About last night: I had a date with Spontaneity
Raise your hand if you are a creature of habit? (I have a hunch that the first hand to go up is that of Hannah Julien, my freshman year roomie and bestie, the one and only consumer of a nightly vanilla-pudding-with-sliced-banana snack.)
I am also a routined woman. Routines make me feel that I can control parts of my day, they make me feel safe, and they, probably like you, also help with my productivity. Some of my routines, like eating chocolate before breakfast and after dinner, are also delicious.
In the midst of Covid, many ... most? of our routines have been interrupted, though here in China we have largely returned to Life as We Knew(ish) It, so I am back to many of my routines with school and the gym and eating at my favorite restaurants. Yesterday, though, I got done with work and thought to hell with my Monday routine, which generally consists of mentally gearing up for Tuesday by making my food for the next day, fine-tuning lesson plans, and reading at my apartment.
There's a very cool part of Shenzhen called OCT-Loft, and after a bit of a pep talk from my soulie Ceci, I decided to make my own variation of her suggestion that I go out and find some salsa dancing ... by myself. Salsa dancing often involves wine, in my experience, and so I decided to take part of the plan she devised -- one that she felt would challenge my boundaries a bit -- and just go find a nice glass of wine.
I hopped in a taxi straight from school as dropping by home to change would have meant a longing look from my couch. After the 30-minute ride, I stepped into the artsy OCT Loft and took a few steps in the direction of a whiskey bar I knew of, glancing to my right to see Mo Wine written on an awning. Well, thank you very much, Serendipity, I thought as I walked towards the sign.
I walked into the small establishment to find a rather fancy but still cozy space. Fine wines lined the walls, a few leather chairs were pulled up to tables, and three stools stood by the window.
I ordered a glass of La Valentina Bellovedere and sat down at one of the tall stools with my iPad to finish reading Samantha Power's The Education of an Idealist. I sat sipping my wine, reading Power's conclusion about her time as UN Ambassador, and taking a moment to practice my selfie skills.
As I was finishing up the memoir, I glanced behind me to see that a table had been set.
The shy bones in my body have, in my 30s, become more emboldened, and I quickly set about inquiring what was taking place and could I please be part of it. Richard said that I was just in luck, he could set one more chair for wine tasting that would take place in another two hours.
While on many evenings I would have taken note of the fact that Mo Wine offered wine tastings, packed up to head home for dinner and crawl into bed by 9 pm, last night, I thought Woman, you are going to keep living your best spontaneous life tonight. This is your 37th year around the sun and let's remember 37 is your favorite number and let's forget 2020 is effing with some serious shit and let's drink more wine.
And so I stayed.
While I waited for the wine tasting to start, I opened up Jackie, Ethel, and Joan: The Women of Camelot by J. Randy Taraborrelli, ordered garlic fries, and started sipping the Prosecco Richard served me, a pre-wine tasting treat.
Just a bit before 8 pm, other wine tasters began to sidle into the bar and take their seats at the table. I was feeling particularly giddy to have happened upon Mo Wine on just this night and my anticipation increased as I watched a photographer take photos of our sommelier and the wine he would be serving us.
After giving us the history of the Seña and Chadwick vineyards, our Frenchman offered us glasses of five different wines to try.
I spent the next two hours feeling intoxicated, but not because I was tipsy. I learned that truly fine wine will simply leave you feeling fabulous rather than boozed. What was really intoxicating to me was that I was surrounded by strangers and making new friends of them, I was the the only foreigner aside from our Frenchman, and I was sticking my nose in glass after glass of the most aromatic wines.
My favorite sound of the evening was the frequent clicking of glasses.
Tonight, after school, I went a more traditional route and dined with my friends Craig and Ann on The Strip, the area right outside of school full of bars and restaurants and massage parlors. It was, of course, also lovely. Dates with them always are.
But I can't wait for my next date with Spontaneity. We agreed to see each other again.
