Solo

The last night of a business trip is my alone time. By this time, I've seen everyone I wanted to see, and socialized with my co-workers who are here on several occasions. Brain is full. Body is tired. And I've got one more night alone before I go home to PDM and the cats. The last night of a trip is my time for indulgence.

After my last session, I came back the room and took a long nap. Got up and went for a long walk around Philly, solo. After sundown, I enjoyed a room service supper and a bottle of local wine that I bought at the Reading Terminal Market (which is a wonderful place). Pretty good wine for east coast winery.

I fly home tomorrow. PDM tells me that Stray Cat Romeo isn't eating very much this week. Maybe he misses me. We'll find out tomorrow! On Friday, it is back to business as usual.

Time Enough At Last

Not just my favorite Twilight Zone episode, but also a good description of how I feel now that I don't have to spend every spare moment studying, working, or sleeping. For example, this evening I got home from work at a respectable hour. Changed into jeans and a t-shirt. Poured a glass of Malbec and took it out to the screened-in porch. Read a new magazine, cover to cover.

Ahhh, time enough at last.

Fat Catblogging

Less whine. More wine. Sounds like a good plan...

This bottle was a gift from a friend. Thanks, Kara!

Kinda Sorta Catblogging

OK, I do not usually buy wine* because of the label, but this one caught my eye (and I needed a white wine for a shrimp recipe). I'm not super particular about white wines, preferring reds, and I do not really have a white wine favorite. Add to that the feeling that what I do at work some days feels an awful lot like herding cats, and you have made a sale. Used a few tablespoons for cooking and we drank the rest (which was not bad). Then I had a little fun with Photoshop Elements.

Happy Friday, everyone.

*This was a 2007 Herding Cats Chenin Blanc-Chardonnay blend from South Africa. I had low expectations (having purchased it on a whim, because of the label), and was pleasantly surprised. My caveat - I am a red drinker. I probably wouldn't know a great white if it popped out of the bottle and did a genie dance.

The Wine-o-meter

The past two days have been insanely busy at work, and frustrating, and difficult, and pegged the "wine-o-meter scale of suckitude". Meaning - they sucked so horribly bad that I poured a glass of wine the MINUTE I walked through the door, which was after 7:00 both nights. Do NOT pass go, do not collect $200 or anything else, do not change clothes, do not pet the cats, do not talk to your spouse. Go directly to the wine rack, plop down your stuff, open a bottle and POUR. Drink liberally. Repeat. Sigh. Unload on your spouse, who has kindly cooked you a dinner. And then try to relax. And get up the next day and do it all again...

Just an ordinary Thursday night...

... but sometimes the ordinary can be very, very satisfying.

This thought occurred to me as I was sipping wine and listening to a local duo sing "Into the Mystic". I was sitting next to the man I love. Our friend Boomer was tending bar. We talked to the owner for a few minutes; he is also friend of ours. We had full bellies after a good meal. I had the lobster ravioli. PDM had his old standby - fish and chips with beer. Laughing and talking easily, we were watching the Braves game on a big screen TV while listening to the live music. The place was full, but not crowded. The musicians, Mike and Barry, have a long-standing regular gig at this place on Thursdays. They play the kind of old rock and roll that is always welcome and never goes out of style, and enjoy an easy back and forth with the crowd during their performances. They're regular guys in jeans and tee shirts, just like most of the patrons. And as we listened to them play, that's when it hit me out of the blue: it doesn't get much better than this. Nothing fancy, just good.

At the end of the evening, something on the check made us smile. Boomer had been running our bar tab as "PDM+WIFY".

bad week

Friday was just as bad as the rest of the week. Dealing with fallout from the issue I found earlier kept me extremely busy (I hate it when I don't have time to read your blogs). I wanted to leave around 4pm, but someone else bailed out early and I got stuck there until 5:45. More stuff didn't work, or was flaky and/or unreliable, and my software did some weird things and caused me to have to repeat two tests for the fourth time each. I just love doing things over... particularly on Friday afternoons.

A nice Thai dinner and a bottle of wine helped me put it behind me.

"All due respect..."

I just uncorked a bottle of chianti in preparation for the last new episode of the The Sopranos. For the last couple of months, this is how we spent our Sunday nights. I can't say it has been a routine - settling in with a nice meal and a bottle of chianti - only because the show isn't on often enough for it to seem that way. It wasn't unusual to have to wait well over a year between seasons.

I'm curious about how they will end the show. The mood that has been building this season is ominous and dark. I don't have a preference - just hope that it will be the usual high quality, meaty fare.

Rather than mourning the loss, I appreciate what The Sopranos has done for TV. It has shown what is possible in this medium when the creators are free from network interference, ratings worries, the need to be an instant success, and broadcast standards and regulations. The result is a TV series that plays out more like a novel than a dramatic series. Add in lush cinematography, brilliant musical soundtrack choices, excellent writing and acting, and you have got one helluva show. I am sure that HBO was rewarded with many new subscribers who came because of this show, and stayed because of all the other great series: Six Feet Under, Sex and the City, ROME, Carnivale, and Deadwood, just to name my personal favorites.

More Blue Law Blues

The bill that would allow local jurisdictions in Georgia to vote on whether to allow retail sales of alcohol on Sundays is dead, through legislative inaction. Those 'blue laws' I was bitching about back in January are here to stay. I knew it! In spite of widespread public support, a small minority of religious conservatives has managed (once again) to impose their will on the majority. The future of the bill was uncertain, even if voted on. The governor, who is a teetotaler, had darkly hinted of a veto in the unlikely event the law passed both legislative houses.

It wasn't as if this was a bill that stipulated alcohol *must* be sold on Sundays. It would have allowed local communities to decide for themselves. All those Christians in rural Georgia that were so outraged needn't have worried - no doubt the Sunday sales option would be voted down in their areas. (Or WOULD it? Maybe they were afraid to put it to popular vote?) At any rate, it is a moot point for now. Maybe forever in this backward state.

It's damned inconvenient and arbitrary if you ask me. I'm not an evil, bad person. I'm a regular citizen who works hard and is busy during the week, and I want to enjoy my downtime on the weekends without unreasonable restrictions. This would include buying a six pack or a bottle of wine on Sunday. The blue laws skirt awfully close to government officially sanctioning religion. But since we are stuck with it, I think I'll buy myself a case of three buck Chuck and keep it in the basement for all those times I forget (or it isn't convenient) to plan ahead. But I shouldn't have to.

Blue Law Blues

Our state legislature is in session and once again, a bill to change Georgia’s “blue laws” has been introduced. The bill, if enacted, would allow local jurisdictions to let voters decide whether or not beer and wine can be sold on Sundays. I purchase beer and wine, and don’t have any problem with drinking it on Sundays, so naturally this is of interest to me. Currently, the statewide rule is that on Sundays, Georgians can only purchase beer and wine at restaurants, and they must consume the beverage on the premises. If you want to drink alcohol in your home on Sunday, you must have the foresight to purchase it before midnight on Saturday night (or you can drive to another state and get it, if that floats your boat). We are one of only three states with this restriction. This particular state law is intended to force people to conform to the religious idea of Sunday as a “day of rest” or some such. I don’t know about you, but I sometimes want to rest with a tall, cold one or a nice glass of shiraz. And some days, having to get cleaned up and go out to a restaurant to get one is not particularly restful. Plus there is the whole driving home afterward thing to deal with…

I don’t give this bill much of a chance for survival, even though a majority of Georgians are for it. Heck, in the metro Atlanta area a whopping 80% of citizens in a recent poll were in favor of letting voters decide. The bill doesn’t force a change on anyone, it merely allows local people to arrange things to the satisfaction of the majority of voters. I’m sure some communities would keep the ban. I haven’t heard any completely rational arguments for why we need blue laws. Most of the arguments center on religion, not rationality. I believe that if respecting the Lord’s Day is important to you, then you are free to do that on any day of your choosing. What you should not be free to do is to demand compliance from others. People can do just about anything on Sunday that is legal to do on any other day of the week. It makes no sense to arbitrarily restrict this one thing. And yet, every time an attempt is made to change the law, it fails. This time will be no different. Even if the bill manages to make it past the legislature, the governor has already not-so-subtly hinted that he’ll veto it. Clearly, in this case he feels that his opinion trumps the will of the people who elected him.

Why am I ranting about this? It isn’t very important in the grand scheme of things. It isn’t a total ban, but is more of an inconvenient limitation. It isn’t a rule that I spend much time thinking about, and if I want a drink on a Sunday, I find a way to legally get one. Basically, I am ranting because in this case, our representative government is failing its citizens. Clearly, the majority of people want the blue laws to change, and the government continues to stifle their wishes in order to please a small minority. It is frustrating and wrong. And kind of stupid.