Grilled Cheese Invitational

This has got to be the coolest thing ever. Too bad I couldn't get in.

They call it "an orgy of cheese." Evidently there's something like 150 people making grilled cheese sandwiches to be judged by up to 800 attendees. Some grilled cheese loving roomies came up with the idea in 2003 and now it's an annual event that got a blip in the LA Times last week. Well, by the time I read the paper and tried to RSVP (that's the only way you can find out the location of the event), it was too late. They reached max capacity. Huge bummer.

I am a grilled cheese junkie.

It's a huge comfort food (white bread, white American cheese, lots of butter, in frypan, served with tomato soup of course).

Foodie food (French baguette, fresh mozzerella, procuitto, fresh basil, olive oil, on panini grill).

An "every-man-for-himself" dinner (any bread on hand, any cheese in fridge, any meat if any, any veggies sliced thin, olive oil or butter, on panini grill).

And dessert (sheepherders bread, Havarti cheese, sliced dates on panini grill) OR (country bread, dark chocolate bar, on panini grill, add créme fraiche after it's grilled).

Makes me want to hit Campanile on Thursday for Grilled Cheese Night.

I am determined to get to the invitational next year. Check it out at www.grilledcheeseinvitational.com
Just don't take my spot.

Um.

I spoke at a middle school career day yesterday. I have done this before but for some reason I felt a little unprepared this time. Maybe because instead of reviewing my outline and notes before my talk I drank coffee and chatted with other speakers. Anyway I learned something about myself during my talk. I say "um" way too much! I swear I wanted to slap myself. As I rambled on and on about being a personal chef all I could hear myself say was "um". And the more I tried to stop the more I think I said it. I got to the point where I don't even know if I was saying anything that made any sense at all because my focus was all on my "ums". Thank goodness I made it through the talk without any of the kids actually screaming out "MRS. N, STOP SAYING UM!" It really wouldn't have surprised me in the least.

So later in the day I met up with a friend who teaches a college class and who also spoke at the middle school career day. She told me of the time she counted all the "ums" a college student uttered while giving an oral presentation and how she, as the teacher counted them all. Whew!was I glad she wasn't sitting in on my talk! Well, then she proceeded to take a piece of paper out of her pocket and unfold it. On it were lots of tally marks and then a total. 137. What?!

Her daughter, a middle school student, tallied all HER "ums!"

All I can say is there is no way I said "um" 137 times during my talk!