Vroom Vroom

Bitches.

Yes.

That’s right.

I wrote out the check for the down payment on my new ride.

My 1962 black Vespa!

Vespa

Piaggio

White Helmet, Red Flower

I was not planning on this happening today.

Ha.

I was planning on meeting my friend for coffee and going to Free Gold Watch to play some pinball.

Unfortunately, the arcade was closed down pending a re-licensing court hearing at 5:45p.m. this evening.  I signed the petition encouraging their re-opening.

I was bummed, so was my friend, as he had never been, I had emptied my bunny bank of its quarters and was ready to rumble with The Machine.

However, I was more than happy to talk scooter with my friend.

And I put down earnest money on it to hold it.

I did not pay it all off, I don’t have that kind of money on me.

But I did put a payment down and we agreed to terms and I will pay it off within a year, perhaps sooner.

I would like sooner, but I won’t freak out if I don’t and I felt really good and excited to see it and to also tell my friend that I really was committed, as I opened up the window on my phone showing the e-mail confirmation of the Motorcycle Safety Course registration.

He was impressed that I had managed to get into a class for this month.

Frankly, so was I, but apparently, I am supposed to be doing this thing as the class fell into place, the helmet materialized, my friend said yes to selling me his scooter (he just bought a brand new Vespa) and I am looking at suddenly having a motorized vehicle for the first time in eleven and a half years.

I don’t believe the grin on my face could have been bigger.

Say “Vespa!”

In fact, I am still smiling now.

I have not taken over ownership of the vehicle yet.

I could have, my friend is eager to have the extra space in his tiny garage in Nob Hill, but I figured it would be better for me to not have it until I was fully done with the safety course, had my permit in hand, and was on the way to the DMV to get my motorcycle licence.

And I did not bring my helmet with me to see my friend not expecting that he would actually drive it over to meet up with me.

It was just a happy afternoon going over all the little things on it, the hook where I can hang a purse or a bag of groceries, the little side compartment where I can stash a raincoat, a pint of oil, and probably a few other odds and ends, the tail lights and the engine, the side panel got pulled off and my friend pointed out a few other things–things that pretty much went right over my head–and how to deal with them.

I will just take it to his current mechanic should the need arise.

And my friend had already had it serviced recently, so I was not and am not concerned with that.

It runs and it runs beautifully.

He even is going to toss in an extra helmet so that when I want to I can ride a passenger.

That feels way the hell out there, but I bet it will happen sooner than I suspect.

Even though the safety course is tomorrow, it feels so far away.

Everything really did fall into place so quickly that I have had barely any time to process exactly what is happening, but find that I am suddenly in possession of all the needed things.

Scooter.

Helmet.

Leather knee-high harness boots to take the safety course.

New jeans.

Black leather motorcycle gloves.

It feels like a little fairytale come true.

“You’re whole life is about to change!” A friend responded with much glee to the photos I posted up on Instagram.

Yes indeed.

I really cannot comprehend it yet and I don’t suppose I will until I actually have it in my possession and the licence to drive it in my wallet.

Tomorrow all I need to do is show up on time to the class, 5:45pm. in the Mission, Folsom Street @ 18th.  I shall bring a notebook, a pen, and my CA drivers license.

Then after that I spend all afternoon on Saturday and all afternoon on Sunday taking the skills part out at the Phelan campus of City College, out on Ocean Avenue.

Then I will take the paperwork after passing the class to the DMV on Fell Street and take the written test.

After those actions are taken I will contact my friend and invite him to hand me the keys and the title.

EEK.

Just taking little tiny steps forward.

Yet, it feels like I am flying into some strange new world.

Scooter Girl.

I think there’s even a club in the city that does rides.

In fact, I know there’s a club in the city that does rides, I went on one with this particular friend on his Aprilla scooter and met up with a bunch of fellow scooter enthusiasts in the Inner Sunset then we did a ride through the Presidio, eventually ending up at Japan Town.

Wow.

That was so many years ago, seven, almost eight.

I think I was living at 25th and Kansas when that happened.

I never imagined I would own one, but, I  always have had a hankering for a vintage Vespa.

“Wait, walk this way a moment,” I said to my friend, “I feel like you need to see this too, two of my ultimate dream rides within blocks of each other.”

I steered him to the corner and pointed out the vintage black Karmann Ghia parked on Waller Street.

“That’s next,” I said with a conspirators whisper.

Until then, though, I am going to enjoy the hell out of this process, learning a new skill, getting a new vehicle, going grocery shopping!

Oh grocery shopping.

And zipping all over San Francisco.

Zoom zip and I wake up.

Zoom zip.