There's a little "stunt" I do on a particular street: I leap off a curb, parallel-turn arc up and down the bottom of a sharply-angled driveway, then step-over to my left onto the adjoining sidestreet.

When I was out an hour or so ago, I heard someone shout "you crushin' it brother!" as I wrapped up that sequence. Here a few young black men were standing on their front steps, filming me! So I guess I can mark this down as the first time I actually entertained a random third party with my skating.

A few days ago I checked the Amazon order for my first pair of skates: delivered on September 30, 2019. I've had less than four full months of practice, and that was divided in two parts by winter. And I started not even being able to stand on skates without falling down. Taking my limited athletic ceiling and age into account, and I think I'm progressing pretty well.

One thing I'm trying to do is develop my own style. Don't get me wrong: watching a pure technician with a ton of experience, like a Richie Eisler, is like observing a real-life ninja-- he's unfathomably talented! But while he's a big step down in overall talent, there's something about the flamboyant, almost out-of-control Xavi Eguino that I want to emulate.