Entries this day: skate_to_uh

skate to uh

5:45pm Wednesday 11 November 1998

Today after doing computer stuff, I decided it was high time I went skating. (Who made that term "high time" ?)

As I shut down my computer and my left hand brain, I wondered where to skate. I wanted a challenge, and I didn't want to just skate downtown.
I thought about going down Memorial Drive to the Picnic Loop in Memorial Park, but I didn't feel like messing with traffic on Memorial Drive.

Not downtown, not Memorial Park... ah.. UH! Wende is there on campus; maybe I can go say HI to her.

Called her up to confirm she was there and told her I might see her in a bit.

"Okay!"

Strapped on my skates after stretching my legs a bit, and wondered about how my ankle would hold up. Last time I tried to skate about 1.5 weeks ago, it was like no way, jose'. But today, it was okay. yay!

I headed straight down West Gray, which I haven't skated in a really long time. (Well, I skate West Gray to Montrose each time I skate but that is only 1 block)

This time, all the way along W Gray until it split into two one way streets, Webster and Gray as it fit in with the other one way streets of downtown. The sidewalk was crappy in many places from neglect or construction, so I often found myself on the edge of the street, squeezing between oncoming traffic and the curb.

Jump and leap and squat and roll roll roll I manuevered over, under, around all kinds of terrain, from grass infested sidewalk, to muddy splotches where sidewalk should be, to large wooden signs warning traffic of Road Construction Ahead. Not a single sign warned skaters of Crappy Sidewalk Ahead. That's cool, though. I like the challenge.

Along the edge of downtown I skated against traffic on Gray. That way a car doesn't sneak up behind me! I mostly stopped at red lights, but hauled through if cross traffic allowed. I skated past the taxis in line at the bus station, past where I used to turn to work at St Joseph Hospital, past it all, into a crunchy corner of downtown where the intersections have only stop signs instead of lights.

Over to Pierce I veered, then across the gaping canyon of Hwy 59 that was still speeding along before rush hour started. Now I was out of downtown and into the poor neighborhood between UH and downtown.

Now the sidewalks were really infested with grass, if they were even there at all. But there was plenty of flat street on which to skate, as I was on the feeder of I-45 Southbound toward Galveston.

Traffic whizzed past me and I was nervously in the far right hand lane. I wasn't going against traffic now, as I wanted to be on UH side of the highway... (I decided it wouldn't be worth crossing the highway later in order to skate against oncoming traffic now.)

The sidewalk cleaned itself up and bing, I was at the intersection of Cullen, a main traffic artery to UH.

Along Cullen now, push push push I zipped along the sidewalk, off the curb, across a street, up the curb, push push push some more.

Finally at Entrance 14 I found myself turning left across the street into the campus proper. This was my part of campus. Familiar buildings and familiar expressions on people as I skated by, slowly absorbing the campus enegy. I love this place.

Over toward the big water fountain. Not a lot of people here, so I didn't see anyone I knew. I skated to Scholars' Community, an organization on campus where I used to work.

Tina, the lovely loud secretary was there, but busy talking to a student in her office with sliding glass door closed. So I waved and called her on the phone.

She answered mockingly, "Scholars' Community."

"May I speak with Tina Blakes, please?"

"Just a moment." She paused and changed her voice a tad deeper. "This is Tina."

"HI! This is Rob, but you're busy so I'm going to leave."

"Okay..." and she told me that Rachelle had been there yesterday and that she had said HI. Nice.

So I left and skated over to the bookstore to see Wende.

Thankfully, she was standing at the front counter waiting for me. I would have felt uncomfortable skating sweaty stinking through the store to see her.

HI! I met her friend Kell, and Josie and someone else and Wende was all, "you stink."

"Thanks!"

We talked a bit more and I jokingly said I would not shower before we had dinner tonight.

I left and skated off the other side of campus, where a brand new highway is being built from like I-45 toward Sugarland, I think. The road surface was mostly complete, but still covered with debris and unused by traffic, except for a big water truck lumbering along behind me and then past.

I turned right along what will be the feeder and skated along and up onto a bridge over some bayou. On the bridge was a large section of sewer pipe, unused and about 6 feet in diameter. I skated through that, of course. Up onto the bridge I noticed a ton of nails strewn across it. What had been nailed together?? Obviously there are aspects of highway bridge construction that I do not currently know.

Turned around and skated down the slight incline, crouched and zipped through the pipe and turned at the intersection down toward what will be the other feeder. This "other feeder" runs along side some railroad tracks, which are in use almost all the time. What I found odd, though was the intersection kinda sloped down toward the tracks for no apparent reason. It was a T shaped intersection, with the top part of the T being lower than the rest and tracks running along above it. Why???

Finally I decided that it must be planned so that if the intersection ever needs to become a + instead of a T, it can go right under the tracks! BrillianT! oops.

Toward I-45 I skated along the clean new highway, and found the water truck being used to spray mud off from an asphalt surface where concrete will be soon.

Time to head home.

I wanted to get home before dark, cause it's safer, and not so cold. Oddly enough, I chose to cross I-45 in a hauling ass, scampering scared rabbit race on a crappy old crunchy broken 2 lane asphalt surface, with the possibility of speeding-home rush hour traffic behind me. zzzzzzzoooommmmm I half sprinted and half juggled between my skates to keep from being tripped in a rut or bump. Then up up up up a short hill I clambored, thankfully toward a light that was red.

Somehow, not a single car tried to pass me. Thank you angels. Good job, Rob.

Leisurely skate along the sidewalk, which actually mostly existed on this side of the highway.

As I approached downtown proper, the road I was on gets pushed over two blocks out of the way of a highway exit ramp. I didn't want to be two blocks over, but that traffic was speeding pretty quickly down the ramp. Hmm.

I decided to go for it, and actually found a lovely break in traffic after a white limousine sailed past. Nice.

Past the weird road configurations of the beginning (or ending) of the HOV lane, I skated past parked cars and into downtown proper. Cool thing was that this time I was on St Joseph Parkway (it used to be called something else, but I don't remember what) and it was heavily congested with construction.

I skated along the sidewalk, which abruptly ended in a hole about 8 feet deep. A construction guy saw me so I mocked falling into the hole. "whoah!" He smiled and shrugged like, "oh well!"

Ha ha that was funny. Then my light turned green and zip zip zip zip I scampered across the street and onto the ample sidewalk beside St Joseph Hospital. The next light was still green so I just sailed across that street too.

I pushed super hard to try to make one more green light before it changed and as I was just about to fly off the sidewalk into the street, I noticed that the taxi wasn't just parked, but slowly inching its way backward into my path!!! swerve - zoom I zipped just past his bumper and across the street with the green light just turning yellow. YES!!!

Oh yes.

I lazy skated for a bit and congratulated myself on slick manuevering. Pushed alongside traffic and regathered my breath for another scamper with the green lights. Whew. I recognized I was getting tired.

After a bit, the lights turned green, as they seem to do, and I took off with the traffic. I made only two lights this time (not including the one where I started) because I had to slow down a bit for a truck to turn the corner in front of me just before I careened across the intersection.

Once I got out of downtown, I mostly just plodded along, having to work to jump the gaps in the sidewalk that I had easily leaped going the other direction. I just pressed forward consistently and made it home by 5:30.

5:30? WOW!! I made it to UH and back in 2 hours, including stopping to talk for 30 minutes, and including scoping out the new highway construction.