So, with the running and the writing and the not spending of any money, I'm focusing this post on another goal of mine. Getting to know more about wine - what I like, don't like, why, etc. So, last night, my dear friend Maeve came over and we had a picnic of sorts on the floor of my living room. This is something we do often, as these cheese, bread, and salad meals remind us of how we ate while in Paris together (where we shall be again in 36 days. But who's counting?). Of course, we always have some wine as well - usually the same kind of Beaujolais or Montepulciano. But, tonight, I decided to make things interesting. I bought two bottles of wine (both super reasonable, obviously), and Maeve and I each tried one and recorded our findings in my best pretending-to-know-what-I'm-talking-about wine jargon. Luckily, I have my handy Wine Bible and Wine Moleskine for some much needed guidance.
The contenders:
2009 Bourdeaux Chateau Grimard My Wine Bible tells me that Bourdeaux is the largest fine-wine vineyard in the world, and produces complex, age worthy wines. The range of red Bourdeaux is huge, from very simple to the extremely refined. Maeve found the Bourdeaux to be crisp, yet sultry (a word that was not on my glossary, but it's awesome so we'll use it anyway) and almost raw. Not sweet at all, and a little earthy - slightly herb infused and spicy, too.
2009 Casamatta Toscana Tuscany is the home of Italy's three most important wines, according to the Wine Bible, Chianti, Montalcino, and Montepulciano. This wine is a Sangiovese, which is a major Tuscan grape, and it produces a lot of the Super Tuscans, apparently. I found it to be very clean and light, with very little oaky flavor, which I appreciated. I hate wines that sit on my tongue with a lot of aftertaste. I learned in my wine glossary that these wines are called "fat," which was kind of amusing. There was definitely an herb-y and earthy twist to it, but I found it really nice for a simple, easy to drink red that's still substantial enough to have when it's cold outside.
Yes, I'm pretty sure I just made up the title of this post, but it's kind of in the spirit of how I'm feeling today. So, in case any of you were wondering, the wine dream (that is, me learning more about and possibly getting a job out of wine) has not died. In fact, it rose from the Veuve Clicquot-tinged ashes of the New Year stronger than ever. At the height of my Christmas shopping frenzy, I went to the wine store at Eataly, which is excruciatingly close to where I work (this is both blessing and curse). I bought my Dad a bottle of Barolo, and, upon check-out, realized the girl working there was younger than me. This made me feel like an underachiever, so I proceeded to pick her brain about how she got the job, how she learned so much about wine, etc - just generally being nosy and probably a little obnoxious, as it was the middle of Christmas shopping season and the store was pretty packed. Despite all this, she was very nice and gave me lots of good advice - most notably buying a book called the Wine Bible. It's essentially a definitive, and also readable, guide to all the regions in the world that make wine, what their characteristics are, what good vintages have been, etc etc. Armed with that and my new Moleskine Wine Journal, I'm going to start recording and reading and generally becoming a more informed person. Knowledge is power, after all. Instead of buying the same Georges Duboeuf Vin Rouge du Table (I love it! It's so good and so cheap!), I'm going to tread into the unknown, and hopefully come out the other side wiser and more sophisticated. There will be disasters (there already have been - NEVER drink this), but I'm committed. It's a resolution! I am a slave to my resolutions - so what if they involve drinking wine on a regular basis?
In other news, I decided to try to ride the trend and paint my nails gray. The jury is still out on whether it looks cool or not.
So, for the past couple of nights, I've been trying to get back on the horse that is writing fiction on a regular basis. Despite the fact that I work best while writing on paper in silence, free from the computer and its myriad of distractions, I did break my concentration a few times for the warm glow of the internet. While listening to, alternately, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and the Pink Martini Christmas album (I know, it makes no sense), I spent some time checking in on some of my favorite blogs, which, I will warn you in advance, are mostly girly and concerned with either clothes or cooking. There are also a few wine-related ones in there, too. So, if that's your sort of thing, explore below.
Then, of course, I started happening upon the Christmas sales. My Christmas gifts have, for the most part, already been bought, so these are more Christmas longings than anything else. Also, they're completely extravagant, as you'll see below.
I yearn for a Le Creuset set, and this green color is pretty much the best. I thought I loved the orange beyond all else, but I was wrong. Yes, it's on sale, but still - $965? I'll keep dreaming.
Then, out of curiosity, I googled the Wall Street Journal wine club. I'd heard my parents mention it in passing, so I wanted to see what the deal was. What the deal is, in fact, is essentially the perfect system for me, someone who wants to learn more about wine from people who will make the somewhat daunting prospect manageable and fun. It's almost inexpensive enough for me to justify, but I can see myself 3 months down the road - eating canned soup for every meal just to finance my Wine Club membership. This is really something I would do. I'm thinking I'll squirrel the money away in advance of my Paris trip - I'll be drinking delicious wine with friends in either scenario, so everybody wins.
Ugh, so incommunicado for the last...(yikes) 20 days. Apologies all around. I don't suppose it would help to say that I'm working on a story inspired by what may be the best title ever? Maybe? Okay. So, basically, life has consisted of working and weekend trips to the homestead for the past two weeks. In theory, all of these things are good. But I'm looking forward to spending the foreseeable future in NYC to focus more on things both immediate (cleaning my room) and long-term (actually finishing a story). Plus, now that summer is winding down, my psychological need to get out of New York at every possible moment is decreasing also. A lot of people say they like New York in the summer because there's no one around. I fundamentally disagree with this. Even though there are fewer people, I think that everyone who is still in the city starts to inhabit their own personal sphere of heat, sweat, and all-around rage at everyday tasks, like simply waiting for the subway. The overwhelming discomfort and fact that the heat makes people twice as pissed off at their morning commute than they usually are definitely makes up for the fact that a fair amount of the population is sunning themselves elsewhere. Ok, that rant felt good, but onwards. I'm also throwing myself upon the mercy of friends, family, and now the internet to start a freelance tutoring business. While working with wine would be amazing, I've had to accept that a second job like that just wouldn't make sense right now, especially with how much I'm working. So, if you know of any Manhattanite (or Brooklynite) children in need of some educational guidance, please let me know. So, this weekend is supposed to be completely perfect, and I plan on spending it outside finishing this gloriously-titled (and hopefully well-written) story - to be continued!
I was very not lazy today. My day was all about wine stores and foreign policy. Quite the combination. I spent the morning running around the Upper East Side on a double edged mission: to visit the wine stores on my list and find a newsstand that sold Foreign Affairs, which was actually much more complicated than I anticipated. I made some significant headway in the wine store arena. While I keep (probably annoyingly) pestering Sherry Lehman and Italian Wine Merchants, they aren't hiring yet, so I've set my sights on a couple of less prestigious but still comprehensive stores. One is Union Square Wines and the second is ABC Wine Company, in Alphabet City. I found out about ABC through the owner's blog, East Village Wine Geek, which is really informative and funny. I met with the managers at both places and gave them my resume, so there's a chance (fingers crossed) that something will pull through soon. In the meantime, there are inevitably more stores to visit, but I needed to donate a significant amount of my day to interview prep. As I mentioned before, I've been feeling less than confident about this job (Publishing Associate at Foreign Affairs), due mostly to the concentration of rejection I've gotten in the past month and also to the fact that this job is outside my immediate comfort zone. However, that's what branching out is all about, right? In any event, I felt less than qualified, which is silly since they wouldn't waste their time interviewing me if I weren't. Suffice it to say, I was a little worried that I wasn't going to be able to go in guns blazing tomorrow. And, like most people, when I'm not feeling comfortable, it shows. A lot. Not exactly the best mindset pre-job interview. However, today I discovered that knowledge is power. I bought Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy Magazine, revisited my experience with online marketing and social media, had a long and very helpful discussion with my beloved CFR insider, visited possibly every link on the Foreign Affairs website, and (several hours later) felt exponentially better about everything. I feel as if I have a handle on the magazine's approach to social media, and I see places where they could improve their connection to their online readers, create more of a community, which they could then use to market in a more tailored way to those readers - the ultimate goal in social networking for any business. Basically, it's gotten me so excited about this interview. Working for a non-partisan, foreign affairs-focused magazine isn't what I anticipated when I graduated from school, but this opportunity is honestly the one that I've been the most excited about in months. I'm beginning to realize (a little late, maybe) that I never really felt passionate about book publishing. It's just always what I thought I should do, what I had internship experience in, etc. I love to write. I love to read about books and authors and everything publishing-related, but that definitely doesn't mean I should work in publishing. If anything, it probably means I shouldn't. Plus, listening to the podcasts, round tables, and just reading the articles and mission statement of Foreign Affairs has me so beyond excited. The thought of working with such intelligent, driven, and forward-thinking people is incredible. Plus, while I (admittedly) am no expert in international relations, the research I have done is fascinating, and the prospect of publishing essays and commentary by major players in the world is obviously pretty amazing. So, my Sunday was the opposite of lazy, basically. I'm going to go write, like, 8 more outlines of points I want to hit tomorrow (I get a little obsessive), and go to bed. Send me good, lucky vibes tomorrow!
For some added entertainment, I give you the inspiration for the title of this entry:
And I got to experience a little bit of it! En route to some post-work decompression, I sauntered down 17th street from Park to 8th Avenue.
I've been feeling a little down lately, I must admit. While optimism is the name of my game, as I think it needs to be if you're 22 (almost 23. Yikes.) and this is the only job market you've ever known, it's tough to realize that I graduated from Barnard one year ago yesterday. While I personally think I've worked hard and learned a great deal, it's difficult because I feel I have very little that's tangible to show for it. There have been moments in the past couple of days when I've felt like it might be impossible for me to get a job (with all the interviews, no offers, etc), which is a very disheartening and ridiculous thing to think, I know. It's also a potentially dangerous mindset to be in, considering my interview at CFR on Monday. My confidence needs to absolutely be at its height, but there's a more than faint voice in my head telling me I'm not qualified for the job, which has never happened before. This is ridiculous for a lot of reasons - the first and only real one being that CFR has chosen to interview me, which they would not do if I weren't qualified (plus my spy there told me that they received thousands of resumes - a little necessary self-congratulation). I'm not sure why, since I've obviously received plentiful rejections from Publishing houses before, but this latest one has really affected me. It's the first time one of my mentors or contacts has interviewed me for a job, so that sort of experience is new, I guess. Whatever the reason, I'm a bit shaken, so I have decided that I need to get (even more) proactive, as my parents would say. Thanks, Mom and Dad. This weekend shall be Francesca's Weekend of Wine Stores. While I've been somewhat sporadically pursuing different places, concerned about prestige or selection or location up until now, I am going to hit the pavement this weekend, resumes in hand, and, I hope, have a second job by Sunday night. I'll chronicle the journey here to make sure I stay on my toes (and that I actually do it). Who knows, maybe I'll taste some good things along the way. After all, drinking on the job is one of the fringe benefits of this operation. Oh, and, yes, I realize I need to write something, at the risk of sounding like a non-productive broken record. I will. Tomorrow. I swear.
I commence this blog from the investment firm from which I shall temp for the next two weeks. Although I work a little longer (8:30-5:30) and for less money per hour, the amount I will save on coffee alone makes it worth it. Well, not really, but the free lunch, drinks, etc in the swanky offices will definitely make life a little easier. Just returned from a nice, relaxing weekend at home, and I'm liking the fact that, since this new assignment is just for two weeks, there's none of the pressure I felt at my previous job. Overall, feeling good. That being said, I forgot how much applying for jobs, especially in industries I'm unfamiliar with, is like a full-time job in itself. Lots of cover letters, sending emails to alumnae (politely) begging them to help me, etc. Of course, I'm more than a little peeved that I still haven't heard from the interview I went on over a week ago, especially since I was interviewed by one of my publishing mentors. Sigh. In other news, there are two wine stores (Bottlerocket & Wine at 79) who have shown interest in hiring me part-time. I'm thinking that, even though they aren't the super prestigious stores I'm interested in, I might gain some experience there and then have another go at Sherry Lehman or Italian Wine Merchants. We'll see. Tomorrow, I'll do some more proprioceptive stuff, hopefully. See you then!
Today, thanks to some very generous help, I set out to craft a resume to send to Italian Wine Merchants, a gorgeous wine store in Union Square. It's the sort of place where I'd feel ridiculously cool just to learn at their feet. So, I had to call to mind some experiences I hadn't though of quite some time, my restaurant jobs. I've worked in three restaurants in New York, all while in college. Even though it hasn't been more than a year and a half since working in a restaurant, it took a while to even remember which summers I worked where, and for how long. It seems like a completely different world, and, in a way, it always felt like that while I was working in restaurants, too. Going from Barnard to the Popover Cafe, for example, while only 20 blocks down on Broadway, turned me into a person I almost didn't recognize. At college, I was confident, surrounded by people more or less like me, at similar ages and with like interests. We were all moving toward the same goal, and everyone juggled classes and was looking towards a certain type of life. Even in my job now, being out of school, I'm surrounded by men in suits all day, all of whom went to business school and live in either Murray Hill (if they're under 35) or Connecticut (if they're not). In restaurants, at least the ones I worked in, I was never surrounded by servers like myself, students working on weekend nights to make some extra money for nights at bars and daytime shopping trips in the Village. I worked with single mothers, college dropouts, one memorable gay "freelance stylist" who claimed to have dressed Soledad O'Brien (and called me fat whenever he got the chance), and countless strange and listless other people. I was almost always reserved, feeling more like a spectator than anything else. On the instances where I did let my guard down more than usual, I felt as if I could be, and was being, a different person - maybe a departure from my usual life. The expectations of working in that sort of environment were completely unlike the demands I made of myself at school, with literally no overlap. So strange to imagine how many hours I spent at those places, and how little of it I can place in my mind. Something tells me that, if I'm lucky enough to get this second job, I'll feel very differently learning about and selling amazing Italian wines than I did serving the equivalent of Eggs Benedict in a popover. In other news, I have my first volunteer adventure this weekend. My volunteer orientation at 826, Dave Eggers' non-profit to encourage creative writing in children, is on Sunday, to be followed by Storytelling & Bookmaking. Awesome.
And, finally...The TV in my area at work is tuned to CNBC all day, so, of course, I watched the entire Goldman Sachs hearing yesterday. Tragically, because I leave work at 5, I missed Lloyd Blankfein. For reasons I can't quite explain, I find him absolutely hilarious. Luckily, so do the ridiculously funny people over at New York Magazine. They brought this to my attention. Enjoy.
Until tomorrow!!
PS. I absolutely love the emails and comments. Keep them coming!
