At this moment in time, I am a 31 year old actuary, husband to a wife who is also an actuary, father to a 5 and a half month old daughter and two English Springer Spaniels (3 and 2 years of age, respectively).
My interests include, but are not limited to:
Reading
Fantasy and a little science fiction or science fantasy
Some history
Music
Playing piano, currently frustratingly poor
Playing guitar, even worse
Listening to music over the best speaker system I could justify buying. Going exceptionally well all thanks to my excellent taste!
Computer hardware and games (for which I get minimal time)
Camping and hiking (for which I get zero time)
Independence of the electricity grid and home automation! (though I have yet to find time to start with the latter)
I don’t get enough time anymore to pursue my love for squash and don’t have enough money to pursue my love for cars.
What I hope to gain from this forum is to be part of a community who shares ideas, provides feedback on my stupid plans and try (with my non-existent ability, that hopefully grows over time to something approximating mediocrity) to help other members starting down the route of living more efficiently.
That was the last conversation we had over on the other side
I actually have some classical training, complete with Unisa Grade 4 for practice and theory. Then I finished school… and didn’t touch a piano for over a decade. Then one day I saw a piano for sale, bought it ,and got back into it. So now I try to play at least 30 minutes a day, which is not nearly enough to get good at it, but I am slowly getting somewhere again.
It was indeed! I sent you one more DM on the topic of our old piano at home but I presume you don’t check those anymore.
I was wrong about the brand, it is a Fritz Kuhla, imported from East Berlin around 1899/1900. After reading that you said the piano can go into disrepair by standing, I immediately contacted my mom to tell her to get the tuner to come out and have a look! Which reminds me, I need to follow up…
I played until matric (took music as a subject) but only played UNISA grade 6/7 (theory definitely only to grade 6, think my practical I did 7) when I was in standard 8. I was way too busy to learn a whole sonata off by heart for grade 8! Thereafter I rarely played, still a little bit in first and second year of university, but the residence’s piano was a disaster, so I bought a guitar and started playing on that.
Guitar is great and all, but it kinda necessitates singing (unless you are crazy skilled), which is an instrument I never developed much (trying to now - vocal chords are actually really interesting!), so I never took it too seriously.
Now I started piano again! On and off, no set routine. My daughter seems to sometimes (keyword here) like to sit on my lap and listen to me play. So I think when she is a bit older, we both will start playing more seriously again. I’ll have time again, and she’ll be capable.
It’s like a music note that fades slowly when you keep that pedal thing down and no note follows…
I though it was my lack of music knowledge that let the people fade on the other side. “Luke, Come over to the dark side”
PS. No music rhythm this side. I can only play Joyful Joyful on the guitar.
