I wish I had 2% of your skills...

Sniff. My trusty little self-made longboard has rolled down its last hill after a very short life of only 1 1/2 years. Last Wednesday, at another parking lot session, while trying to avoid crashing with Alex on his fixie, I slipped, fell and somehow in that process managed to break the wood. Funny in a way, since just before that crash I was talking to another rider about how my board might be a little too flexible and lightly built for my weight. But we both came to the conclusion that it was still within the limits and if it did break – after several years of use – I would just have to hope it wouldn't happen while riding. Oh well...

But, since more than half of the riders I know are product designers who are currently building boards for themselves on a 48h basis it probably wont take too long before I have a new one. Until then I'll just pop the trucks and wheels on my old skateboard, should make for a fun toy as well :)

Still, kinda sad to lose my first love this fast. Sniff.

Six people, one case of Tannenzäpfle, three bottles of Soju, two bottles of gin and one spray can of Silly String. And this is what you'll get...

Diploma research is slowly coming to a close, thankfully. I'm starting to get tired of nothing but reading and can't wait to start on some sketches. Also the stuff I've been hammering into my brain these past weeks isn't exactly easy to digest: 'Basic Forms Of Fear' by Fritz Riemann, 'Archetypes' by C.G. Jung, 'Nature Of Man' and 'Anatomy Of Human Destructiveness' by Erich Fromm and finally 'Structures Of Evil' by Eugen Drewermann . Especially heavy for a wannabe designer who doesn't read a lot. Still, I feel like I'm learning a lot, particularly about myself (which isn't always a good thing) and human nature in general. Anyways, by the end of next week I'll hopefully have a somewhat solid concept or at least a thesis. I'll keep you posted. Until then a peek into our 'hole' in the basement. Not much – even less when you see, where the product designers get to work on their diploma – but kinda cozy after a while. If only we had daylight...

Last Wednesday I met up with a few friends from school and a couple of other longboard and skateboard enthusiasts to visit a local underground car park for a late night skating session. All in all we were about 10 people speeding down the different levels of the lot or trying to perfect our sliding moves :D Great fun, especially since the entire building is heated, meaning you can skate in shorts and t-shirt while it's close to 0°C outside. I had to adapt my 'cruising' board to the needs of high speed, tight-turns parking garage riding but now I'm hooked. Can't wait to check out the other spots around town – everyone told me there's at least two equally good ones in Darmstadt. Yay!

Forget what I said two posts ago. This is what I really, reeeeeally want. Btw, second oral exam in two days. Grrr.