There is a Cheese School in San Francisco and although I’ve never taken any of their classes I do subscribe to their newsletter because I have good intentions of taking a class one of these days. And I have to confess that I’m a little giddy over a new offer of theirs – a 3-Day Intensive Cheesemonger Program.

This is an example of a random thing that I think sounds like terrific fun for no other purpose than my own edification. The class is actually intended for “working and aspiring cheese professionals and others in the food service industry, including cheesemongers, chefs, servers and other front-of-the-house staff, caterers, wine and specialty food retailers” and that’s not me but it still sounds fun. And it does say that it’s also for “anyone else with a serious interest in deepening their understanding of cheese”.

At a price of $1100 I’m not actually planning to take it. I actually know very little about cheese other than that I like it a lot and it would make a lot more sense to take one of their basic classes. But doesn’t this sound like so much fun?!

The three-day class includes:

• Education by a cheese expert who among other things has been an international cheese competition judge. I just like the idea of knowing someone like that!
• Classroom instruction to learn how to “procure, sell, care for and serve premium cheeses”.
• Take-home materials for additional instruction.
• A local creamery tour.
• Certificate of completion. You know, to hang on my wall and express my coolness since I’m not actually planning on being a cheese professional.

Tags: cheese school, cheesemonger, classes, education

I think one of the most important things that you can do to keep yourself happy is to keep learning new things. This inspires you. It motivates you. It gives you a reason to wake up in the morning. It stretches your boundaries and makes life more interesting.

I try to learn new things all of the time. Most of what I learn comes from random experiences and ends up being about stuff I never planned on learning. However I do think it’s good to think about the things that you want to learn more about.

10 things I plan to learn more about in 2010 are:

1. Crochet. I just barely learned how to crochet over Thanksgiving weekend and have completely fallen in love with it. It’s the first craft that I absolutely can not get enough of. I want to learn new stitches, new projects, new use of yarns and fabrics. (The photo above was made from an old sweater and some black cotton yarn.)
2. Lomography. I recently learned about this interesting type of photography. I want to know more about it.
3. Photoshop. I FINALLY took a photoshop class late last year and started to learn the basics. I really want to actually start using this program and learning how to do stuff with it which I haven’t really done yet.
4. Pilates machines. I really like my pilates mat class but I want to branch out and learn more about how to do pilates using machines. Haven’t tried that yet but will have tried it by this time next year!
5. Celebrity fashion. This isn’t a topic that I thought I’d ever be interested in. However I’ve started exploring it for a new blog I’m helping out with (the blog for super cool Bay Area clothing company Edgi). I’m actually taking a keen interesting in this and want to learn more.
6. Pandora. I just started using this online radio program (behind the times, I know) and think it’s something I’ll be exploring a lot in 2010. Any suggestions from people who already like it?
7. Various types of dance. There are a couple of workout-style dance classes that I want to take this year. I want to learn fire dancing. I want to learn hula hoop dancing. We’ll see if that leads to any other dance interests.
8. Snow and Water Sports. This is a hands-on goal. I know a bit about things like skiing and tubing down rivers but I want to learn to actually do them.
9. Buenos Aires. I’ve read a lot about this city and have wanted to visit for awhile. I don’t know if I’ll actually get the chance to explore it in person this year or not but it’s definitely a 2010 goal to aim for.
10. San Francisco. I know a lot about this city that I live in and love but there is always more to learn here. I definitely plan to keep exploring and learning more about it!

Tags: 2010, education, experiences, goals, new year goals, smartchick

I recently wrote on article about culinary school vacations which is a type of travel that includes learning to cook local foods during your stay in an area. This seems like it could be a really great experience for someone who really enjoys cooking, learning and tasting local foods. Although I somewhat like those things, I don’t think that I enjoy them enough to truly have an interest in culinary school vacations. However, writing the article got me thinking about the different types of classes that you can take as a part of your travel and there are certainly some that interest me.

Language classes are the most obvious. I think it’s important to try to learn the local language any time that you travel somewhere. While it’s good to get some of the basics out of the way before the trip, I think an inmmersion class at the start of your vacation is a great idea if you’re going to be there long enough to benefit from it.

Classes that are specific to things that are popular in a local area are also coming to mind. I’ve gotten very interested in visiting Buenos Aires recently so I’ve read a lot of books by people who have traveled there. All of them seem to suggest that it’s a good idea to take tango classes while you’re there since it’s such an important part of the culture and it’s the best place to get good instruction in the dance.

Mostly I think I’m interested in shorter-duration classes than all of these, however. I’m interested in taking classes that can be completed in a day or two but which will add to my overall experience of the trip. For example, I might take a class in scuba-diving and then go diving at my destination. Or I might take a class in the history of the area or the area’s art movements while I’m there to learn more about those aspects of a destination. This suits my attention span and travel style better than a continuing class.

Tags: classes, education, hub pages, kathryn vercillo, specialty travel, Travel, vacation

One of the posts that I wrote about in the not too distant past on this blog was about serving drinks as a career. There are a lot of pros and cons to being a bartender but it’s definitely one job choice for a lot of people. Employment is a big issues for a lot of people right now and it’s discussed intelligently through the many different articles submitted to the Career and Internships blog carnival where my own post was featured.

The other articles that were included in this carnival were on different jobs, careers and job issues. These topics included job interview tricks and tips, looking for and finding a new job using today’s technology, working after retirement, working for love vs. money and the issue of boring employment. All quite important topics for the working world today I think.

What other topics do you wish would have been covered here? It seems that we’re talking a lot about how to get or keep jobs in today’s recession but are there other employment issues that are also pressing which aren’t being covered by your favorite blogs? Tell me, I’d love to know!

Tags: best blogs, blog carnival, blog roundup, blogging, blogs, Careers, diary of a smart chick, education, employment, information, kathryn vercillo, work