In the middle of the week, a flower of a session grew. I'm pretty sure I could have managed to have a good time alone at WestDoor Plaza, but each friend magnified it by an order of magnitude. RMJ ran into me in the MRT and we started warming up on the smooth, slippery pink curbs and ledges and flatground. Then IS and MSCS rolled across the three acre plaza, and we got into with some slappies and so on. I worked through my *********s with MSCS giving me pointers, and goddam if that boy caint magically coach a skate session.
Security came to tell us that we had to leave at 10:00pm, but none of us had a watch, so we kept going and he walked off across the acres of marble. We might have gone over time; I'm not sure. Four people actively skating the spot makes it pretty frantic and in all the excitement, I lost track of time. I got most of my 35, so I was ready when it was time to leave.
The four of us spread out across the wide sidewalks and went north, making a racket. Tourists scrambled out of the way, and I finished by 35 on the way.
There is a strange ubiquotous wedding cake tiered kind of spot on this route. It's extrasmooth mirrored marble square planters around little trees, dozens in a row. They're curb height, but they're scalloped so that you have to lock in just right to avoid going face first into the soil and bushes, which I did first try. IS got a **-** ** *****, so cleanly, and we pushed on up the road.
I doubt that the west gate is actually as old as the internet says that it is, but I'm glad it's been saved from the relentless destruction that passes for development in Taipei. It's a massive red cube with a ... Taiwanese shaped roof. There's probably a word for that. Long long ago, I spent some quality time on the ancient rough stone under the arch trying to land a stationary ********. Nowadays, it's a top notch spot. It's a plaza in it's own right, for starters. It isn't the 3 acres of marble by the MRT, but it's probably half an acre total. It's a glorified roundabout, so traffic is pretty heavy. The surface is like skating on the top of a neutron star. There is a pit, from upper flat to 150 ft of lower, that makes a sizable three stair, with plenty of grass in between each stair. It's possible to skate laps arond the monument, but you have ot manny the two knee high mannypads to finish the lap. The pit is surrounded by marble curbs, with annoyingly bright futuristic underlighting.
The crowning glory of the spot is a pair of Taiwan's finest black granite ledges. They're low, but less than arm's length from the monument's fearsomely rough walls. I got an extra shitty ** **** after too much effort, but a french couple came up to ask us for directions and when we sent them on their way, the session had melted and devolved and transformed and been reborn as an entirely different creature.
MSCS is a skate crazy. Some how he got into his head to * ***** the entirity of one of those ledges. Wax went on, adn the effort started. To put into context, this dude skates everyday. Infact, I'm not sure he does much else. I assume he eats sometimes, but I can't recall seeing it happen. I'm not sure if he bathes, but that's besides the point. He's a skateboarding maniac, and I don't think anyone in Taipei is more devoted to the practice of this sect of foreigner. On this day, he ripped out a toenail because it was ingrown and "annoying [him]." Then he skated the whole session, sober, as always. Then he got into this trick battle, and cops came. We let them pass; they signed their documents, and left us to get on with it. By that I mean, watchign mscs try at precisely the speed he could still run it out if it stuck, which it did a few times. Of course, he made it. You don't tear your toenails off and skate all night to throw yourself at wall of fleshshredding destruction and not get it.
We split up and rmj and I went to beer up. Main Station a nasty nasty massive building with hudnreds of hobos pissing and shitty everywhere. This is foreshadowing, but I'd like to remind everyone to use your skateboard as a chair when in a nasty ass fucking shithole like that.
We talked about all the stuff you talk about in that sort of post skate late night in the city on a weeknight state of mind. A gibbering hobo came up and upgobbled words at us that I kind of understood, so I thanked him and asked him whatever questions I could think of, and finally told him I couldn't understand. Later, when I cracked my next beer, I realized that he had been gibbering at us not to sit on that ledge, because the legion of homeless people use it as a urinal. My palms reeked so strongly of piss that I almost vomited when I raised the beer to my mouth. As the peices of the jigsaw puzzle clipped together and I realized what had happened, there was nothign to do but slam anotehr beer. Fucking vile. One of the all time most disgusting experiences of my life, like the kiss of poseidon from a public toilet.
Because it was so sweaty, I think my hands mostly got cleaned off by skating home. I hope I didn't contract fucking hep c or something from fucking hobo piss.
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