A Year Without Cookies - Week 52. COMPLETED!!

(mmm... pass the plate!)

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,
Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?

In thin mints? Somoas? In trefoils?
In cups of cola?
In root beer, in Tab, in Fanta, in Sprite?

In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure a year in the life?

How about looooove? How about loooooove?
How about love?
Or Chips Deluuuuuuuuxe?
Try Chips Deluuuuuuuuxe?

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand snack times to plan
Five hundred twenty-five thousand ix hundred minutes
How do you measure the health of a woman or a man?

In truths that he learned
Or in times that he cried
In dreams which he yearned
For the sodas deniiiiiiiiied?

It's time now to chow down
For the struggle finally ends
Let's celebrate
Remember the year
then have cookies with friends!

Remember the love
(Oh you got to, you got to remember the love)
Remember the love
(And soda's a gift from up above)
Remember the love
(Share love. Give love).
Measure in love....
(Measure, measure in Chips Deluuuuuuxe!)
Seasons of love...
And Chips Deluxe....

It's been a year! I did it! It's nice to know that self-restraint is possible. Now it's over. Oh thank heaven, it's no longer 2011! Give me that plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies over there! Nom, nom, nom, so good!

A Year Without Cookies - Supplemental: Other Dessert Sitchies

(WARNING: Objects in picture are larger than they appear!)

As the Year Without Cookies clocks down its final hours, I feel like it must be noted that while there were no cookies consumed and no sodas imbibed, it certainly wasn't a year without sweets. DEFINITELY not a year without chocolate. I probably relied more heavily on things like mini chocolate bars or mini-peanut butter cups or low-cal pudding packs to get my chocolate fix. Desserts in general are delicious, and I cannot go without them. But even so, I must have put a bit of a dent in my sugar intake by eliminating the two greatest offenders.

That being said, they serve a dessert at the Museum of Natural History that I consider simply over the top. Just looking at it gives me a sugar rush and has me reaching and inspires a Pavlovian need to reach for a glass of milk and guzzle it down. It's a brownie served on top of a cupcake. Really? I mean, REALLY? This thing is crazy. It's just too much. Of course Migu always asks me to get him one for a snack, but even if we shared it, that would be overkill. Could you imagine me trying to get him to sit down and do his homework after eating even half of one of those things? He'd be spinning around like the Tasmanian Devil.

So not all desserts are created equal - especially in terms of sugar and calorie intake. If I was going to eat this thing, I might as well just down a whole carton of Chips Ahoy's and call it a day.

Less than 48 hours to go! Woohoo!!!

A Year Without Cookies - Week 51

(Someday soon we all will be together, if the fates allow. Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow...) 

The Panettieri house, after Christmas dinner...

Dad: HEY, DON'T YOU WANT SOME CHRISTMAS COOKIES? EAT SOME CHRISTMAS COOKIES!
Owen: I have not eaten cookies all year.
Dad: WHAAT??
Owen: I HAVEN'T EATEN COOKIES ALL YEAR!
Dad: OH...

Neither of us is hard of hearing. We just talk LOUD.

Merry Christmas, Folks. The last largest hurdle has been jumped. Less than a week to go now.. It's almost done. There were many wonderful Christmas cookies on display this week, but I avoided them all. It was a tough one. Home-made cookies. Store-bought cookies. Somehow they always taste sweeter at the holidays.

I bought myself a post-New Year's box of Mallomars this week. Somehow they always seem to disappear from store shelves during Christmas week. So I've got those delicious treats chilling in my fridge. Less than a week to go. It finally ends!!!

A Year Without Cookies - Week 50

(The Last Delicious Temptation of O)

FIFTY WEEKS! Very nice, O. Very nice. It's just the final two hurdles of Christmas Week and New Years Week and we're done.We can build this dream together. Standing strong forever. Nothing's gonna stop us now.

Yet temptations abound. I was in my boss's house this past week and there were homemade cookies and I was told I could "eat as many as I want." I honestly don't know if my boss is even remotely aware that I've been on my Year Without Cookies and how close I am to finishing. It must have come up at the office at some point, but I don't think he's that conscious of it. He was probably just trying to be a good host. Unless he's trying to undermine me right at the end. Neither option would surprise me. He sometimes likes his psychological games!

I did take a good hard look at what I was missing. . oh, home made cookies look so good! They are much harder to turn down than store-bought cookies. Still, none were consumed. I'm sure they will come to haunt me in my dreams.

Soon we will be down to single digit days! AAAAHHH!!!!!!

A Year Without Cookies - Week 49

(yum! yum! gimme some!)



This week, I was walking through CVS and came across the display shown above in the cookie aisle. Soon all of this will be mine again!


Week 49! I can't believe it. On-Maternity-Leave Co-Worker Suki came by the office this week and while we mooned over her totally cute-ums baby girl we both marveled over the fact that the year was almost over and I was actually going to make it. It's very exciting to be right at the end, my friends. Very exciting indeed.

My time in the cookie aisle reminded me that I have so many tasty options to sort through on my eventual Cookie Reunion Tour. I assume I will first go for chocolate chip cookies, because that only makes sense. And I have to buy myself a box of Mallomars this week to keep in my fridge for the beginning of 2012. It's too hard to find them after the holidays.But after those kinds are gobbled up, there are so many more varieties at the ready. Woohoo!

Next Week: We're at 50. FIFTY!! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I LOVE it! At this point, I might become a licensed joyologist.

Spain wins 2011 Davis Cup!

 (The Reign in Spain falls mainly on every plain.)

Congrats to Our Hero, Rafa Nadal and his Spanish teammates for winning the Davis Cup trophy this weekend over Argentina. This marks their 5th Davis Cup Trophy in the past 12 years and 3rd on the last 4 years. Clearly, the depth of the Spanish roster has been quite impressive over the past decade to produce such consistent results. It's also a very nice way to end the season for Nadal, who had a rough go of it at the ATP World Finals last week and suffered a string of tough defeats in Finals throughout 2011.

 (Rafa grabs Monaco's ass, before handing it back to him in the first match of the tie.)

This weekend he absolutely thrashed Juan Monaco in the first rubber 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 and then held off a strongly contested Juan Martin Del Potro in the 4th match  1-6. 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (0). In between, David Ferrer came back against DelPo in the second rubber 6-2, 6-7 (2), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to give Spain a 2-0 lead and then David Nalbandian and Eduardo Schwank won a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 victory Saturday over  Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez keeping Argentina's hopes alive, but still on the brink of elimination.

Spain hasn’t lost on clay in Davis Cup for 23 ties, and holds the record at 21straight on home soil.

Argentina was trying for its first Davis Cup trophy in its fourth final. Always the Bridesmaid in Argentina! :( I'm very glad Rafa got to win 2 points for his team and his country. I hope these wins inspire him to come back in 2012 with renewed aggression and determination to win. 4 Grans Slams await, plus the Olympics in London! Time for Rafa to be #1 in the world again!! Vamos!!

A Year Without Cookies - Week 48

(Happy Minty Holidays!)

Wow. Week 48? Is there really so little time left in 2011? It has all just been flying by. It still doesn't feel quite like Christmas. Maybe it's the climate changey high temps in the 50's and 60's in NYC. Maybe when I get my tree next weekend it will start to hit home that I have to buy gifts for people. This week marked the arrival of some Christmas candies - not cookies! - that I ordered from a couple of co-workers' kids in their annual school drive months and months ago. Delicious mint chocolates! yum yum yum! I am planning to rely on Andes Candies to get me through the holidays. Andes Candies always make me think of my Grandparents. They knew quality chocolate treats!

The long runs have finally started kicking in (and kicking my ass) with Marathon training. I'm so glad i'll have empty cookie calories to enjoy the week prior to the race. And I really miss having a nice tall glass of Sprite with my carbo-loading pasta dinners. Soon. SOOOOON!

The Rafa-Less 2011 ATP World Tour Championships, The Finals!

(To the victor goes the spoils, and several tons of confetti!)

Woohoo! Roger Federer beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 for a record sixth title in the ATP World Tour Finals.This marks Roger's 70th title in his career. Simply amazing. Well done, Fed!

It looked for a moment like Tsonga might repeat his come-from-behind Wimbledon victory over Fed after taking the second set tie break, but Fed reclaimed dominance in the third. Federer really was a cut above everyone else this week. He never lost a match, looked fresher than the three higher and (much younger) seeds and was just his usually elegant and awesome self. It's really been an amazing end of the year for, Roger. You're making 30 look like the new 20, FedEx! Thanks for that!

Now Fed can go relax with his lovely wife and kids, Murray and Djokovic can recover from their physical problems, and Rafa can go play some MORE tennis this weekend in the Davis Cup Final for Spain against Argentina and hopefully regain some mental edge with some victories there. Vamos!

The Rafa-Less 2011 ATP World Tour Championships, Semifinals

(Fed can beat you with his eyes closed.)

Semifinal Results!
Federer def. Ferrer 7-5, 6-3
Tsonga def. Berdych 6-3, 7-5

This year's ATP Finals bring more career milestones for Fed! He has now reached his 100th career final by beating Ferrer. If he wins tomorrow he'll claim his 70th title for his career and a record sixth season-ending tournament title.

Tsonga is into the final for the first time, in only his second appearance here. Good for him!

With this win, Federer climbs past Andy Murray to No. 3 in the year-end rankings, with Djokovic and Nadal keeping their No.1 and No. 2 positions respectively. That feels more right to me. I didn't like seeing Federer ranked below Murray. Fed's got 16 Grand Slam titles and Murray has zero. I'm just saying.

Federer becomes the fifth player to reach 100 finals in the open era, joining Jimmy Connors (163), Lendl (146), John McEnroe (108) and Guillermo Vilas (104). 

Federer has really been on fire through the end of the season. It would be wonderful to see him finish off the ATP Finals on top again and I hope he makes it! He's already beaten Tsonga once here, but Tsonga is tricky! He's bested Federer before. He knows what he needs to do. We'll just have to see how it goes! I'm rooting for you, Fed!

Rafa & The 2011 ATP World Tour Championships, Round 3

(Tough times for Rafa. I will have to rename the blogpost for the semis...)

Oh, boy. Here's how the groups were ranked at the end of the 3nd Round of Round Robin:

Group A:
2-1 David Ferrer - ESP - Semifinalist!
2-1  Jurgen Melzer - GER - Semifinalist!
1-2 Novak Djokovic - SRB
1-2 Andy Murray -GBR / Janko Tipsarevic SRB

Group B:
3-0 Roger Federer - SUI - Semifinalist!
2-1 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - FRA - Semifinalist!
1-2 Our Hero, Rafael Nadal ESP
0-3  Mardy Fish - USA

So in a surprising twist, the top 3-ranked players in the field will not make it out of round Robin play. Djokovic, Nadal and Murray all were upset by lower-seeded players. Murray got injured and replaced, Djokovic admittedly ran out of gas after having such a successful season, and Rafa has seemingly misplaced his explosive on-court nature. I feel for him. I hope he has a good showing at the David Cup Finals and that it inspires him to find that mental match toughness in 2012. I still love you, Rafa!

Looking ahead, Ferrer will face Federer in Saturday’s first semifinal, and then Berdych will take on Tsonga in the late match. This will be interesting! It's a really great opportunity for all these guys. Federer has to be the favorite to take the title at this point, but Ferrer should provide a great challenge before he gets there. And for the other three guys, they have a chance to take the year end title for the first time! I'm hoping the tourney winner is whoever wins the Federer-Ferrer match. Should be fun! Vamos (Ferrer)! 

A Year Without Cookies - Week 47

(Thanksgiving Cookies! Gobble, Gobble them up!)

Turkey Time! A time to give thanks!  I am thankful that there are only 5 weeks left in the year for me to be living without cookies and soda. I had a delicious feast with family out on Long Island. Very few veggies to be seen on this T-Gives. Lots of turkey and stuffing and potatoes and cranberry sauce and yams with marshmallows - all so good! There were many desserts. I brought special thanksgiving themed cupcakes for my nieces from the local bakery by my house like I do every year. It's nice to supply the dessert that my nieces prefer over the other 5 or 6 cakes and pies that are on hand. There were, of course, homemade cookies that looked SO GOOD, but I had to pass on them. Soon, home made cookies, soon you will be mine again.

5 weeks to go! The finish line is just around the corner!

Rafa & the 2011 ATP World Championships, Round 2

(Rafa's just not feeling it in his fight against Federer.)

So I'm already a little behind, but here's how the groups were ranked at the end of the 2nd Round of Round Robin:

Group A:
2-0 David Ferrer - ESP
1-1 Novak Djokovic - SRB
1-1  Jurgen Melzer - GER
0-2 Andy Murray -GBR / Janko Tipsarevic SRB

Group B:
2-0 Roger Federer - SUI
1-1 Our Hero, Rafael Nadal ESP
1-1 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - FRA
0-2  Mardy Fish - USA

You will note that Murray did in fact leave the competition due to injury and Tispsarevic took his place. Tip than lost to Melzer. So he inherited a losing record and did nothing to improve it. Group A is still a bit of a toss up though. I think if Novak beats Tip and then Melzer beats Ferrer. that would put them all at 2-1 and then I'm not sure how they rank them by points to figure out who makes it through.

Nadal needs to beat Tsonga to move to the semis. I think this is a tall order. Rafa got so totally handled by Fed in their match up. Rafa says it's not injury or illness that contributed to the lopsided loss. I just don't think it's in the cards this year. But we'll see soon enough! Vamos!

Food! Glorious FOOD!

(Lots of people out there could use some more.)

Ahh, Thanksgiving. How long I have waited for a plateful of home cooked turkey and stuffing!! Maybe there will be a stray vegetable on the dish as well. Sometimes they have a way of sneaking in there and taking up space that should be occupied by delicious baked-in-the-bird stuffing. Hmph. Vegetables.

I'm thankful for a lot of things this year, not the least of which is for the food I'm about to receive. The idea of being hungry without food troubles me greatly. Considering my usual hobbit's daily diet of 1st Breakfast, 2nd Breakfast, Elevensies, Lunch, Snack, Supper, Dinner, and Dessert, food should always be at the ready. Yet so many people, young and old go without. It makes me sad. Times are very tough and local food pantries struggle to keep up with the demand. I urge everyone who is traveling home to enjoy a delicious meal today to consider making a monetary or dry goods contribution sometime between now and Christmas to an organization that helps the less fortunate. I'll provide links to two charities I like - Citymeals-on-Wheels and City Harvest below. If you have time to volunteer at a soup kitchen or toy drive or something of the like this season, you're aces in my book as well. Aces, I tell you!

Gobble it down and enjoy, my lovelies. And give thanks!

For more information and to make a donation to Citymeals-on-Wheels you can go here.

For more information and to make a donation to City Harvest go here.

Rafa & the 2011 ATP World Championships, Round 1

 (Rafa is ready for the Year-End Championship!)

So while those of us here in The New World will be celebrating the Thanksgiving Holidays this week, across the Atlantic, nobody really cares about that too much. Instead, they are focused on TENNIS! The 2011 ATP World Tour Finals are happening in London right now! The top 8 players of the season face off - first in two round robin groups, followed by single elimination semis for the two in each group with the best records, and the winners of those face off in the finals! Woohoo!

Here's how the two groups are comprised, by current rank:

Group A:
1. Novak Djokovic - SRB
3. Andy Murray -GBR
5. David Ferrer - ESP
7. Jurgen Melzer - GER

Group B:
2. Our Hero, Rafael Nadal ESP
4. Roger Federer - SUI
6. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - FRA
8. Mardy Fish - USA

The Finals are played on an indoor hardcourt, which with its quickness and ball bounce is least suited to Rafa's game. This is one major tournament he has never won. It will be tough for him to take the title in best of 3 set play. But this is an interesting field this year of contenders this year and he might have an opening. Djokovic has been dealing with some nagging injuries at the end of his stellar season, so he might not be in the best condition to take this title. Federer hasn't won a Major in awhile, but he comes in here having won his last two tournaments and looking great. Murray is a giant question mark. Ferrer can be a real threat if he's mentally and physically peaking at the right time. Fish and Tsonga I don't really think have a shot, but Tsonga has some impressive wins over Federer, so we'll see how it all shakes down. Rafa should definitely make it to the semis, but from there forward it's anyone's guess who actually makes it through to the Final match. He hasn't played at all since mid-October, opting instead to mentally and physically recharge from his string of losses in Finals this year. It should be really exciting how these guys all match up right now

After one round played in both groups, the current standings are:

Group A:
Djokovic 1-0
Ferrer 1-0
Melzer 0-1
Murray 0-1

Group B:
Federer 1-0
Nadal 1-0
Fish 0-1
Tsonga 0-1

It was a good first round. The only real upset was Ferrer over Murray (who seems to be injured) but all the
other matches went to a decisive third set. Nadal and Federer face off in the next round. Should be an exciting match and it should tell us if Nadal taking off so much of the fall season was the right choice for his match readiness. I'm sure hoping Rafa can do it. Vamos!

A Year Without Cookies - Week 46

(You were always on my mind...)

So this week, while meeting some new people for the first time, I told them about my year without cookies and they were amused. I told them about the dreams I had about how I would think I was drinking soda, and how they were like addiction dreams and they were intrigued. I told them I no longer had those dreams and they were slightly disappointed. But then of course after having that conversation, what did I dream about that very same night? What else but finding myself with a glass of coke on the rocks in my hand, sipping away at it eagerly and then feeling horribly guilty! Oh, talking about the dream summoned the anxiety and imagery right back to the forefront of my subconscious (if such a thing can even exist.)

Up next, holiday season truly begins. All sorts of new and festive cookies enter the marketplace and into kitchen cookie jars across America. Here comes the last brutal test. I am ready for it!

A Year Without Cookies - Week 45

(The Higher Learning of Bad Eating Habits)

Another week marked down in the books. We are almost there! I can feel it more and more as a reality. I can remember a time long ago in college when I would consistently eat Chips Deluxe chocolate chip cookies and a can of Mug root beer for BREAKFAST (yet still to this day, no cavities!) and look at me now! Being 45 weeks in, it feels like the time has flown by, but those early months certainly didn't feel that way. The constant cravings. The addiction dreams. I just have to get through the next two food-based holidays and then life can get back to a new normal. What will that new normal be? I was talking about it with a friend earlier today, and I will certainly reincorporate cookies and soda into my diet, but in a more measured way. They won't be the foundation of my diet as they were in the past.

That's all for now. Week 46 is coming up fast. I forget how quickly these last few holiday season weeks all rush together. I need to start thinking about gifts and ornaments and non-cookie desserts to bring for Thanksgiving Dinner. Mmmm... it's almost Turkey Time!! Gobble gobble gobble all those non-cookie foods!

A Year Without Cookies - Week 44

 

These are my friends.
See how they glisten.
See this one shine...
How he smiles in the light.
My friend.
My faithful friend...

Speak to me friend.
Whisper...
I'll listen.
I know, I know you've been locked
out of sight
all these years, like me
My friend...
well I've come home to find you waiting.
Home, and we're together!
And we'll do wonders.
Won't we?

This was a tough week for wanting cookies. Someone decided to truly test me by stocking the cookie jars with Nilla Wafers. Man, how I wanted a tall glass of whole milk and a dozen or so Nilla wafers for dunking.

One assumes that my cookie fast will be broken with chocolate chip cookies, but Nilla Wafers and Mallomars are also going to have their day in the sun. First Soda could go so many different ways. Root Beer? Cream Soda? Cherry Coke? Sprite? I just don't know. But I have 8 weeks left to dream about it!

OMG ING NYC!

(Taking it to the bridge! Onward Racers!)

Congrats to everyone who ran the ING NYC Marathon today! It's such a great event and whether it was your first time or your 20th time I applaud you taking to the streets of the five boroughs to complete your 26.2 mile journey. I'm so thankful (as I'm sure all of you are as well) that our freak snowstorm hit last weekend and not this weekend and that instead of a windy slushy nightmare, you were treated to an absolutely beautiful fall day for running!

Knowing how important it is to have cheering faces all along the race, I took the N in to Queensboro Plaza and got out to watch the masses of runners take that important turn around mile 15 up onto the 59th street bridge. Running on that bridge is tough because you are running on an incline, there are no spectators, minimal sun, maximum wind and it's just TOUGH. I was happy to take an hour and stand on the corner and wave and shout last words of encouragement as people made their way onto the bridge. The crowd was great, the cover band that was helping everybody run to some rockin' tunes was awesome and it was just a really inspiring experience.

 (Birdseye view from the elevated platform at Queensboro Plaza!)

I stood with these two women on the corner who were looking for separate people and charting their progress along the route on the iphone apps set up for the race. Those things are great. The NYC Marathon really is a the forefront in making the race a really interactive experience for spectators. I didn't see the people my new friends were there to support but I did spot Top Chef Winner Richard Blais running by as well as Survivor Winner/Amazing Race contestant Ethan Zohn amongst the runners (for the record, Blais was running ahead of Zohn, but Zohn seemed to be holding up better physically at that point in the race.) It's fun just to see people with their names on their shirts and you can scream for them and most of the time they don't actually see you, but you can see it register on their faces and sometimes it gives them a little boost of energy. That's a great feeling.

(the runners just keep coming!)

I love Race Day in New York. It's so inspiring. And it makes me realize I have been too lax in my prep up until now for the Disney Marathon in January. November now has to be all about running and writing. those are the two main focuses for the end of the year. It was great to watch the Race today and remember how gruelling it is but also how personally rewarding. I can't wait to be ready for it again!

A Year Without Cookies - Week 43

(A Birthday Week Without Cookies.)

My birthday was Wednesday! I took a page out of the Parks and Recreation play book and spent a week celebrating "Treat Yo Self 2011" style around my birthday. I took in a bunch of shows, hung out with friends, bought myself some fun gifts, but still did not indulge in cookies or soda. I did have a wonderfully delicious mint chocolate cake for my birthday. - Thank you, Gracie! - and that more than made up for the lack of cookies. From a small party with friends at my place, I am left with about 3 liters of soda in my fridge. Sigh. Maybe it'll keep for 9 weeks. Then I can go CRAZY!

9 Weeks to Go! 2012 is so close! But in the way stands the greatest test of all... A Christmas Without Cookies. I am note prepared...

A Year Without Cookies - Week 42

(Were they really sold out of coconut or did they not even bother to stock them since everybody wants chocolate chip?)

Have I discussed the Subway Dilemma before? I feel like maybe I did. It's been 42 weeks of this, so it's more than possible it's come up before. It's hard to find new territory 40 entries in. Just pretend like it's new to you.

So I enjoy getting myself a subway sandwich from the show down the street from my apartment every now and again. Their 5-dollar foot long sandwich offer is a good deal, even on the occasions where the sandwich maker tries to cheat me on tomatoes or green peppers. But occasionally I get it as a meal which comes with a gigantic drink and a snack on the side. There are many snack options but my favorite one of course is the two (sorta) fresh cookies option. I have not been able to partake in this option all year and it creates a unique sense of sadness in my heart. I like the subway cookies. The chocolate chip, the double chocolate chip, the white chip macadamia nut, the chocolate chip with M&M - you can mix and match to your heart's content. There are also oatmeal raisin and peanut butter and a couple other flavors, but... eh. The whole point is the chocolate!

So instead I get sun chips. The sun chips are fine but they're not as good as cookies. I will not be missing them for much longer though as there are only 10 weeks left in the year! That's right! Only 10 weeks!! It's crazy. Maybe I will do a countdown of fond cookie memories for the next 10 weeks until the self-imposed ban is lifted. Man, life is about to get sweeter....

A Year Without Cookies - Week 41

(Like Eve tempting Adam with the apple from the Tree...)

It is Week 41 of no cookies and soda. This was a pretty straightforward week, so not much to say. It just flew by with the usual temptations and longings. New this week, was my co-worker Tony literally putting a large, warm-from-the-oven, chocolate chip cookie directly into my hand as a gift. He got it for me as a treat thinking I would enjoy it. My response was kinda "You do realize I haven't been eating these for 40 weeks and I've been talking to you about not eating them for all of those 40 weeks, no?" But his wife just gave birth to a lovely baby boy. He gets no sleep. So perhaps A Year Without Cookies just isn't registering for him. I forgive him. I respectfully gave him back the cookie.No offense taken by anyone involved.

Next up it's Week 42... and thus the 10 Week Countdown to the end of the Year Without Cookies!

A Year Without Cookies - Week 40. Yeah, that's right. FORTY!

(I am not responsible for those bite marks. Geez, how often do I say that in a week?)

40 weeks. Can it truly be?? Only 12 weeks to go. I really feel like I'm going to make it to the end now.

This past weekend at the Mud Run, I almost had a moment where I completely forgot about the Year Without Cookies. While waiting for my race to start, I went over to the free snack stand where they were giving out bananas and oranges and Oreo cookies. I was looking for a little energy boost right before the race and almost scooped up a cupful of cookies without realizing. Thankfully, a little red alert went off in my brain right before I popped them into my mouth. It was like a scenario in one of my soda dreams where I don't realize what I'm doing until it's too late. If I break the rules of the Year Without Cookies, I want to do it with some premeditation. I don't want some silly accidental slip up. I had the bananas as a pre-race snack instead.

Also this week, something that never happens. I went into Equinox downstairs from where I work to get some chicken soup from the cafe. That's not the thing that never happens. That happens often enough. (I've had a bad cold/fever all weekend that started late last week and it continues to do a number on my throat. I currently have no voice. It's not pretty to listen to.)  What was rare was that the dude behind the counter had a half dozen freshly-baked jumbo-sized chocolate chip cookies that he was just giving away for free! "It's a promotion!" he said, trying to get me to take one off the tray. "You don't want it?" I DID want it! But I did not dare take it. The cookie vultures on line around me swooped in with their greedy little claws and snatched them up very quickly so it wasn't a long torment I suffered. But passing up a free freshly baked chocolate chip cookie? Such a test of strength.

Week 41 is on it's way. We edge ever closer to the end of the journey...

Here Is Mud In Your Eye! (And Everywhere Else!)

(this is the one official picture of me that I can find. I love that I look like The Living Dead. Braaaaiiins!)

So last Sunday was the New York Merrell Down & Dirty Mud Run in Orchard Beach. Along with tennis lessons, the mud run was the new physical challenge set for myself for 2011. It's your basic 10k race with an extra abundance of mud and several physical challenges along the way. It was great! Here is my recap of the event.

It started with a ride out to Pelham Bay Park on the 6 train. It didn't take as long as you might think considering it's the last stop in the Bronx. From here, shuttle bus service was provided by the race to Orchard Beach. "Shuttle bus service" turned out to be one school bus going back and forth in a loop picking up hundreds if not thousands of people. The line to wait for the bus was a long one. Luckily I left with plenty of time as a buffer. When I finally got on the bus , the driver claimed there were two buses doing the loop, but it sure didn't seem like it.

(me at almost the front of the line to get on the bus. I started waiting where the line currently ends. You can see it went on and on behind me.)

The set up at Orchard Beach was very nice. There were lots of stations set up with different sponsors and they gave out bananas and oranges and cookies pre-race so the runners had a little bit of extra fuel. There were military tests of strength, places you could buy race-themed gear and a well organized baggage area away from (most of) the mud. Race organizers played fun music by the race corrals and there was also live music by the lunch area. It was a very festive atmosphere. I thought it was very well-designed. The end of the race finished right in this main meeting area, which added to the excitement. You could see the finishers from the earlier 5K races making their way through the final mud pits.

It was warm and sunny that day, but it had rained the day before which meant the field itself was naturally muddy in some places and it was funny to watch runners who had not yet raced, delicately trying to step around the puddles and not mess up their shoes, while those who had already completed the course just stamped around regardless of what the ground was like. It just seemed funny that we were about to dive headfirst into mud, but beforehand, we tried to stay as neat and clean as possible.:)

The course went like this: 

(Course Map! Click to embiggen!)

They started the race in waves a few minutes apart. I was lucky enough to wind up in Wave 8 with my co-worker Fabby and a theater buddy T.Caine. We were right at the front of our wave when the start gun went off, and though we put ourselves in the 10-minute/mile range, we all took off much faster. T.Caine especially shot out like a bullet. The first leg of the race was right on the boardwalk along the beachfront. It was such a nice view to take in, but we couldn't lose focus that we were off and running!

The obstacles went: ladder wall, tube tunnels, military hurdles, low crawl (under netting, no barbed wire was on hand. A relief!), more tube tunnels, cargo climb, mini-mud pit, low walls, hay bales, climbing wall, water run, slippery wall, and then the main mud pit for the grand finale. In between all those obstacles were some really beautiful (and muddy) trails through the woods around Orchard Beach. It was a unique kind of race for me for a couple reasons. For one, it was an entirely new course. All of my longer races have been on paved roads and mostly in Central Park and this course one is definitely not like that. You have to be a lot more aware of what's ahead of you and where your feet are landing. It reminded me a lot of my days in junior high and high school running cross country. It would be very easy to roll your ankle out there if you spaced out. Another big difference between this race and others was that due to all the mud and the obstacles, I couldn't run with my ipod. This meant running without music, which I pretty much never do. So it was an interesting challenge to do the run without any uptempo beats pushing me along.

(The Slipper Wall was one of the last obstacles on the course which you could also see from the Welcome Area. The dude climbing while standing up is not following directions. You're supposed to do it on your knees or your stomach so you don't slip and kill yourself. I found it was really painful climbing on my knees so I had to pull myself up with just my arms. I'm so strong!)

ALSO, there were no mile markers or clocks along the course, so nobody really knew where they were in terms of distance or pace as we were running along. All the obstacles were staffed with workers to make sure no one got hurt and to help people along, and supply water, but no one seemed to know how far into the race they were posted or at least they refrained from telling us when questioned. I figured that by the time I got to the mini-mud pit I was halfway through, but it was tricky to pace my energy without knowing for sure. Also a lot of the second half of the race seemed to be running uphill which was killer!

From the very first obstacle I realized I didn't have any problem climbing things, but getting over them gracefully was more difficult for me. I had a tendency to get to the top and then fling my leg over the side with a bit too much momentum, thus launching myself over without a way to really stop myself from toppling off the other side. This was most evident on the military hurdles, the first of which I totally fell off of going over. Luckily I just landed on my butt and quickly got up with an "i'm okay! i'm okay!" (note: no one around me was concerned at all. I was talking to myself.) and launched myself over the next one and got through it fine.

(Post-race. Still attractive. I used the bottle of water they gave me after the race to try and wash off my hands so I could get into my bag. Still it was a really messy endeavor.)

So obviously, from the pics you can tell I got very very muddy. The run advertised that there would be rinse off stations on-site. In my head I pictured... I don't know, showers? Not like they would create some spa out in the woods... but I don't know. What we got instead were a bunch of hoses with minimal water pressure hooked up to ice cold tanks of water. Trying to rinse off this way was more of a challenge than anything faced on the run. It would've taken me hours to try and rinse off in this fashion. Plus it was FREEZING. After trying for about 10 minutes and getting nowhere, I realized most people were abandoning this method to just walk back up the beach and rinse off in Pelham Bay. This was much more effective and the water temp was much more tolerable.Oh, and did I mention that even though I picked a giant bag worth of clothes to change into, I forgot to pack a towel? Yeah, that was really not good planning on my part. It made drying off a very creative process. Thank goodness it was an unseasonably warm October day. 

(nice and clean after my swim! I had to use my clean shirt as a towel, so I'm just wearing my wind breaker without a shirt underneath. Just like Rafa after a tennis match! Vamos!)

I have to give props to the race for their delicious hamburger lunch provided after the race. It was a decent sized burger with fresh, lettuce tomato and cheese along with a bottle of water and assorted bags of chips. They tasted great. The whole atmosphere of the event was really a lot of fun. It was also very nice that Very Pregnant Co-Worker Suki who lives close to Orchard Beach stopped by to cheer on me and Fabby. How I refrained from giving her a big muddy hug, I'll never know! Even if I mentioned a few negatives here, overall it was a fantastic day and I'm happy I took this physical challenge. The obstacles were fun. The company was great. I would definitely run through the mud again!

Come See My Play "Processing" At the Abingdon Theatre Benefit Tuesday Oct. 11th!

Hello friends! A new short play I wrote called "Processing" is being produced this week as part of the Abingdon Theatre's Moral Dilemma Comedies Fundraiser Series. There are two performances tomorrow night - Tuesday at 6:30pm and 8:30pm. All the info is below. The cast is a lot of fun and I look forward to seeing them tomorrow night along with the 5 other plays showcased. I hope to see you there in support of a great theater!

Abingdon Theatre Company

312 West 36th Street, just west of 8th Ave. 

Dorothy Strelsin Theatre, 1st Floor 

6 playwrights + 13 actors + 5 directors = 6 new plays 

Six playwrights take on the challenge to write a 10-minute play 

inspired by Abingdon’s current production, 

BLAME IT ON BECKETT, by John Morogiello.

$10 suggested donation at the door. 

There are no reservations. Only 55 seats per show!

Box office opens 30 minutes prior to curtain. 

SERIES A 

Tuesday, October 11, 2011 6:30pm & 8:30pm 

Playwrights: 

Will Arbery ● Josh Krigman ● Dara O’Brien 

Owen Panettieri ● Jack Rushen ● Bara Swain

Featuring: 

Kim Allen* ● Gail Merzer Behrens* ● Danielle Bourgeois Sue Brady* ● Peter Brouwer* 

● Chris Davis Gus Ferrari ● Michael Hardart* ● Tom Lacey* ● Martin LaPlatney* 

Tony Neil* ● Doug Rossi ● Jennifer Rubins* 

Directors:

Heather Arnson ● Jessica Creane ● Benjamin Shaw 

Catherine Siracusa ● Bara Swain 

Stage Manager: Ashley Nicole Zednick 

All participants are donating their talent to present these staged readings as a benefit for 

Abingdon’s New Play Development Program.

 * Member, Actors’ Equity Association

Thank you for supporting Abingdon Theatre Company, whose mission “to develop and produce new plays by American playwrights” has driven the development of more than 300 original plays since 1993. 

For more information, visit our website @ www.abingdontheatre.org

Friendly's: Empty Chairs At Empty Tables

(You will live! Friendly's, you're going to live! It's too soon! Too soon to say good-bye...)

Today on Gawker, I read some truly horrifying news. Apparently, Friendly's is $225 million in debt, and on the brink of filing Chapter 11. This is the worst news ever. I love Friendly's. My one true lament about living in the city is that there are no Friendly's close by. I bring this up with friends every now and again and they all say the same thing: a Friendly's would never survive in NYC. I don't understand why! We have every other awful chain here, why not one that serves mediocre food and delicious delicious ice cream desserts? But apparently they were right and I was wrong, as the whole franchise seems to be going under.

I am not ready to say goodbye to the SuperMelts, the Fribbles, the Happy Ending Sundaes (yes, that's what they are called) the crispy chicken salads, the place mats you can color on in crayons at any age, and of course the free refills of soda. I will never be ready to let it all go. The news has brought back a flood of memories about my favorite little chain restaurant where, as the slogan says, "The Ice Cream Makes The Meal." Damn, right it does. Let me share with you a few stories...

* As a little boy out at Friendly's with my family, I decided I would not get mint-chocolate chip ice cream in my sundae as I always did. I informed my mother I would try another flavor. For some reason, she discouraged me. Perhaps she thought that as soon as it came out I would turn my nose up at it and request the MCC? But I relented and told the waitress when it was time to order dessert that I would have the mint chocolate chip. She said she was sorry but they were out of mint-chocolate chip. My mom then made some off-hand remark "that I must have ESP" and that's why I was fine with going with another flavor when my favorite wasn't an option. I spent the next several decades believing I had some low level amount of ESP, looking for signs of superior mental and believing that it was always strongest whenever I was in a Friendly's. 

* There was a time in maybe 10th grade or 11th grade when my group of friends was at Friendly's and I faced off with my friend Becky as to how much soda we could drink in one sitting. Friendly's gave free refills, which only seemed fair since the glass was filled 85% of the way with ice. So I know I had root beer, and I think Becky did too, but Becky might have had coke or diet coke. That's not really the point. The point is that I got sick off the root beers. I didn't throw up or anything. I just was not feeling good at all during the late stages of the Refill Challenge. I was not meant to be a competitive eater/drinker just a constant one. I think we both stopped tied at 5 or 6 sodas. This was with a full meal. And we probably stopped not because we were so sick, but because we both acknowledged we would need room for dessert. How I was not a fat child and never had a cavity is a mystery to me. Also, I never learned my lesson with free refills. I will drink and drink until my stomach and bladder are ready to burst. This is evidenced by two Pink Lemonade Ordeals in Disney World (each one several years apart, same on-site restaurant though. I'm SO classy on Disney vacations.) and also just recently during a heat wave when again I could not get enough Pink Lemonade here at home before I made myself physically nauseous. But that one time in Friendly's with the root beer challenge started it all.

* My absolutely favorite dessert is the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Sundae. I take mine with mint chocolate chip (as noted earlier). Some people find the flavor of combo of mint and peanut butter an unpleasant prospect but it's my FAVORITE, especially Friendly's peanut butter syrup and their own MCC ice cream. My friend Sandi who I met during HS also loved this combo, and if you find someone who likes the same somewhat off-beat dessert as you, I swear you've probably met a friend for life. I know I did! :)

(picture this with mint ice cream and we're good to go. If you don't it sorta looks like someone mashed up a calico cat and stuck it in a sundae dish. It doesn't look that way with mint chocolate chip ice cream!)

* In college, there was a Friendly's within driving distance of Wesleyan. I didn't have a car, so I didn't go their often with friends. Occasionally I did. I remember a sign language dinner there that was particularly fun - and actual deaf people came over to talk to us! But mostly I saved my Friendly's visits for when my Dad came to visit. He hated Friendly's. He always wanted to go to one of the nice restaurants around campus. I didn't care. I was getting my Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Sundae and he was picking up the tab! Now before you judge me too harshly, bear in mind that he was coming to visit on some occasion that had to do with celebrating ME. Like it was around my birthday, or he was coming to see a show I was in or something. If he came during his birthday, I might have gone  somewhere else.* I at least made reservations for the family at Tuscany Grille for when I graduated. See, sometimes I was thoughtful.
* - This is a lie. My dad's birthday is my half-birthday and I would've claimed half-birthday privileges to go to Friendly's. I know I'm a monster.

Usually my phone conversation with my dad before he came up to visit went like this:

Dad: Where do you wanna go out to eat for dinner?
Owen: Friendly's.
Dad: WHAT? NO! Not Friendly's!
Owen: Yes, FRIENDLY'S!
Dad: We always go there! I want to go somewhere else!
Owen: WELL I WANT TO GO TO FRIENDLY'S!! IT'S MY DAY!
Dad: AWW! C'MON, OWEN!
Owen: NO! FRIENDLY'S!
Dad: Aahhhh.... shit.
Owen: YAY!! FRIENDLY'S!

It's not like I chose to go to Wesleyan because there was a Friendly's nearby, but it sure didn't hurt its chances in the selection process either. Anyway, one time Dad came up and I think I was in a show, this must have been spring of my Junior year, and he took me and my girlfriend Gracie to Friendly's before seeing the show. I remember I was REALLY sick with a fever that day, but I refused to say so out loud because I had a show I had to do that night and I really wanted my sundae and would sit through dinner in order to get it. (Oh, side note: I keenly remember Friendly's having a smoking section that was not separated by ANYTHING. It was the same air. Now smoking is outlawed everywhere.) So I'm not feeling well and I open the menu to choose between the two entrees I always get and I notice there is a new item on the menu. This was amazing since the menu at Friendly's was basically the same for the last 100 million years. The new item? A Fishamajig.

(to this day, it's hard to look at a fishamjig without my stomach getting tied in knots.)

That's right. A thing-a-majig made out of FISH. And the name was registered name no less! So basically it was mystery fish blended up and served with melted cheese. I can't remember the rest of the description. I just know that at the time, the idea of the fishamajig made me want to puke all over my coloring book-style place mat. My Dad and Gracie are talking about all sorts of things and I'm just sitting there trying not to throw up. Finally, I pull it together, close the menu and wait for the waitress to take my order as a cold sweat from the fever runs down my brow. The waitress stops first at the booth directly behind me and what does the person sitting there order? You guessed it! A FISHAMAJIG! So not only would I have to think about a fishamjig, i was going to have to smell it all throughout my meal. Somehow I made it through. I kept my mind focused on the peanut butter cup sundae that awaited me  and held my nose and got through it. My dad and Gracie didn't know how bad off I was until I told them about it later. Such a good actor I was! And of course my performance later that evening on stage was equally sublime.

One last short tale before I wrap up. Several years ago I was on my way to New England to share a nice weekend away with some friends at their families house. His mom picked us up at a train, I think (the details are kinda fuzzy in my head) but I know it was late and we were driving through CT and we were relatively close to the Friendly's near Wesleyan and I somehow convinced everyone it was a good idea to find it and eat a late dinner there. I don't know how I did this. Maybe I just kept saying "FRIENDLY'S" really loud over and over again until everyone thought the only way to shut me up was to go there. Of course we got lost and went well out of our way from our actual destination, but I'm pretty sure my friend's mom eventually got us to a Friendly's, even after I was more than ready to give up the quest. The rest of the weekend was lovely, don't you worry.

So as you can see from this small spattering of stories, Friendly's holds a special place in my mind, in my heart and in my stomach. So many fun memories of youth and early adulthood. If this really is the end... well, please don't let this be the end. I'm not ready to sing Empty Chairs at Empty Tables at a Friendly's memorial service. Will someone at least show me how to mix a Fribble before they all close their doors for good? I don't want future generations to grow up in a more un-Friendly world... and I need that peanut butter cup sundae....

A Year Without Cookies - Week 39

 (it's that time of year again.)

Week 39. Look at that end-cap of goodness pictured above! This is what greeted me when I went grocery shopping this week. I wanted to buy every box! Unfortunately for me, it says "cookies" right on the packaging. Mallomars don't really count as cookies do they? are they baked like cookies? I'm gonna have to think long and hard about this one and at the very least buy a few boxes to store in my freezer. Don't they look amazing? And a total steal at only $4.89 a box!

This week I mentioned I was at 39 weeks to Co-worker Suki and she remarked that she was 36 weeks into her pregnancy. She has been sick nearly every day for 36 weeks an I have been hungry for cookies every day for just as long a time. Who has walked the tougher road? It's hard to say. But I am fairly certain that she only has about four weeks to go (or maybe less. that baby seems ready to arrive at the party a little bit early to me. She's so big! Is there really a whole month left of baking in the oven... like a giant delicious cookie??  mmm.... delicious baby-shaped cookies...) and then after that I will continue to soldier on for another 12 weeks. So all things considered, it's a toss up.

Next week is week 40! FORTY WEEKS! I am stunned it's gone on this long. It's the 4th quarter of the year. And with it comes the biggest test of all. Holiday Season. Oh, boy.

A Year Without Cookies - Weeks 37 & 38

(Orlando's Top Chef "Surprise" is that there's no root beer float in this root beer float.)

Well, it has been two more weeks and still no cookies or soda for O. Marathon training has picked up, and my desire for cookies has increased exponentially. We are almost at 40 weeks in the year, folks. Surely I'm not going to be giving in now just from an increase in appetite... although some "friends" on the FB never miss an opportunity to suggest that I break and indulge in a cookie. It will not happen, Underminers! You have no power over me!

The other night at dinner I was splitting a dessert with someone and as we going over the many delicious options on the menu, one was a sundae that had a cookie base at the bottom. My friend suggested I just eat until we got the bottom layer so that he could enjoy the entire cookie. Listen, I'm not that disciplined or that nice. Once I was digging into the sundae I was not going to stop. And even if I could, was he going to leave me with that much more of the other layers to compensate for him getting the full cookie layer? Unlikely. Ice cream was ordered instead.

The temperature has dropped slightly here in NYC which should be conducive to a drop in the desire for a cool refreshing soda, but the humidity this week has been horribly obnoxious, so refreshing drinks are still in demand. Speaking of soda, this week I caught an episode of Top Chef: Just Desserts where this contestant made a root beer float that had no root beer float in it. Seriously, you can take a look at it up top. This dessert was rated poorly by the judges and almost got him sent home. But MAN, it made me want a real root beer float. I mean REALLY...

Week 39 is just around the bend! The last of the weeks in the 30's. The end of the year seems to be approaching at lightning speed!!

United States of Rafa 2011 - The Finals

(Positive spin... hmm... 1st is the worst, 2nd is the best?)

 Ooof.  I hate that Novak Djokovic!

No, but seriously. What can you say? Our Hero, Rafael Nadal tried his best. He tried to find solutions to weaken Djokovic throughout the match. Nothing worked. He tried moving back when Djok was painting the lines. Didn’t help. He tried moving in to crowd him and break down his volley. Didn’t help. Novak is just playing fearless tennis right now. Everything is working for him. Despite some momentary bouts of tiredness (which mostly come from not losing ever and having to play every tournament to its end) his game right now has no flaws. He is brimming with confidence and positive energy. There are no solutions to be found when facing that kind of opponent. Rafa fought hard, but Novak just couldn’t be beaten. It won’t always be that way, but this year that’s definitely the story for these two. Right now, Novak’s got his number.

The match itself was frustrating as a Rafa fan. He went up 2-0 and the start of the 1^st set and then lost the following six games to lose the set 6-2. He was up 2-0 in the second set and went on to lose the set 6-4. They would play these exceedingly long games with multiple deuce points and Rafa had many chances to capitalize, but Novak always came up with something amazing to rip the game away from Rafa in the end.  The third set tiebreaker was amazing and the one real triumph of the match for Rafa. Each player was firing and returning retrieving these unbelievable shots. The spectators at Arthur Ashe were gasping, the people watching with me at Midtown Tennis Center were shouting (it was a pro-Nadal crowd). It seemed impossible that Nadal had to work so hard to win a point. He was winning them, Novak seemed to momentarily slow down just a hair and Nadal took the third set. I was excited for him to take the set, but it felt a little like their match at Wimby this year, where Rafa lost lopsided first and second sets and the got the third but faltered again in the fourth. I was on the subway coming home for most of the fourth set and when I got above ground and saw the score was 5-1 favoring Djokovic my heart sank. I know he tried his hardest. It just wasn’t in the cards this time. I felt bad for him, because I saw how hard he was playing, I see how hard he plays every match.  

The situation reminds me of a Buffy quote from the end of Season 3: As justice goes, it’s not unpoetic, don’t ya think?  I mean, I can apreciate the irony. For years Federer could beat anyone on the planet except Nadal, and right now Nadal can find a way to beat anyone… except Djokovic. How many of Nadal’s  Grand Slam Finals came at Fed’s expense? More then half of them – SIX! (4 French, 1 Wimby, 1 Aussie.) It’s a sucky situation, but Nadal has been on the better side of that equation a lot. Now he’s on the worse side. He’ll be back on the good side again. That’s what makes it a rivalry for the ages. :)

Novak’s win doesn’t diminish all the amazing success that Rafa has enjoyed for the past several years. Rafa may only have three titles so far for the year which is less than usual, but it’s still a great showing and he did compete in the championship match for six other titles, which means he is playing very well overall. And the year’s not over because it’s the longest effing season in sports, so there's still time for more success! Rafa will fight and win another day! Vamos!