Celebrities drink wine too

So, since I started working here, I have come into personal contact with some very interesting people. The screen writer for Captain Kangaroo was one of them. I am too young to even know what that is, but a fellow tasting room attendant was quite excited about it. Also, the rockstar we call Pink, though I did not get to meet her personally, as she and Carry came out the day after I was hired, and I happened not to be working that day. I was quite bummed about that, as I am a huge fan of hers, and his. Also, one day when I was making quite a few phone calls to obtain information from our wine club members, I ended up on the phone with somebody who was in the middle of a movie set. That one took me aback, because when he answered the phone he abruptly said, "hang on a sec," then proceeded to yell, "put the bodies over there!" then returned to me and explained that he was on the set of a movie. I wish I had had the guts to ask him what movie, haha. I also got to meet Seamus Dever, who is Detective Ryan on one of my favorite TV shows, Castle, which about a writer, so it makes sense that I would like it, since that is what I am aspiring to be. Fortunately I was lucky enough to get to pour for him in the tasting room and talk a little about the show, which he was eager to do. He even took down our names and information so he could send us an autographed picture. I never received one, I'm sure he's super busy, but it was the thought that counted and I appreciated that he was happy to talk to us. Then I got to meet Josh Brolin and Diane lane on a very busy day out here, so unfortunately I wasn't able to talk to them much. That was just after Jonah Hex came out, and also I was a huge fan of The Young Riders when I was a kid, and Secretariet had just been released as well. They must have been on vacation after all that filming. Understandably so, and I would not have wanted to bother them on vacation anyways, and they seemed a little sketchy about being around so many people, so I was careful not to bring any attention to them. Then most recently, actually, today to be exact, I was blessed with meeting Sarah Burns, who is in "I Love you, Man." She was the sweetest thing ever. She and her husband had lunch out here and tried to help us save a hummingbird from being trapped indoors. After which we all launched into a long conversation about our beloved pets. She is quite the animal lover and a very sweet individual. Now, if Johnny Depp and Ian Somerhalder would just get their butts out here! Maybe we can all go save a racoon or maybe that huge badger that is living on our hillside. haha!

Battle Royale

So, one of the most fun days working in the tasting room that I can remember, it was a quiet day, probably January, it's been a while, so I'm not exactly sure when it was. The 4 of us that were working that day, two girls two guys, had just unloaded about a pallet and a half of one of our varietals and the room was full of case boxes. So, being the bored yet inventive people that we are, we proceeded to build a fort out of the boxes. Then we took it a step further as the boys started launching corks at us from behind the tasting bar. So, girls against boys, just like back in the day, we started an all out battle of the sexes as we launched corks at each other. Of course, as it is a work place, the battle could not last long, but it was fun while it did. No end to the fun you can have in the wine industry, even if you are working on the slowest day of the year.

"Living the dream"

This was an interesting day in wine business for all of us I believe. The slogan for our meeting, or "Manifesto" as it was being called was, "Living the dream." This is what our customers want to experience when they come to visit us, and many of them envy us our jobs while they are on vacation from sitting in their cubicles. I certainly couldn't blame them after a day like today. Today, I got to take a break from sitting at my desk which overlooks beautiful rolling hills of oak trees and vineyards, with a rose garden to my left, and the noises of people having fun in the tasting room to my right. Yes, I know, poor me. Today, instead of working in these incredible harsh conditions (har har), to visit another winery, about an hour's drive south of the one I work at. Here, along with roughly 20 something of my other co-workers, we sat in a very nice "barn" with tables and benches and views much like those that I see at my own workplace. Here we listened to an joined into a discussion of making our winery seem more like home to our visitors, we got some great ideas out, and addressed a few issues as well. Then, we were treated to a catered lunch, as well as some wine tasting of the winery we were visiting. After this, we piled into a few vans and went on a trek down the dirt road farther into the huge ranch to where there was a zipline strung from the hills of beautiful wine country. That's when the fun began. That's right, our day of work today consisted of ziplining hundreds of feet over wine country. How could anybody not love a job where we get paid to do that! I am definitely "living the dream" just like they told me to do. :-)I always do what I am told, as long as it involves having fun. :-P

Good Morning Wine Country

It's bright and sunny, but cold and crisp here in the heart of wine country. The vines are bare and the gardens await the touch of spring, but it's still a beautiful morning. I had to watch out for some frost on the road this morning, but it didn't stop my morning commute from looking like a high speed chase through the curvy back country roads. I have a feeling it's going to be a quiet day out here, perfect for developing creative writing ideas as I stare out the window at the rolling hills of oaks and vines. The quail seem to love this weather, it was hard not to hit them in the road this morning. There must be a lot of insects out and about. With the lack of rain we have had this year I am a little surprised, but they would know more about that than I. My quiet morning is over, bursted in upon by somebody else's choice in music as the tasting room staff prepares for whatever may come our way today. I guess it's time to look busy.

Monsters in Paradise

I have come to the realization that I really have been blessed to live in one of the most beautiful locations in California. Surrounded by rolling hills of oak trees, orchards of walnut, olive, pastachio, avocado, various citruses and fruits, and of course the magnificent vineyards. Close the ocean, rivers and lakes, and lovely emerald green hills in the spring which are a warm golden color in the summer. Easy weather, never too cold, never too hot. Not a whole lot of freeway traffic, or any sort of traffic. Most of us only suffer road rage when we get stuck behind some city driver going 40 mph or less on a back country road, in which case we just wish that they would move over and let us by for heaven's sake! All in all its a very easy place to live. Most are not accustomed to living in the middle of a climate rich in wildlife, foxes, coyotes, skunks, mountain lions, bobcats, bears, and yes, even badgers, which I was unaware of until earlier today. However, with all of these creatures around that can cause us harm, with rabbies, terrible smells, mauling us when we hike or mountain bike, or in the case of the coyotes, luring our beloved pets out to play and then eating them. I still find the biggest monsters that we are doomed to deal with are of our own species. They come in the form of drunken rowdy partiers who refuse to follow the rules of the wineries and drive drunk on our roads. They come in the form of irritated customers who just don't understand why they can't bring their dog into the building, forgetting that they would never try to bring their dog into most other public buildings, and they come in the form of irate guests, who have decided that they have a personal vendetta against you for some grievance they believe they have suffered from the company which may have nothing at all to do with you. Today, I was unfortunate enough to be forced to deal with one such monster. I understand human frustration, believe me, just because I live in what looks like paradise, doesn't mean I haven't worked hard to be here and to be able to stay here. I understand wanting to go on vacation and wanting every moment of your stay to be exactly the way you dreamed it would be. FORTUNATELY, however, I grew up with a mother who had a saying, "be flexible." She would expound on that once in a while, but it always boiled down to the fact that things will not always go your way, and the more you try to make them go your way, the more likely they are to be stubborn and rebelious and go exactly the other way. I think she learned this valuable lesson when she had me. haha I am forever grateful to her for passing it along though. I wish I had just learned it from hearing it, but as is my nature, of course I had to learn this one the hard way a few times before I finally got it, and I'm sure I'll probably have a few more run-ins with it since it is in our nature, especially as Americans to want what we want, when we want it. Anyways, this particular guest I was actually fortunate enough not to be face to face with. he decided to launch his personal attack on me via the phone, and then later through email. Long story short, since he had provided us with the wrong contact information to reach us, and then tried to reach us through the wrong contact information, it was all my fault. You can't please everybody, and you certainly cannot argue with idiots, or unreasonably people. You will just end up frustrated and angry if you try. So, over my years of customer service experience or what I like to refer to as adult babysitting, as it is much the same as babysitting a toddler sometimes, I have just learned to be patient, nod and smile, and eventually they will run out of words and go somewhere else to be somebody else's nightmare. Cheers to those travellers who have learned the invaluable lesson of rolling with the punches and finding a way to enjoy whatever comes at them. They will always have a good time!

Minding his own business

Today, As I sat at my desk I noticed a slight ruckus as tasting room staff after tasting room staff made there way outside, until our young energetic tasting room manager bounded by excitedly wondering what everybody was looking at. To be honest, I hadn't really noticed how many people had gone out to look at whatever it was that had the attention of most of our staff. So, naturally, being the curious girl that I am, I had to join them. As we stared at some creature moving on the hill, speculation as to what it could be ranged from the winery cat, to a sloth who had found its way out of the jungle and up into dry hot Paso Robles. Of course, it was not a sloth, and it turned out not to be the company cat either, but instead a large badger! He had taken up residence on the hill directly across from our drive way. He waws quite large, I would say at least as big as my 40lb dog if not larger, but much lower to the ground. He moved with a fun lumbering gate that made his shiny fur move in waves as he moved cautiously away from our tasting room manager who had decided to get as close to the animal as it would allow. The big furry mammal disappeared into his hole for a bit, and we made our way back to work. There always seems to be something interesting to break up a work day out in the country.