Earthquakes and Hurricanes and Butt Stabbers, oh my!

A lot has been going on around here lately! And that is what I am going to attribute my lack of posts to--- I've been too busy watching my back and ducking for cover! I wanted to just write a little note and say, we will return to regularly scheduled programming shortly. :) Bear with me and stay tuned for new wine recommendations and other musings. Until then!

METRO READ Ugly Americans- Ben Mezrich

For those of you who don't know Ben Mezrich, he is known for writing books about Ivy League kids doing remarkable things. His first book was Bringing Down the House: The Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions. It was later turned into the movie 21. Maybe even more well known is his recent book, The Accidental Billionaires, which chronicles Mark Zuckerberg and a behind the scenes look at Facebook. (I read this book as well, while it was good- I'd suggest just seeing the movie.) What I have grown to appreciate about Ben Mezrich is that his books, while highly entertaining-- are still non-fiction. If you continue to read this blog you'll quickly learn that I rarely read fiction. Nothing against it-- I just have found that there are plenty of interesting things to read about that are real, and those are the things that I prefer.

Ugly Americans is about a Princeton Alumni named John Malcolm (a pseudonym), who ends up working as an assistant daytime trader in Japan, after a fluke meeting at a Princeton football game(Malcolm played for the Princeton). Basically this book highlights a time in the 1990's where American Hedge Fund Cowboys were taking advantage of loopholes that existed in the outdated and inefficient Japanese Stock Market-- the Nikkei. The Yakuza, which is basically the Japanese mob gets involved, and things get dodgy. There's also a sideline developing love story between Malcolm and a native Japanese girl named Sayo. I'd say-o there's something for everyone in this book.

New job, new beginnings...new commute.

Friends, I am happy to report that as of March 7th, I am back among the employed. I have taken a position with DLA Piper, LLP in Washington, DC. I am happy to be working, and to have expendable income once again. However, as the title of this post would imply, with my new job comes a new commute. I am now officially one of those "commuters." I have a SmartTrip card, and I always have a pair of pumps in my bag. I drive to the Vienna metro station, hop on the Orange line, then the Red line, then finally after about an hour and 20 minutes door to door, I arrive at work. I've had to sort of monitor my natural tendencies on the metro as well (note-- no one wants to talk to me at 7:30 AM. No one. Also- no one says Bless you.) But now I feel accustomed to the cultural norms of mass transit, and so I sit quietly and stare sraight ahead-- and if someone sneezes....well I still say bless you. (Sorry I'm not sorry- not saying bless you is rude.)

The commute, you can imagine has been an adjustment. But it is not without its perks. I've always been a big reader-- but through grad school I became only a big purchaser of books. I have quite a collection built up of things I wanted to read, but would put up on the shelf-- "when I finish grad school I'll read this." Well, the time is now. My kindle is working overtime, and it's nice to sort of escape in the morning. When I finish a book, my first instinct is to share it with someone else, so I thought, well, why not include it in MLC? A sort of Metro Book Review. So stay tuned for my latest Metro Reads along with my wines (and sometimes whines) of choice......

Inexcusable...

It's inexcusable really. The amount of time that I've let go in between blog posts. In that spirit I'm not going to make any excuses. What's done is done. The past is in the past. All I can do now is go forward. To make it up to you and to kick off my comeback I'm going to post a new wine recommendation. I bought this particular red at World Market, during their huge red wine sale. (Coincidentally, and serendipitously their large wine sale coincided directly with my first few days of unemployment. Sometimes things just work out.) It's called Tilia, it is a red wine, and it has a pretty picture of a tree on the bottle. Pick up a bottle today. You'll be glad you did.

The FIRST Wine Wednesday of 2011

I am not above a bargain. Furthermore I am not above a bargain wine, hell- I used to drink wine out of a box.... the bottom line is I am a wine lover- but not a wine snob. I recently had a small get together at my condo and wanted to get a few bottles of bargain wine, not wanting to drain my personal stock. (Sorry I'm not sorry...) I went to Costco and found this gem; Frontera Wines Concha y Toro, it is a Cabernet-Merlot blend. Costco was selling the 1.5 L bottles of this for 6.98 I think? I was a little skeptical, because of the size of the bottle and the small price tag-- but hey, I'll try any wine once. The description claimed it was the #1 Chilean wine sold. This claim only highlighted how little I know about the Chilean wine market....was being #1 impressive? 1 out of 3? What are we talking? But I took a chance and I'm glad I did because it really was quite good. My guests seemed to enjoy it as well, plus I think it gave us all an edge in playing Just Dance 2 on Wii.....the more we drank the better we danced! Fact! Now get out there and try this great Chilean find. Ole!

Unemployment and why Oprah is the answer....

As some of you may already know I am currently unemployed. Being unemployed really makes you think about what it is you want to do; and I want to be Oprah. Hear me out; Oprah gets to make people happy, talk to all sorts of interesting people, write a magazine, make her own TV shows AND make a lot of money doing it. Since this 25th season of the Oprah show is her last, I am thinking she will need a replacement........

Now stay with me for a second because I have to switch gears....I got a GPS for Christmas (Thanks Dustin!) and for the life of me I can't figure it out. I read the book, followed the instructions and all seems to be working except for one catch; my GPS thinks I'm in Chicago, Illinois. Now, you can read into this however you want; I choose to think that my GPS is guiding me; it is as if my GPS is whispering..."Go, be with Oprah, in the windy city.....gooooo......Oprahhhhhh." I mean my GPS may not be telling me where I am, but perhaps it is telling me where I need to go.

I have a fortune telling, prophet like, GPS.

This is the only conclusion I can draw.

Chicago or Bust.... (Oprah I'll text you when I get there! xo)

Wine Wednesday Resumes!!!

I can't believe I've missed so many Wine Wednesdays, they are so dear to my heart. It won't happen again. Please forgive me. This Wednesday I want to talk about Super Tuscans. The term "Super Tuscan" describes any Tuscan red wine that does not adhere to traditional blending laws for the region. For example, Chianti Classico wines are made from a blend of grapes with Sangiovese as the dominant varietal in the blend. Super Tuscans often use other grapes, especially cabernet sauvignon, making them ineligible for DOC(G) classification under the traditional rules. (Blah blah- get to the wine...) OK so I had this particular wine at Ozzie's Corner Italian, and it was delish. It's called Monte Antico, and after paying 7.00 a glass, I ventured to my local Total Wine to see what a bottle would run me. 9.99. Seriously? The lesson, drink at home-- and try a Super Tuscan today! Preferably this one. Cheers! xo

Christmas Shoes

For all of my Christmas joy I'm feeling a lot of rants this holiday season. After holding this particular one inside for years, I am ready to let it out. The topic: Christmas Shoes by Newsong. Call me heartless but I think this song is beyond dumb. Let me set the stage for you in case you're unfamiliar; It's Christmas Eve, and a gentleman is standing in line to buy something when he notices a dirty, homeless looking little boy, he eavesdrops on him and hears him say that he would like to buy some shoes for his mother who is dying, and the shoes are just her size. How perfect. The catch? He has no money, remember he is dirty and destitute. The little boy turns around and pleads with the stranger in line about how great his mom always made Christmas and that some years she went without any gifts; always putting herself last. The stranger obliged (he just wanted to get home to his own family, and this was the fastest option) and paid for the little boy's shoes for his dying mother.

There are so many things wrong with this song I don't even know where to begin. Let's break it down using actual lyrics to really illustrate the point..... (that the song is dumb. try to keep up.)

Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size
Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time
You see she's been sick for quite a while
And I know these shoes would make her smile

Listen kid, I am sympathetic to the fact that your mother is about to meet her maker; however it sounds like things are rough at home financially, so perhaps purchasing shoes should be low on your agenda. You're about to be left with one parent and I'm sure he would appreciate you holding onto that money for, oh I don't know, food. Living beyond your means is irresponsible, but purchasing shoes for someone who probably won't need them for long is even worse. Plus, your mom is facing her mortality-- shoes make people feel better about a lot of things, dying isn't one of them. Give her a hug, tell her what you told the nice, naive man at the store.

So I laid the money down, I just had to help him out
I'll never forget the look on his face when he said
Mama's gonna look so great

This man just got taken. I saw this kid at the general store one town over 20 minutes ago working this routine for a coat. He knows the system, and he works it. If there actually is a dying parent, well, then see my first point. She doesn't need shoes. This sounds to me like a scam.

And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight

I don't know Jesus, but from what I've heard about him-- he doesn't care what shoes you're wearing. And if he does care about your shoes then I think we have a lot of things wrong. He's got to be wearing, what, like maybe a strappy leathery sandal type thing? Fashion is not a top concern for Jesus. Jesus loves everyone, it's like his thing.

I knew I'd caught a glimpse of heaven's love
As he thanked me and ran out
I knew that God had sent that little boy
To remind me just what Christmas is all about

Begging? Irrational Purchases? Winning the approval of Jesus through footwear?

I rest my case.

Tis the Season..........

I LOVE THE CHRISTMAS SEASON. I want to preface this with that, because you have to believe me when I say that this is my FAVORITE time of the year; however recently I have noticed an alarming trend in people being complete a-holes (excuse my French...) whilst shopping for loved ones. I am all for staking out bargains, and utilizing what I like to call Defensive Retail Tactics (DRT); however I maintain that one can do this without being the aforementioned a-hole. Seriously. Here are some of my observations........Don't be this person.....

1. The Stop and Stare: Today I was perusing some gift bags in Hallmark when a woman came up to me and just stood there. I'm looking at her like, yes? She stares back. I'm sorry lady am I supposed to read your mind.... She continues to stand there so I say, oh do you need to get by? Again, stares. I'm sorry is that bitch for yes?? I move aside and she continues on--- literally without ever speaking a word. I understand that I live in a diverse environment and a language barrier is possible, but smiles are universal and homegirl could have at least smiled and shrugged, I'd take it......bottom line: two words...... EXCUSE ME. Live them. Use them. Love them.

2. The I Realize You're Looking at that Sweater But I Want To Now As Well, So Move: You all should know that I can spot this person a mile away. They are dead behind the eyes, usually well dressed, and robotic in their movement. One moment you're looking at a sweater (dress, blouse, bag, belt, etc.) and suddenly; without warning, you're not. What are you looking at you might wonder? The back of their heads. This drives me bananas. Oh I'm sorry, did you not see me standing here? Oh you did? Oh...well ok...that's fine...maybe we could look together? No? This is NOT ok. It's called waiting your turn, it takes only a moment; and chances are that turtleneck will still be 40% off in 3 minutes. Cool your jets.

3. The I Know Your Time Is Valuable, Just Not As Valuable As Mine....: Everyone has been behind this person. They have 36 returns from 1997, and they want to use 18 coupons on 3 different credit cards. I will get in this line every. single. time. Without fail. I understand wanting to use your coupons, but if they expired, that's it, game over, move on. You should have bought 2 candles for 20.00 3 weeks ago when you could have. It's no one's fault but your own. Play by the rules, they're there for a reason.

In short, I think if we all just become a little more cognoscente of our surroundings, our shopping excursions can be harmonious for all parties involved and I won't be tempted to hit you in the head with bags filled with the day's acquisitions. This is the most wonderful time of the year. Don't ruin it for everyone.

A little update, and an apology.........

Hello Friends! This picture represents how I have felt lately. Cut up into pieces, shoved into rice and wrapped in seaweed. (OK, maybe just the first part-- though the second part sounds like a nice spa treatment.....) But really, I've felt pulled in a lot of directions, unable to give 100% of myself to anything... Bottom line: I have been slacking in several areas of my life because I am in the last 5 weeks of GRAD SCHOOL!!! This is a terribly exciting time, but it is also a terribly busy time, and a terribly stressful time. Which is why I missed a Wine Wednesday...(I sincerely hope you all celebrated it without me....) In short, I want you all to know that I will resume writing as soon as I finish writing these 3098098 papers for the end of the semester!! Bear with me. Until then, you can find me at Starbucks....I'll be the one with the Venti Coffee and Venti bags under my eyes.....yikes. xo

Cous Cous and the Reason America Sucks.....

This weekend I had an adventure. Being directionally challenged and afraid of driving around places I'm unfamiliar with tends to cramp my natural sense of exploration...but this weekend, my friends, was different. This weekend I was Richmond bound. On the open road*, just me, an over packed duffel, a bottle of Smart Water**, and my Navigation.....oh and some apple slices. (Pre-sliced from Trader Joe's-- do yourself a favor and check them out.) I was pretty nervous for the drive, if we're being honest, but it was easy, and totally worth it to spend time with some of my best friends. I was going to stay with my friend Sarah Elizabeth (SE) since she is wonderful and comes to stay with me in DC a lot. I owed her a trip. A few other friends were going to be in Richmond, including my roommate from college who I hadn't seen in forever, so I knew it was a perfect weekend to go.

Within minutes of getting there SE and I headed out to get coffee at this little cafe that was super cute. I can drink coffee at any time of the day, it's one of my super powers, and she had been planning on a "ginormous diet coke," all morning. Perfect. We also ordered a Meze Platter which consisted of Tomatos, Cucumbers, Olives, Hummus and some grilled pita bread. Delish. Right next to the cafe was this cute little farmer's/open air market that had just a motley assortment of things-- jewelry, vegetables, sweaters...the essentials. I don't see things like this too often in Fairfax so I was pretty excited to walk through. It was a small little set up, so we got through it quick and started the walk back to SE's apartment. We turned down one particular street to see a man sitting against a building with an assortment of CDs and other wares (crap you could find in the backseat of a car) sitting in front of him...the following exchange occurred.

Salesman: You guys want to buy a CD? Everything is a dollar. Got to feed me and me and my cats. I have a lot of them. (Cats or CDs??)


SE and I : Keep in mind we are in the middle of deep "we haven't seen each other in a month" conversation.... OK so we said nothing......


Salesman: You all don't have to be rude. Snooty witches*** Just keep on walking. You are the reason America sucks.

To blame only two people for your perceived state of America, to me, is a pretty strong statement. We are the reason America sucks?? SE and I? Just walking along trying to catch up? We're not the ones peddling CDs to feed what sounds like an irresponsible number of cats to own Sir.... and we're not name calling. Sticks and stones, that's what we always say.... I mean maybe it was a little rude of us not to say, no thanks, but really do you owe that courtesy to a man yelling at you from the ground when you are clearly otherwise engaged? You decide. I say no.

Still, I was a little rattled by this, I said to SE--- "is this normal? People just yelling at you??" She said yes and proceeded to tell me things that happened to her just recently. Yikes, Richmond is lucky it's so cute and has good hummus.

We didn't let our altercation with the hobo sorry, not so pc... get in the way of our fun. We spent the rest of the day hanging out with my roommate from college, watching a little football, and yes getting more coffee. When it was time to dinner we headed out and ended up at this little place called Cous Cous. It was adorable, and we ordered pita platter with chicken. Yes hummus again....SE and I learned this weekend that contrary to popular belief, we can subsist on hummus and red wine alone. We finished up dinner, met up with our friend Caitlin who had just gotten into town, and headed to our friend Dave's to enjoy a few libations before heading out. SE and I picked up a bottle of wine on the way, we got to Dave's and she proceeded to pour the whole bottle into two glasses. It was going to be a good night. When we finally made it out, we patronized a bar called Three Monkeys. It was perfect and exactly what I wanted to do-- we got a table and just got to talk and catch up and drink red wine. (And Soco and Lime and Tequila..oops) The rest is a little fuzzy, but I know the remainder of the night involved a cab driver from Barbados, Domino's pizza, Teen Mom on demand, and a lot of fun with wonderful people. Perfect weekend, and totally worth the trip.



*95 for the most part
** I heard Jennifer Aniston drinks 100 ounces a day.
*** With a B

Wine Wednesday II

Happy Wednesday Friends! It's time for another Wine Wednesday. My posts have been a bit sparse in the interim, but I assure you-- I will not miss a Wine Wednesday. The wine I am featuring today is one that I found at a World Market. (If you don't have one of these near you, I am very sorry. The good news is they have a website. The bad news is you can't buy wine on it.) World Market is one of my favorite places to just wander around because they have such unique merchandise, whether you're looking for plates or pasta-- everything they carry is just cool. So anyway, back to the vino, I like to go to WM and load up on wine from time to time. During one such outing I was approached by what I can only assume was an employee of WM. He must have noticed that I seemed to be stocking up, and so he asked...

"Would you like to try the world's best red wine for under 12.00?"
Um of course I would, you had me at red wine. And under 12.00? I'll take 4

He lead me over to a display of bottles that looked like this. He just went on and on, practically gushed over how much he loved this bottle of wine. I stopped him, listen dude I'm not really a hard sell....

I placed a couple bottles in my cart, along with whatever other WM treasures I found and was off. Let me just say I was not disappointed. The only critical thing I would say is that it has a soft finish. Starts off strong and kind of weakens in the end-- some people like that though, so I won't say it's a downfall necessarily..... overall great buy!


Now go. Celebrate Wine Wednesday. In whatever fashion you see fit.

Things that go CRASH in the night.......

This is a scary story. At least it was scary when it happened. I'm telling it now as a warning to others-- this doesn't have to happen to you......

Last night, or early this morning, whichever way you look at it-- around 2:30 AM I was awoken by a very large very scary noise-- a giant crash, breaking glass, and all sorts of commotion. I shot up, scared and confused. Paralyzed by fear I sat in my bed, looking around the room for the culprit as my eyes adjusted. My mind was racing as I thought of all the possibilities of what could have made this noise. My first thought was INTRUDER! Why didn't I have a dog? Of course I began to have thoughts that I assume everyone has before they're about to meet their maker... I wish I was wearing something cuter....these pajamas don't even match. I didn't see anything. My bedroom door, oddly, was wide open, crap I never sleep with it open and now if there's an intruder he will have already seen me..... I got up and tiptoed into the family room, I looked around and then stopped cold; I was convinced I heard running water in my kitchen.... I went in to investigate further. Yes I realize this was not the best move.... I walked in fully expecting to find my thief in the night, but alas-- nothing except dirty dishes...... don't judge.

I walked back into my bedroom waiting for someone to jump out at me from a closet, or perhaps under the bed. My heart was racing at a million (approx) BPM (beats per minute). I heard glass shatter- something HAD to have happened somewhere in this place... I was fairly certain I didn't dream it....what the crap was going on? I paced around my room, trying to be super quiet.. until finally I saw it.....My closet had given up-- the whole rack came out of the wall causing a chaos I was not equipped to deal with at 2:30 in the morning. Everything was on the ground, clothes, hangers, luggage, racks...and the glass. You see-- I like to keep spare candles around at all times, in case I need them for myself-- or for a quick go-to gift if necessary. So I had about 9 candles, in glass jars come plummeting down to their final resting place. This saddened me more than anything because candles are expensive! And I'm on a budget these days... (Bath and Body Works if you're reading this, please send "Autumn" "White Citrus" and any of your Christmas scents. Thank you.)

The moral of this story, dear readers, is that a closet rack is not built to hold large amounts of clothing, luggage, and an arsenal of scented candles. One day it will give out, give up, and move on to the floor. It will scare you, as it is quite noisy. And if you are sleeping it will REALLY scare you.

RIP Candle....

Wine Wednesday

Today marks a very important day. I did not know this when I woke up, but I know it now, for today my friends marks our very first Wine Wednesday. With a name like Misery Loves Cabernet it seems more than appropriate to take one day a week to observe and acknowledge another tasty wine. So today, to kick off our very FIRST Wine Wednesday, I would like to share with you one of my favorite blends. It is the Penfold's Koonunga Hill (fun name!) Shiraz-Cabernet, and it is delicious. I'm not going to pretend to be some wine connoisseur, and use words like oaky and undertone; all I know is it tastes good when it hits your lips. The first time I had this wine I was out to dinner* at Bonefish with a friend. I liked it so much I whipped out my iPhone** immediately to make sure to store a note of what it was called. I've been buying it ever since. Best served in a large glass. Enjoy!

*Lunch on a weekday.
**You're welcome, Apple.

5K....Check!

Well friends, we did it! We completed our very first 5K. It was a fun experience-- we started by going to the Reston YMCA to pick up our race packets on Friday evening. It felt so official- they gave us our bibs, our t-shirts, and this cool little thing that goes on your shoe to time you. (I didn't really vocalize how cool I thought they were while we were there-- then people would know I was an amateur....)I had to save face in front of all my new runner friends-- at least until the next morning. I picked up Caitlin up around 7:30 AM and we were off. On the way there we tried to set goals for ourselves. Win? OK probably not realistic....Finish? OK that's a little too easy. Finish in under 45 minutes? This was a real goal, a real number. We arrived, parked and headed to the area where our fellow runners were congregating. We watched what other runners around us were doing and followed suit. Yea stretching, of course, we always stretch before our big races. I looked around, didn't see any familiar faces, Caitlin mused that perhaps it was because none of our friends had the natural athletic ability that we, obviously, had. True. We headed to the starting line and waited. The group of almost 3000 runners had to be split up, and so you had to choose-- were you going to participate with the "Runners" or with the "Joggers and Walkers?" We knew our place and got in line with the joggers and walkers. We spent the next ten minutes A. being nervous and B. judging the running gear of those around us. Yes we're talking to you elastic waist Jean Shorts. No one is winning in those. Soon they announced that the participants would be released in 2 waves, and that our group was NOT, I repeat NOT supposed to run at the sound of the first air horn. I thought that was rather anti-climatic, "GO!, no no not you-- you go later. Air horn #2." But we did as we were told. The first air horn sounded and off our faster friends went...we waited patiently for our respective air horn-- sadly the little air horn was running out of steam, so the second group started off with the saddest little noise you've ever heard. What a metaphor. Off we went anyway.

We started off strong, fairly certain we had this thing, but after the first mile or so we ended up walking at a pace similar to that of a mall walker. When we could we ran again, and continued our nice pattern of running and walking. We set small goals for ourselves throughout the race in the form of who we wanted to get in front of, and for a while, it worked for us. However, for whatever reason these two older (not THAT old-- that would be embarrassing) ladies decided they had some vendetta against us, and they would speed up to get in front of us every chance they got. We decided to play it cool, let them be in front now-- we'd get them in the last leg of the race. One of them was wearing running sandals-- how serious could they be?

The rest of the race went pretty smooth, the Restonians we came into contact with were very supportive and cheered everyone on as they ran through the streets. As we came up to the final stretch we kicked it up a notch, smoking those older broads, and breezing through the finish line. We did it! Our wonderful friends Nicole and Dave were waiting for us at the finish line! They joined us in celebration with water bottles and bananas. Success!

5K Jitters!

So this weekend, my friend Caitlin and I are running the Anthem Great Pumpkin 5K. It is my first 5K-- since I am NOT a runner, and I'm excited to try something new. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous, and afterwards Reston Town Center is having their annual Oktoberfest celebration. Quick run followed by a nice day of drinking outside? OK I'll try running. I am a little nervous about the competition-- since we did sign up for the "timed" race I assume someone will be marking our start and finish. Perhaps they will let me run in the kids group. At least if I can't beat them I can knock them down .....

Take off your shoes, grab a glass of wine....

I'm not totally sure where this blog is going. What I do know is that on a daily basis I feel compelled to write....whether it's a great recipe or just a story from the day, I feel the need to share. You should know this-- I'm not miserable-- far from it-- but I'm sure on occasion my blog will fall prey to a rant or a rave, and when that time comes you can rest assured that it will most likely be fueled by the nice* glass of cab sitting next to me. :)

*Okay probably Yellow Tail...

So grab a glass of wine and let's see where this goes...