Chocolate Show Update:
I got approved for the class and had my hotel and flight all lined up so there wasn't much left that could go wrong, right? Ha! It only took 24 hours for things to go pear-shaped. The date they've been listing for the class and emailing to me wasn't quite right. It starts a day later (I think they're just now hammering down their November schedules and realized there was a teacher availability conflict). I've been worried all along that something would derail somewhere along the way and I would end up having to come up with alternate plans (I refuse to cancel this year - did it last year and can't very well back out again, can I?) and already something has gone wrong. Eh, what can you do? We're working on trying to shift the flight and add an extra night to the hotel stay (one more day in the city is a nice thing) and hopefully once that is taken care of things will be all right (or am I putting a big fat jinx on myself?). I'll just cross my fingers and wait and hope that nothing else breaks down between now and then.

Chocolate Show Planning:
How I do love the internet. I figured it was time to try and figure out just what I'm in for with the whole Chocolate Show thing and try to decide if I can do it all in one day or not. Where better to look for scoopage than flickr? And after about ten minutes of cruising through the pictures I've come to one simple conclusion: I'm in trouble. There is just too much chocolate going on. I can tell already that I'll be spending a fortune there and I don't doubt that I'll be trying more than a few things as I make my way through the show (free samples will be the death of me). At the end of the day I probably won't even be able to move due to over-consumption and an unshiftable load of chocolate to take back with me.

I think the key to making it through the show without going broke, insane, or both is going to be to set very simple and clear rules for myself. Anything I can get through chocosphere I do not purchase at the show. Things from out of towners who have come in just for the show are to be sampled and purchased. Things from chocolatiers in New York can be skipped in favor of visiting their actual shops. I think if I keep to these basic guidelines I won't get into too much trouble there. Hopefully. Maybe.

Too much chocolate or not (and I really struggle with that concept), I am enthused to have the opportunity to try so many things that are new to me. I love the inventiveness that is constantly brought to chocolate. I really enjoy the things that come completely out of left field and surprise me (like, oh, I dunno, CHEESE) and I especially like them when, after a bite, I can understand just what the creator was thinking when they made it. There is excitement and discovery in trying new chocolates and that is why I love to just go out and lazily shop about trying things at random. I think I'll be doing rather a lot of that in New York and I really can't wait. It should be a good time.

Closing Thought:
I just realized: I've been more skeptical of mixing a dairy product (cheese) with chocolate than I was of mixing a meat product (bacon) with chocolate. That's a little strange. Eh, whatever. I'll still try it.