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How much do I have to walk to offset eating high-calorie food every few hours?

Let’s compare my food intake with my walking distance today:

Food:
1 everything bagel with cream cheese
1 small vanilla yogurt/granola/fruit parfait
2 slices of bread with garlic cream cheese and french whipped butter
1 small mixed greens salad
1 mushroom risotto
1 glass red wine
1 square of vanilla bread pudding
1 small skim latte
1 bite of Curtis’ poppy bagel
1/2 slice of chocolate cheesecake

Walking:
3.32 miles Chelsea-Midtown zigzag
3.57 miles Park Slope loop
Four subway staircases

The food intake for the day is typical, the walking is not. How long before I can’t fit into any of my clothes? Predictions welcome.

On Lawrence’s recommendation, I checked out Time Out New York for some local info on our new surroundings. I clicked on an article called 50 Best Blocks in New York. Guess who’s #20!

20 11th Street between Prospect Park West and Eighth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn

This peaceful street, lined with pristine brownstones and just off Prospect Park, is a quick jaunt from the commercial happenings on Seventh Avenue; it provides the best of both Brooklyn worlds.

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Yay, us!

A Park Slope encleve less than a mile from us made #6 on the list:

6 Montgomery Place between Prospect Park West and Eighth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn

Strolling down Montgomery Place induces a museumworthy trance. Stunning brownstones, old-world apartment buildings and a terra-cotta-colored minimansion fill this tranquil block-long street off Prospect Park. Leafy trees and planters full of colorful blooms add a pristine touch, while the mix of imposing late-19th and early-20th century limestone and brick buildings flaunts grand detailing. Arched doorways, curved staircases and a stained-glass oval suggest you’re in a European fairy tale more than a bustling Brooklyn neighborhood. Lucky residents who tire of the solitude are mere minutes from Seventh Avenue’s action and the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket.

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I feel so vindicated having put down a deposit on the third apartment I saw.

In tangentially related news, Curtis and I opened a joint checking account today, from which we’ll pay the bills. Scary.

On account of the temperature hovering around 70 degrees in Brooklyn today, I decided to take to the streets. After another nice breakfast of slow-cooked oatmeal and a nonfat latte at Naidre’s, some window-shopping, a new wallet, and a yummy bagel at Bagel Hole, I stopped into a pet store to make preparations for the arrival of Prince Tiger. Worried about having to maneuver a cat tower, litter box, litter and food back up to the apartment, I was delighted to discover that this pet store – and all the others – have free delivery.

As if I wasn’t thrilled enough in the first place to ditch the car, the car insurance and the gas money, I have been ecstatic to find that life without a car is a cinch. When mom and I emerged from Bed Bath & Beyond in Chelsea last week with armfuls of crap, an employee fastened a handle to the air mattress box, then a doorman escorted us to the curb, hailed us a cab, and loaded in our purchases.

Why the heck can’t all cities work like this? Public transportation that crosscuts the whole city, reduces pollution and is affordable to all; fewer cars with fewer accidents and less gas consumption; more walking for the good of public health; more jobs with the high demand for cab drivers, train operators, and personal service employees; extra money for small businesses with delivery tips and customer loyalty. It all sounds very Utopian, and NYC sure is compared to L.A. and S.F. I’m sure I’ll feel less warm and fuzzy once I get mugged.