I'm expecting to move this summer, so I'll have much shorter distances to travel each day than I do now, which not only means less milage for the car but also creates new transportational possibilities that wouldn't work right now, such as a bicycle, a scooter, walking (although it would probably still be pretty long for that), rollerblades... and/or a skateboard.

From reading, I see that "cruising" skateboards/longboards are longer and have bigger wheels than the stunt-platforms that are normally associated with "skating". But, having previously seen "skating" only as a sport I had no interest in, I've learned essentially nothing else about them. Is there anything I should know from more experienced people (if BAUT has any) about how to choose a skateboard or how to find a place to get one from? And what about how they're used? How do you steer and brake? Is there any way to curve your path or do you just go in a straight line, pop the front up, pivot, and go on in a new straight line? Does leaning back and bringing the front way up slow the thing down by engaging a braking mechanism in the rear "truck", or do you need to drag the bottom of the board on the ground, and if the latter, how long does that take to ruin a board, and what about the decorations that I seem to be seeing back there in pictures?...