Cline Cellars Red Truck 2002

My mother-in-law's birthday party was last night, and we brought her a bottle of Red Truck to celebrate. I enjoyed it, but realized I have a confession to make. I really have trouble telling those reds apart. I know what I like and what I hate, but beyond that, I generally can't tell one from the other. With white wine, it's another story- I can tell a Chardonnay apart from a Pinot Grigio, and if I drink two examples of the same type, I can identify a difference and pontificate on the subtleties of one v. the other. And then again I can distinguish between, for example, a Syrah and a Merlot. But give me five glasses of decent-quality Cabernet Sauvignon, and they all taste the same to me.

I'm working on it, though. I hear it's an acquired taste. I've been trying for two years to develop it, and I'll keep trying for the rest of my life if that's what it takes! What's I'm getting at is that you should read the article, supra, for a more intelligent discussion of the wine in question. My impression, for what it's worth, was favorable. Red Truck is a self-proclaimed table wine, and I drank it with a hearty homemade vegetable soup. The flavors were very complementary, and I drank my first glass pretty quickly once I started in on it. I picked up this bottle for something around $8, and it was worth it.

Categories: wine

On The Road

I was just writing yesterday about what this time of year means to me. Today, AmbImb confesses what's on his mind these days:

...one of those things I start thinking about and looking forward to when the weather starts to turn cooler, the days start getting shorter, the leaves change... November is NaNoWriMo, and that’s really the best of the fall things.

I had never heard of National Novel Writing Month until today, but I'm already fired up to begin my attempt at writing a 50,000 word novel. You should click on that link, it's got the whole scoop right there, but basically it's a month-long writing marathon.

The premise for NaNoWriMo is that without that magical deadline, most people will never even start writing a novel, let alone finish one. Since I was a tiny child- long before law school entered the picture- I dreamed of a career where I could write for a living. I still think it would be cool to write a novel. And the timing couldn't be better. If all goes well, my applications will be out the door by October 31, and I can start my novel on November 1.

It should be noted that the one-month novel is not without precedent, either. In fact, my literary hero, Jack Kerouac, wrote one of my favorite novels (On the Road) in three weeks. That's another story altogether; one that any aspiring NaNoWriMo Participant should read and take inspiration from.

Kerouac wrote the novel in a coffee- [and Benzedrine-]saturated, 21-day typewriter marathon at a friend's apartment in New York City in 1951... "It's the way that it was written that, in many ways, is more important than what it really is... That it kind of just spewed out of him is what it's all about."

More here.

Anyway, I'm sending this out as a challenge to anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel (who hasn't?). Especially to those who, like me, are starting law school next fall. You may not get another chance like this. Do something crazy next month and write a book. I'd love to see a gang of law bloggers hop on the bandwagon and start cranking out prose, but that's just my crazy dream.

At any rate, I'll keep you updated on my progress starting next month, which will give me something to blog about when I'm done with applications. Applications... yeah, more on those tomorrow. (Hint: something frustrating happened)

Categories: writing, life

Lazy Weekend

I had another nice, laid-back weekend with my wife. Forgive me if I don't feel like writing about law school when I'm trying to relax for a couple of days, but I'll keep posting my photos every Saturday and Sunday. How does that strike you?

I'm mostly in waiting mode with applications now, so I've had more free time to think about other things. Halloween is coming up, and I'm still trying to decide on a costume. The fall colors and cool temperatures are bringing back memories of last year at this time, which was a very fun season in my relationship with J. I was out of college and working, and she was still living in Wisconsin with one semester to go, so I drove out there at least once every other weekend to visit.

Fall used to be only a wicked harbinger of the dreaded winter to come, but now it reminds me of her... cuddling up under a heated blanket; drinking hot chocolate spiked with peppermint schnapps; playing Dr. Mario on her decrepit NES (she beat me every time); walking along the river and climbing up trees; renting two-for-a-dollar movies that I would watch while she fell asleep with her head in my lap... those were some of the best days of my life.

Serta Velvet Lovenest

My wedding was in August, but we hadn't gotten around to bed shopping until this weekend. Up till now, we've been using a "full" size mattress that J got second-hand. The way she sleeps, it's too small for the both of us. And the way I get up about a dozen times during the night, we needed something that would minimize the disturbance. Anyway, my parents offered to buy us a new mattress for our wedding gift. We were extremely grateful.

Neither of us had shopped for a mattress before, and we weren't exactly sure how to go about it. How does one truly gauge the quality of a mattress without taking it for a "test drive," so to speak? After all, there are only a couple of things I use my bed for, and I don't feel comfortable doing either one in the middle of a furniture store. On that note, Rob of Cockeyed.com ponders,

Strange that cars, clothes, liquor, medicine, cosmetics and tiny, wireless video cameras are sold with sex, but mattresses are marketed with sleep.

For those in the same predicament, I recommend a trip to Slumberland. It turns out they have a very generous return policy in case the bed you purchase isn't quite perfect. We were about to purchase a new mattress set there, but instead went to a Slumberland outlet store and purchased one of the very mattresses that had been used and returned. Sure, we got it for half the original price, but I'll always wonder...

But it was obvious we could have done worse. The mattress next to it featured a big red tag marked "SOILED." Ew. Could there be a better word to discourage potential buyers? I can't think of one.

Categories: life