tripping the light fantastic?

[eastmidswhizzkid]

...or just something else you hate your parents for?
Amber,our 5-year old,started ballet lessons yesterday;and Izzy,who's 8, starts karate on wednesday.it made me wonder what skills/talents/hidden bow-strings HLers might have learned/been trained to do -either that they wanted to or were forced into by pushy parents.

[boudicca]

I must say I was rather surprised by the topic of this thread... judging from the title + its author... well, it's like opening a "suspect package" and finding out it's only talcum powder after all!

I was gently cajoled into learning to play the clarinet... my dad had tried to learn some 20 years previously and the old thing was still sitting around (the clarinet I mean, not my dad )... I got to Grade 3 I think, which isn't bad. I can still play the theme tune from Coronation Street, and the Pink Panther (self-taught )

Anyway, then I got all stroppy and teenage-like, couldn't be arsed going to the lessons anymore...

[Johnny M]

Oh Lee, you just go with the flow. Fads are fads.

13-year-old daughter: Horse riding and mucking out for her lessons , organ lessons, gym classes, working at a veterinary clinic 'free', wanting to be a vet (until I mentioned the up to the elbow cow/horse birth moments )...and now she wants to be a pysiotherapist. Until tomorrow.

But all credit to her, she is only 13 (raging homones) and 'loved up' in cyberspace with 'Scott in Uxbridge'.

But she's certainly my best friend sounding board (as I am hers) at the moment.

Oh, and she's my daughter.

How fab.

[Dark]

Now, you see Johnny, it's weird that you don't mind a huge amount about her fancying someone they know off the net.
Probably cause you know from HL that not everyone's a murdering drugged-up psychopath. Well.. not all of them anyway.. if they've been to Planet Dave, they can't be held responsible for their actions.
Anyway, I'm all in favour of it, my friend met her boyfriend off the net, they've been together nearly a year, and they're absolutely besotted with each other.

Back on-topic for a change:
I do Tae Kwon Do, but I go quite rarely, for varying reasons, but have started going again more frequently. I wasn't ever pushed into it.

[Obviousman]

Err, I never did any of those thingies, IIRC

Oh, yeah, in kindergarten I went to music school, played some sort of flute, but my dad could not stand the noise
I did horse riding for some months, until I broke my arm, and never joined boy scouts (which my parents wanted me to) because I just wouldn't walk around all year long in shorts

[smiscandlon]

Did Karate for several years, and taught myself to play guitar (both my choice).

My parents never really pushed me into anything, but I did have an odd music teacher at school who first wanted me to train on the violin (which I declined), then the french horn (which I declined even more).

[The Pope]

Let's see. After 5 years of being dragged kicking and screaming to Hebrew School, I can (barely) read Hebrew. Can't understand any though. No wait, I think I've got "shalom" down. Thanks Mom and Dad, that one paid off.

Also dragged to karate for 3 years. Wish I would've stuck with that one, being a black belt would be pretty badass.

Did Girlscouts until my mom realized that the leader moms were selfish fucktards as were their daughters.

Currently taking guitar lessons by choice cuz I'm gonna be a rockstar when I grow up.


@Johnny: My folks think any male I meet of any age, in real or cyber space, is out to rape me and leave me for dead in a dark alley. It's nice to know that there are some realistic parents out there.

But in my case, what Mommy and Daddy don't know can't hurt them.

[nigel d]

by choice i went to do the "Radio Amateurs Examination" about 10 years ago.9months of evening classes and a 2 part 3 hour exam.And its just a hobby.(its changed a bit now though).
in fact i am a tutor for the first 2 classes of license.
still learning the bass/6 string(25yrs and counting). trying to "learn" software synths and recordingat the moment.

[canon docre]

I was never pushed to do anything.
Maybe that's the reason, why my sole hobby has been "monsters", which changed during the teenager years into "serial killers".

[Obviousman]

I was never pushed to do anything.
Maybe that's the reason, why my sole hobby has been "monsters", which changed during the teenager years into "serial killers".

Is there a connection between serial killers and the Sisters, then?
Would love to find out

[ruffers]

The Pope didn't learn Hebrew.

Clarinet for me as my Dad wanted me to play Stranger On The Shore. I did, then part ex-ed it for a bass amp.

[andymackem]

Well, I stuck at the clarinet a bit longer than Boudicca and ended up doing a music degree. Then concluded that musicians are basically arseholes and switched direction. If I really try I can play the Mozart concerto

My most useless 'qualification' would have to be an ice-dancing certificate. To salvage some self-respect, it was a very early and basic level which means I can put my skates on and get in a straight line without falling over. I used to be able to do it backwards but I've forgotten.

If the course goes ahead I'm starting to learn Mandarin Chinese on Monday. We shall see.

Never did scouts or anything like that.

[canon docre]

I was never pushed to do anything.
Maybe that's the reason, why my sole hobby has been "monsters", which changed during the teenager years into "serial killers".

Is there a connection between serial killers and the Sisters, then?
Would love to find out

I guess you can't deny, that a certain level of misanthropy can be found in both.

[boudicca]

If the course goes ahead I'm starting to learn Mandarin Chinese on Monday. We shall see.

Now that's what I call hardc0re!

Does HL have a disproportionate amount of clarinet players compared to the general population?

[andymackem]

Possibly so. Does that make clarinettists the gothest part of any given orchestra?

By rights we should have gone for the organ, I suppose.

[boudicca]

Possibly so. Does that make clarinettists the gothest part of any given orchestra?

The instrument is generally black, isn't it?

That's the only reason I can think of...

[andymackem]

Alternatively, it could be a side-effect of unusually high interest in music coupled with Emma Johnson winning Young Musician of the Year in 1984 when many of us were at impressionable ages.

[emilystrange]

i did italian classes for three years

[Quiff Boy]

trombone for 6 months when i was 9

tai chi for a year or so, 2002/2003ish

[nick the stripper]

• Tai Kwan Do: 3 years
• Kick Boxing: 2 years
• Piano: 2004 to current
• Guitar:2000 to current

[Planet Dave]

Cricket then, and cricket now. Gods Own Game.

Reece has done footy (still doing), art, rugby, fishing, cricket, mountaineering....

Ethan has spent his time memorising the actors and actresses names off Lord Of The Rings. Hmmm, maybe he should get out more.

@ Dark - Oi, less of the psychopath.

[Izzy HaveMercy]

I pushed my parents into tolerating my musical talents since I was 8.

Since then, my dad always supported me.

At the age of 56 he now owns more Cradle of Filth boots than me and calls me a pussy for finding Enthroned too extreme.

We have an odd family

IZ.

[Thea]

Clarinet for me as my Dad wanted me to play Stranger On The Shore.

That's the exact reason my mother wanted me to learn. But I didn't

[paint it black]

i'm a blackbelt at sudoko

[MadameButterfly]

Jonathan, 5 years old and going to start lessons in swimming, judo and theatre.....does characters from K3 (Belgium girlie pop group)

Sedean *pronounced* "ZA - dean", Robin....almost 4 years old and going to do the same things as her brother.

They both want piercings *when 16* (power = being a mother), like me and both kids have *brilliant* music taste thanks to both parents.
Also at such young ages.....definately stars in the making

AND doing most things differently than our parents but we can because these two are OURS!!! And love them to bits

MB