We went to a wine tasting party last night (more like a wine gulping party considering the amount of alcohol that was present). Lots of great wines – Cougar Run Fat Cat Muscat from Colorado, a Greek white that reminded me of my favorite Italian white (Fiagre – which I can only remember by thinking of Viagra), an Australian chardonnay (Moss Wood, I think), a Riesling whose winery I can’t recall – and a few I didn’t care for including a French Blanc de Blancs that was incredibly bland. I stuck with whites because, much as I try to convince myself otherwise, I simply don’t like red wines. I can drink Merlot along with food, but would not drink it alone and all the other reds are just too heavy.

Rather than indulging my need to spew vitriol about Rumsfeld’s appearances on the Sunday morning talking head shows (except for one point – how is it possible that the he cannot explain the plans the military has for extraction from Iraq? Of course things change. Of course they need contingency plans. Of course they always have to careful of revealing too many details. But planning is a part of every organization, and he does not seem to be able to articulate the basics of his oragnization’s plans. And did he seem a *tad* defensive about the quote that Tim Russert read from the exchange he had with a soldier who asked why he had to scavenge for scrap metal in order to armor his vehicle?! Can’t you just imagine him carrying around that creased and grease stained paper with the entire question and answer session – highlighted, no less – in his grubby pocket so that he can whip it out whenever he feels so wronged by being taken out of context?). So, instead of rant, here is what fortune cookies have revealed for me over the past year (discovered while cleaning out my pocketbook so that I could move the contents to – how boring is this? – a new version of EXACTLY the same purse in a different color):

You are going to have some new clothes (Depends on your definition of “some”, I suppose. There are those who would argue I went over the “some” threshold into the territory of “many”.)

People find it difficult to resist your persuasive manner (Except for all the red states.)

You love life very much (But not peppers. I could totally do without peppers.)

You display the wonderful traits of charm and courtesy (Unless you’re a US Airways employee. Then it’s the wonderful traits of disdain and contempt.)

An adventure awaits you around the bend (And there were far too many bends in the last few years.)

You have a reputation for being straightforward and honest (Just the reputation, mind you, not the real thing.)

You never hesitate to tackle the most difficult problems (And then delegate them to someone else to solve.)