I skated four times this week. I had short sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. That is more than usual, so why am I belly aching. Tuesday and Wednesday were nice after work sessions at Forest. That is a great way to spend some time after work, it is relaxing. Saturday and Sunday (today) because of sleeping in too late, and for convenience I also skated at forest. But I skated poorly, and was a sweating and puffing quickly because of the heat. Today I took off the washer thingies on my trucks in hopes they would skate better. But the result was that they were too loose. On several of my sessions I noticed some good skaters that were as tall or taller than me whom had smaller setups.
My deck I had I skated since early May, almost a full three months which is awhile for a deck. So today I started plotting when I went to see my sister I would buy a new deck and wheels. Soon I was thinking of getting a whole new setup. With skateboarding some parts last longer than others, and it can be unusual to get everything new. For instance the trucks on my old board, I had for a good two years. The bearings I had for almost a year. Once I got it into my mind that I wanted a smaller board, I decided I needed a smaller board.
Convention states that a wider board can give more stability and perhaps more consistency. Whereas a skinny and lighter board can be flipped and turned easier. I’ve always been interested in tech skating, so I’m hoping since I bought this new smaller setup some of my flip tricks will come back.
My old setup was an 8 inch wide Habitat deck, 8 inch Venture trucks with bones bushings, 51 mm Ricta wheels with super swiss bearings. This is a legitimate street setup, nothing wrong with it. Today at Blades skate shop in the upper west side Manhattan I got a super set up. I got a 7.75 Alien Workshop deck, Koston Independent trucks, Bones 50 mm wheels with super swiss bearings. It seems similar in size, but that .25 less of an inch makes it much smaller.
At the shop I asked questions, and made my decisions. This shop has a lot of variety. Some NYC shops I notice that they lack choices for decks or don’t have much to choose from. This shop may be a little more expensive because of the location, but I can usually get stuff I want there. I was like a little kid and didn’t really think much about spending 40 bucks for wheels and over 240 bucks for the whole setup. Skating this setup is something I can look forward too. My next day for skating is Wednesday and I wish I could go sooner.
Afterwards I had a great dinner with my sister at a place called Hummus Place around 74th street and Amsterdam. The food is good, healthy, and affordable. After dinner we walked around and as a joke I said I was looking for sunglasses. Working by the beach means that I wear sunglasses on a daily basis when before I didn’t give much thought to it. I said I wanted garish sunglasses. She knew a place called Urban Outfitters, and sure enough I was able to purchase mildly offensive sunglasses for 18 dollars. After all that spending I felt good.
Shopping can be therapeutic, of course people have to set limits, but I think planning out a purchase and executing a purchase can give happiness. I never buy clothes for myself but maybe I should. I like to make goals and buying things can be a very good way to follow through on goals. I just spent over 200 bucks on my new skateboard, so I’m going to skate more. Perhaps with my new sunglasses I could find a matching hat for my Florida vacation.
Lastly I think the economy will improve, because spending makes people feel good. Once everyone is employed adequately materialism will come back with a flourish.
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