I look like I know what I'm doing

When the Chandler jazz festival was happening, I was sitting in 98 South wine bar, enoying a flight and a piece of fish (don't remember what exactly it was now). See my posting from a couple months ago, for a description of the jazz festival. I had a bunch of books with me, as usual. This is because:

* I'm single.
* I don't have many friends who are willing to spend between $20 and $40 to hear jazz over dinner, and make up for it by eating fritos for lunch all week.
* When I'm eating, I don't like to just sit and stare.
* I actually like reading.
* I always bring my wine journal to 98 South, when I go. You see, at the rate I go through wine at home, it would take me an eternity to fill up my wine journal. But an empty wine journal isn't as cool as a full one. So I bring it with me to restaurants and write about the wines I taste. This helps it to fill up at least faster (still not fast). It worked out especially well this night, because I ordered a flight. Also, the whole point of the journal is that I won't forget the wine...it's easier to forget when you just have one glass and you don't even have the bottle at home.

Well I was sitting there eye-ing, sniffing and tasting one of my wines, and this guy came over from the lounge and asked me if I was evaluating the restaurant! If I hadn't been so surprised, and if the jazz hadn't been so loud, I would have said yes, and gone along with it; but I was so surprised by it that I just said, "Oh, no! I'm just taking notes on the wine," or something like that.

So he replied, "Well you just looked like you knew what you were doing. Do you have any suggestions?" I told him what I was drinking and what I thought of it. He thanked me and probably ordered what I recommended. It was an odd experience. It was like, just for a moment, I knew how Robert Parker feels when he eats out (that is, when he eats). I think next time I go there, I'll actually TRY to look the part, and be ready to oblige. It's like Kurt Vonnegut says. "You are what you pretend to be."