Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Regional Wine Blogger Bids Sad Farewell



Hiatus… it might be the name of a painful medical condition, like “I heard he had to have surgery to fix his chronic hiatus before it did him in”. Or perhaps it’s the name of a very mysterious female body part, “As she simmered with arousal, he pressed his finger against her hiatus, watching it noticeably swell with anticipation under the heat of his magical touch”. The word “hiatus” sounds slightly better than the word “blog”, which I sadly always correlate with the word “vomit”, as in “Excuse me, I’ve really got to go, I think I’m gonna blog tonight.” And though the Hosemaster of Wine would probably argue that 99% of all wine blogs are basically vomit in essence, in this particular instance, my dreaded hiatus has nothing to do with holes in the diaphragm, natural clefts in the human anatomy or the sudden and forceful expulsion of one's stomach contents through one's mouth.

It’s true, for the past year, I’ve been living the life of a glamorous full-time wine blogger—writing nightly until three o’clock in the morning, producing posts that ultimately appealed to only a minute segment of the population, for nothing more than sheer pride in one’s work, one comment (if I was lucky, and it was usually from fellow wine blogger and ardent supporter Josh Wade) and an occasional invitation to a wine event here or there. But finally, the hard work, long hours and sacrifice has paid off; due to the surprising and overwhelming success of my blog and social media skills (and my background in wine marketing), I’ve been able to secure gainful employment in the wine industry. There were those who said blogging would be a waste of time, a waste of money, a waste of effort and precious resources. A waste of talent. I heard it all but trudged on anyway, forging my own wine trail, as I was certain (hoping) it would lead me to salvation, redemption, infamy, temptation… employment. And almost exactly one year to the date later from the inception of Sip with Me, I accepted a position as Marketing Director for a prominent Oregon winery.


So, now I’m struggling with whether or not this blog is a conflict of interest to my new job. And while I don’t’ think it is in principal (high tides raise all ships after all), it certainly is a competition for my time, energy and focus. So, I’ve made the painfully difficult yet practical decision to tear myself away from Sip with Me for a bit to focus again on my career—well the part of it that makes it possible for me to pay the bills anyway. Ultimately, my hope is to create a blog for the winery, but I’m still leading them towards the light, the true path. Until then, my voice may be somewhat quieter, but I hope you’ll continue to follow me on Twitter and continue to enjoy this blog as a resource when planning your next Oregon wine country outing or when you just want to escape into the romance, beauty and mystique of all that’s wine.

Infinite thanks to you all for reading and supporting me over the past year. I'm grateful for the time we've shared together and the things we've learned along the way… may we sip together again soon.

30 comments:

Scott Abernethy, aka Wino4ever said...

I have a feeling we haven't heard the last of you. We will be lurking in tasting rooms throughout the Northwest awaiting your impending emergence.

Mary Cressler said...

Good luck with the new job! You're gonna be great! Looking forward to hopefully reading the winery's blog someday.
Cheers

Portland Charcuterie Project said...

you suck :)

never let paid employment get in the way of creative time wasting.

good luck :)

Anonymous said...

That is fantastic! Some have hypothesized that the real value of blogs are either as a large resume or way to remind people who already like you that you are still around and knowledgeable about something.

Congratulations.

Josh Wade said...

Congratulations, Tamara. Reading your blog was always one of the highlights of my week. You have such a great way with words and I always loved your sexual innuendo infused within your posts.

I can't wait to follow your journey at the new position and I'm sure you'll be back from time to time...once you go blog, you never go back!

Josh

Robert karl Cellars said...

All the best in your new job!

Ben Simons said...

We will miss you greatly here in the blogosphere. I look forward to visiting you at your new employer one of these days, and you better stay in touch. :)

6512 and growing said...

Congratulations Tamara. You made me laugh all the way through (especially that first paragraph of this post).
I love you and know that you'll do great things. That "prominent Oregon winery" is lucky to have you.

Ryan Reichert said...

While I have to say I love the last commenter's philosophy on "creative time wasting" I completely understand your position. I'm proud of you for getting so far, and finally making your dream a reality. Best of luck, and yes, I'm sure this is definitely not the last we see! :-)

Sip with Me! said...

Scott, you may perhaps know me a bit too well :)

Mary, thanks and good luck to you on your new journey!

Todd, I hear you suck too. Some of us don't have jobs where we have the luxury of reading and writing blogs all day. I'll be looking for new creative ways to waste my time!

Anonymous said...

I'll miss your posts. Congratulations.

I may be following you into winery marketing employment, but as I write less frequently, I think I will keep it going if hired. My first post would be a giant description of the potential conflict of interest. I hope to write that post.

Sip with Me! said...

Anonymous,
Thank you, though I'm reluctant to acknowledge someone who's not confident enough to leave their own name. Though I have my suspicions who you are. My readers might think I'm loading my blog with fake comments to stir controversy (like some bloggers I know). Nice to hear you think blogs still have some inherent value and thanks for stopping by.

Josh, Thank you... for everything. Always.

Robert Carl Cellars, thank you and I hope to visit you and taste your wines regardless of any silly blog.

Ben, You're too kind, but this is starting to sound like my high school yearbook. I will stay in touch, and please let me know when you plan to visit the Willamette Valley again. In the meantime, email me your new contact info and I'll add you to my sample list.

Ryan, serious thanks!! Part of what's come out of this blog is all the amazing connections I've made, you (and the commenter you refer to) are just a couple of them.

John, best of luck in your search. Any California winery would be lucky to have you. I look forward to reading your post on conflicts of interest when you land that job!!

Carl Giavanti said...

I can hear your mother now 'You could have made something of yourself if you figured out the "fee for blog" conundrum!' Good Luck and see you around Tamara.
Carl Giavanti

Sip with Me! said...

Thanks Rachel, it's the "Joyce" in me that gets so much pleasure out making someone laugh. You've always been such an inspiration to me, both in writing and in living. I love you too and appreciate all the encouragement you've provided. Good luck with all your writing endeavors, I look forward to continuing to follow you on your path.

Winequeen said...

Sad for your legions of fans but very happy for you. The prominent Oregon winery is very fortunate. Will you still coordinate the blockbuster Twitter tastings?

Sip with Me! said...

Sheila, you truly are the Winequeen and thank you, you're really too kind. I suppose there might still be a Twitter tasting or two in my future. I'm thinking you can take the girl out the social media world, but can't the world out of the girl.

Sip with Me! said...

By the way, I finally discovered the secret to comments… retirement.

Will Eyer said...

While it will be sad to see your blog go on "hiatus", it's encouraging to see that your hard work has paid off in spades, woo-hoo congratulations to you and good luck in next chapter of your life...cheers!

Sip with Me! said...

Carl, guess we should have talked sooner ;) Thanks, apparently, we'll still be bumping into each other.

Bill, thanks and cheer to you!

Laurie London said...

I'll miss you here too, but I'm glad you're staying with Twitter.

Good luck with your cool new job!

Sherry G said...

congratulations on your new gig, Tamara!

Unknown said...

Congrats! On your new adventure. I will miss your creative blog posts.

Anonymous said...

Tamra,
Your contributions to the interwebs shall be greatly missed. We hope you return to us, in whatever form that may be, very soon.

Cheers and best of luck in your new endeavor.
Brian
norcalwingman

SammyR said...

Blog are a more then to express yourself, to add up i see the comments being more as conversation at reunion.
Cheers!!!

Swapan said...

Nice conversation it is shared by you, thanks a lot for this It is an admirable work done, keep it up

imobiliarias alegrete said...

very very good

Brenda said...

Best of luck on your new journey. i enjoyed your previous work and wish you the best

sewa mobil said...

Nice article, thanks for the information.

sewa lighting said...

Nice info....thanks

GollyGumDrops said...

I hope it's all going well, your silence suggests it is! I'll point people here when they ignore my suggestion to increase their online presence if they want to find work they'll love.