I Get Tired of Drinking, Which Makes It Hard to Study

I walked 3.5 miles yesterday on what’s become one of my favorite trails in Atlanta, Proctor Creek Greenway. A year ago I couldn’t have imagined such a feat if it didn’t include the rewards of food or wine at the end of the journey.

Exercise has become such a habit for me that even now that the kickboxing studio that was my gateway into this world is closed, I’ve still found a way to move my body at least five times per week…and enjoyed it. After making it a point to focus on my wellness by meditating and journaling, this was my last hurdle….my last hurdle in balancing a love of food, wine, and spirits.

There were the college years where inexperience and a penchant (and pocketbook) for cheap booze, formed the lethal combination of hangovers and lack of motivation.

There were the restaurant years where the endless tastings and my own eagerness to explore made for a more pleasurable experience, but the late nights, greasy food, and stress nonetheless led to some overconsumption and wreaked havoc on my health.

Studying it seems though brings a whole new challenge though because I don’t feel like drinking all the time. Never would I have thought that memorizing facts from a stack of index cards (I had to Google “How to study” when I started) would become more enjoyable to me than drinking tons of glasses of wine. Ain’t that something? My 22-year-old self wouldn’t be able to believe my luck and my subsequent dilemma.

I started to become concerned about this when I was taking my Level 1 sommelier test. This was my first time blind tasting. The examination takes place over two days—the first day and a half include seminars and blind tastings followed by the test on the afternoon of the second day.

I was already nervous about taking the test and my stomach had the knots to prove it. Now on top of it, I had to sip and spit a flight of wines every few hours. I was also drinking several cups of coffee (terrible for one’s palate) to stay awake for the early morning sessions. It felt like a bad dream—drink these amazing wines, spit them out and then take a test while you’re kinda inebriated. What?!

This is what I think about every time I remind myself that I should be drinking more wine and blind tasting to get ready for this next test. I don’t want to do it. I just want to drink a glass (or two) a couple times per week and wake up and workout the next morning.

What I’ve decided is to just go slower. Sometimes I feel like I’ve started this part of my life much later than most people. Industry people are also notoriously snooty about their knowledge. Because of this, it makes me want to learn as much as I can in the shortest amount of time, but overall, that doesn’t feel good to my soul.

Instead, I’m going to drink the things that I’m inspired to drink. Indulge in what makes me happy. Accept that my knowledge will be formed in a longer period of time.