Thomas Keller with the new kid on the block

it smells in my apartment and I'm tired of poker night that goes on till 1:45 in the morning. seems i'm grumpy towards many things these days. am i a new yorker now or just grumpasaurus rex? i'm the pushy person on the street now, get outta my way...

rain most of this week. guess it's better than hotter than hell.

new job has me on nervous. hard to start over and be the new person. i understand now why comfort is comfortable. i can look back and say i had it good. good comfortable and boring. inside i'm screaming "don't you know who i am and where i've come from?" nobody gives a shit.

of all people to come in for dinner tonight, thomas keller himself. i took it as symbolic, and after i asked him his name (duh) and he said the name is keller, and i said i'm mary ann... in my naivety. "Pleased to meet you." maybe he was amused?

i should really be pleased with how i've jumped into the "show" in such a short time and have experienced the epitome. i just want to complain and yearn, instead of having a good time. arg

Starting over and changing your life is scary. Finding motivation is scary. Separating yourself from the old comforts and norm is scary. The scariest thing is that I'm expecting someone to say to me that I can't do what I'm trying to do, like I ain't going to make it. Scary b/c that's MY voice in the back of my head sneaking in and trying to talk myself out of it.

new apartment coming soon

Another Day, Another Job

Ok, so there's this place called Cru which is one of the hottest restaurants in New York right now, with a wine "portfolio" of more than 60,000 selections, rated one of the best new restaurants, and and and I just couldn't help myself. What was I supposed to do? It happened so fast. My new friend turned me onto it, resume came flying out and next thing you know I was shaking hands to a "Welcome to the team." I start tomorrow as a hostess. I hope this doesn't turn into an addiction. What do I do about Crush?

Read more in the Cru review:
http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/food/reviews/restaurant/
10023/index.html

or
http://cru-nyc.com/

Harvest time for grapes and me is about the same this year. Bud break happens in spring, around the time I settled in NY, then flowers appear. The flowers will turn into baby berries and after they spend time in the summer sun, will be picked as soon as August though the end of October. Approx. 120 days. I can't wait for my brain to be ripe when school is done in August. I've been thinking about working the harvest somewhere, picking grapes and sleeping in a barn.

It's warm today, so I think I'll have a Riesling from Alsace (hang in there, France is almost over and we'll be drinking the Italian reds when it's nice, hot and humid outside), Francois Baur, 2000

Cigars and Chardonnay?

Why not pair a rich, earthy cigar with a crisp white wine? I learned about this unexpected pairing at my first real cigar tasting. We drank red wine with our Davidoff smokes that night, but I'm going to try my Special R stogie with some white burgundy:Dom. Michel Lafarge, Bourgogne Aligote 2002

Thanks to Michael who led the glass, I mean class, and was a gracious host at the Davidoff store. Just like wine, cigars are influenced by climate and soil. Cubans are not the ultimate smokes, and it's fine to light your cigar with a lighter or match as long as it's not a ronson-based fuel and the wood/match is not aromatic (like cedar).

Weather's been crappy this week. Got caught up with my class quizzes, and I'm pretty sure I did well on the Bordeaux test so things should be easier from here. It takes me about, well months sometimes to figure out if I love a new album. How am I supposed to make a solid opinion on a wine with just 3 sips? Bigger sips.

Taking a break and Diet Coke

I think I'm getting the wine thing, but my quizzes are not showing it. This article makes me feel a bit better, but...

http://www.beveragebusiness.com/bbcontent/art-arch/nesto0902.html#top%20of%20page

Maybe I'll just keep tasting to find out?

This week was more France, Burgundy and Bordeaux. I hear it gets easier after France.

Cigar class tomorrow night, and lots to catch up on. Class and work, work and studying, I hardly have time for ze, how do you say, field research.

Send me an email (if you haven't already) to say bon jour will ya? I had a request for more info on my roomate's shower time, and what to drink while getting f'd by the Giants' bull pen. Anyone else?

C'est la vie!