Saturday, January 2, 2010
Organization: The Necessary and Essential Bane of My Existence
'Tis the season for absurd amounts of optimism. Funny that January- being in essence just another month full of days in a linear sequence of time- is always a season of purge, of change, of resolution. Perhaps the copious feasting and bacchanalia of the prior few months dictate such change. Take me, for example: 10 lbs. heavier than pre-Thanksgiving, with the energy level of a drugged 3-toed sloth (unless 2-toed sloths are lazier, then, one of those). I'm pretty sure typing this is making me sweat. It's time to make the annual habit change in diet and exercise.But weight loss and diet change are things I've never had a problem adjusting come the optimism of a new year. However, I've always had a terrible time with organization. Seemingly the key to success in all marts of life, I find the lack of spontaneity in planning a bore. However, like any endeavor, the blog needs more direction and (sigh) organization, so I'm proposing the following weekly schedule for your consumption. In the end, this site is all about entertainment for the visitor. My readership consists of everyone from the most versed of wine appreciation and knowledge to the Lite beer-swilling compadres who I've shared more life experiences with than anyone. So, I'd like to cover all the bases:
*Mondays - Wine Experiences and storytelling (since the prior weekend should lend itself to that)
*Tuesdays - Video (food, wine, whatever)
*Wednesdays - Pairing advice and discussion (beer or wine)
*Thursdays - Food post/beer/miscellaneous
*Fridays - Wine education, most likely in cartoon-form
*Weekends - Nothing! Nothing, I tells ya!
It's ambitious, but this is the time for ambition. If there's something I need to be talking about, or I'm not doing, or there's something you've seen in my "voice" that is being neglected, I'd love to know.
In addition to having a (sigh again) schedule, there are a few things I'd like to accomplish in 2010:
1) Accept (and ask for) more samples. I think tasting a wine is much easier when it hasn't been bought. Most of the good bottles I have are squirreled away, and I don't want to taste and spit them out. I want them to be popped and poured with friends, and when I'm having wine with friends, the last thing I want to do is analysis and note-taking. So, if you would like to send me samples (I may review them, I may enjoy them with friends, I may use them for pairing purposes, but I will probably write about them), slide me an email at joe@suburbanwino.com. I do have a credential (see below), but don't expect friggin' Shakespeare and a bunch of fruits that no one has ever seen before in the descriptions.
2) Continue my education. I earned by Certified Specialist of Wine from the Society of Wine Educators in 2009, and I'd like to pursue Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, Certified Wine Educator, Advanced Wine & Spirit Education Trust, or something comparable in 2010. I've noticed the key to staying on top of knowledge is to be constantly learning and studying.
3) Read more trade publications (even consumer ones, like Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast). I'm always impressed by the bloggers who can make profound statements about the industry. They can do this because they read up and draw conclusions. While I'd like to be more versed in what's going on (being outside of the industry), I'll probably leave most of such discussion to the likes of Tom C. Wark and Joe Roberts, among others.
4) Do more with the small, tight-knit food and wine community in Atlanta. This city- I'm convinced- is the next big culinary destination in the U.S. I look forward to sharing/collaborating/working with the fun and brilliant folks at Wine Tonite!, Atlanta Wine Guy, Atlanta Wine School, Decatur Wine and Food Dude, Rowdy Food, Savory Exposure, Foodie Buddha, Hopeless Foodie, Eat It Atlanta, Dirty South Wine, Montaluce Winery, Wolf Mountain, Eat Buford Highway, The Georgia Wine Guy, The Hungry American, Take Thou Food, Running with Tweezers, Two Friends Imports, The Food Abides, Wine and I, Random Oenophile, @biskuitATL, @atl10trader, and any others who I've yet to meet (or accidentally left off this list)
5) Have fun, and bust my ass to make this the most entertaining food and drink blog out there. I'll never be the most knowledgeable, drink the best stuff, or be incredibly profound, but I'd like to think I can make people laugh, and if wine and food are really- at the basest form- about enjoyment, then why would I ever try to do anything otherwise? I do hope to educate and demystify wine for those who seek that end, but I vow to NEVER take any of it too seriously.
6) Learn all the Megaman 2 bass riffs. I figured out "Crash Man" last night. Okay, this has little to do with anything, but I promised my musically-inclined brother-in-law (who's too young to even legally read this blog) that I would so we could rock them out in an incredibly nerdy acoustic jam session.
Okay, if you made it through my manifesto, I will try my best to 7) make some damn t-shirts and distribute them to folks. No harm in some shameless self-promotion, especially when I 8) redesign the site, which has gotten very busy. Any web developers out there who want to barter design for a wine tasting host? Let me know!
One thing I promise to continue, though, is to toast my readers. You guys make it all worthwhile! Cheers, Sláinte, L'Chaim, Salud, Prost, Skål, Konbe, Kampai, and Laissez les bon temps rouler!
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