I have walked 500 miles

I went back to Connecticut Saturday to say goodbye to my SUV. My ex-roomie and I drove to the dealer, dropped it off, and just like that my freedom was gone. No more long drives to cool off. No more singing along at the top of my lungs on I-95 or the Merritt or the back roads. It was kind of emotional. I'm glad it worked out so I don't have to make payments while paying NYC rent, but man I will miss my truck. I look forward to the day when I can afford to live extravagantly enough in the city to afford one. Not that I'd get another SUV. I'd want a Mini or something. But you get the picture.

I also made arrangements to continue doing my laundry at my old place. The train ticket vs. laundromat or send-out laundry expense was about even, and this way I can still party it up in Norwalk. Of course, I'll have to beg for rides everywhere now. But it will be fun to keep visiting my old place. I learned I'd moved out at a good time too - the landlord wanted to raise the rent by $100/mo. That would have hampered my savings.

I went to a party in Newport, RI and then came back to the city. I love Labor Day weekend. Great weather, last days of summer. Plus, the city is empty. All the natives leave to enjoy one last summer weekend out in the Hamptons, leaving some tourists and me. Back home on the UES, I unpacked some more and hooked up my TV and DVD player. I listened to WCBS radio to catch the Yankees games. I also unsuccessfully tried going on the Internet. I had been using a couple of unsecured routers in the area and connections had been less than constant. But this weekend was the worst - I was only able to connect for 10 minutes at a time, followed by inactivity for hours. My laptop was mad at me. The Media Center TV guide wouldn't download. I got errors when trying to load pages. It was an exercise in frustration.

Since I work for an Internet company, I knew I could not go without. Too many clients emailing with questions after hours. I needed Internet. I tried to resist until my cell phone started acting up. I had to call AT&T to try to troubleshoot. My favorite part was when they asked if I could call back from a landline. I understand they wanted me to test things, but you have to be kidding me. I thought cell phones were supposed to eliminate landlines?

But it hardly mattered. I wanted a home phone too. My technology failures over the weekend sealed it - I called Time Warner and made an appointment to get their Triple Play installed. The triple play is digital cable, digital phone and cable internet for $100/mo. They had a higher option they tried to sell me on - digital cable with Starz, HBO and Showtime plus faster internet for $30 more a month. No thanks for now. $100 is already a lot. Unfortunately, their soonest appointment is September 13. Patience is a virtue I don't have but I guess I'll have to learn.

With no Internet, I had to run to Starbucks on Sunday night to make my fantasy football draft. Then I had to pay $6 to use the TMobile hotspot for an hour. Lame. I missed my first two picks setting my TMobile account up. I didn't get LT so I'm probably screwed but oh well. It's for fun anyway.

One of the reasons I'd tried to avoid media in the apartment was to get out more. But it's not going to be a problem. I love exploring! On Sunday I went down to the 50s. I started on 5th Ave, working my way up to the mid-60s. Then I came one avenue East until I ended up back at the 59th St/Lex station. Loved it! It was no-tax weekend in the city, so any piece of clothing under $110 was tax-free. When I was living in Connecticut I was splurging on nice clothes and shoes, but now that I'm paying the move off H&M and Forever 21 are my best friends for awhile. I window-shopped in Neimans, Bloomie's, Kenneth Cole and DKNY but made my actual purchases at the low-brow chains. Painful for the ego but easier on the wallet.

After I was done shopping I decided to walk home from 59th and Lex. It wasn't too bad, but when I got home I was dehydrated and tired. I'd walked almost 4 miles in total that day. It also made me realize how much my diet sucks. I felt wiped out. I need to eat better to be able to do all this walking. The next day I did even more - I walked up to 86th St to hit the Best Buy and then back home, criss-crossing the avenues on the way down to see what was around. Then I walked back down into the 60s to see a friend and walked home again. Another 4 miles, another nap needed when I got home. If this doesn't inspire me to be healthy, nothing will.

My ultimate goal is to be able to walk home from work. That would be almost 60 blocks. I'm sure I can do it, though maybe not yet. I'd like to join a gym - I'm going to check out an NYSC by my apartment in the next few days. But like everything else it's an expense. Til then, walking a lot will have to do. Especially if it's to shop.