jpinsd | Kilts, scooters, zombies, and chocolate

I've been so overwhelmed with work (plus a few private projects) lately that i've not had time to do much of anything, especially keeping uo with LJ, Flickr, and email.

So this morning, I stop by my post box and pick up my new kilt I orderd, then headed to work.

I've been thinking about getting a scooter for a while now, and I've been really fascinated with scooters and motorcycles in general for a long long time. After talking to Jeremiah (

tidblgr72) about it last night, I realized that the savings in gas would pay for the scooter in aobut 2 years time... sorta. I used a bit of fuzzy math on the equations, but it all worked out how I wanted it to, anyway. And that was to get a scooter! Of course, I'll still be keeping my Toyota Rav4. It's just that... well.. I want a scooter. And I want to justify it ;-)

The scooter I have been looking at is the Honda Metropolitan. It's totally got the styling I like, and that white and blue color scheme is just so freakin' perfect! So I called a guy I work with who has a lot of experience with motorcycles and stuff, and asked his opinion.

Looks like the Honda won't really do it for me. It's not that I'm a big fat boy (I am) and that the scooter couldn't carry me (it can), it's that the scooter is only a 49cc engine. That means it has a top speed of about 40 MPH. I'm not planning on taking the scooter on the highway or anything, but 40 MPH? that's just not enough oomph, i think. We talked a bit, and looked at some other models, and found the Vino 125 from Yamaha. I started getting my hopes up again. Maybe I could get a scooter after all. It's about $1000 more than the Honda, but still... $2800 is totally doable for something like this.

After work I headed home, and tried on my new kilt. *heavy sigh* there's nothing like trying on a real kilt to show you just how fat you've gotten. Kilts ride up higher, with the waist being about where your natural waist is; right around the bellybutton area. I've got a big belly, it's about 8 inches bigger than my hips, which is where I wear my pants. Having the kilt around my natural waist just showed off how big i've gotten. It was totally depressing. I have a feeling i'm not going to be wearing it to the highland games this year, after all.

After that shocker, I decided I need a bit of a pick-me-up. I also decided that I should check out the Yamaha dealers Saturday. I called up my NSLP (

raisincub) to go out to dinner, and talk about the pro's and con's of having a scooter. I mean.. there's a lot of pro's, including 96 MPG.... yes.. ninety six miles per gallon. But what about the negatives? well, if it's under a 50cc engine, you don't need to get a special motorcycle driver's license. The Vino 125 is a (can you guess? i bet you can!) 125cc engine; so I guess I'll need to get that m-class driver's license. Which, really, isn't a bad idea. You never know when you'll need to know how to drive a motorcycle.... like during the next zombie invasion. All the other vehicles are surrounded, but not the motorcycle. If I know how to drive one, then I'll be able to escape the zombie horde.

Of course, getting an m-class license also involves taking a series of classes. I dunno how much those are for sure, but somebody told me they thought they were about $300. And then there's going to be the increased insurance cost, too. Ugh. It's looking like getting a decent scooter that can carry my fat butt up and down hills is going to cost me so much more than I want to spend.

I guess i'm not going to be getting the scooter, after all.

We head on over to Best Buy for a little retail therapy. I look at the widescreen plasma and LCD TVs. I'm thinking "it would be nice to have one, instead of the 31" tube TV I currently have"... after a bit, I realize that I don't actually watch TV at home, and i've taken to watching rented movies on my computer instead of in the living room with the surround system and all that. Getting an $1100 plasma TV when all I really use it for now is playing Wii games just seemed kinda stupid.

I walk away a bit dejected, but my eye is caught by the digital picture frames. Nifty! And they've come down in price a lot, too. That would be a nice toy to get!

... except that I really don't have any place to use it at home, and at work i've already got my own pictures printed and framed and hanging on the walls. Nope, I really don't need a digital picture frame. Just keep wandering.

They also were totally sold out of the Wii Fit (like everybody else in San Diego).

I wandered over to the camera department, but I already have an amazing macro lens I just got last week.

I stumbled into the Mac department, and thought about getting a new computer. It would cost less than a scooter, after all. But then I remembered that the WWDC is on Monday, and it's possible that they will announce new computers. The MacBook AIR is pretty sweet (and it is REALLY thin!), but i've got a decent laptop already. And with my luck, Apple will be announcing the MacBook Nano. Only 3 microns thick! plus the screen works by sub-atomic particle stimulation!

Compared to that, the MacBook AIR is positively gargantuan. Who would want one of those clunky things?

Of course, they're almost positively going to be announcing the new iPhone. I'm seriously thinking about getting one, so it wouldn't make sense to get any kind of accessory for my current iphone, if I'm going to be replacing it in a few days.

At that point, I decided it was time to go.

To recap:
New kilt - makes me look fat
Scooter - too expensive, and I need a license and classes
Plasma TV - stupid purchase, since I don't even have cable, and I never watch TV at home
Digital Picture Frame - nowhere to put it, no need for it.
New Computer - not until I see if anything new is being announced.
iPhone stuff - not until I see what the new iPhone will have, and whether or not I'm going to get one

I decided to go fill this void, this empty space, with chocolate. Instead of a shiny new bauble, I would enjoy the delicious, smooth, and exotic flavors of some rich Belgian chocolate. Bliss!

I got home, and realized I ate the last of the chocolate 3 nights ago.

*sigh*