I had anticipated. At this point, almost one week after hauling all my possessions to Cleveland, I’ve got a fair majority of the boxes unpacked. Things are stacked all over my bedroom though in piles.

One corner is devoted entirely to books. While I disposed of many of them I still have probably close to 200 books. I need to invest in supplies to construct shelves on the walls to hold all said books and a variety of brick-a-brack. Someone said to me, “I think getting to know you through examining all your stuff would be very interesting.”

Earlier this week I battled with the evil do-badders at Time Warner Cable. Without going in to the whole long drawn out tale though, basically their customer service is sub par, and I wasted a considerable amount of time trying to get internet hooked up. In the end I came out ahead with about a month and a half of free service for my trouble.

My new neighborhood is teeming with things to do with my friends, all of whom - with the exception of the Toledo-ites – live within walking distance of my front door. Tuesday evening is 35 cent wings at the Winking Lizard, and a good excuse to go and try their Beer of the Month. You get a free commemorative glass to take home. Wednesday evening is ½ priced margarita night at Mi Pueblo, a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant next to Case Western’s campus. If my mom is reading this she is surely holding her head and fretting that I am on a steep decline towards alcoholism.

Then of course Sunday we all have brunch together at one of our apartments. This past week Brandon made Eggs Benedict with rosemary parmesan potatoes and garlic butter green beans. While I had to eat and run in order to get out to the winery for work that afternoon, it was a really fantastic meal. I need to follow his steps for poaching eggs, as I’ve never seen them done so beautifully.

Monday I rejoined Colette out in Westlake for Pilates. I was glad to be back, and after exercising I felt very good. She does things a little differently than when mom and I had attended her classes before, but it’s still a good work out. I’m thinking about attending two times a week, but initially may opt just for once a week so that I’m free on other weeknights to participate in other activities (i.e.: there’s a dance class I’d like to take this fall on Monday evenings, and another – and cheaper – yoga class on Wednesdays).

Tuesday evening I took Hannah to the Whole Foods Market on Warrensville and Cedar. She, as no one can help but doing, fell in love completely with the wonder that we like to refer to as the “Whole Foods Experience,” or WFE. We picked up a bottle of the 2004 Shingleback Grenache I had ordered, a couple delicate pieces of dark chocolate, and then went home to enjoy them together. Red wine and chocolate are two of the best things on earth – and keep in mind, both have been shown to be beneficial to your health to a certain degree!

Last night I bought a wireless router from Wal*Mart, and while it works perfectly fine it seems to hiccup while I’m connected to the internet. It’s – thank god – nothing to do with the actual service, so I’m pretty sure it is the router itself. I need to call their customer service line and see if they have any answers. Hopefully they can fix it because browsing the web or chatting with a friend and suddenly losing your connection only to re-establish it 45 seconds later every 5 minutes or so is rather annoying.

I’ve heard from Libby two or three times since she started her Camino to Santiago across Spain. I’m proud of her for going over to take on the adventure by herself and think that she’ll come away from the experience a much happier and healthier person. Talking with her a couple days in a row on the phone made me really long to be back on the train, backpack, boots, and all. I’m not sure if granted the opportunity I would head back right away, but living vicariously through her brings a smile to my face for the time being. On that note, I need to remember to reconnect with some fellow pilgrims I’ve not spoken with in a while. My memories of that time are so abundant and wonderful.

I’ll get back some day. In the meantime I am perfectly content with the place my life has taken me to this point. I love my job, I love my new home and neighborhood, and I’ve got a great family and wonderful friends. I really can not complain.

I need to go to the Barnes & Noble downstairs and see if I can find a copy of Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch – I miss reading Miller, and that I can fix.

Until later.

I sat and watched the price of gas fall 13 cents, and couldn't do anything about it

2007-09-17T16:17:00.000-07:00

So on my way home from work today I stopped to put gas in the car. It wasn't too high at $2.79/gallon, which I suppose is still crazy but I've gotten used to it already. Have to have it I guess. Anyhow, as I stand there pumping this girl comes out and changes the sign to $2.66 a gallon... I watched it drop 13 cents, and I still had to pay the higher price. The petrol gods were not on my side today.

Over this past weekend though, the wine gods must have been. I made a killing out at the winery on Saturday. I did my first private tasting in our cellar with a group of 10 people, and then donned the waiter hat to serve them all dinner. Walked out with $190 in tips, not counting wages earned. I definitely think this gig will pay my bills on a regular basis, and definitely allow me to get my savings ramped up.

Also, I hung out with the guys on Sunday and had lunch along with a really knock out bottle of Albarino (there ought to be a "~" over that n) - a fantastic white wine from Spain. It was dirt cheap because I guess the distributor went out of business. I'm going in on a couple cases with some people from work and a friend. It's 100% worth it, so if you see me anytime in the next year ask for some and I'll break a bottle out.

Hannah and I are moving in two weeks - I'm completely excited to get up to Cleveland Heights and be near all my friends (not counting Linds and Danielle, Libby, and Molly... but they can definitely come visit. Lindsay approves of my new Cleveland Heights location... there's a Chipotle within rock throwing distance.) Jimmy's parents are giving us a bunch of stuff from Barb's old house, so we're pretty set on pots, pans, and assorted furniture. For the rest I'll probably be scouting out some garage sales in the next month before it starts getting cold.

At work we moved to our new office over the weekend. It's on the top floor of a building that's part of one of those fake shopping villages. It's incredibly nice and I like it even better than our old office. The shopping downstairs includes restaurants and stores - Barnes & Noble, Trader Joe's, a couple furniture and clothing stores, and COMING SOON a Pacific East, one of the best sushi joints in Cleveland. The other location is just minutes from my new apartment. I'm basically going to be eating sushi non-stop now. Ha! Though I need to ensure that working at this new place isn't counterproductive to hanging on to my money!

I'm going to start taking swing dance classes in about a month after I move, and in the coming weeks I'm going to be going back to Colette (my former Pilates instructor) to get back in the swing of going to a couple sessions a week. Since I'll be closer than Medina I think it's probably a good idea to continue toning and strengthening muscle. And Cleveland Heights is such an awesome area to walk and bike around. I'm going to make a point of being out of the apartment as much as I can while it's still nice, and will try my hardest to find some way to be active outdoors even after it begins to snow.

So that's what's been going on, the lightning version.

To finish, everyone think good thoughts for my friend Libby. She's about to start her Camino across Spain, and while I know she's going to have the time of her life it's going to be hard nonetheless - as it is for everyone in one way (okay, so really just in a painful way for a matter of time!) or another. Buen Camino Isabella!

More Magical Music from the Decemberists

2007-08-31T21:59:00.000-07:00

There is a city by the sea
A gentle company
I don’t suppose you want to
And as it tells its sorry tale
In harrowing detail
Its hollowness will haunt you
Its streets and boulevards
Orphans and oligarchs it hears
A plaintive melody
Truncated symphony
An ocean’s garbled vomit on the shore,
Los Angeles, I’m yours

Oh ladies, pleasant and demure
Sallow-cheeked and sure
I can see your undies
And all the boys you drag about
An empty fallow fount
From Saturdays to Mondays
You hill and valley crowd
Hanging your trousers down at heel
This is the realest thing
As ancient choirs sing
A dozen blushing cherubs wheel above
Los Angeles my love

Oh what a rush of ripe élan
Languor on divans
Dalliant and dainty
But oh, the smell of burnt cocaine
The dolor and decay
It only makes me cranky
Oh great calamity,
Ditch of iniquity and tears
How I abhor this place
Its sweet and bitter taste
Has left me wretched, retching on all fours
Los Angeles, I’m yours

The Apartment

2007-08-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

Put an application in for an apartment in Cleveland Heights today with Hannah. 900 square feet, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, big kitchen. And the rent's not bad either.

I really love the area, and certain things about the apartment (the lighting, the wood floors, the gas stove). It's really worth the cost.

I'm so excited to be moving up to that area - most of my friends here in Cleveland live there as is, so it'll be good to have the group of them right around the corner for the most part. Coventry, the area we'll be in, is also incredible. Lots of great shops, bars, restaurants, parks, and such - very good place.

Think we're going to go a bit more "minimalist" as compared to the last couple places I've lived. No need for rampant decor and furniture. As far as that goes, personally I own a chair, a bed, a night stand, and a couch. Less is more... right?

We move in October 1 - there will likely be a party shortly after that... so if you're local (or hey, even if you're not!) stay tuned.

New job - oh so Bond

2007-08-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

So, the level of awesome that my new position reaches is best summed up in the following fact: I log in to my laptop there by scanning my fingerprint.

Now the great things could just end there - but they don't. Above and beyond all my co-workers being as friendly as can be, and incredibly intelligent and helpful there are a number of things that make it really fun.

I have my own little cube, while being a cubicle, is still very spacious. A VoIP phone that I still have yet to completely figure out. Full health and dental coverage for $50 a month. A 401(k) with 25% company match that for the past two years has also been given a discretionary additional 25% match, because the company has grown so much. Training like no body's business. The ability to call any of our global offices via my computer in little as four numbers. Oh, and a guide to everything I'll ever need to do in my position.

Basically this is one of the best jobs I've ever had. I've never gotten the amount of training and attention from my superiors as I got in just the first day there. I'm going to really enjoy working with such a great company.

That's about all for now - just wanted to let everyone know that the day went marvelously. More to come.

A long overdue update

2007-08-26T17:11:00.000-07:00

So I've been ultra busy this week - sorry for not updating sooner.

Last weekend (after my last post) I started my new job at Grand River Cellars. I worked 22 hours over Friday and Saturday and pretty decent tips. It's a great place to work, and I really love the environment and my co-workers. I don't think I could have asked for a better weekend job.

After work on Saturday evening, I went over to my friend Draque's and hung out there with some people from Case Western. Watched re-runs of old shows that used to be on Nickelodeon. It seems they have a special channel devoted to games and sports - amusingly called Nickelodeon GaS. I wonder where the hosts of those shows are today? What fun. We had a blast making snide (surely not me or my crowd I hear you say) commentary. Richard Simmons was on one episode of Figure it Out - it seems the host, Summer Sanders, is an Olympic gold medalist swimmer, and has a daughter named Skye (my sister's name) - and his only reason for being there was to get "slimed." Honestly - the "secret slime action" was "Sweats to the Oldies." Who else do you know that does that?

Earlier this past week Danielle came out to Cleveland and helped me look at apartments in the Cleveland Heights/Shaker area. I've got it narrowed down to a few of them. It all depends on whether or not I'll have Hannah as a roommate. In that case we'll have a 2-bedroom flat, otherwise I'm just going to get something with 1-bedroom for myself. I'm hoping to move as of October 1, but may push that back to November 1 depending on how things work out. I'm really excited about moving up to that area of Cleveland. It's amazingly nice, and near to my friends who are out in this part of Ohio.

Thursday I drove out to my grandparents' house and then up "North" with my grandpa to the cabin he and my grandma own near Big Rapids. We've been going up there for as long as I can remember as a family, though in the past 5-6 years have not - because of this the place is in need of some repairs, and I went with him to help him start replacing the roof. We didn't get much done, but got started at least, and it was better yet to be able to spend some time with him. I'm looking forward to when everything is ready with the place, then as Joey (the nephew) gets older we can take him up there, and perhaps someday my grandparents will give in to my pestering and let me have some of my friends up for a long weekend!

An aunt and uncle have their own cabin two lots over - the center lot was owned by an older couple, Morris and Iown, who both passed away a number of years ago, their cabin was purchased by cousins and has since been taken down and the lot is still empty. It's one of those pre-made homes, and is very nice. They replaced their old cabin a few years ago with the newer one, and now that both of them are retired they spend quite a bit of time there. Lindsay, Danielle, and I went up last year and stayed with them over Labor Day weekend I think. We had a great time.

Speaking of Labor Day, that's coming up next weekend I believe. That means it'll be a short week for my first week of work at CTPartners - I start tomorrow morning. I am incredibly excited and can't wait to go. It's kind of like going to the first day of school when you were a kid. I'm really looking forward to having a job that I can enjoy - presumably, since as of right now I've not had any experience doing whatever it is I'll be doing, though I'm sure it'll be better than recruiting nurses!

That about covers things for the time being. I'll make an entry tomorrow to detail my first day as a Search Desk Administrator! ^^

Pour. Swirl. Sniff. Taste. Enjoy.

2007-08-15T14:14:00.000-07:00

So not only do I now have a full time day job, but as of today I am the Sommelier/Bartender for Grand River Cellars in Madison, OH.

I spoke with a friend of mine, my wine teacher from Kent, and he knew the owner there was looking for some extra help. He put in a good word for me, and after meeting with her this afternoon I'll be starting on Friday.

It'll be a lot of fun, and a great way to start getting experience in the wine business, and most certainly further my knowledge of wine and perhaps give me some more insight on viticulture and oenology (the agricultural and scientific sides to making wine).

The location is out past Painesville, so those of you who are in Ohio or the Cleveland area know that's a bit of a drive. Once I've moved closer to Cleveland though it'll only be about 30-45 minutes to get there. And for a weekend job it'll be excellent in terms of earning spending money, which means more of my "real" job paycheck can stay put in the bank! Yay.

Here's their website: http://www.grandrivercellars.com/

Please check out their selection, and if you can come visit. I tasted the wines available today, and can say they are some of the best Ohio-grown and produced wines I've had so far. If you want to come out while I'm working, I should be there most Friday evenings, and Saturday afternoons/evenings. They have a full menu as well as wine, so come hungry, and also live music every Friday and Saturday nights.

Cheers!

America the great

2007-08-13T10:11:00.001-07:00

I'm currently grooving on this song by The Decemberists. I hope you all enjoy it as much.

Sixteen military wives
Thirty-two softly focused brightly colored eyes
Staring at the natural tan
of thirty-two gently clenching wrinkled little hands
Seventeen company men
Out of which only twelve will make it back again
Sergeant sends a letter to five
Military wives, whose tears drip down through ten little eyes

Cheer them on to their rivals
Cause America can, and America can't say no
And America does, if America says it's so
It's so!

And the anchorperson on TV goes...
La de da de da

Fifteen celebrity mimes
Leading their fifteen sordid wretched checkered lives
Will they find the solution in time
Using their fifteen pristine moderate liberal minds?

Eighteen academy chairs
Out of which only seven really even care
Doling out the garland to five
Celebrity minds, they're humbly taken by surprise

Cheer them on to their rivals
Cause America can, and America can't say no
And America does, if America says it's so
It's so!

And the anchorperson on TV goes...
La de da de da de-dadedade-da
La de da de da de-dadedade-da

Fourteen cannibal kings
Wondering blithely what the dinner bell will bring
Fifteen celebrity mimes
Served on a leafy bed OF sixteen military wives

Cheer them on to their rivals
Cause America can, and America can't say no
And America does, if America says it's so
It's so!

And the anchorperson on TV goes...
La de da de da de-dadedade-da
La de da de da de-dadedade-da

The Virtues of Photoshop CS3

2007-08-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

I just have to say, the high point of my day today has been playing with Photoshop CS3.

It's really an amazing program, and despite the fact that it might not be hugely different than PS7 or even CS2, it has two important options that I really like. Auto-layer, and Auto-blend.

In short, these two things allowed me to take 13 pictures and create this:

You'll have to click the image to actually see what the BIG deal is all about.

Otherwise, I'm just doing a preliminary apartment search today. Even though I'm not planning on moving for at least a couple months, I'd like to check places out to 1) see what they're like in general, and more importantly 2) get an idea as to what they're like when it's nice out. I really don't want to live anywhere that there are going to be swarms and swarms of children.

Finally, Rufus Wainwright's new album, Release the Stars, is pretty good. I always like new music from him. I think he's coming through Ohio/Michigan on tour in a few months. I'll have to see if I can get tickets.

Wine Touring in Sandusky

2007-08-08T22:21:00.000-07:00

Came back to Cleveland today, though on the way the girls and I enjoyed one of our favorite past times - wine tasting in Sandusky.

Now, Sandusky is really only known in Ohio - let alone anywhere else - for it's monstrous roller-coaster centric theme park, Cedar Point. And to a lesser extent a lot of people go there to boat and do things on Lake Erie. Put-n-Bay is a popular location, as well as Port Clinton and the few islands around the coast.

For me and my friends however, Sandusky means wine. There are a number of wineries in this area of Ohio, located almost dead in the center of the state's north line. Our favorites include Mon Ami, Firelands, and Matus Winery. We visited the former two today, and had some excellent samples along the way.

A lot of people are surprised when they find out there are grape growing and wine making regions in Ohio. The two major ones to my knowledge are the areas along Lake Erie, including Sandusky, and Ashtabula and Lake counties farther east - home to an excellent winery/restaurant called Ferrante - and then the region of southern Ohio closer to Cincinnanti, where their warm weather provides a pretty good crop. Here in the north it gets colder, but because of the lake the grape growing areas are provided with a type of buffer that other places in the state don't get.

The grapes and wines in northern Ohio are very similar to those found in New York. Common varietals include Concord, Catawba, and Niagra. Most of the wines are on the sweeter side, however you will find some Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Chardonnay here as well. The wineries also make wine from imported juice from California, or other regions that are more suitable to growing varietals such as Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio for example.

Ferrante, mentioned earlier, has an amazing Cabernet Franc Icewine, and even at $35 for a bottle half the size of a standard wine bottle, it is worth every penny. L&D and I are planning to go back there sometime in the next couple months to have a nice dinner once I've got an income again.

Other going ons: We had a nice lunch at Ruby Tuesday's, and then my mom picked me up from Sandusky and we drove back to Medina. I received my first book, This Book Will Change Your Life Again, from SwapTree, and need tog et to the post office in the morning to send out the one I'm trading for it. The book I received is filled with daily tasks and projects, mostly humorous though some are downright intelligent, that the authors claim if completed will change your life. I certainly think so - for example, Day 2 is "Claim you are Jesus Day." That might get someone's attention.

I got the job!

2007-08-07T18:31:00.001-07:00

Just a fast update for today... I heard from Jill this morning and the company I've been interviewing with has offered me the position. I'm extremely excited about working there, and should be starting either the 20th or 27th.

They've hired me an another candidate they were considering. Originally they wanted to create a Jr. and Sr. role for the position, but have decided to bring us both in at the same level, and then after so long they'll probably promote one or the other to the Sr. role. Basically the major difference is just a bit more responsibility in communications as far as I can tell.

Base salary is good, and there is a bonus - not sure what it's based on though, as this is more of an operations position than a production position - and potential overtime. I'll more than gladly spend extra time for the OT, especially now that I don't have to worry about school anymore!

We went to Applebee's for lunch today, and I was really pleased with their new lunch combos. For $8 I had half a sandwich and a lunch portion of shrimp salad with a yummy avocado vinaigrette. After having lunch we stopped over at The Anderson's so I could pick up a steak for dinner. At lunch Danielle tactfully said, "Well, we're having steak for dinner... so you're going to want to get one of those." They do menu planning and shopping a week in advance, so of course they had no idea I'd be here tonight - she was just being silly. $3.99 for a nice 8oz cut though, not bad at all.

"Farby's: Back Home" and My Phone Interview

2007-08-06T22:49:00.000-07:00

Today I had a phone interview with the VP of Finance with the company I'm applying to. It went rather well, and we had a friendly conversation focused around my travels, my language skills, my career interests, and his background. Remarkably he seems to have been in the same position as I am now. I'm really excited about the prospect of working with this company, especially because they are international - global better term that he used - and the position will include interaction with their other branches.

I'm supposed to hear from Jill, the recruiter I'm working with, by the end of the week regarding whether or not they're going to make me an offer.

L&D are secret shoppers for Arby's, so we had to go there for lunch so they could check that the fries were hot, the sandwich alignment was good, and the bathrooms were clean. We were super secret spies. They told me there's an Arby's in Van Wert - where Danielle works - and I guess it's surrounded by corn, and from a certain angle looks as though a nearby silo is attached to it. Therefore it was dubbed a "Farby's."

We watched 28 Weeks Later this afternoon - pretty good, though much gorier and action packed than 28 Days Later. I think the first movie was a little more thought provoking as opposed to "Zombies are everywhere, killing everyone!" theme this one had.

We also watched Babel, which I wasn't overly impressed with. I'd compare it to Crash or Magnolia, and Danielle and I decided both those were more interesting and had better actors. From a preview that ran right before the DVD started though, we made a little trip to the local Family Video - home of the creepy tower of light - to get a newer release called Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, a film following a post-revolution Frenchman who has an uncanny sense of smell, and "accidentally" becomes a serial killer in a quest to preserve the essence of beautiful women he encounters, trying to make the perfect perfume. I thought it was very good, though it did take a dive into absurdity toward the end. In a write up I read on Wikipedia about it, Stanley Kubrick, of all people, is quoted as saying that the book the film is based on was "unfilmable."

There seems to be quite a lot of rain going on back home in Cleveland - I guess some parts of the East side got up to 5 inches in just a short period of time. It rained here in Toledo too this morning, though I seem to have slept through it.

Bread pudding does not taste like bread pudding

2007-08-05T19:03:00.000-07:00

Alton Brown's Feasting on Asphalt premiered it's second season over the weekend, and so we watched the premiere on the TiVo this evening. They were in Louisianna, eating all kinds of Southern specialties from crayfish to gumbo and head cheese to bread pudding. According to to one crew member who claimed to not enjoy bread pudding - my feelings as well - the stuff they had was so good, "it didn't even taste like bread pudding!" I'm not really sure if that's a good thing or not, but on a much more entertaining level, Alton was taught to "suck heads" by some crazy old man who was wandering through the camera shot while he and a guest were enjoying their crayfish.

Earlier I drove up to see my grandparetns, and we went to lunch at a Chinese buffet restaurant in Monroe. It was decent food as far as Chinese buffets are concerned, and my grandpa loves Chinese food. It was good to see them, and we had a nice time together. I helped my grandpa with some computer related things, and they let me borrow their copy of Babel which I've been wanting to see. Hopefully I'll be seeing them again next weekend as it is my grandpa's birthday. I hope they're going to come out to Cleveland.

After I left there, and headed back to L&D's place, I talked with my mom and decided to meet her in Sandusky. The girls wanted me to stay a couple extra days since Lindsay is on vacation from work - she's a manager at UPS here in Toledo - and she adores me! So since I had my mom's car, and she and Jimmy were in Sandusky - Jimmy has a boat and they go out on it when we have nice weather over the weekend - Lindsay just followed me out there and then whisked me back to Toledo after dropping the car off. We got some tasty Starbucks on the way back - one of our favorite things to do together.

So now I'm being "held hostage" here, as I jokingly put it to them. I think if L could she'd pretty much keep me around as a cute little pet all the time. Can't say I'd complain though either! ha ha

I made dinner for the three of us - lemon butter rosemary garlic chicken, again, thanks be to Hannah for her mad cooking skills - and we watched Feasting on Asphalt and Superstar on the TiVo. They have a digital wonderland as far as entertainment is concerned, so there's always something to watch or do here.

Again, I'm delighted to be home and have my friends and family back around me. It's good to be here.

Hannah's Socks Picnic and the sweet sound of Bacon

2007-08-04T22:02:00.000-07:00

I spent the day volunteering at the Hannah's Socks Charity Picnic that was held in Perrysburg today. Hannah's mother is my friend Lindsay's aunt, so I went along with she and Danielle. The event was being held from 2p-8p and involved music, craft activities, games, raffles, and food. I was part of the "Games Committee" and started the day off by running The Color Wheel game.

Libby showed up early in the afternoon, and was really the only one to have any success at guessing which colors the wheel would land on. While she couldn't have any "awesome" prizes for herself, she did use her (evil, er, good) powers to help a few children take home some plastic stuff.

Tickets were sold for all the games, food, and drawings and dozens of people cycled through the area throughout the afternoon. I think some people were suspecting a much larger turn out but I think at the end of the day everyone involved was pleased with the outcome.

Obviously as a charity event the purpose was to raise money for a good cause. There were certain details - prizes for games, food and beverage costs, and quality control - that could have been better attended to, but with better management I would suspect next year's event to be even more successful. I think later Lindsay will probably hear at some point whether the organization came out ahead. All in all it's a good cause, and I hope that regardless of the few stressful situations had by people here and here that the effort by all was well worth it.

The girls were able to get Chipotle to donate food for the volunteers that worked throughout the day. They gave us two huge boxes of corn chips and 200 half-portioned burritos: 80 steak, 80 chicken, and 40 vegetarian. That's a LOT of burritos.

Danielle's brother, Aloysius (really his name is Peter), was visiting Toledo from Chicago. So he got dropped off at the picnic by one of his friends and spent the remainder of the afternoon looking "morose" and following Danielle around not unlike a lost puppy.

After the picnic ended and we helped to clean everything up and deliver things back to Lindsay's parents' house, we came back to L&D's new apartment and had a couple drinks - and a few burritos, seeing as there were over half of them left over and we smuggled them into the Katamari) and played Pop-5. As the night progressed Peter was far more entertaining, giving clues for the song "Bette Davis Eyes" in the form of "Crocker" and "vision." I made a poor E.T. sculpture out of purple clay, and Lindsay and I were astonished at the Krivas Telepathy Gene, helping the brother-and-sister team win the game. Seriously, "ba-con" does have a musical equivalent.

My Interview

2007-08-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

So I got up at about 5:45 this morning. I was ultra nervous that I'd run into all kinds of awful construction and traffic and other things meant to make me late. This is summer in Cleveland after all, and basically what could be better than a 5 lane pile up and construction on the sub-layer of asphalt, and 19,000 miles of orange cones and barrels? Yea - I can't think of much else either.

So I showered, shaved, and suited up and was out the door by 7:15am. The traffic wasn't bad at all, and I only slowed down - not even coming to a full stop - at one tiny bit along the expressway. In short I arrived in Beachwood in about 45 minutes, leaving me with approximately an hour to wait before my interview. I found a McDonald's and got a large Diet Coke ("What? Oh... we don't have diet.... $1.50 at the next window." Me: "Huh?") to ingest a little caffeine. I walked in 10 minutes early to Christian & Timbers (CTPartners) on Science Park Drive. The first person I met was a man in a bike uniform, pushing a mountain bike, blaring some awful music. Then there was Amanda.

Glitter eye shadow and a faux fur lined jacket. Amanda is the front desk person for C&T and has been with the firm for about a month and a half. She's attending CSU, major unknown. We chatted for a few minutes about the company, Casual Fridays, and how uncomfortable I must feel in a suit when everyone else was in jeans. I don't mind - I love my suit.

My interviewer, and hopefully soon-to-be-boss, Phil, met me in the lobby just a few minutes before 9am. We retired to his office, walking through several doors, and into different parts of the building's first floor. I think C&T uses the entire ground floor of the office building. Phil was very friendly, and much more open and joking than I'd aniticipated - he's a controller, so I had my preconceived notions, but he dispelled them pretty quickly. We talked about my experience, books I've read, traveling, and wine. We both have the same favorite wine - red Zinfandel.

He'll be making a decision next week, and I thin things went really well, so I'm excited about the opportunity. It's a Data Analyst position, which would be something fairly new to me, but I think would be a great way to broaden my skill set. SQL database maintenance, accounting, finance, etc. If I get the job it'll be a really great experience.

After the interview I headed home to spend a few hours with Joey - we took a nap together, and he did some general baby things. Then I decided to head out to Toledo to visit Lindsay and Danielle. I'd planned on going out Saturday, but decided since I wasn't doing anything tonight I might as well drive out a day early. Tomorrow I'm going to be helping them work at the Hannah Socks Charity Picnic. It seems Lindsay is actually the Hannah of note's cousin.

The girls and I met Libby for dinner at a local Max & Erma's and I had a tasty half salad along with half of a brie and roast beef sammich. Lindsay headed to work, and Danielle and I are back at the new apartment - they have a kick ass townhouse now, not far from where they'd lived before - and are having some drinks while watching TiVo. Honestly, what did anyone ever do before all this technology existed? Good grief.

The Decemberists are a new favorite band - Danielle's previewing some music for me, which I'll hijack to my iPod before I go.

Stay tuned for news on how the job search turns out.

No, we're sorry - you can't talk to the GSK reps today

2007-08-02T22:03:00.000-07:00

So today I went to a "Sales Career Job Forum," which was basically a huge waste of time. I wanted to speak with someone from Eli Lilly as well as GlaxoSmithKline, but the company organizing the event had special requirements for speaking with them. To weed out candidates obviously. The problem on my part is that I've not had a single job where I've pounded the street for sales - and the more I think about it, the less I think I would ever want one. I guess pharmaceutical sales was sheerly attractive based on the prospective income opportunity.

I met some people at this event that seemed to be "stereotypical" job seekers. After reading Barabara Ehrenreich's Bait and Switch, I have this horrific mental image of the Job Hunt. I was just glad to leave the hotel where the event was being held, and listened to some Mozart on the way back home.

On my way home though I did get some good news. One of the recruiters working on job searching with me called and had an interview scheduled for me in the morning. The company is a retained search firm located in Beachwood, Ohio. The office is their corporate office, and I would be working as a Data Analyst, reporting directly to the Comptroller (or Controller, depending on which spelling you prefer). It's a change from what I've done in the past, but I've certainly got the skill set to qualify, and it would move me out of the health care industry, which is a primary goal. The interview is at 9am - I'm very excited.

We had grilled chicken gyro creations for dinner, and I made some cucumber yogurt sauce which tasted very nice. The Giant Eagle here in town has Tahini, so I'd like to try making hummus at some point in the future.

More news on my interview tomorrow!

Interview, Sorting & Swapping, and My Nephew

2007-08-01T14:57:00.001-07:00

Had my interview this morning. It went well, though I'm not really sure if it's my dream position. The more and more I consider it I'd rather live near Cleveland or Cleveland Heights, where as this position would require me to move to, if not nearer, Sandusky. If I were a Cedar Point fanatic, that would be a big draw... alas, I am not a roller coaster fan. Nonetheless, we'll see what comes of it in a few days I suppose.

Tomorrow I have an event that I'm attending to interview with a couple pharmaceutical firms for sales rep positions here in Cleveland. That could be a more exciting position, and allow me to live closer to Cleveland. My suit fits better than it did, though I think it could be taken in a bit more. Perhaps it's just that I need to get a smaller suit later on. This one is okay for interviewing in at least.

I'm going through my things that I brought home from Europe. I seem to have just collected ticket stubs and train tickets as souvenirs. That's alright by me. I need to take the journal I was using and start pasting things in to it as a way of keeping everything in one place. That or I need a shoe box to toss things in to.

Unpacked a couple boxes this afternoon and now my bedroom floor is littered with books. I have to divide them into separate piles. Those that I'll keep and those that I'll take to the Half Price Book Store and sell for store credit. Before doing that though I may consider listing them on SwapTree, as I'd like to start trading things with other users.

I found a list of yummy recipes that I need to subject all my friends to as well. These are things I picked up and learned how to make wandering around Europe. I'd like to plan a party some time in the near future where everyone contributes to the grocery bill and I provide tasty food for all.

I need to get to the new Whole Foods up in University Heights. Perhaps I can convince one of my friends from Case to let me take over their kitchen sometime soon, and then I'll pick things up there and cook.

Joey, my nephew, is amazing. He's going to be seven months old this weekend, and he's so entertaining. He's moving around - almost crawling! - and babbling. I can't wait for him to start talking. I swear he's the happiest baby in the world. Smiles from morning until bed time... unless of course he needs a nap or some mushed up sweet potato baby food. Otherwise he's grinning and laughing and making general baby noises. He's awesome in short. And to my sister's credit, she is an amazing mother.

I'm subscribing to The New Yorker.

OK. I need to do something with all these books.

Chinese, suits & dogs - not to be confused with Chinese dogs in suits

2007-07-31T20:36:00.000-07:00

So today I got up early and helped my mother clean out the guest room and rearrange the basement. This done I now have a pile of boxes in my bedroom that need to be sorted through. Things need to be thrown away, taken away, and sold if possible. I'm going to try as hard as I can to de-clutter and condense my life. I have too many things.

Hannah came over this afternoon and we ventured out to spend some time together. I'm really glad to be back home and to see her again. We started off going to Starbucks and having a tasty coffee beverage, driving then up I-71 northbound towards Cleveland. We veered off to the west and found our way out to Crocker Park, one of those fake village-esque shopping monstrosities.

There we browsed Sephora where Hannah had a $50 gift card, and then J Crew - where I got some atrociously yellow flip flops for $5 - and Structure - those of you who remember, this is what Express Men used to be called, and frankly I liked it better then. It's nice because since coming back and having lost a lot of weight un Europe I have a wardrobe of clothes that were essentially new - some with tags on them still! - that now fit.

After basking in the opulent consumerism for a bit longer we headed to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. It's so horrible, but simultaneously delightful. I think now I've covered my cravings that arose in Europe (Mexican food, Chinese food, sushi, and Starbucks). After our meal we then headed back east to downtown Cleveland, and stopped at The Old Angle tavern in Ohio City - one of the rockinest places in the Cleveland area - to meet up with some CouchSurfers. We had a drink and a good time chatting with the others who showed up. Only stayed for about an hour, and then I had to leave to pick up my suit in Middleburg Heights.

I have an interview tomorrow morning, and had to have my suit taken in. My tailor is great - even though he could have taken in a bit more here and there - and had it finished in one day. The interview is tomorrow morning at 11, and I'll be going in to discuss a branch manager position with a company in the Sandusky area. I'm not so keen on moving out that way, but it seems like a good job, and would help my resume. In that case I'd be more than willing to move out there. Not to mention it would put me closer to Lindsay & Danielle, as well as land me smack in the center of the Lake Erie wine region.

After suiting up and paying Ilie - my tailor - we headed back to Medina, dropped the suit off, and hung out for a bit before going to Denny's to swig back a couple cups of coffee. We got a paper and sat drinking our Joe and leafing through the Classifieds. I looked at apartments, dogs, jobs, and cars. Dogs you cry? Yes, dogs. Long term I think I'd like to get a pup of some sort. Beagle most likely. It seems there something called a Puggle or Buggle or Bugle or Peagle or something... I guess it's a cross between a Beagle and a Pug. I need to find pictures of this. So anyhow, if I'm in something that isn't an apartment by next spring and have some money set aside to provide for training, I think I may get a dog. It's name will be Winston - assuming it's a male dog. I think that's a good dog name (despite the fact that it's also a brand of cigarettes).

Well, I should get some rest. I have to be up early tomorrow.

Welcome to life in Northeast Ohio

2007-07-30T12:10:00.000-07:00

So I've crossed the pond and landed back in Cleveland, Ohio. My Peace Corps aspirations have taken a backseat to life, and I've decided not to go. I recieved my invitation to volunteer as a New Business Development Agricultural Advisor in Burkina Faso the day after I returned state-side. I must say that everyone who initally expected me to be off to Africa come September are now pleased to hear I'm sticking around. I should be honest and say that I'm pleased too. It was a great idea, but I think perhaps just not meant to be.

So now I am looking for a job. Looking for a car. Looking for an apartment. It seems I'm looking for a life, and it's here somewhere in NE Ohio. I've also gotten so used to blogging, that I felt I should continue with a new one in order to chronicle my life back home. Europe was amazing, but isn't life no matter where we are? So why not write about it I say. And that is what I plan on doing here.

If I sent you a link, or somehow you've accidentally found this blog I do hope you enjoy reading it. I'm going to make a conscious effort to update as regularly as possible, and share the goings on - be they adventurous or just rigamarole - of my life.

I have lots of things I want to do. I'm in better shape than I ever have been, and plan to continue that trend. I've got 30lbs. or so to lose before I am at my desired weight, and am going to be following a better exercise regiment to build muscle and keep the fat off for good.

Also I'd like to get involved in some other activities, and as soon as I have aforementioned job plan on finding some classes - yoga, cooking, dancing. If anyone is interested in joining me in these meanderings please let me know. Especially the dancing - I'm thinking ballroom.

Hopefully as things go on this blog can be filled with personal stories, recipes, pictures, and the like. Reader, please enjoy my ramblings. And bonus points to anyone that can identify the source of the blog's title.

Read on & be well.

Ryan