shopping on uncle sam's dime

My economic stimulus check has been deposited in my account and now it's my patriotic duty to blow it as frivolously as possible. I made a small concession to practicality in choosing my outlet for frivolity but it's still ridiculously awesome.

I'm buying a longboard.

I've wanted one for years, I could just never justify the expense. Now I have a few hundred dollars I'm practically required to blow and no motorized means of transportation. I could ride my bike to the bus, but it's iffy whether I can find a place for it on the tiny rack on the front. A longboard comes right onto the bus with me, right into my office, inside the house, etc. Fun and practical, perfect.

While doing some initial research I found that there is a custom longboard craftsman in salem called Longboard Larry's. I called him up and dropped by the little factory this afternoon. Larry is a cool friendly guy that runs a shop staffed by kids that look no older than 19. He let me take out a couple boards they had on hand and I came out with a clear favorite.

A board specialized for carving with spring loaded trucks and a tapered ends on the board. Very fun to ride.

Turns out Larry does a very healthy internet business and has a hard time keeping any thing in the "warehouse". Orders have an average wait time of two weeks. I started talking to him about what I could do to speed the process and he eventually offered to have a board pressed for me over the weekend and hopefully ready by next wednesday.

I ordered a 'komodo' board. I bamboo and birch board with good flex/rebound and a shape made for carving. I bought the same spring loaded trucks I liked so well and some 70mm wheels.

I can't friggin wait