Reflection 2024

The year o f2024 is another year of learning, failing, learning, failing, etc. Two steps forward, one step back, sometimes many steps back. Some piano skills are improved and some woodworking skills have just started. 

The piano string installation is down to one day and a half. Expect the action and structural design, I can basically (and shakily) finish restoring a piano from teardowns to the end of course with the guide and supervision from the shop owner Mr. Jude Reveley.  The over all quality control is improving. The first picture is a Steinway M at the shop made during WWII. The plate is originally silver and refinished by Jude Reveley.

Woodworking-by-hand wise, John Cameron has started a new round of lectures at his shop in Gloucester, MA. He accepted me as his apprentice although I don't have any hand skills, basically disabled without a machine. The other apprentices have been with him for many years and all are advanced fine woodworkers. While they are making fancy furniture, I am struggling on carving dovetails and keeping tools sharp. For now, the dovetails all come out very ugly. The second and third pictures were taken at John's shop.

This years, we did service some aged player pianos with the player system no longer functional. The pipes are already crispy and are shattering into powders. But my hands still shiver when touching these hundred year old souls. They tell you stories. They tell you they were once beloved and center of the whole family. The roller can be rotated down for tuning services. Just remember before closing the piano, make sure nothing is touching the strings causing buzzes or damping them.

School and venue services are very interesting. You find all things to laugh about or feeling moved about. The first picture shows a piano in a school gym without pants or the bottom board. She has been like this for years. Surprisingly she stays in tune pretty well. Maybe Kawai makes very stable instruments. The second picture is  taken at a school basketball stadium. Looks like it's predecessor had a hard time before retirement. It's safe now. The third picture is at a very active church with a school. The ornaments are made by children here. They do it every year. So sweet to imagine when the little ones hang their handmade craft on their Christmas Tree.

For some in-home services we just walk in, tune, and walkout not even seeing the homeowner. Sometimes we are treated like family members. On this picture, you can see that white machine on the left hand side of the piano. It is a breathing machine providing the homeowner's mother with oxygen. She said her mother loves music and the tuning is very important to her. Does the piano sounds amazingly perfect for concerts after tuning? Are you kidding? I don't even know if the piano is played so very often, but it is an essential part of the family. And we are obligated to provide the best service for the family. I think if David Betts and grandpa are alive, they would say the same thing. I'm fortunate to have their spirits within.

When not at work, it is time to relax and get ready to work more. When working is also one's hobby or even meaning of life...... the feeling is difficult to express. I picked up German to study to prepare myself for the piano manufacture training in Germany someday... someday. A few hacky sacks found their ways into my life to tell me it is time to get outside and have some fun. 

When not at work, it is time to talk about work, pianos, and life around pianos. Debbie, Xiaodan, and I gather once every few months for our piano girls chat. We chat about the new techniques learned, new difficulties and challenges, the gifts in life, and the very pissed moments. We help each other analyze problems and solve them. Well, it is always Debbie who's helping us. The gatherings keep us sharp and remind us what a fine industry and nice community of technicians we are in.

Many thanks to my patient partner Ernie. Ernie, you have to deal with my storm or, actually fart like emotions as a workaholic and from a different culture. You put up with my newly learned old dad jokes which are usually very bad. You listen to my self-repeating complains about the all s**t from work, work-related happenings, and family. Thank you for your support and dragging me out of hell over and over again.

Many thanks to all my mentors, Debbie Cyr, David Betts, Jude Reveley, John Cameron, Jack Stebbins, dad and grandpa. You teach me what workmanship is and what services are. We are here to help each other. For lives around us, people or not, if we could do anything to improve the quality of their lives, or even just provide some support, we'll try our best.

By the way, how do you describe a turkey who's defeated in a fight? Someone has beaten the stuffing out of it.