it's half of the hour, so half of the eighth hour is 7:30.
Quarter eight (viertel acht) is 7:15,
Three-quarters eight (dreiviertel acht) is 7:45.

It's normally fine as I live in Germany now, but whenever I talk with Brits or people seaking British English, then I always have to ask them.

Americans are usually good about saying "half past" or "quarter till" or "quarater past", if they don't actually say "7:30" or whatever.

Thrift stores. You can often find big ass executive desks under $50.

Go big or go home

If you happen to live in the states, look on Craigslist. I found my current Z-Line Solano on Craigslist for $40 four or five years ago.

Think yourself lucky, my store is too much of a tightarse to even pay for the license to play music.