Lately, that obsessions has been this:
Yep, I am fully and completely fixated on the idea of getting a scooter. I've been going over all of the advantages, and disadvantages, that would come with scooter ownership. I've been contemplating what color scooter would best suit me, all kinds of things along those lines.
This is what I've brainstormed so far....
Advantages:
1. If I used the scooter ONLY for my daily commute (home to work to school to home) I would save at least $100 per month in fuel costs.
2. Insurance would be super cheap, approximately only $30 per month, and my car insurance would go down since I would be putting less miles on it.
3. Parking - parking permits at school for a car is $40 for the semester. Its only $15 for a motorcycle.
4. Parking, part deux - parking for motorcycles at school is RIGHT OUTSIDE the building that most of my classes are in. For the cars, its a bit of a walk. Yep. general laziness is a factor for me.
5. Commute - I imagine that I would be able to reduce my commute time on a scooter. While I may have to sit through a couple of light changes in my car because of congestion, in a scooter I would be able to lane share and pass by all of the sad cars sitting there waiting to inch forward and cut straight to the front of the line.
Disadvantages:
1. The elements - in the scorching Sacramento summers, I would be without air conditioning and in the cold I'd be without heat. No, I wouldn't ride in the rain, I don't have a death wish. A friend of mine who has a scooter says that she uses it roughly nine months out of the year, the other three months she solely uses her car due to the cold, rain, and winds.
2. Crazy ass drivers who don't pay attention - I would definitely be vulnerable to them.
3. Music - scooters don't have radios! How would I sing in traffic?
4. Purse - would it fit in the little storage area under the seat or would I need to start using a backpack? If I use a backpack would my back get all sweaty? Ew.
Simultaneous advantages and disadvantages:
1. Smoking - can't exactly smoke while riding a scooter. This would be anxiety provoking initially, but would certainly help me to cut back on the amount I smoke.
2. Cell phone - can't really chat on my phone while riding a scooter either. But then again, you're not exactly supposed to talk on the phone while driving a car either, are you? And if you can't talk on the phone you can't text either. Yep, I do text and drive. I am a horrible horrible citizen.
3. Coffee - can't drink coffee on a scooter. Bad for my coffee addiction, good for helping me to cut back. I drink A LOT of coffee. Too much, in fact.
4. Shopping - wouldn't really be able to do any heavy duty shopping on a scooter, but that would certainly be good for my budget, wouldn't it?
Now, for color. Part of me is tempted to go with some kind of super girly pink... but should it be a pastel pink, or a hot pink? Or should I go with a flashy red? Or maybe a classic black, or silver. But, maybe I should go with something bright so that I'm more noticeable in traffic. I am leaning towards the pastel pink, but maybe thats only because I saw a super cute brown backpack with pink flowers a week or two ago. Yes, I am considering how I would accesorize when contemplating what color to get.
Heres the full color options.... I'm not going to assume that the swatches on that page are really true to color, just that they give a basic idea - they just look rather generic on that page.
Thoughts? Any opinions on color? Any more ideas of advantages or disadvantages?
The biggest drawback... I'm not quite sure how I'll finance it at this time. I have a another big expense I'm facing in the near future - a new laptop. Mine is dead dead dead and I do have to prioritize a laptop over a scooter at this point since I'm going back to school. Both cost about the same, $1,500, and I don't really have that kind of cash lying around (see all of my traveling this past year). And if I'm going to discuss large purchases that I don't have the funding for, theres also lasik eye surgery.. I am sick of my glasses and can't wear contacts for long periods of time. Any suggestions of how I can make about $10,000 quickly, and legally, that doesn't involve a pyramid, trapezoid, or anything like that? Whats the Super Lotto jackpot up to these days?
OH, another thing I get kind of obsessive over? Blogging about innocuous things while I should be writing an essay thats due in just a little over 15 hours.
