January 2009
1 post
Progress
Got the following email from Sacha today:
OMG, you quit! You dirty, dirty quitter you. Please pull your quitting ass back on to your deck and proceed with whatever you were trying to master. I turned 32 a couple of weeks ago, and gave my last deck away when I moved in with my manipulating ex-girlfriend (“Yes baby, I really am too old for that stuff…”). This was about seven years...
May 2008
1 post
The park
Near my house is a skate park part of an Optimist complex. Last Wednesday when my son and I went to the pool for a swim, we noticed that there was no one at the park. Until school’s out, I might be able to get in a little practice skating. Truth be told, I haven’t been skating much in the past couple of weeks. Whenever I think to get out there and skate, it’s usually after 10pm...
April 2008
2 posts
Zoo York decks →
Spring has pop
First, I picked up a new Canadian quarterly magazine called Color. So far, so good. It seems to be a skateboard lifestyle magazine and shows skating in the snow in this issue. I haven’t had much time beyond thumbing through it to give a good review, but I’ll do so in the coming weeks. Second: the snow as almost all gone now. The only bits left are tiny hangers-on desperate to fight the...
March 2008
8 posts
Gadzooks!
I think I’ve figured out my turning dilemma! I turns out (haha) that the best way to go in a straight line is to explicitly ignore the image I created in a past post about my foot stance and instead of looking down, look up. I spent a while today trying to get the absolute basics down. Those basics being: Moving without falling off the skateboard Stopping a moving skateboard without killing...
(Not) Skating in high school
When I was in high school, I had a locker that was three doors down from a girl who I thought was the hottest girl in the school. Her name was Irene and it was the typical nerd and cute girl scenario - she was super friendly and polite and not interested in me at all, and I was drooly and stuttery and trying to get into all of her classes (not really). She hung out with a completely different...
First feet
Last night was my first skate session. It took place in 2° Celsius temperatures, around 8pm after the boy went to bed. The driveway was a bit wet, and there was a pile of snow off to one side of the drive. The only light was coming from my kitchen window. I set the board down and worked at the bushings a bit to get rid of that new deck squeak. Then, I decided to do what every newbie does -...
First deck
I have to say that I was nervous buying my first deck. I rolled over to Legacy and talked to Ryan(?) about my circumstance:I’m 30+ years old and I haven’t really ever skateboarded. I want to start so that I can skate to work and cut down my commute time, stay green, and get some exercise. Right now, I just want something that’ll get me around. Ollies will come later. The owner...
Shoes
In the back of my head, I keep telling myself that I need to get some new shoes - something light and flat-bottomed, as opposed to my current CAT walking kicks. The only thing close to an athletic shoe that I own is a sweet pair of sweet Nike Free. If I do buy something new, I’m not looking to spend much money - about $40. Come to think of it, I think I’ve seen Airwalk shoes around...
The weather outside isn't frightful
In Canada, it’s easy to look out at the world depressed at the snow and its death grip on the outdoor skateboarding scene. The good news is that I think the ice is finally entering its final thaw for the year and dry pavement is starting to appear around town. I’ve even seen a few people out skating already! In this city, there are no indoor skate parks* to start learning how to skate...
Official first post of the Zero Plus One Emissions...
I’ve been blogging for a long time, but nothing with a specific purpose before. This new blog is different. This new blog will chronicle the ups and downs of a 31-year-old trying skateboarding for the first time, through buying decks, interviews with my peers, reviews of skate parks, gear I’ve purchased, my own tips and mad trick videos (which will begin with just the ability to move...
