an accident waiting to happen

*i cannot, in good conscience, recommend that mom and dad read this one*

so now that i (finally) have a motorcycle helmet, i'm pretty much invincible.
also, i am becoming a master motorcycle rider.
the following 3 events made me really, really happy.

1. sunday, i had lunch with a friend, and afterwards, we decided to ride up the mountain to a village and then back down the mountain into town. i always love riding a bike, but that particular day, i was wearing a skirt, so i made the 45 minute jaunt sidesaddle - not my favorite pose. i think i finally mastered it though, or at least i figured out how to sit in such a way that my legs didn't fall asleep and my shoes didn't fall off. always good news. so on the way up the mountain, it got a little boring. so my friend, the driver, decided it would be fun to ride the straight stretches with no hands. it's pretty much just like riding a bike with no hands. as long as you're balanced, you just coast, no problem. when you're riding side, however, balance is a bit of a concern. but on all the parts with no hands, the bike continued on straight and sure. my friend's comment? "wow, you really figured out how to center back there!" my reply? "i have a helmet! i can do anything!"

2. i was at a dinner the other night with a missionary lady i know, and we both had to head to the same place afterwards, so i asked if i could just catch a ride with her. she appeared hesitant... she's not yet a particularly confident driver, and having a passenger can wreak havoc on your balance/steering. and plus, i'm bigger than her. i assured her that if she was uncomfortable with it, i already knew i could get a ride from someone else, but that i also had just purchased a helmet, so even if we crashed, it would be fine. she agreed. halfway to our destination, she yelled back over her shoulder, "i can't even tell you're on the bike with me! you're so well balanced!" that made me really happy. i don't even quite know why. i think just feeling like i did a good job at something so random was nice. and also, knowing that i wasn't making her miserable. we did make it safely.

3. on the way home from said destination, i caught a ride with another friend who drives a vespa, circa the civil war. it's an awesome piece of machinery, mostly because it never runs quite right, and therefore reminds me of my beloved truck. anyways, i think we got a little bored too, because on the way home we decided to trade views, meaning that he was looking backwards over my shoulder, and i was looking forwards over his shoulder and telling him which way to turn. in indonesian. it was great fun until we came across a family walking in the road and i got scared that we would accidentally run over a small child. so i made him turn back around. game over.

i'ma try and get my license soon.
and then maybe a motorcycle by fall time.
but don't worry, cause i have a helmet.