This past Wednesday was my last day at work for 2022. I won’t be back to work until January 9, 2023. Yesterday was my mother’s second death anniversary. I spent the day quietly praying and remembering her. Last night I had trouble sleeping; therefore; I cancelled my snowboarding plan at Bryce Resort. After taking Đạo, my oldest son, to school, I drove back home trying to catch some sleep. I woke up around 10 am and watched the World Cup on Telemundo.

We will be taking a skiing trip in Vermont next Saturday at Okemo Ski Resort, but I wanted to hit the slopes early to test out the techniques I have been learning in my basement. I recently discovered Malcolm Moore’s YouTube Channel. His lever technique seems promising. I also wanted to apply his ski-pole drill. I am hopeful that I will be able to learn snowboarding on my own this season. My goal is to brake on my toes and heels and to link turns. I might take a trip to Bryce on Monday to give snowboarding a shot.

It would be fun to be able to switch from skiing to snowboarding and vice versa. We’ll see how the snowboarding challenge goes.

Xuân and I spent two and a half hours at Wakefield skatepark on a Sunday evening. The weather was cold, but we both sweated out. He scooted alone before joining the scooter squad around his age. I dropped in and pumped out of the bowl when no one was around and rode up and down the quarter pipe when it was available.

I learned from Xuân to just enjoy myself. I focused on my own comfort level rather than trying to push myself. I am getting too old to take risks. I don’t have to prove to myself or anyone else. I am content with not dropping in from the deep part of the bowl, but riding to the top as far as I could and turning around. I am taking one step at a time. I improve slowly, which is fine with me. I blade for fun and fitness, not for competition and recognition.

As the winter is approaching, I am getting ready to pack up my rollerblades and to pick up my skis and snowboard. I have been practicing snowboarding at home in my basement. I am getting used to my Capita Indoor Survival 156 snowboard with Flow Flite 5 (M) bindings (size large). I am glad I paid $20 for them.

I hope my pre-season training efforts will prepare me for snowboarding. If I won’t be able to learn snowboarding this season, I will focus all of my efforts on skiing. I can hardly wait to hit the slopes.

Check out a video of Đán blading at Wakefield and various clips of bikers, rollerbladers, scooters, and skateboarders I have filmed.

In recent months, Xuân has asked me to take him to the skatepark everyday. Of course, I comply. Đạo and Đán aren’t too happy about it. They would only join us if they get boba tea afterward. The main reason I want them to go to the skatepark is to do some outdoor activities instead of sitting around with their digital devices. The skatepark is a great place for that.

The newly renovated Wakefield skatepark (cost $1.5 millions of taxpayer money) is always crowded. Nevertheless, Xuân just rides around and enjoys himself. He focuses on his own development and progresses at his own pace. He is not intimidated by anyone else. Observing him riding his scooter in his orange jacket is like watching Nemo swimming in the sea of skaters. The orange jacket helps prevent other people from crashing into him. In addition to scooting alone, he makes friends with other scooters. They are all around the same age. It’s a nice bond at the skatepark.

Even as someone who is socially awkward, I have made a few rollerblading friends. Unlike Xuân, I get intimidated by other advanced skaters. Luckily, there aren’t too many rollerbladers around. I only see them once in a while. Of course, I try to focus on my own skills, but I often get distracted by other bladers. I am taking the clue from Xuân to just enjoy myself.

Out of our crew, Đán advances the fastest. His balance and his fearlessness allow him to pick up new techniques with ease. His lack of focus, however, holds him back. He would rather sit at home, work on his PC, and play video games. It is getting to the point where that’s where he focuses his attention on. I already warned him that I will have no problem confiscating his desktop if that’s all he spends his time on.

Đạo would rather spend time on his laptop too, but he knows that he needs to get out of the house to avoid getting banned from screen time. He is a careful rollerblader. He takes his time to hone his skills. He makes steady progress. He has surpassed me in rollerblading, but he is now trying out skateboarding. Of course, trying out something new is always encouraged. I can’t wait to see where he goes with it.

To learn snowboarding, I will be falling on my ass; therefore, I bought a pair of Bodyprox protective padded shorts. I have been wearing it at the skatepark and I wish I had made the investment earlier. Falling on concrete isn’t easy on a 40-something body. Bodyprox saved my hip, thigh, sit bone, and tailbone on several occasions. I am now adding the shorts to my blading routines. It is so comfortable it warm. It will definitely keep my warm on the snowy mountains. My only criticism is that the product made in China. Then again, most of the products I am using are made in China. Other than that, this is definitely worth the investment in addition to the helmet, wrist guards, elbow pads, and knee pads. Call me a wimp, but I rather be safe than sorry. These sports can be dangerous and I don’t want to put myself at risk. Of course, my kids need to have protective gears as well.

My rollerblading progress has become stagnant. Even with the best protective gears and a helmet, I am no longer taking any risks to advance my skills. The newly renovated Wakefield skatepark is wicked, but I can’t do much. The ramps and bowl are more intimidating than fun. Somehow I am getting more fearful of getting hurt than when I first started. Dropping into the bowl seems so much scarier than before. I am doomed.

Last week, I met Eddie Chung who has a YouTube channel on rollerblading. Watching him flying through the ramps with effortlessness made me even more hesitant to skate. Eddie is a cool dude though. We had a nice conversation. I am not done with blading yet. I just need to find something to work on.

On the other hand, I am looking forward to skiing again soon. I have prepared and tuned up all the equipment for everyone. Xuân and I will ski and snowboard. I will try to learn snowboarding again, but on my own this time. I am confident that I will get it. If not, I will just focus on skiing.

I haven’t been to an ice rink in a while. I am taking a break from ice skating.

I have acquired a used snowboard and a pair of boots for Xuân. We are working on some skills together based on SnowboardProCamp “20 Pre-Season Snowboarding Tricks:”

1. Heel edge (learn to brake)
2. Toe edge (learn to brake)
3. Moving weights from side to side (learn to turn)
4. Presses (side to side)
5. Ollies & nollies (press then jump)
6. Alternate presses (hopping back & forth like a walking penguin)
7. Shifty (90 degree jumps)
8. Jumps (straight jump up & down)
9. Jump 180 (both regular & switch)
10. Butter 180 (ollies & nollies combine with 180 jump)
11. Nose & tail presses (jump on the roller with ollies & nollies)
12. 50/50 (jump on the roller from front & back)
13. Front board & front lip slides (jump on the roller & turn 90 degree then rest the head or tail of the board on the roller. Do these front & back)
14. Front & back 180 (hop on the roller from the back then turn 180 to hop off)
15. Tripod

On Saturday, I acquired another used snowboard. It’s a 156cm Capita board with Flow step-in bindings. The board is way too tall for me to ride, but the seller wanted to get rid of it. He sold it to me for $20. Maybe when I become an intermediate snowboarder, I’ll give it a go. I am not even sure if I can learn snowboarding this coming winter. We’ll see.

I still need to find a snowboard package for Xuân. He wants to learn with me. Though I am sure if he can learn anything from me, having my son to learn together sounds like fun. We’ll switch back and forth between skiing and snowboarding. Đán is already committed to snowboarding. He has left skiing behind. In contrast, Đạo is sticking with skiing and refusing to pick up snowboarding. Vương will continue to ski and I hope to teach him the basics.

My wife still needs a pair of skis. I sold her K2 Jr. pair. It didn’t seem to support her weight. I am having a hard time finding a women pair of skis in the 135cm-140cm range. She might just end up using my Head pair, which I really love, but might be too long for her to learn.

I have been learning snowboarding on my carpet to get familiar with the beginner skills. I am pretty sure it will feel complete different on the snow. This will be my last attempt at snowboarding. If I fail, I will focus completely on skiing and I will resell or give away my boards. We’ll see. I will be blogging about my progress here.

On Thursday, we went to the skatepark after school as usual. As I was blading, I heard Xuân cry. He fell off the ramp and busted his chin open. We immediately took him to the ER to have his chin stitched up. He told me he needed to take a break from scootering for five days when his stitches were taken out. On Friday, we went back to the skatepark. I told him he didn’t have to scooter, but he decided to get back into the game.

I told him to avoid the ramp that he had fallen off. It’s a straight ramp, but has a gap at the bottom, in which you have to jump off. He did this ramp in the past with his old scooter. The new one is a bit faster. I didn’t see how he fell. I tried this ramp three times and I fell every time. I couldn’t keep my balance. Fortunately I know how to fall on my guards; therefore, I was not hurt. Out of all of us, Đán is the only one who can pull it off and he does it with effortlessness.

Seeing Xuân fall made me realize how dangerous skating at the park can be. We need to be more cautious. For a while, I hadn’t thought much about it because we had been doing fine. I worry about Đạo the least because he has always been careful. Xuân has been careful as well until this incident. I worry about Đán the most because he is confident and somewhat fearless. The trade off is that he advances very quickly. I haven’t learned new tricks because I just don’t want to take risks like I used to.

Amanda Loudin, writing for the New York Times:

Shaking up your fitness routine with in-line skating has big physical payoffs, said Esther Goldsmith, a London-based exercise and sports physiologist with the bio-analytics firm Orreco. “Depending on how you’re skating, you can reap both aerobic and anaerobic benefits,” she said. “But you also engage a wide variety of muscles you might not from a sport like running or cycling.” You’ll pull in stabilizing muscles from your abs and calves, for instance, as well as inner and outer thigh muscles.

What sets in-line skating apart from sports like hiking, running and most types of swimming is that you move in a lateral plane of motion, rather than just front and back. Over time, these types of functional muscles — those we use in daily life — decline if not challenged in this manner. “Skating takes your body side to side, involves your core, and improves your balance,” Ms. Goldsmith said.

Skating also trains your nervous system by requiring your body to do several movements at once, like squatting and pushing off to the sides (particularly if you’re mixing up your style). This is helpful in both athletic and daily activities, said Ms. Goldsmith. “When your muscles and nerves are more prepared, it reduces the likelihood for tweaking your back, for example,” said Ms. Goldsmith. “Skating trains your body for these daily activities without even realizing it.”

Careering around on tiny wheels can have additional benefits later in life. For one, it provides an equal aerobic benefit to running, but with lower impact on the body, presuming you don’t fall.

The payoff from learning to glide balanced on one foot at a time is also valuable. “Our balance peaks in our late 30s and begins to decline in our 40s,” Ms. Goldsmith said. “Many accidents happen over the age of 65 because of trips and falls. Skating regularly adds balance to the routine and that can help slow down that decline.”

That doesn’t mean skating is without risk — falls happen, and sometimes sprains or broken bones accompany them. But by mastering foundational skills and padding up with helmets, wrist and knee guards, you can mitigate your chances of injury.

I have been drinking and eating steak quite a bit, but my gout hasn’t flared up. I suspect because I have been rollerblading everyday.

I have been doing some snowboard training on carpet in my basement. I didn’t realize pre-season training can be done until I came across several YouTube videos. I am learning 10 beginner snowboard skills from SnowboardProCamp. Kevin Pearce breaks down 10 beginner skills including heel edge, toe edge, and hop turn. His “10 Snowboard Tricks for Pre Season Training” is also helpful to learn 180 jumps and butter 180 jumps. I also find 5 Snowboarding Skills You Can Improve From Home” from Snowboard Panda to learn presses, ollies, and nollies.

With these preseason learning, I hope to get myself ready when I hit the snow this coming winter. Since I already invested into all the gears, I have determined to learn snowboarding, but I won’t give skiing though. I still love skiing; therefore, I will do both if I can pick up snowboarding. If not, I will just focus on skiing.

I also keeping an eye on a snowboard package for Xuân since he also wanted to learn with me. We’ll learn together. He’ll pick up the skills much faster than me I am sure. Đán has left me far behind when learned snowboarding together. He is such an athletic though. He could figure things out on his own. I won’t be taking any lessons either. I’ll try to learn on my own through YouTube videos. I think I will learn better that way then having an instructor.