Study Break: Pimping Wine in the Pouring Rain

Is it just me? Or does Los Angeles as a whole shut down when raindrops and hail fall?

I made an appointment with Andrew's Cheese Shop in Santa Monica today. Congratulations to them. After more than a year of being in business, they finally got their beer and wine license. And I certainly wanted first dibs at getting my wines in there to pair with their wonderful (and expensive) selection of cheeses.

After a meeting that made me feel warm and fuzzy, my OCD kicked in and I decided to drive around the entire beach area in the rain. Next stop, Briggs Wine & Spirits in Santa Monica. Closed. Then, one of my favorite Italian restaurants up the road, Drago. Dude in charge of tasting... out of the country until Friday. Travelled west to the Viceroy Hotel, one of the hotspots I take out-of-town friends to. I've been trying to get my wines into that place for what seems like forever. Guy also not there. Went up the road to Shutters Hotel on the beach. Sommelier not there. Heading south toward Venice I dropped by Primitivo Wine Bistro where they have awesome $4 Sangrias at happy hour. They're apparently closed during the day in the winter months. On the way home I hit the Ritz Carlton in Marina del Rey. The woman in charge... in a meeting for the remainder of the afternoon.

And that my friends was it. I got my name out there. Picked up a few business cards during my venture for a plethora of appointments I intend to set up when this LSAT is over. Then, I went home to take a bath and study. Moral of the story: Don't bother even attempting to sell wine when it's raining. Nobody goes to work. Or as always, it could be my luck and crappy timing.

More "Wining" about the LSAT

Vow to sobriety officially over. It's torture enough to hole myslef in my apartment, let alone do it while surrounded by tons of bottles of wine, a bottle of whiskey, and an old Miller Light in the fridge.

I've officially hit a wall. Less than a month before the LSAT I've been taking practice test after practice test. I don't feel like I've improved one bit since I listened to various podcasts over the holidays. I've done thousands of LSAT questions and still, I feel like a dummy. Yet when I go over the questions I missed when totally relaxed, I nail them. I know the material. Somehow, it's just not translating when I'm on the clock. I'm hoping these issues go away by game day.

Last Tuesday, I scored the lowest on a practice test since my first diagnostic. My boyfriend and a couple friends finally said, "Take a break." So Wednesday night I went to my favorite place, Whole Foods in El Segundo, where they have a tasting room. That night is dedicated to the bubbly. Ten bucks gets you four tastes and all the paninis you can ask for made by my favorite grill master Craig. I already stole one of his recipes for my own personal use since I knew I'd be making love to LSAT books for awhile. But it's just not the same as having someone else make it for you. So a little Lakers-Clippers action, some French and Italian sparkling wines, and voila. I was feeling good.

Next day, I made a six point jump. Still not enough to get into the law school of my dreams. But perhaps the lesson learned is that wine is good for the mind. At least that's what I've convinced myself of anyway.

Wine Withdrawls

Happy New Year to my faithful. It's been awhile. Ever since I started studying for the LSAT I've taken a little break from selling... and drinking wine.

Yep, a vow to sobriety while studying for the LSAT. I thought to myself, "It's only two months"... until I postponed the test to February.

I must confess. I had to give myself a few passes... you know, for business/trade purposes (wink wink). As a matter of fact, last night I finished off the bottle of St. Innocent Pinot Noir from Oregon.

But I'm really writing to talk about this test. And the countdown is at 40 days and I'm not even close to where I want to be. After countless nights holed up in my apartment diagramming conditional statements, studying argument structure, reading long boring reading comp passages about the cause of dinosaur extinction via meteorite. And how could I forget the dreaded logic games? Nightmares about breaking those damn things into numerous scenarios is enough to make anyone wake up craving a glass...

This sobriety kick has caused my sweet tooth to grow... and I'm praying not to postpone the test to June... because I want the spring to enjoy some of my favorite whites.