Why do I want what I want???

or, "Here's a big surprise... I want another scooter"

Here is the little thing that has poisoned my brain as of late.

It looks like a two-tone shoe or a hand bag. I can just see it, covered with gold and silver gucci designs! Plus it matches my cream colored Harley Davidson jacket.

So I ask myself..."Why do I want this?" All week long, I have been looking at this cream and blue Kymco People 150 and wondering... What is wrong with me?"

I have a perfectly wonderful BV500. I love my Blue Dragon. Why would I want this little thing? Do I have nostalgia for my old People 150? Is it the super girly paint job? Do I really need a second scooter?

It really got to me. Sure it is a good deal, it is a GREAT DEAL as a matter of fact. But beyond all of that, why was I becoming fixated on it.

I posted this question on Modern Vespa, and most people told me to "Go for it". That it was pretty normal to want a second scooter.

But insecure me, I have to delve into my motivation....so I randomly googled, "why do I want what I want", and came up with this:

The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don't Need [Paperback]

BINGO!

Now check this out:

Amazon.com Review

If getting and spending define our lives, then Juliet Schor now has us covered. Six years ago, her book The Overworked American scrutinized the getting part. It focused public attention on the disappearance of leisure and the harmful effects thereof on families and society. It sparked a debate over whether Americans really work as much as we proudly claim. (If so, how to explain the audience for Monday Night Football?) Nevertheless, Schor can take credit for helping push Congress into passing the Family Leave Act in 1993.

Now she is back with a critique of our spending. Schor notes that, despite rising wealth and incomes, Americans do not feel any better off. In fact, we tell pollsters we do not have enough money to buy everything we need. And we are almost as likely to say so if we make $85,000 a year as we are if we make $35,000. Schor believes that "keeping up with the Joneses" is no longer enough for today's media-savvy office workers. We set our sights on the lifestyles of those higher up the organizational chart. We seek to emulate characters on TV. For teenagers, "enough" is the idle splendor that hardly exists outside of what MTV un-ironically calls The Real World. Schor offers an original and provocative analysis of why many Americans feel driven and unhappy despite our success. As an alternative, she profiles several "downshifters" who've taken up voluntary simplicity in search of a more satisfying way of life. No policy solutions suggest themselves this time, only a change of heart. --Barry Mitzman

Ah HA!

I wondered about my motivation. I have been going crazy at work lately and it has really been getting to me. I had a bit of money set aside and I decided that I should spend it. That buying "something" would make me feel better. But I couldn't decide what I should buy... But I was sure I could use the money wisely.

The more I thought about "what to buy" the crazier I got. I was really becoming fixated about spending this money. But I couldn't actually choose a single item to purchase.

Now I did not buy the above book, but I gleaned enough just from the reviews that I am just dissatisfied with my current life situation and buying something would be a quick fix, and not solve the problem.

Alas, rationalizing does little to stop my want for this goofy little scooter or several other items that are also in the running .... But if I do buy it... it needs to be for the right reasons.