Red, Red, Wine...

The day after Christmas and I had to be at work bright and early. I even had to be attentive. What is this!??? I don't think I've ever worked somewhere that didn't all but shut down between Christmas and New Year's, and even if they did remain open it was just a formality since no customers were ever really around then. I remember one time when my co-workers and I were trying to putt a golf ball into a coffee can down the hallway some 65 feet away. The phone never rang and in the customer service position that I was in at the time, it meant that we had absolutely nothing to do otherwise.

While everyone else was out returning unwanted gifts, taking advantage of the after-Christmas sales, or putting together their new toy train, I was sitting in a very cold conference room (the heat never works right, unless its a hot day!) listening to each department talk about current issues and assign action items. I was struggling to stay awake. Those tamales and that pecan pie were still sittin' pretty heavy on my stomach, making it yank down my eyelids as I fought to keep them open. I jumped out of my seat like Hong Kong Fooey the moment the meeting was adjourned and rushed to the break room for some sort of refreshment that might restore my energy level. I had a couple of phone calls to make to customers that were having issues, so I figured that I had better knock those out sooner than later. The good thing was they were both in the Eastern time zone so I knew that I'd be done with them no later than 1:30pm or 2pm.

We all know I get hives if I spend too much time in the office, so I start devising an exit strategy almost as soon as I get there each time. My office is so small now that I almost have to be like Harry Houdini to escape. I'm exaggerating a little (they don't really chain me arms and legs to the desk. Just my arms...). My fans were getting a little bored with my last few escapes, so they turned up the degree of difficulty this time. My boss, who sits right next to me was also in the office.

"Hey...ain't nothin' wrong with me...ain't nothin' wrong with the twizayy. It's just gonna take a little bit longer that I thought."

--Eddie Murphy's Marcus Graham in Boomerang.

Several members of my family were scheduled to go wine tasting on this afternoon, trying to keep the family Christmas activities going for one more day (brunch on Sunday, made tamales on Monday, Dinner on Christmas, and now this), so I definitely had just cause to blast my way out of confinement. I made my phone calls, and made them loudly so that my boss could ascertain that I was indeed engaged with the customer and making progress. I even copied he and another account manager on correspondence with said client, creating a paper trail for all to see.

When time started to get really critical, I started throwing hints. I started talking about the traffic and how he should get a jump on it since he lives about 15 miles further than I do from the office.

I got mind control over Deebo. He be like "shut the f**k up." I be quiet. But when he leave, I be talking again. -- Chris Tucker's Smokey from Friday

He started to take the bait and pretty soon, both of us were packing up our laptops. I sped down the highway to Cinnabar's Wine Tasting room in Saratoga. Mercury Rising was the first pour that I would enjoy. Modest, yet confident. The 2005 Merlot wasn't bad either. Very dry. I suddenly had a craving for an 8oz. filet from Morton's. But the winner was the Petit Verdot. Until now, I had never heard of this variety. I was informed that usually, Petit Verdot's were used to blend with other varieties that were then bottled and sold as, say, a Pinot Noir-Syrah-Zinfandel blend. But Cinnabar had a 100% Petit Verdot that grabbed me today. Unfortunately, I couldn't indulge as I had 145 miles to knock out and fast. There was a ticket at Arco Arena's will call with my name on it for the Kings vs. Celtics game.

Someday, my fairytale-like existence will involve helicopters, limousines and maybe a Gulfstream 5 for such endeavors, but today the 2005 Murano shouldered the load. I made it to the stadium in the middle of the 2nd quarter, just in time for witness the Celtics 33-5 run that blew the game wide open. Gang Green's Big 3 were as advertised and did not disappoint on this evening. I rounded out the evening with some snacks and spirits at Downtown Sacramento's Bistro 33, a swanky bar/lounge with about an eclectic and hip a crowd as one could expect in our state's capitol. For a second, I thought I was in San Francisco.