Hmm. So it's been a few years since I've updated this, so here goes.
Up until the last year (and I think some of you may realize where this is going) I was working almost full-time as a private piano instructor/church musician. When the pandemic hit governmentally (and specifically, health services wise), things changed. The company that I contracted through as a teacher (they ran my studio scheduling/payments)--whom I have no problem throwing under the bus--Music & Arts, dragged their feet through setting up online lesson platforms for teaching, despite already having a public health plan in place (does this sound like something else
). As a result, my 24 student strong schedule became 1 after a few weeks of inactivity. Really, the icing on the cake was "we want to make you an employee--we'll give you health benefits [which you can never qualify for due to our teaching hours], 401k matching, sick days, and paid vacation! Oh, and you'll also need to take a 60% pay cut. Needless to say, I took my (one) ball home and started the long road of rebuilding/running my studio by myself--which was what I wanted to transition away from by contracting with the company in the first place.
The year before, I had bought a lovely Kimball standard-length grand piano that has nice cabriole legs (which somehow I don't have pictures of--I mean, would you take pictures of your bandsaw or your table saw to show people?). I'm a sucker for them--I remember my favorite 'practice' piano owned by the school I went to was a Model A Steinway
(Looked like this, except beat to absolute hell, with a latticed music desk)
Eventually, the plan is to replace the plastic sharps with ebony, so I can stop sliding off them with no provocation. The cheapo plastic keys will have to do for the white keys, even though I'd prefer cow bone/nice resin castings, since that is a massive amount of work compared to the sharps.
That said, I still made out better than some have, even if it is in a direction that I wouldn't necessarily wish to repeat. My part time job was more than happy to have me full time, and my church for 4 months continued to pay my stipend as organist, despite not meeting. Yes, I am one of the much-maligned recipients of payroll protection from the church. Believe it or not, there are WAY more laypeople (non-clergy) who work for the church than there are clergy. As one clergy member who I have worked with (who will remain nameless for their sake) is fond of saying, "God might sign my paycheck, but the Holy Spirit doesn't pay the bills. And yes, everyone who gets a paycheck pays taxes...I mean, duh?
(my "office" on Sunday mornings/holidays/funerals/weddings/etc)
(My favorite time of year: Spring/Fall)
Every Sunday hurts a little less to sit upright on the bench for a couple of hours, and I'm hoping(?) that some time soon, I can ditch my padded chair that I'm flopped in when I'm not actively playing.
I realized that I never posted this stuff before, so I guess graphic imagination warning:
My life's largest transition to-date wasn't the result of training, or opportunity, or practice,
et cetera. It was one person's lapse of concentration that changed my permanent outlook.
I'd take the short opportunity to point out only one thing, since I believe everything else speaks for itself: that seatpost was inserted into the frame almost up to the writing. It was yanked out by the force of the car hitting me.
My time, alluded to only briefly above this post, was spent very slowly retraining myself. While I have almost full use of my left hand NOW, it has been a long road, and it will likely never be the same as it was before.
What do I ride now? Not much on the road, surprisingly. I have reached the point where I've decided that if I need to drive to ride, I'd rather use a mountain bike (and, to put it bluntly, when I road the following bike for the first time 2 miles, I was buzzed TWICE in the first 1/2 mile).
(Trek 850
cum touring bike. One of the only Reynolds 531 mountain bikes that Trek made in Waterloo)
(Trek Stache -- 2 years[?] old)
The Stache was my main squeeze for the last couple of years; this is an older picture of it that is already floating around the site, but is 99% of what it was up to a month ago. Full XTR, Lyrik Ultimate equivalent fork. I'm guessing, based on the gear/geolocation, this is at the top of Laurel Ridge, the only real puke-y climb in Hartshorne.
Fitness is a funny thing. Before I was hit, I was only what I would consider moderately fit [author's note: dude has ~75% lung capacity on a good day due to deep scar tissue from asthma]. After an excessive amount of steroids/control medication, I feel about the same, except I
have been slowly improving. I decided that, as a high-risk individual who is unlikely to survive contracting CV-19, I might as well splurge and buy something nice.
I placed the order sometime in March. Due to volume/some QC problems, I received the frame in mid-October, and after finally getting a replacement hose for the brakes (supply problems,
amirite?), the build was completed. Full XTR; CC In-line coil; Pike Ultimate; cable-op parts with link housing. It weighs about 1.5 pounds more than the same Stache, except it's a full suspension. Awesome bike 👍
I think that's about it
@Patrick , I miss anything?
photos.google.com
