Day 1 - The Idea

Let me explain the purpose of this blog by way of a quick introduction. I'm Tristan. I grew up in suburban Norman, Oklahoma, and I led what I consider to be a fairly ordinary middle-American life. I did well in school, didn't get into any serious mischief, and graduated from by hometown university (Boomer Sooner!).

Now, I'm 26 years old. I've been out of school for two years, and I work for a bank from 8-5, behind a desk, as a commercial credit analyst. I live with my lovely girlfriend, 2 dogs, and a cat, and life is grand. But lately the days and weeks of my life have taken on a certain, rather predictable pattern. I get up at 5:30, walk the biggest of the two dogs (who, although she outweighs the little guy 10 to 1, still has the smallest bladder of the bunch), then eat a bowl of cereal, grab a shower, and head to work. When I get home around 6:00 I do some chores, run some errands, walk the big dog at least two more times, and settle in for a couple hours of tv before bed at around 9:30.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the whole early-to-bed-early-to-rise thing. I have goals in my professional life, and I'll do what it takes to get ahead in the world. But sometimes I wish life could go back to the way it was during the summers of my youth. I was carefree, had no responsibilities, and my best friends and I skated anywhere we wanted to go.

Skating, and by that I mean "aggressive inline skating", was what defined us during those years. We would wake up early to skate, and stay up late to skate. When we weren't skating we were sitting around listening to 311 (the self-titled album) or the Offspring while we took our skates apart and then rebuilt them, read Daily Bread magazine, or watched skating videos for some inspiration or ideas for new tricks. This was back in the days of Video Groove, The Hoax, and Quest for the Holy Rail. Arlo Eisenberg, the father of the sport, was in his prime.

I don't know whether it was out of sentimentality, or just messiness, but I have kept my old skates rolling around in the trunk of my car for about a decade now. I think it is time for them to get some use. I'm going back to the Old School, and this blog will serve as a record of my progress.