I’m All Lost In, #97: Marinated tomatoes; the Tennis Podcast live; a tomato throw rug.
I’m All Lost In …
the 3 things I’m obsessed with THIS week.
#97
1) Marinated Tomatoes
A generous slice of tomato will add flavor to any sandwich. But to reach Gourmet levels, I suggest making this vinegar-driven potion of chopped garlic, chopped red onion, minced fresh basil, lemon juice, two tablespoons of olive oil, some salt, a pinch of pepper, and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Just place your freshly sliced tomatoes in a medium-size bowl and douse them with these savory vinegar vibes.
Apparently, I went a little cuckoo with the raw garlic; the recipe calls for one clove, and I chopped up four.
This was for a vegan cream cheese and marinated tomatoes sandwich I made on sour dough toast this past Monday night with my own add on: a scoop of red kidney beans from the can. The red beans soften the sweet cashew-based cream cheese.
This marinade is sure to make your sandwich oily and messy.
Mouth watering too.
2) The Tennis Podcast Live at the Gramercy Theater, 8/21/25
Luckily, on our way to get a pre-show drink, my fellow tennis-obsessed-pal Lee and I passed the theater and saw that a queue had already begun forming outside. It was rapidly stretching down East 23rd toward Lexington. We opted out of our drink plans (there was a bar in the theater anyway) and we got in line. It was a general admission show, and thanks to this wise pivot in plans we ended up in the 5th row for my dream evening: cheering on my favorite trio, witty sportscaster Catherine Whitaker, veteran tennis reporter David Law, and young sage Matt Roberts. They were recording the latest installment of their show The Tennis Podcast live at the intimate, 650-capacity Gramercy Theatre in New York City for a special U.S. Open preview. With their usual improvisational ease, they used the pending tournament’s hot-of-the-presses draw brackets (men’s and women’s) to make predictions, cast aspersions, talk shit (poor World No. 66, Reilly Opelka), and in the case of Roberts, speak with near-poetic wisdom about tennis.
Roberts, a tennis dork who has ascended from his role as the show’s former intern, is clearly the star of The Tennis Podcast these days. And he played his role this Thursday night dispensing wisdom whenever he spoke; unfortunately, I made up for skipping the pre-func drink by buying a strong vodka at the show so the only notes I took are cryptic. I quote Roberts saying: “We’ll be playing tennis until 3am forever.” And, accidentally taking a video instead of a photo, I also have him saying: “I think one of the beauties of tennis is that one day you can be the World No. 1 and lose….[video cuts out]…”
Matt Roberts, the Tennis Podcast at the Gramercy Theatre, 8/21/25
L-R, Catherine Whitaker, David Law, Matt Roberts, the Tennis Podcast live at the Gramercy Theatre, 8/21/25
But I’m pleasantly surprised and a-okay reporting that normie 50-something David Law held court this packed evening. Unphazed by Whitaker and Roberts’ youthful chemistry and pop culture sarcasm, his commentary provided the conversation’s gravitational pull all night. I strongly disagree with his bizarre prediction, though, that former (2019) World No. 1 and current No. 25, erratic and melodramatic Naomi Osaka will win this year’s U.S. Open.
I will say, despite my favorite player Aryna Sabalenka’s current No. 1 ranking, I don’t think she’s going to win the tournament either. While Sabalenka did win the U.S. Open last year, she seems distracted and off her game this month.
I agree with Matt and Catherine that World No. 2 Iga Swiatek will win this year. After being World No. 1 in 2022, 2023, and most of 2024, Swiatek fell to No. 8 in 2025. But she suddenly looks like herself: unbeatable once again heading into the tournament.
3) Scouring and Organizing
Last week, I noted in passing that I was tidying up my apartment. This was my segue into talking about the actual obsession at hand: paying off my credit card debt [I’m All Lost In, #96, 8/17/25.]
This week, the tidying turned manic. I went on an apartment cleaning, scrubbing, and re-org crusade.
Light switch fixtures, baseboards, drawers, window sills, counter tops, the stove top, the burners, the dishwasher, the refrigerator, and the bathroom could not escape the Eco-clean and scouring pad treatment. Piano dusted. Fan taken apart and dusted! I rearranged my closets and clothes too.
Also: following up on the proper recycling bin I bought last week, I ordered a recycling sticker this week so I can label it. I also bought three throw rugs, including two pseudo Turkish rugs and a bright Sesame Street tomato rug (which feels plush on my bare feet); I’ve been fed up with my worn out and besmirched 12-year-old carpet for months.
I put my bulky desk chair in storage and replaced it with the stately and simple chair that’s been crowding my bedroom. I also staged my plants, draping one snaking vine strategically across the piano.
I was clearly preoccupied with energizing the apartment this week. But if I had to choose the emblematic obsession that defines the whole enterprise, I’d go with scouring pads.