Anyhow, I finally found a basic template that I liked, bit the bullet and upgraded, and then spent a couple of hours recoding all of my customizations. It really wasn't that hard, and I like the way it turned out. I may fine-tune the colors and a couple of other minor things, but otherwise, this is my new look. I hope you like it.
Right now, it's late on Wednesday night, and Eddie is snoring away in front of the SportsCenter highlights while I diligently pound away at the keyboard, kind of like a dean's list college student having to share a dorm room with the campus slacker. Of course, Eddie is the honor student and I'm halfway to becoming Senator Blutarsky, but the irony is dying a slow death; drowning in a puddle of drool on the pillow.
Anyhow, the wine tasting was a blast--much more fun and interesting than I thought it would be, and I learned that the next time I attend one, I should bring a pad and pen to take notes. There was no way I could remember all of the details of everything I drank, except that everything tasted good except the Cabernet.
We were the first arrivals, checking in with the hostess at Onda at 5:58 for the 6:00 pm event. Since nobody else was there, we just took seats at the bar, Eddie ordering a Stoli Rasberry and Soda, while I had a glass of Loius Latour Chardonnay. Once a few other people showed up, we met the host and took seats at a table.
This wine tasting was quite the casual affair, just taking place in the bar. The host, Jeremy Wilkinson of Great Wines International did a fine job of introducing us to a selection of better South African wines. We started out with a Savignon Blanc, that was actually quite good, and when we got back to our seats, the waiter had brought us each a meat and cheese tray with a basket of assorted breads. A nice older couple sat down with us, and immediately started pimping a Vegas-themed website that they run. Unfortunately, they were giving us the hard sell, and kind of turning us off a bit. I mentioned my old days moderating at T2V and how we had thousands of members and hits per day and whatnot, and I could see the wheels clicking, trying to figure out a way to exploit that knowledge.
About that time Howzie showed up and asked if I was indeed Hurricane Mikey (we'd met once a couple years back, but that was it), and then proceeded to blow them out of the water by telling them what a famous blogger/Vegas insider/Web Master I was. Heh.
I would've given them a plug, a link, and some 'access' to the market over at T2V, but like I said, they were a bit pushy and off-putting. My suspicions were later confirmed that they were pieces of shit when they walked off and stiffed our waiter and the end of the tasting.
Anyhow, Howzie and his wife (who by the way is from South Africa) were a real hoot and we had an enjoyable conversation with them about wine, Vegas, and life in general.
We kept getting new glasses of different kinds of wine, and I was totally surprised by one of them. Anyone that knows me well knows that I absolutely hate Shiraz. The only kind I've had is that Australian Yellowtail which dominates the market but slides around in the glass like unrefrigerated Jello, and tastes like a combination of rubbing alcohol, grapes, and ass. But Shiraz was one of the featured wines, and I had promised myself to keep an open mind.
Once we got the little spiel about the history of it, we took our glasses and went back to the table. And I'll be damned if we weren't all blown away by that 'Landskroon' Shiraz. It was amazingly good--a big hit with everyone--and went so well with the Spanish Manchego cheese and a sliced baguette that I could've sat there all night happily munching away while slowly getting plowed. It
There were also some offerings of a very good Pinotage and a less-than-stellar Cabernet, but my empty glass kept finding the Shiraz bottle. In the two hours we spent there, I think I managed to drink eight glasses of fine wine. I know, I know, it's just a tasting, not a frat party, but damn--it tasted GOOD. And they were not shy in the least about refilling the glasses. When the host saw how much I enjoyed that Shiraz, he made sure I never went thirsty.
Anyhow, the party wound down about 8:00 pm or so, and we'd switched to drinking glasses of water instead of the very happy grape juice. We said our goodbyes to all of our new friends and headed out to the casino, hoping to re-live that $1000 win on the Wheel of Fortune dollar machine that happened to us back during the Original March Madness. Unfortunately, Pat and Vanna weren't in a giving mood, and we left $40 lighter.
Once we left the Mirage, we briefly discussed a visit to the Palamino Club for some further high culture, but Eddie got stuck on a long phone call from home and we ended up just coming back to the house. We were both pretty tired, and my weekend is winding down anyways. I need to get some rest and recharge the batteries before heading back in to the office and working my ass off for the next five days.
A wine hangover is probably a great way to start.
Mikey
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