I think it's not unreasonable to be superstitious, at least about skating. So much of the experience at least appears to be entirely beyond my control. I might rolled down a new block and find a new spot. I might roll down a new block and hit a pebble. I might get hit by a taxi. Fuck taxis. I've lost the plot here.
It's normal to develop some superstitions about skating in the street. For example, I think I know if I'll skate well based on the moment I first pick up my skateboard. If it feels heavy, I'll suck; if it feels normal, I'll suck; if it feels miraculously lighter than usual, I might get something new or feel satisfied at the end, even though I suck. I have no control over this feeling at all, it's really like destiny at this point. Although little pieces of my set up chip off due to wear, and the trucks grind down, this can't be the explanation, because it would be linear and I would just get better as the equipment wore out. Instead, it's almost totally random.
I had a bad day, and went back to Taipei, arriving at my front door exactly at the stroke of midnight. I threw down my suitcase of shit and put on skate gear, with the intention of skating the city late on a sunday night, without any plan. Maybe **** the adidas white rails, but that's a dumb idea.
I threw down and immediately fell, like, first touch of my foot on the board. Back foot didn't even come close to getting on. It's because all this street has worn out my pivot cups and I'm lazy and cheap, so I didn't spend the extra 50nt for new ones. Also, jimis hasnt had new ones in a while, and I refuse to buy them from anywhere else but anytime, which is very far away.
I got up and kept going. It took about 45 minutes to get to 101, which is still an alien and bizarre sidewalk path for me. It's popular with those who film themselves skating, but I don't, and I usually leave them and their security problems to themselves. On teh way, I had some other weird omens, like hitting cracks and having to run it off, and taxis almost hitting me out of nowhere.
I went east/south east on an alien and unexplored street, and was rewarded with a very steep five stair rail. It's quirky and Taipeinese, but it got me thinking about what exactly was worth getting hurt for tonight. That rail, and the bad day, put me in just the right mood to appreciate failure.
I kept going and found what has to be the longest marble ledge in Taiwan. It's three blocks long, uninterrupted, because it's on the outside of some silly military thing. The entire length of it shows no sign of having been skated. This would be a 20+ trick line, if such a thing exists. It's like a mostly unsurfable wave, whatever that means.
I steeplechased over to 101, and got ran off by security a couple of times. That whole area is shit. City hall has a bank with grind, were I started to really try tricks. About five tries in, I ate shit on a pebble, inbetween throwing down and the first push. Another bad omen. My skateboard shot backwards, and I rolled over to watch it go, helpless, out into the road filled with taxis like the Nile is filled with crocodiles. No crocodiles got it. I tried a few more times, but it was half hearted, and I gave up and looked around for 101 and went in that direciton.
On arrival, I had to wander around for a minute like a tourist. I had had in mind to skate this metal curb flat bar thing, with the idea of a *****. I hadn't tried one on a rail of anykind since the unfortunate experience of slamming in my moms drive way.
Astoundingly, I nearly made it first try. When my trucks hit the metal, it was like the sound of a hammer hitting a naked anvil. Not so bad at first, but when you try enough times, the sound of failure starts to ring in your head. I tried a lot of times. There aren't many houses nearby, so I wasn't feeling too guilty about keeping people up. Another try, another bang. The sound resonates almost like a very shitty square bell. I tried something like 50 times, as best I can figure. Never got it. At the very end, on the closest tries, when I tried to turn out, the truck just slid off, but in a way that I couldn't control. There must be a mystical secret to this. In the meantime, an MRT guard came out to watch and supervise and give me dirty looks and talk to his superiors on the radio, but apparently found out I was outside fo his jurisdiction, so he never approached me. My board flew up and hit me in the chest, mouth, thigh, shin, arm, etc, but I never got it. I'll be back, but not for a while. I've been coveting this spot for years, and I came so close and failed.
Next I went home. about 90 minutes of cruising, since I went a roundabout way. I ended up by the bridge, and skated one line, up and back, since it was 3 am.
Around this time, I realized the squeeking I had been hearing behind me for god knows how long was from a bicycle. This isn't usually a creepy sound, but the ddue turned down the bridge and tried to follow me back home. I realized abotu that time that I been hearing that sound for ages, adn I had no idea how long he had been following. I threw him off by giong to the park and drinking some beers in public. He watched and filmed and talking on his phoen for a while from other side of the park, but then left and then I went home.
On the way home, I did my first ever ** ***** up a curb. I had been eyeing that one for a while. I'll back back to the 101 metal. I'll be back.
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