Geeks

For those that didn't see the whole episode, Jack Black's character Milo opens up a new comic shop across the street from the Android's Dungeon - to the delight of the kids and chagrin of Comic Book Guy. It's funny because it's true - I know these people, including Milo's girlfriend Strawberry ("my purse is a lunch-box").

Austin is full of this type - the crafty girl who can knit a stratocaster, the hipster nerd in a pork-pie hat, and of course the incredible comic shop.

It's funny, because all of those people live in San Francisco too. When I compare the differences,
I get a lot of perspective on the nature of cities. I never gave much thought to the importance of industry in San Francisco - of course the dot.com boom and bust affected how much money people spent on food and wine, and yes the silicon valley folks kept the last shop I worked in busy. What I took for granted was the fact that the food and wine business is an important industry in the Bay Area - a redundant thing to point out, but I didn't have a clear picture of what that means until I left.

In Austin, it's live music. In the "live music capitol of the world," you can see some-one performing some type of old-timey music, blues-rock, or country in any number of places, every night of the week. That's what people here do. There are good restaurants for sure, and you can even get a good glass of wine in the right places, but it's not the focus.

I came up in an atmosphere where food and wine was everything. When I first moved to San Francisco in 1996, everyone I met was either an aspiring chef or DJ - often both. Friends would have parties where we'd eat fancy cheese and listen to hip-hop or drum & bass. It was great. I've been lucky to have spent the last 9 years or so working with wine, but also meeting interesting people and talking to them about food, wine, music, you name it.

Of course I'm feeling nostalgic. I'm new to Austin (fact of the matter is, I'm not even in Austin yet), and I haven't met people who are interested in the things that I am. I'm just not used to it - it's odd for me that I still work in the wine business, but can go weeks without having a conversation with my peers and co-workers about wine. Just the same, I have no regrets.

I just miss being a geek. Comics, music, books, wine - all things that I can geek out about. That's not gonna change no matter where I live, and hopefully I can bring a few people along for the ride with me.

To that end, here's what I drank for Turkey day:

Fleury Champagne - gotta have champagne, right?

2002 Rozak Chardonnay Santa Rita Hills Rozak Ranch Vineyard - I can't really explain why I had this in my collection, other than I recall liking it a few years ago.

2001 Gysler Riesling Kabinett Weinheimer Holle - one of the first 2001's I've opened. It was a really good vintage, and this was a delicious wine. Fortunately I have another bottle

2005 Domaine de la Pépière Cepage Côt - I think that if you search this blog for mentions of this wine, it might be embarassing.