New beginning in a bottle

:: Punto Final 2009 Sauvignon Blanc • produced by Bodega Y Vinedos Renacer (Casablanca Valley, Chile) • $11.99 ::

That's right, I'm blogging again! I was looking at the blog the other day and felt sad I had left it on a kind of low note. Time to change that. Punto final of the quarter-life crisis talk, if you will :) (Yeah, right.)

I love the way this wine smells. I get tropical/ripe fruit, but there's also a kind of flowery, grassy freshness to it. Refreshing for a hot summer day. Makes me want to breathe in deeeeeeeeply. But I don't recommend that, because then it just smells like alcohol. On taste I get citrus and some of that tropical fruit (pineapple?) and a long-lasting tangy finish.

In summary, I recommend it for putting a little spring in your summer step. I was trying to think of something more clever to say and in the process have downed three glasses. I feel pretty tipsy, to say the least. Let's just cut to the chase.

I moved to New York.

Yes. Finally!

I decided to leave when my lease was ending in DC, and I found a cute three-bedroom apartment in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. I even have my own bathroom! My roommates are really sweet. One is Brazilian and doesn't speak English super-well, and the other is kind of an all-American 23-year-old. (I feel old.)

I guess it's appropriate for the wine I'm drinking tonight to be Punto Final, i.e. final point/ final stop/ ending, because every ending is a new beginning, right?

I've been here for a bit over a month now, and I'll admit it's not easy. I'm a social and outgoing person, and I've had a hard time getting motivated to get out on my own every single time. There's always something to do, and I'm the kind of person that wants to do it all (provided it's after noon), but for the first time in a while I find that I don't have someone to go with every time. I have a couple of friends in the city, and it's been fun to hang out with them from time to time, but they're certainly not like the friends I had in DC. In DC I knew who would be up for the artsy events, who would be up for the shopping, who would be up for the indie movie, and who would be for the drinking and dancing. Here, I'm still figuring it out. I guess I have four years of work ahead of me, so this shouldn't come as a surprise.

That being said, there was always something missing in DC, and I guess I'm here in NY to find it. I still don't know exactly how to describe it, but I think I am finding it. I have six coffee shops within walking distance of my apartment, and not a single one of them is Starbucks. I love feeling like I'm around other creative types (that are admittedly way cooler than me) all the time, like I'm part of a local community, like we're all making it in New York City. Also, as an article I recently read from the SF Egotist put it, "You’re never more than a block away from something truly interesting — sometimes that’s a store that sells nothing but pickles, sometimes that’s a lady beating to death a pigeon — either way, it’s an experience. Most everyone is from everywhere else and this makes it an uncertain, vibrant, strangely friendly place. You just need to get to know it some." For me, within a couple of blocks you have a 24-hour White Castle that sells sweet potato fries; that's pretty sweet, right? Haven't gone yet, but I know I will succumb one of these days. There's also a brunch that includes a mimosa and a coffee, all for $12, and a bagel place with a Pina Colada special (coconut bagel + pina colada cream cheese). Besides that, there's a crazy neighborhood lady that likes to rip open her shirt with her boobs hanging out and yell at strangers. No joke. And there's a unique sense of community, belonging and camaraderie that comes from knowing we all share these experiences nearby. I dunno.

I'm new to the city yet, so maybe I'm talking out of my ass. But I'm trying to tell you I love it thus far. Endings happen; yay for the resulting new beginnings.


(Dropcap by typographer Jessica Hische)