Hello Summer

Hello out there in the blog world! It's a hot sunny day in San Diego and I am behind on my blog, as usual.  I'm a very busy girl so please bear with me.  I am home from my trip to Vegas last week.  Man that stuff goes so fast!  I shouldn't complain about the 85 degree heat here since it was a cool 115 in Vegas.  Vegas was awesome, I had such a great time.  I did all sorts of non-skating things so I won't go into that.  I was so tempted to put on my skates and skate the Strip and at the same time, not tempted at all.  The hordes out there were pretty frightening and I would imagine that it is illegal to rollerskate on the Strip.  But a girl can dream.

I did hit Adult Night at Crystal Palace on Sunday.  Their Adult Night is strange because they have an all day session on Sundays from 10-10 or something like that.  They just stick the Adult Night at the end, from 7-10.  So the kids can stay, which is annoying.  There were some tiny kids there and yes, they could skate but not good like the adults.  The music was hitting it but the crowd was tiny.  It was the night before the 4th of July so it may not always be like that.  I made the best of it and saw many of the same regulars as previous trips.  I saw some very cool shuffle skating going on and of course I did my downtown thing.  San Diego style, yo.

It's so hot now in San Diego, it couldn't be more perfect weather for skating at the beach.  Love it!  The awesome thing is that I just got my boy some roller skates of his own so I really want to help him get his skating legs this summer.  As a small child, being able to roller skate well brings you so much clout.  I know he will like it more once he gets better at it, plus skating at the beach will probably be more fun for him than being at the rink.  I will bargain with him - one hour of skating equals one hour of sand play.

Cerritos next week, baby!  I am so excited already.  I cannot wait to roll up there!  It's going to be the bomb.  I haven't been to Cerritos for over a month and all my injuries have healed.  I am ready to get re- injured lol!  Every time I skate up there, I pick up a little something else.  So here's to picking up a little something else.  Now put on some skates and get your roll on out there!  It's a great way to stay cool.

Skate, Don't Hate

Hey Skate Team! How is everyone doing?  Happy Start of Summer!  I am so happy the summer is finally here.  Lots of opportunities to skate outside and enjoy the sunshine.  Went to the rink last night for Adult Night. It was quite dead, looks like that is going to be a trend for the summer.  Who wouldn't want to hang out inside a boiling hot building, skating as fast as possible?  Yeah I guess I didn't mention that the rink is not air conditioned.  I know, it seems like medieval times or something.  In Cerritos, the rink is air conditioned.  Sometimes I need a jacket when I'm warming up, it's downright cold on the floor!  Once you get all hot and sweaty though, how wonderful to feel that icy cold air on your face.  Anyway, I digress.  The rink was dead which means super fast hardcore skating, utter exhaustion by 9:00 pm (rink closes at 10:30).  When there are more people, you have to be more cautious so it causes you to skate slower. Man this dead rink is tearing me up!

I have been feeling a little stagnant lately.  Need to mix it up a bit.  I still love doing all my regular stuff like downtown and all, I just want to go to the next level.  I am back watching my how to videos again.  Lately I have been trying to learn to spin.  The only spin I know how to do is a downtown spin, which doesn't even really count as a spin.  You seem some skaters doing some amazing spins, 10 times around.  I am just trying to do one spin and stop.  Then I will go on from there.  I am working on the heel toe spin at the moment.  I am also trying to skate more on my front wheels.  All these things are challenging so it's much easier to fall back into my regular movements.  Have to keep pushing for constant improvement.

My birthday is coming up in a couple weeks.  Man I just keep getting older.  But with my skating, I honestly feel younger than I have in years.  So happy birthday to me, bitches!!

For my birthday, I am going to Vegas.  Yeah baby!  So excited.  I am going to skate at Crystal Palace on July 3 for their Adult Night, hopefully they will have a 4th of July special skate.  I am looking forward to luxuriating at the hotel, lounging in the pool, getting drunk on cheap drinks, kicking ass on the slots, and not sleeping.  That's the plan!

Clams on the Half Shell, and Roller Skates, Roller Skates

Hello Blogosphere and happy August! Sara Skates here checking in with some roller skating news. Oh my, I have been getting my skate on! It was a great July!

Wednesday was the rally to save Skate World at the rink. It was a blast! Pretty crazy outside for the rally, hundreds of people in attendance. It was inspiring to see the emotion and hear the heartfelt words of the speakers. I truly hope the tide can be turned. I was worried about going in for the free skate considering the throng that was trying to get in, but it turned out fine. For one thing, only a fraction of the people going in (1100 was the final count) were actually skating. Yes there was a huge grip on the floor, but to me, it was like a super busy Saturday night - intimidating but doable. The funny thing was that I was one of a handful of regulars who skated. The majority sat on the side and said things like "I'm not going to skate in that mess!" There were some amazing skaters there that didn't lace up. Little do they know how much it increases your Skate Skillz if you deal with the kids, learning how to brake fast and cut away. You all will remember the fear and anxiety I had only months ago skating with the kids. Over time, I have gotten used to it and wasn't even stressing with that crowd!

They asked anyone who could to be at the rink the following morning at 7:30 for a news event. that would be me. Only about 20 people went, it was quite early but I sure love starting my day with a skate like that. For one thing, the floor was basically mine so I could skate way out on the outer edge and really use the entire rink floor. My crossovers are the bomb now so it was great to practice over and over. One of the rexers was there and he gave me some valuable tips on my backwards skating. Then the news came and we skated around; you can see me a few different times (I'm wearing a purple top).

This weekend I will be going on skating road trip! Woo hoo! Can't wait. Saturday night I will be in Chino at Skate Express for their Hip Hop skate session late that night. Then Vegas baby! Ever since I heard there is a roller boogie going on in Vegas, I was like 'I need to be there!' Finally we are going. Sunday I will be at Crystal Palace for their adult night skate, and I have been there before - the rink is beautiful. Then after that on to the Rio for the roller boogie! I know it might be cheesy and silly but I'm a rollergirl, I gotta check it out.

That's the haps! Lots of skating in my future, what fun!