cheese and music galore!

mood: hot and cold and icky
music: handel's messiah, and various musicals

On a lighter note, I have way too much cheese to know what to do with. They're all relatively small quantities of select cheeses that were all sold for under $5 each. Each has a personality that may or not play well with others in different applications. So far, I've bought (* = still in the fridge):

Saint Agur (a French double-cream blue - rich and delicious)
Capricho de Cabra (a mild chèvre)
Seaside Cheddar (English white cheddar - a good basic cheese, and cheap)
P'tit Basque (a semifirm sheep's milk cheese - my favorite so far)
3-year Gouda
Camembert
*Piave (an Italian hard cheese)
*Anco Etorki (a firm sheep's milk cheese)
*Istara Ossau-Iraty (a firmer sheep's milk cheese)
*Smoked Gouda (delicious and cheap)
*Asiago d'Allevo
Asiago Fresco (a young semisoft Asiago)
Young Fontina
*Willow Hill Butternut (a firm cow's milk cheese)
*Cypress Grove Midnight Moon (a hard goat cheese - very good)
*Beehive Promontory Big John's Cajun (a spiced cheddar)
*Blue Castello (a Danish triple-cream blue)
*Morbier (semisoft French cheese, the most personality so far)

So, yeah, I've got a lot of cheese. And I'm still looking to try more. Of course, I've tried countless more (it's part of the job), so my job now is to hone my taste memory and sell sell sell.

But what do I do with all that cheese? I can only eat so many grilled cheeses in one day, and I just ran out of bread. Fondue, fromage fort, and mac-and-cheese are definitely options, but it just seems wasteful (I can't imagine putting Taleggio and Alsatian Munster in a cheese sauce, for instance). I should look more into this.

Now time for some job-related research: look for cheese producers that have host of properties that I have to learn, including:
organic,
cow/sheep/goat/water buffalo/moose/mixed milk (from grass-fed animals),
kosher/vegetarian,
soft/semisoft/firm/hard,
washed-rind/smeared-rind/soft-ripened/etc,
low fat,
low sodium,
alpine/monastery/dessert/... ,
and so on.

In other news, I'm starting to prepare for the summer choir audition season by looking for pieces to add to my (admittedly non-existent) repertoire. I already have a book of Italian art songs (which includes a very helpful piano accompaniment CD), and I recently bought a book of musical theater pieces (apparently targeted to classical-style singers). Under my belt so far are a couple from the "Songs of Travel" series by Ralph Vaughan Williams and maybe an oratorio solo or two. Not too many, I know, but I am earnestly looking to fix that.

The main problem is how to learn and practice new pieces: should I shell out bucks for a voice coach, mooch off of music professionals (i.e., past teachers/directors, current teachers/directors, current music students, and/or anyone who can play a piano) that I know, or just try mastering pieces by myself? As a total n00b in the music business, I have no idea.

It finally rained late today, putting an end to the stifling heat. I should follow suit and shower before bed. Goodnight World.