I feared I had left off on a negative note with my post yesterday evening. I have to be honest, I have felt a twinge of homesickness sink in, but that doesn't mean that I'm enjoying my time here less. On the contrary, whenever I feel a momentary longing for home, I get a phone call at 5:30 p.m. from a friend like Anna telling me to meet her in an hour at Rutherford Hills Winery. So much for bikram.
You see, even though I'm not still "new" here, I am still in the stage where I feel I need to make the most of every opportunity. And tonight just proves that. Tonight's event, "Cheers," only happens once a month, Anna said, and it's a great chance to meet people, which I certainly did this evening. I'm building up quite the collection of business cards (I can't wait until I have my own to give out!).
While there are always some people I recognize at these events, some who have become friends and others who I have met only once or twice before, I am still meeting new people at each place I go. Winemakers, grape growers, people between jobs - the free wine and food (tonight featured Rutherford Hill wines, including their yummy Sangiovese, and steaming hot pizza from the on-site wood fired grill) brings people of all ages out. The one thing people know how to do here is network.
Which is a huge part of this place, I'm realizing. I guess that's true of any place, any industry; it's all who you know. I see it now with my brother back east who is trying to find a job in sports broadcasting. He's talented all right, but until he finds that someone who can help him get a foot in the door, he's at a disadvantage to those with less skill but more connections. It isn't fair, but it's life.
Fortunately for me, Napa is small and so getting to know people has been - knock on wood - not as difficult as I feared. Once again, I cough it up to luck, but having people on my side, friends from back east who have put me in touch with those they know out here, people I've met out here who have welcomed me into and introduced me around their circles, it has helped me get my foot in the door here.
Tonight, as Harry bought a bottle of champagne for a group of us, he refused to take money for it. "Karma," he said. "You'll get me a drink another time." Granted, I doubt I'll be back at the ritzy Auberge buying bottles of bubbles too soon. He may get a glass of wine out of me one day, but that's not what he meant.
We're all looking out for each other here. When you go taste at someone's winery, they comp your tasting; when you visit their restaurant, they send over a glass of sparkling on the house. You scratch my back, I scratch yours - one day it will come back to help you.
And it's for this reason that I decided to skip yoga tonight. I may not have "cleansed my soul" this evening, but I'm certainly working towards better understanding this bizarre universe I'm inhabiting. Namaste.
Very thoughtful!
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