Cheese Evolution

I was just doing a fridge-rummage  getting some ingredients together for my Sunday dinner.  I counted 13 different kinds of cheese in my dairy drawer.  Is that too many kinds of cheese?  It seemed like a lot to me.  I grew up in a family where we had one kind of cheese in our home.  Cheddar cheese.  Usually it was purchased in large one foot long blocks, grated up with Mom's food processor, and put into a large plastic container for easy access.  A handful of grated cheese made a quick snack at my home.  Sometimes there may have been a block of swiss (so fancy!).  If there was an extra sharp block of cheese it was reserved for slicing and sharing.  When my husband-to-be came up to my home one time, and he felt a great sense of acceptance into the family when my father shared a precious slice of cheese from the "sharp block."  Still that is only 3 types of cheese that I had been exposed to by the time I was 23 yrs old.  I was totally confused as a teenager when a rival school teenager made an insulting comment one night after a basketball game.  He asked me "So are you from Provo High?"  I told him yes (he was from Timpview), and he tried to make a stupid joke comparing Provo High to provolone cheese.  Something like "What do they serve you guys for lunch over there a bunch of provolone?"  I wasn't even sure what provolone was and I had to go and look it up.  And in case you were curious, no that didn't get him far with me and no, our cafeteria did not in fact serve provolone cheese, although it would make perfect sense right?

Recently I got a bit of flack from one of my Utah relatives over my post observing Utahisms that I notice whenever I am in town.  I even got a call from my brother who ribbed me a bit telling me that I shouldn't make fun of Utah when I am a Utah girl.  I remember (back when I had never lived outside Utah) feeling offended by non-Utah people bashing Utah when they would come there for college.  I'd think "why are you here then? If you don't like it then leave, just don't complain to the locals for heavens sake!"  Now I understand a bit more about where they are coming from.  I still don't think you should poop where you live.  Having lived in many places I think you should always look for what is good about your place of residence.  Especially when you are among the natives.  But his statement about me being a Utah girl makes me wonder... Am I still a Utahn?  It's where I came from and I am proud of that.  But I have changed in many ways since I moved away in 1994.  I think one of those ways might be cheese related.  Would I have evolved in the world of cheese if I had stayed put?  Maybe.  I can't really say.  I can say that I'm grateful that now, my dairy is varied.  I recommend branching out.  So, now I'm curious, tell me fellow bloggers... what cheese is in your fridge and where are you living? (I promise I won't judge)  For the record here are my cheeses: cottage, ricotta, string, swiss, cheddar,velveeta (maybe I shouldn't count that), parmesan, mozzarella, havarti, monterey jack, babybel, laughing cow, cream cheese and we just ran out of gorgonzola!