LIKE ICARUS ON RE-ENTRY (CRASH LANDING IN BOREDOMVILLE USA)

The writer’s slump – it’s where we writers (or in my case, a hack writer) never wishes to visit, yet alone reside. Inspiration is everywhere, yet sometimes, we end up with something in our eyes, so we miss it, usually as it goes streaking by like a comet or a Reality TV star’s dignity. Yet here I sit, slumping, slumming in the grey area of No Inspiration.

I recognize all the signs – headaches, upset stomach, zero energy, not one sex dream in over a month. To paraphrase from the late great Patrick Swayze, I couldn’t get turned on right now if Christina Hendricks were twin lesbians in a vat of Mazola oil. (Now that’s some burnout.)

Further adding to the doldrums is the fact I had to bail out on going to the Wine Bloggers Conference this year in Walla Walla (my newest favorite place on Earth). The goal now is to find some overnight retreats out of town here-and-there before the madness of the “silly season” descends. The year is flying by, and I had hoped to work on taking my Wine Educator’s test this year, but lo and behold, reality has kicked my burned out ass with no reservations.

The agenda this week is to get to those pesky samples piling up on my kitchen table at home. Stuff from L’Ecole, Emblem, and the 2^nd sample of Valdivieso Sauvignon Blanc from the Wines of Chile deal a few weeks ago. Not to mention a plethora of stuff including Gordon Brothers Sauvignon Blanc, Les Deux Rives Corbieres, Poor Thing Grenache from R Wines Southern Gothic series, and some posts regarding Washington State and their burgeoning wine scene (since I won’t be at the Conference).

And I was sort of avoiding talking about the Wine Blogger Awards this year, despite the fact that new friends Sacha and Jason at Swirl Smell Slurp as well as friends Jeff at Good Grape and Joe at 1 Wine Dude and the folks who host this site and friend David Honig over at Palate Press have all been nominated. Congrats to them and all who have been selected. There has been a lot of sour grapes out there – as is seemingly standard procedure when these things are announced. It doesn’t really phase me all that much; I am a local blogger with primarily a local audience, and I think a lot of what I rattle on about is a bit too schizophrenic at times to merit any award. Sure it would be nice to be included in that select group, but there are after all over a 1000 different wine blogs and to hone it all down to 5 per category – that is a gargantuan task.

So for now, I am kicking around a few ideas, maturing a bit in my wine point-of-view, taking the critics out of my crosshairs, and focusing on rejuvenating my besotted brainpan. I feel like I may be chasing my tail today but here I am. Maybe a walk in the desert ingesting some Thunderbird and peyote might help, though I am afraid I might just hear ol’ Pat Swayze screaming from the cliff tops something like “WOLVERINES!”

Maybe I should do nothing but watch skINEMAX at night every night this week. Or maybe I should just read what Ron’s up to over at Hosemaster or Sam over at Sans Dosage. They have a knack for getting me thinkin’ (or laughing (Hose) or getting all randy (Sam)). Or maybe a Patrick Swayze Film Fest. Steel Dawn, anyone?

Regardless of what path I travel over the next few days, I am sure to find the most warped perspective possible and regurgitate it back to you all, my audience of 5 or so. Either that or earning that one-way ticket to a padded suite.