Commute

When we last left your heroine (me), I was on the cusp of a major freak out in the Schwartz.  Since then, I have adjusted way better to a nomadic life, and as of yesterday,  finally unpacked my books in it to really organize and make it "home"!

The adjustment process was definitely weird for me. I found myself trying to be more social, and making more time to spend wih the Barista and an old friend from my Maine days that happens to be in Petaluma for the month. I did kind of revert to my old workaholic ways, but to a lesser degree han what it was. Currently,  I have a full-time job cooking at a brewpub in Healdsburg, and then when I'm not doing that, i drive an hour and a half souh to San Francisco where I work on a food truck. So while technically,  I am scheduled to work 7 days a week,  that really hasn't been happening. The food truck pays better, and will have some excellent potential benefits involved, but at the moment is far too inconsistent and iffy for me to commit to it. Like this week- I was supposed to work last night and today. I was told not to bother, business was too slow. So on the one hand, I have gotten to spend more time with my friends in Mountain View, and got some serious work done on a pet project of mine (more on that in a bit!), but I have lost out on a significant chunk of change that I could really use at the moment. However, it's not worth it to quit the food truck and find a more dedicated gig, because on Friday night, they are letting me work an event serving a country artist I am a huge fan of! Besides, this surprise time off is great for my mental health right now. Really focusing on me and forcing myself to deal with some things I have been avoiding is making me feel like I'm finally really growing into myself.

Now, as for that lovely pet project... I'm not going to really go into details until I have solid *stuff* to show off. Just know that it is everything I love about being a food nerd, and writing for it has energized me in a way I haven't felt in yeeeeeeaaaaaaaaars. Look for something... mmmm... next week. Pretty confident I'll have something to show for this silliness. :)

May the Schwartz Be Witcha!

My nomadic existence has become very very official!  Last night was the first night I spent in my new old van. She has been dubbed "The Schwartz", as she is such an old bucket of bolts she reminds me of the movie Spaceballs. The Schwartz is a 1990 Ford Econoline 150, with a scant 90k miles on her and an inability to reach speeds over 85mph. Frankly, I'm terrified to try and take her above 65, so my mom should be ecstatic about that. She is a tragically beautiful garbage heap of a van, with a very retro pale horrendous pink interior. My dog, Clooney, saw fit to baptize her by vomiting on the bench/bed where I sleep. Seemed appropriate.

Vomit cleaned, I proceeded to collect supplies for the actual act of living in this thing. I am truly Macguyver- I have created a campstove out of sterno pods and shit collected at Goodwill. So, I am lucky enough to be able to make hot water for my crap instant coffee and ramen! It's an exciting prospect.  Really,  the only thing I really wish I had in here right now is booze. Or other substances that happen to be medically abundant in the great state of California.  Because dude, even with my dog, sleeping in this thing is fucking surreal.

There's just this intense, isolating feeling going out alone. I finally have no real responsibilities, and I can run away from everything whenever I so desire. And that is awesome. But, at the same time, these nights when I don't have people to visit? Makes it that much lonelier. Clooney is a shitty conversationalist, and sleeps through half my rants anyway. I'd text or phone more, but the discovery that the Schwartz's electrical system isn't fully hooked up to support my car charger has made my phone that much more of a specialty resource. All there is to do once the sun sets is wait for sleep, and with my mind going a million miles a minute, it is waaaaay more difficult to do without chemical assistance. All of my wine is currently taking up a small bit of real estate in my new friend's (the Barista) garage to prevent temperature damage during my travels. Which is a great thing, I cannot thank him enough, but goddamn I could really use a drink.

...Hm. Apparently I just broke the back passenger door lock, permanently locking it. This keeps getting better!  :D

Small-Town State of Mind

I spent my formative years in a small town. And frankly? I fucking hated it. Maine winters, mosquito-ridden summers, stagnant grumpy old farts that had never seen the state border... it was my personal hell. And the second I could wrangle it? I took off running for Atlanta.  Which really makes my newfound adoration for Cloverdale, CA, really weird for me.

As far as small towns go, Cloverdale is on the medium-dinky side. The majority of the businesses can be found on Cloverdale Blvd, and they only have two coffee shops- Starbucks and a local place named Plank. I,  by virtue of little gas and less gas money, managed to get stuck here for the past 3 days after my internship.  And I can honestly say, despite my initial panic, this is easily the best thing that could have happened. My faith in strangers was renewed when an exceptionally kind barista took me in and let me crash at his place these past few nights. I was forced to take a break and stop "making it happen!", which I have been doing my whole life. I finally gave myself some closure on some past flings. It's been great. Instead of forcing my agenda on life, I let it have it's way with me for a few days, and I have never been so relaxed. It's even rubbing off on my dog! I have never seen Clooney so well-behaved as he has been here. He adores this place.

I really don't know where I will end up in the next week or so. I have a lot of opportunities opening up.  But honestly?  If I continue to be stuck here? I don't think I'd mind too much. Responsibly irresponsible has been a great state of being! And, dude- I got to play in the Russian River! How awesome is that??

Putting a Little Age On It

So I've been lucky enough to play tourist the past day and a half! My job at this first winery is winding down, so I got some time off to check out some tasting rooms and explore the Sonoma Coast and parts of Napa. I hit 7 different tasting rooms and wineries- Rosenblum, Portalupi, J, A. Rafanelli, Gustafson, Chateau Montelena, and Medlock Ames. It. Was. A. Blast! I got to see so much of wine country,  and meet some really cool people. My favorite wines so far have come from Gustafson.  Their vineyard is located just down the mountain from where I'm working now, and their tasting room was across the street from my new favorite seafood joint in Healdsburg. They had an incredible late harvest zinfandel that was just pruney, raisiny, and rich.

Seeing Chateau Montelena was pretty amazing, too. Half the reason I tried getting a wine internship is because I am in love with the movie 'Bottleshock', and their wines did not disappoint. I was, however, caught off guard by how much better their reds were than their whites. The cabernets they were showing had this excellent richness of character that's only going to improve with age.

Thanks to my new favorite phrase ("industry discount"), I have accidentally started a wine cellar for myself. The girl who previously could barely keep a 12pack of beer in her fridge is now the proud owner of 16 bottles of wine. I am intending on giving some away, but I am still hanging on to a majority. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I love the idea of having wine on hand, but I'm not going to have time to drink any of it until maaaaaaybe November. And by hen, I'll probably have more collected. It's strange to consider. A mere month ago, I was reticent to spend even $20 on a bottle. Now that I'm in the thick of things, I almost want to take out an insurance policy on what I've accrued thus far- and I wouldn't even call this an impressive start, based on what I saw other guests buying.
Though I ought to cut myself some slack- I may be the youngest adult for 100+ miles. Everyone else I've seen around has at the very least a decade on me, if not a solid 30 years. I've been ok with that,  I usually run with a more mature crowd, but it does make me feel a bit more disconnected from everything. And not having anyone to flirt with? I've never felt more like a nun. Lord. :p

Rambling Woman

I have had wanderlust as long as I can remember. This trip has really been a great way to scratch the itch! And it occurred to me that, being young and reckless, I don't really have to have it end just yet. I want to stay in California, for sure, but I don't want to commit to an apartment quite yet. Not until I have a secure job, you know? And even then, I want time to kind of ease in, test the waters, save some money...

So I'm buying a conversion van.

The first vehicle I have owned in years, this van is going to be the ultimate symbol of this year for me, and the freedom and adventure I've been searching for forever. It's a 1990 Dodge Ram van 2500, in shockingly good condition. And it is going to effectively be home for me for at least a month or more, while I get the whole "responsible adult" thing figured out. I'm honestly pretty excited about it. I want to hang on the coast? Done. Feel like taking a mountain getaway? Home's where I hit my E brake! It'll be an adjustment,  for sure, but I'd rather just pay for gas and insurance than overpriced rents until I can afford it. I am going to try to convert it into as much of an rv as possible, to make life a bit easier, but otherwise I'm just going to take things by ear and make it work. It's Adventure Time, bitches!

Along this same wanderlust craving, I seem to have hooked myself a follow-up internship to this current one. It'll take me from the Sonoma Coast to the Napa Valley. It is a fantastic opportunity, and I am supremely grateful,  but at the same time, I am finding this hilarious. The time I am putting in at these wineries is very reminiscent of my days in culinary school, where I had no plans or desire to follow the career path- I distinctly remember my classmates asking why I was wasting my and everyone else's time. I have an idea of why I'm doing this now- and it's certainly not for any decent reasoning.  But ultimately? All I want is to have fun. This life path is just full of nonsense, hilarity, and a healthy dose of spite. This seems to be covering my bases for now.