Pink, pink, what do you think?June 29th, 2006 @ 6:57 am
The King and I are a one-car family, and have been since we got married 6 years ago. We don’t do this because we are environmentally minded, or because the Metro rocks here in Seattle. No, we do it to save money. And money it saves. But convenient it is not.
I rode the bus to work for years. The King rode his bike. I can’t remember how many times I’ve asked my friend May for a ride to a Church activity or to run me to the grocery store. We’ve even borrowed the in-laws extra car from time to time.
Plus now that we are living downtown, we can’t afford the parking for a second car. As it is we pay $200 a month to park our one car.
But we’ve managed. It’s been hard one us both, and hard on our marriage. (yes, we fight over who gets the car. It sucks!) It’s been hard on my friends who always have to drive because I don’t have the car.
Now that we have Babboo and are building the new house, it’s even harder. The King has to have the car to drive to the house every night after work. But we also need to take Babboo to The King’s Mom every morning and pick him up every evening. And she doesn’t even sort of live by us or the new house. (This will be easier when we actually get into the daycare center we want, but that’s a few months off.)
The King has been my hero since I’ve been back to work. He’s driven Babboo to his Mom’s every morning and his Mom has driven Babboo back to the city every afternoon when I get off work.
This has worked out great for me. But not for everyone else involved.
Which means we went to look for a second mode of transportation for our little family last night.
We looked at a new SUV.
I kid.
We looked at a new scooter for The King to ride to and from the house. We figured it would be cheap enough to buy, cheap enough to put fuel in, and very cheap to park.
Unfortunately the dealership only had two models left. Which sounds good, except both scooters were pink. The King can not pull off a pink scooter. Heck, I can’t pull off a pink scooter. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure who can pull off a pink scooter.
They were cute. Very cute. But oh so pink.
I guess Plan B is to get one of the two (or is it three?) Vespa Scooters The King has in storage and put some money into getting them up and running.
Or I guess we can just buck up and keep doing what we’re doing. Which doesn’t really work, but is the cheapest option.
Let’s hope this house gets built faster than the last house we built.
The New House
Britt
said,
June 29, 2006 at 6:19 pm
$200 a month to park your car?? That’s crazy! I’d take the bus, too!
Cindy
said,
June 29, 2006 at 7:29 pm
Did you at least take pictures of The King on one?? Please tell me you did!
janet
said,
June 29, 2006 at 7:30 pm
hahah I would love to see the King on a pink scooter. I wonder if you could find a used one in the classifieds/craiglist or something? We are a one-car family too. Luckily, we A.) don’t have a child to cart around and B.) both take public transportation to work.
I see you were successful in putting a picture of cute, cute Babboo up!
Amy
said,
June 29, 2006 at 8:24 pm
That’s so wonderful of The King’s mom to bring home Babboo. I can’t imagine having only one car. Of course, we don’t live where public transportation is the norm. Practically have to pack a lunch just to go to Target.
Liberal Banana
said,
June 29, 2006 at 8:32 pm
Ohmygod, I totally want a pink scooter! That is SO awesome! I freakin’ LOVE pink. Good luck with getting SOMETHING to work for you!
Carrisa
said,
June 29, 2006 at 9:14 pm
Oh my gosh. I would love a pink scooter like that! But I agree that it’s not cool to ask him to ride around on a pink scooter. (oh but the joy it would bring others to see him on it!) What if you waited like another month… would there be some non pink ones coming in? Or is there another dealership around that has them? And I think you should sue whoever charges $200 a month for parking. That’s just crazy. I’m so glad I don’t have to worry about things like that out here in cow town.
jennster
said,
June 29, 2006 at 9:20 pm
who wants to pay that much to park their fucking car?!?! seriously!
Lisa B
said,
June 29, 2006 at 10:42 pm
Eeek. You not only have a car payment but property tax (at least here in Mo), insurance, gas and parking? Yikes. That’s sucky.
I couldn’t ask my hubby to pull off a pink scooter either.
And honestly, its nice to know you guys fight about SOMETHING. I envision you and The King always happy and nicey-nicey to each other and that the only thing you two would fight over is who loves the other one MORE.
H. Squirrel
said,
June 30, 2006 at 1:19 am
Oh he can SO pull off the pink scooter. You could, too, naturally. BUT, if he’s not comfortable, then whip out one of those many Vespas in hiding!!
In the meantime, thank your lucky stars that you have such a fabulous husband AND mother-in-law. Oh and give the Sweet Babboo a squeeze from me.
victoria winters
said,
June 30, 2006 at 2:30 am
Oh, I’D drive a pink scooter! I totally would! hee hee.
Hilary
said,
June 30, 2006 at 1:56 pm
That pic of Babboo is so cute. OMG he looks just like you! He also reminds me a lot of my little boy. But then again, they are only, what 4 days apart?
$200 for parking! Heck by the time you pay for public transportation, pay for parking, and pay for the actual car itself, well…..it makes me feel no so weird about living in the country and “having” to have two cars.
Good luck!
Christar
said,
June 30, 2006 at 2:06 pm
My boyfriend just barely bought a vespa style scooter on Monday. (Not to mention that I nearly wrecked it the same day he got it) He has a GMC van, and he just cannot afford to take it to work every day, so he got the scooter. It’s actually a Metropolitan Honda, which is very similar to the Vespas. He absolutely loves it! He takes it everywhere, and it gets close to 118 miles to the gallon. He’s only had to fill the tank once since he’s got it, and it cost about $4. I’d definitely say invest in one of those.
Oh, and I would love a pink scooter! Pink is my favorite color, and I’d so be able to rock that! So maybe I should get a pink one!
Durga
said,
June 30, 2006 at 2:42 pm
I can’t believe that ur apartment doesn’t come with a car spot/ garage! ouch that sux. Michael and I have been talking about getting a scooter for me for a few years now. We have one car too. And it sux to pay fow nsurance etc etc every year.
Look at it this way Isabel. U have some good luck…U’ve got a nice mother in law who is saving u time, money and effort by looking after Babboo for 2months. My mother in law…well …i didnt know there were some trials that are to last beyond this life…
michelle de seattle
said,
June 30, 2006 at 3:22 pm
Flexcar is awesome, and cheaper per mile than owning a 1985 Honda. Believe me, I know….
Julie
said,
June 30, 2006 at 3:33 pm
Totally off topic, but Babboo is so yummy! I can’t believe how big he’s getting already (I say that about every baby I’ve ever seen, so you’d think I’d learn….).
girl from florida
said,
June 30, 2006 at 4:38 pm
Just do it! Go for the pink! I LOVE how adorable Babboo is getting, I just want to squeeze him.
Chris
said,
July 2, 2006 at 12:20 am
Oh, come on. You guys could work the pink! Great pic. And I admire you for managing with one car. You rock.
Kathleen
said,
July 4, 2006 at 6:43 am
Funny, my DH and I were just talking this weekend about how we’ll handle not having a car when we have kids. For now, our mopeds work great to get us around Seattle, but once you throw a kid in the mix, I’m sure it gets tricky.
Also, unless the King really specifically wants a Vespa, he should check out my friend Kevin’s moped shop (Seattle Mopeds) on 45th in Wallingford…I know Kevin has some bikes in stock right now.
The gas savings with a moped or scooter are insane…we filled up BOTH of our mopeds tonight for a total of $4!!