I recently tried my first gorgeous wine: a 1988 Opus One.

My hastily scribbled notes:
"Concentrated nose. New oak fairly pronounced. Very delicate. Soft tannins. Extended finish. Noticeable lack of acidity. Deep orange hue. Smokey and leathery."

But of course, this fails to articulate how nice of a bottle it really was.

My current hobby is drinking cheap wine. In the past few weeks it has eclipsed other pastimes like chess, horticulture and shortwave radio (Jenny refers to these as "spontaneous obsessions.") I have decided that as a passionate non-expert I have a moral obligation to report on my wine explorations - fuck the meritocracy.

I should note that as a poor person I can only afford the bottom tier of wines. So perhaps my featured wine should be classified as being the 'best of the worst.' I have no doubt that there are countless bottles of superior wine in the $50 range (and probably a few lesser.)

Without further wait, the winner is: Casillero del Diablo Carménère Reserva 2006!

The name of this wine translates roughly to "devil in the cellar" based on the an longstanding legend that a demon inhabited the basement of the winery. Likely this is just marketing, regardless the wine is brilliant. My understanding is that the carménère varietal was transported to Chile from France has thrived in its new home. The opaque purple hue of the grape looks similar to a syrah in the glass,  but is much more gentle and delicate. The bouquet is warm and inviting - for some reason it reminded me of spring. I found the finish to be absolutely gorgeous. It's long with a strong oak overtone. Nice tannins too. For $11 I highly recommend it.

In five months I expect to be living in the 4000km range between Saskatoon and Halifax. In fifty-four days I won't be living in my apartment. I gave my notice even though I haven't yet received a single acceptance from any law school. I'm planning my future around a series of educated guesses.

Someone innocently mentioned to me, not knowing that it would hit me like a pillowcase stuffed with bars of soap, that they couldn't believe any law school would let me in considering how I look. They said that I look completely eccentric compared to everyone at Osgoode. And they're probably right - I probably do look and act different even though I don't mean to.

I comfort myself by saying that I've probably lived a different life than most of them; a pretty fucked up life in a lot of respects. But then I realize that even if that's the case, it doesn't matter in the eyes of a prospective employer. They want someone who can fit in and play the game. And I sometimes really doubt that I can. I don't know that I can hide the scars on my body or be charming and normal and like everyone else. I see the photos of people on the Dalhousie law school Facebook group and wonder if I'll have anything in common with them.

The past few days have been a series of nominal events like this one and they've worn me down. I try not to think about things and instead keep my mind busy. It sort of works.

There are a couple things on days like this that do give me a sense of hope. One is the knowledge that law school is rife with psychological disorders. Granted the majority of it this probably stems from the workload, but even that makes me feel as though everyone might not be nearly as normal as they let on. The other thing that gives me hope is hearing stories of public officials being caught in bizarre scandals. If people like this can be in the public eye without letting on that they live double-lives then this suggests to me that I can at the very least fit in with enough effort.

I was passing through the Eaton Center this evening and witnessed something that made me furious.

I'm not sure what the incident was that warranted so many police officers, but 10 or 20 cops and security officers were in the middle of arresting a group of people. One of the police officers shouted down a floor at a 14 year old who was standing around watching. The police then proceeded to go down the escalator, grab him and throw him against the wall. They asked him a few questions and then grabbed him hard by the throat. This was in front of a fairly large audience of bystanders.

Now let's assume he was a criminal. Considering that he wasn't resisting at all as far as I could see, even if he was guilty of an offence I do not believe for a second that he should have been treated this way. I contemplated storming over and getting in the middle of this until I realized that I don't really know a whole lot about what his rights are. I mean, of course I'm aware that the police should only use the minimum amount of force necessary, but beyond that there's no way I could present myself as an expert. I doubt I could be of much help at all.

If there's one benefit that I can be sure I'll get out of law school it would be the knowledge necessary to help out in situations like this  when there are angry cops abusing their power.

I've found it interesting how actively law schools from the US market themselves. I've received no fewer than 25 emails and brochures - some of them quite robust and glossy, usually offering to waver their application fee.

I suppose this isn't surprising considering that there's money to be made from students, especially if you factor in alumni donations, but what's interesting is how Canadian schools don't actively recruit students in the same way. Maybe this is because Canadian schools aren't tiered in the same way so they aren't under the same pressure to get top students? I'm not sure. Regardless $20,000-30,000 annual price tag to head south of the border is too rich for me.