Short of Breath. Long on Time

Close your eyes, take a deep breath, hold it for a few seconds and exhale. Fantastic isn't it? It's amazing. Now picture this. You lay down at night and go to sleep. A time where your mind wanders into dreams only you know of. A time where your body relaxes, and when you wake up, given that you got proper rest you feel refreshed, fantastic and alive. What if at some point during your sleep you stopped breathing? For minutes at a time? What if at some point you woke up gasping for air as if someone was choking you? Fighting hard and struggling to get a breath in. What if this is something you had to live with?

In the United States over 18 million people are affected by this disorder. Its called Sleep Apnea...also called Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) It can be caused by either complete obstruction of the airway or a partial obstruction.Both of which can wake someone up, but not always. I am one of those "over 18 million people." There have been times in years past that it has been a major factor, where I've woken up gasping for air as if i was being smothered with a pillow. but I've always disregarded it. Perhaps it's a reason why I never seem to sleep anyway. But the fact is that the last two nights of my life have been absolutely miserable. On consecutive nights I have woken up in a frantic panic fighting for a breath. Last night in particular was worse than ever before. No matter how hard I tried nothing came in. I tried not to panic and relax but nothing helped. I was wide awake trying desperately to catch the faintest of breaths...and it's at this moment as you become more desperate for air and nothing comes in as you slowly begin to black out you can only hope, perhaps even pray that as you fall back down onto your bed or the floor something will give. The passage will be opened and air will get in. You immediately begin to think of family and friends and you completely freak out at the very real possibility of never being able to see them again, no more laughter, no more smiles no more fancy wine dinners, no more sunrises and sunsets, glorious views of the stars,and you begin to wonder why?! why now?! why like this?! Your life flashes in front of your very own eyes instantly flooding your mind with images that comfort you, at least I know that one of the last wines I consumed was a bottle of the 2008 Intern Chardonnay. My creation.. In an instant comes blackness. This is it. This is what it is like to suffocate and die....and somehow...for reasons beyond comprehension hours pass and you open your eyes. Blink seven times..and you think to yourself that maybe it was just a dream, a nightmare of sorts and as you inhale a breath of air you feel the pain in the back of your throat chest and lungs. As if someone bashed you with a baseball bat or perhaps as if they were overworked strenuously by somebody fighting for their last breath, and you instantly jump out of bed and realize it was not a dream. It really happened. You catch yourself touching everything you possibly can around you to make sure you really are alive and that this is really happening. That life is real. You look in the mirror and smile when you realize that everything is OK. Then you frantically jump online and start looking for specialists that are near by that will hopefully be able to help you.

I can sit here and say that this was a near death experience, and say it has changed me and that life is so fragile how much I cherish it. Let's face it. Everyday living is a near death experience. And I already cherish life and all the beauty and intricacies it has to offer. Perhaps it still has not hit me. Perhaps it will at some point. But i know one thing is for sure. Today everything smells livelier, feels more incredible and is simply more illuminated. I'm taking the day slow. Going to hang out at GRAM Wine and Liquors with my father today and discuss some things pertaining to the store as well as my life. Then we are going to watch USA play against Canada in the gold medal game. Family. Wine. Hockey. What's not to like about thaT?! Cheers.

Drink Local Think Global.

Nothing like having a productive Friday...and ending it with a bang. I haven't had the chance to go to the Blue Point Brewery in over a year. I miss that place. Me and a few friends discovered it during my senior year of College. Everyone worked out their schedules to make sure they would have a break or be done with classes on Fridays by 3pm. We would all go and enjoy doing sample flights of all the beers. We'd all laugh and tell jokes and completely get lost in the moment. It became tradition. Or maybe even a religion. Friday was brewery day. Yesterday was Friday. I decided to make it brewery day. rounded up a few people whoever was around and available and met them out there. It was all kind of sporadic and last minute. Sometimes things work out like that The scene has changed there a bit. It has gotten bigger They pour pints now and the place packs out. It was super crowded at one point. When we used to go it would literally be just the 6 of us. But the vibe was awesome though. A lot of great people and fantastic beer. As everyone arrived we carved out a corner for ourselves caught up on the ongoings in our lives shared stories told jokes... mostly at my expense...it was Just awesome. We had quite the crowd. The banker came with his lady, an environmentalist, an oenophile who owns her own boutique wine shop came with some friends and we were even joined by the dynamic Floral duo.I ended up back in town and met up with my attorney. No business to discuss. The plan was to do the local scene. We were shortly joined by the PhD Grad and the 3 of us made our rounds, said our hellos to quite a few people. Its been a while since I did the local pass through town. I will have to say that consuming alcohol for 12 hours straight in one day does not exactly do your body good. I am feeling it for sure. Lucky me I can function just fine. Its Saturday which means I have the long shift at GRAM today. Ill be there till close, and then who knows? Maybe Brooklyn tonight? Ill see what happens. For now just gonna enjoy the day, taste people on some fantastic wines and make killer wine suggestions to compliment their evening and weekend plans. Cheers

When it Snows I Figge.

They get paid lots of money to be wrong most of the time. The only job you can be totally off on projections ...even off by a mile and they let you into work the next day...They're always wrong it seems...except of course when I book and rebook flights to the West coast for a special lady. Then and only then are they right and project with accuracy weather that grounds planes...weathermen ...I am not a fan.

But oh hey check this out. Substantial snow on the ground meant I didn't have to go into work today until later...later turned into a day off. Love it when i get that phone call. So time to be productive right? I mean i could easily sit here and watch boring TV waste the day away, but I am not into that so much. I'm looking for a job. Something i can do part time maybe even full time but that would still allow me to be on hands with the project i have undertaken at GRAM Wine and Liquor- my family's business. I know what you are thinking...your family has a business and you are looking for a job?! That sounds crazy! The beautiful thing about this industry and my situation is that it offers me the flexibility to still be on board 100% at the store and find another source of income. Become a brand ambassador for the tri-state area for a company perhaps? Work part time at a brokerage house in NYC? There are a lot of windows and have certainly opened myself alot of doors in the last five years and built quite a reputation... Look I'm not bragging here...the fact is over the last five years i have seen and met some of the people that are hired to do the jobs I am interested in and they are awful! and I am not the only one to see that! They don't know their brands they don't show a passion or a drive for the wine they represent...it's depressing.

I managed to send out emails and make some calls to some people high up in the food chain. I think I may be onto something here. keep the fingers crossed and let's see what happens. In the meantime I will be enjoying the snow fall with a very full glass of the Figge Cellars Sycamore Flat Syrah 2005 vintage. One of my favorite red wines i have come across to date. It's drinking beautifully now. The Sycamore Flat Vineyard is located in the Arroyo Seco AVA, and comes off of a plot of land that is owned by the Madsen family. It lies nestled in the spectacular Arroyo Seco Canyon. I've been there before and and got to eat the grapes right off the vine this past harvest. After the grapes are hand picked and taken back to the winery they are sorted. After the cold soak process the free run juice as well as the pressed juice gets transferred into barrels. The 05 spent 12 months in 20% new French oak barrels as well as 1-2 year French Oak. Two 2 year old Hungarian Oak barrels were also used. After it was bottled all 660 cases of it sat in a temperature controlled warehouse for one full year before it was released to the public in 07. It's alive in there. Robust nose that doesn't over power but rather welcomes you politely. Delicate aromas of blackberries tingling with a sensational fragrance of boysenberries, coffee and toasty scents.The mouth feel is fresh and bursting, with layered dark fruit flavors marvelous black cherry notes and soft tannins, awesome velvety texture and an exceptionaly long finish. It's a gem, when i drink it i feel like I'm tasting the stars. It brings me back to my childhood, to the delicious homemade from scratch jams and preserves grandma used to make. There is not much of the 05 left out there. But if you come across a bottle or happen to be around when I am sharing one,do yourself a favor please try it. Hand crafted made to love magic. Cheers.

When it RAINS it POURS!!!

WOWAWEEWA!

well past into the middle of the day...and not much has been done...but there is a buzz around the store...I'm digging the positive vibe and the radiant energy today. I'm excited about the new frames I picked out for myself yesterday and in the mean time while on a delivery I managed to sneak up to La Plage up in Wading River yesterday. Had to see my favorite French Chef and say hello...I haven't seen him in over a month and would you know it he even whipped me up some super fresh tuna tartar on the spot...and whats better is I got to enjoy it with a glass of some Olivier Leflaive 2008 St. Aubin Premier Cru... The vineyards of Saint Aubin are situated right behind the villages of Chassagne and Puligny. With a south-west / south-east exposure the Chardonnay grapes that have been planted there for over twenty years yield some fantastic fruit. The wine with aromas of almonds and delicate spices sings delightfully in the floral infused nose, and showcases a captivating racy, pure and intense mid-palate with a finish that seems to linger forever!! Amazing. Something about tuna tartar and a white Burgundy in the middle of the day that just makes you feel so good. The sorbet selection was not that bad either! I put in a solid day at work yesterday and on the way home sneaked in the back door of MOSAiC in St. James...one of my other favorite places on earth...simply to say hello and taste the Boys on some Bunraku....we all know what that is by now...the problem with the 300mL size bottles is that they're too small...its like a single serving size...and it's delicious. That was it, a quick hello a taste of Sake and my evening was done.....not quite....

After i got home i got a call from a really good friend of mine, who also happens to be my attorney...he wanted to get together and meet in town to discuss a few things. So of course we met up for a beer, which eventually turned to two. And then one of the coolest surprises in a long time. One of my best friends who I haven't seen in over a year who is getting his PhD down at UVA calls me, asks me what I am doing and walks in 10 minutes later to join us. What happens when you get together with your lawyer who happens to be a good friend and one of your best friends who you haven't seen in over a year?? It's like the beginning of some kind of a joke if you think about it a lawyer a PhD grad and an Oenophile sitting in a bar.....hah... well it started with another round of beers...and then Mr. PhD decided to switch us over to liquor. There was a lot of laughter a lot of catching up and a night that lasted a lot longer than it should have...but i can handle that. hey now! when it rains it pours. Cheers

SAKE TO ME PEOPLE!

I have a problem.

Over the last five years of my life I find myself entrenched in the world of wine. I didn't drink it nor did I know anything about it until five years ago. I'm not going to sit her and tell you I know all there is to know about it now...in fact I will be there first to tell you i know very little...but tasting 63-87 wines a week (and sometimes more) for five years definitely teaches you a thing or two for sure...In the mean time I've seen CA wine country...Santa Barbara, Monterey, Napa Sonoma...I have traveled to them all and I am even making my own wine out in Monterey under the direction of Peter Figge of Figge Cellars. My label is called the Intern. A Pinot Noir compromised of two single vineyard sourcing as well as a Chardonnay done the same way...but i'll hold off on that for a bit...cause i got something else to talk about.

Besides wine I find myself very strongly drawn to Sake. Not the fake American kind that comes from California or Oregon. I am talking Jizake: locally produced Sake...by locally- JAPAN. Sake quality is determined by rice variety, climate, water quality, and production technique. It truly is a unique process one that no matter how many times I have been explained and diagram ed still confuses me. Anyhow like tasting wines I am always down to try Sake. Eating a lot of sushi always gives me a good excuse to do so. But even without a meal its refreshing to boot! So for the past five years or so I have been tasting and sampling all sorts of Sake and I must say with much and many thanks to the lovely lady I have found my fix. A Sake I simply am drawn to and come back to since she introduced me to it. I usually never go back to a Sake I have had, I mean with over 2,000 Sake producers out there, there is much to taste. But this one in particular, with its beautiful square sky blue glass bottle packaging, is a sight in itself. It only comes in 300mL size bottles....i know i know what you are thinking...get to the point already...what is it, where is it and how much is it? ...ahaha the Sake I speak of is Bunraku:Nihonjin no Wasuremono Yamahai Junmai:The Forgotten Spirit produced in the Saitama Prefecture. The Sake meter is +5 on the dry side and a +3 on the rich side. You should be able to find it at most reputable sushi restaurants that have decent to great Sake lists. Shouldn't be too expensive on any of them. My shop retails it for $13.99. I read somewhere that only about 1% of Sake is made in the Yamahai style. It's where the brewer uses native yeasts, simply those floating around in the brewery to make the starter mash. It is a very time consuming and hard process and thus only few still do it. I've had other Yamahai Junmai Sake before and they don't come close to Bunraku. It's clean crisp with a delightful earthiness to it producing a great mouth feel. It's nicely balanced and just simply sings. Well my delivery has arrived and someone has to spread the word and put it on the shelf...my mom asked me why I ordered 2 cases? I told her it was simple. 1 case is just for me. HA! Cheers.

Treats are Great the Rewards are Better.

Last night i treated my self to a pretty intense cardio workout. Being that it was wet and miserable out I stayed indoors did a grueling workout on the eliptical machine followed by a pretty intese jumprope session. I'll be the first to admit that I'm kind of lazy when it comes to the whole working out thing. I mean camon? by now I'm sure your New Years resolution of hitting the gym has fizzled out...yeah I'm sure you have a membership and it makes you feel great knowing you can go when you want to...but you don't. With that stuff I work better when I have someone to push me. Nonetheless, I pushed myself last night.

My reward was a night of incredible rest. I havent slept this good since I can remember. Well I can remember but I'm not going to get into that one. And it's not what you think..so stop thinking it... I used to be in pretty good shape. Back when swimming was part of my life. Practices two times a day, intense workout and dryland trainging, Those were the days I ate anything whenever I wanted. I'm not going to pretend I was a great or amazing swimmer beacause I was not. My brother had all the talent. But I had fun doing it. We would spend summers at USC in CA..which ironically would eventually lead me to California's beautiful wine country-amazing how things happen in life- but anyway.. I woke up this morning and being that it sucks out there i decided to throw on my favorite pair of jeans...you know the one...that is broken in just right and fits snug and so comfortable from years of wearing them?...Well let me tell you...a month ago they were perfect...now I need a belt to put them on...I'm not mad about it. The past month while I was gone and living in CA- more on that at a later time- I changed my eating habits and to this day continue to eat smarter and healthier meals throughout the day...there was a brownie incident recently...I couldn't resist...they were hand crafted and made with love... Treat your body right and it Rewards you. I've got a long way to go to get to my goal...but it's good to know it's working. It makes me feel great. And it motivates me and helps me do it all by myself... I have to go now and pick out what wines to taste people on today at the shop. It feels like a perfect day to pour some Tres Palacios Chardonnay and Merlot. A family owned and operated estate from Chile. They make a killer Pinot Noir too but we have a limited supply left until August and well it also happes to be the favorite wine of choice for a lovely lady i happen to know. So i have reserved the last few cases for myself...after all i enjoy it too. Cheers

Sushi is Heaven

Why?

Why is it that sushi makes everything OK?

i don't know... i don't have an answer...i just know that it does , at least for me. Something about being in incredible company enjoying fantastic sushi and hot sake on a miserably cold wet and damp day that makes everything beyond OK. You might look at this, over analyze it and think way too much into it and say it's the company that makes it so. And although its true to a certain point, after all she's amazingly smart, graceful, fascinating, possesses the most amazing hazel eyes you can drown in and a smile brighter than the sun...i can keep going but i think you get the point...hmm now I've just totally confused myself...was it really the sushi that made everything OK?? or was it being in her company? Perhaps it's the latter? ...yeah I will say that it's the latter indeed. Look I never admitted that i know what I'm talking about or that I am some kind of expert. Because I'll b e the first to tell you than I am no such thing. But today we went for some sushi. Our first 2 spots were closed...you know how the Japanese restaurants close between 3-5pm or something like that? well there is one in West Babylon that actually doesn't. Let me throw a shout out to the boys at ICHIRO: 130-132 RTE109 West Babylon NY. I have to tell you. I've been there before for takeout...and have yet to be disappointed. Today was the first time I've actually dined inside. The place is dead...and frankly we wonder how they stay open. But the truth is the sushi is fresh, delicious and left us beyond satisfied. Much to my surprise the bill was not at all that bad either. We have a tendency to go overboard and overindulge on sushi quite regularly. I usually stop when the bank calls me and says that's enough. Kudos to ICHICRO for helping in making everything OK on a miserable damp and cold day. Cheers

Seeing is Beautiful

I've never been a fan of doctor's offices...but the fact is I've been wearing glasses since I can remember. At one point when I was about 7 I had a serious procedure done on my eyes...they cut into my eye muscles to shorten them and help reset my eyes because they were slightly crossed..its still a pretty big deal procedure...mine was done in the late 80s in Poland and to this day here in the States optomitrists marvel at the precision of the surgery.... So seeing an eye doctor is nothing new to me...no pun intended...haha.its the same routine, cover one eye read some letters cover another eye read some letters, get some drops put in and follow the light then follow the blue light get some more drops put in to dilate the pupils sit for 20 mins and wait. I'm a pro at this....I probably don't do It as often as I should. They say you should get your eyes checked at least once a year...and I used to do that. In Poland growing up it was routine...but then again so was breaking my glasses. The optician in town felt so bad for my mother he started giving her buy one get one free discounts. We saw him twice a week on average. they also say you should take out your contacts at night. I used to wear daily disposables 6 months at a time without ever taking them out...no eye irritation and no infections. Go figure...I guess what I'm getting at is that sometimes life gets in the way of routine. But that's ok. Because its life and in living it things happen. Like snapping your frames in half and actually having to get new glasses. Might as well get them with a new script.. Sometimes we can't control it. And sometimes we can...its beautiful. Speaking of beautiful she messaged me earlier and asked me to join her for sushi later today. I hope I can make it on time...we all know how that doctors don't really keep to their appointments. One thing you will learn quickly is that I'm a sucker for beautiful things and sushi.
Cheers.

Sometimes It's Better to Show Up Late Rather Than Not Show Up At All.

I'm sorry I'm late.It's unusual for me to be late. I hate it. I'm that person that says he'll be there in 17 minutes..and I'm there in that time frame. I hope you can accept my apology. I was asked a while ago to do this...to write things down...I was told my life and my journeys were interesting and that they should be documented. I was told this by friends and i was told this by complete strangers, and I was even bothered by someone very close to me to do it...Instead I just listened and I smiled. I kept saying I'll do it. but I never did. I can look back and say so much time has been wasted. But the truth is I'm not that person. My glass is always full. So i look ahead and see what is yet to come...and how wonderful this will be. Overtime you will get to know me, my history leading up to present day, my passions, my downfalls and everything else in between. For now i have to go. There is much work to be done, and wine to be tasted, like I said more on all that later. Cheers