Wednesday, January 28, 2009

nikkei! (or, attack of the killer bake sale!)

i had a workout planned today.

yes, i really did.

a short swim, focusing on technique, followed by a short upper weight-training set.

i even had the great fortune of having an extra time slot (courtesy of a cancelled class) to fit it in. 3 hours, all conveniently placed in the mid-morning with enough time to drive, park, workout, shower, and get to everything else i had to do.

yes, i really did.

even though it is a recovery week, and i'm scheduled for a break. even though today was originally labeled as an off-day, and i've been feeling a little more tired than usual. even though i slept through my alarm, and got stuck in a 2-hr. traffic jam on the freeway, and been forced to miss breakfast, and arrived to campus only to found out that i'd forgotten my running shoes.

even with all of this, i still planned on doing this swim workout.

yes, i really did.

but then i didn't.

i had an encounter, you see. an encounter that couldn't be ignored. an encounter i could not overcome. it was an encounter with my greatest of nemeses, my greatest doom, that horror of horrors, that onslaught of all onslaughts, that most unholy of terrors to every athlete's soul. yes, it was the very inexorable, inevitable, invincible one that you cannot resist. it was (ok, ready for it? steady yourselves, ready yourselves, prepare yourselves! repent now, before it's too late!)--and *drum roll*:

the semi-weekly (sort of--maybe really just when they feel like it or just need some extra cash, but hey, who's counting?) UCLA Nikkei Bake Sale.


the maelstrom of darkness incarnate.

they had pastries, you see. and lots of them. cookies (sugar and chocolate chip!). brownies (plain fudge and extra nuts!). rice krispy treats (with and without marshmallows!).

and then there were the scones (why, oh god, why did it have to be scones? with cranberry and butter...and still warm and chewy, no less. and every last one of them calling my name...).

and then, to top it all off, they had butter & sugar mochi (okay, i've never had butter & sugar mochi before, but one thing you should know about me is that if you give me some food item i've never seen and tell me it's dessert, it's tantamount to waving a red towel in front of a bull, or laying out honey underneath a bee hive, or holding a banana in front of a, whatever, you get the idea).


and the table was overflowing with food. and staffed by very forlorn sad-looking japanese girls. and who said they had too much food. and who then said they had not set prices, but were instead simply taking donations. and oh yeah, mister, could you just buy something from us please? *boo-hoo* *sniff* *sniff* *weep* *weep* *drip snot* *drip snot*.

now, honestly, i tell you, how can a decent god-fearing humble man resist that?

the answer is, of course, he can't.

and neither can i.

so for the cost of $3 i had myself some of the best damn scones and butter & sugar mochi any human being in history has ever had on the face of this planet.

and i ate every bite.

and it was good.

and i didn't feel the least bit guilty.

and as for the workout...uh, what was that?

1 comment:

Bob Almighty said...

Attack of the killer bake sale... man that sounds like a good B horror movie...

Actually my college tri club held one of those we always seemed to do better when the girls were working the table....