We may want to cross ourselves a few times and say a few Hail Stenos before we even begin on what I'm about to say here. Ready?
I haven't touched my machine in 2 weeks for more than an hour here and there. I'm still stuck at 180 wpm. And you know why? Because I decided to stay with a school that, as I've stated before, has absolutely nothing to teach me that I couldn't learn on my own. Why? Especially, when I advise everyone to do self-study? Why? When I want to do self-study? Money. I thought I could persevere through the inadequacies of my school and finish up this summer while further delaying the day that I would have to start paying back my student loans.
And now, I'm even more dispassionate about that machine that has sat, unloved, in the corner of my living room. Don't get me wrong, I still want to be a steno. I still love being on the machine. I just wish that I felt like there was more of a purpose to what I'm doing on it day after day.
Added to that, my school is closing all of its campuses. Some of you know that my local on-ground campus has already closed. Well, now all of them are closing and that will include the pitiful online program I'm still enrolled in. They're offering a teach-out option, but I won't be staying.
I'm finally saying goodbye, for good, to trying to deal with sub-par instruction for ridiculous amounts of money.
Now, that puts me in an awkward position. I have to figure something out to start paying those loans back and that will still allow me to get ahead in my self-study of the art of stenography.
I'm really upset with how this whole process has gone down for me. Unfortunately, I'm just in a place where I've been bogged down with negativity concerning my stenographic pursuits. I still want to be able to start working by the fall, but it is difficult to pull myself out of this hole of drudgery. I can't even bring myself to participate in any of the forums online, other than to throw out an ocassional "like" to all of the others who are making great progress.
I sort of took the quarter off from editing this quarter as well. I want to get back into the game of being a responsible and successful adult, but it feels like such a chore right now.
I wish I had more of a local supportive presence to rely on. Not that anyone can do what needs to be done to progress for me, but it would be great to have the ability to sit in with someone on a regular basis, perhaps learn to scope or proofread, both of which I am confident that I could do given the chance.
So I'm keeping an eye out for that opportunity. And I'm officially quitting school in pursuit of self-study, finally. And if anyone wants me to clean their house so I can pay these loans, let me know ;) I'm great at cleaning!
So, I'll say my Hail Stenos and pay my penance and get back to doing whatever it takes to be a working, successful stenographer by.... let's say.... October?
Fingers crossed!
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Sunday, March 30, 2014
The AWESOME DU Mock Depositions
Yes, that's right. It's time for a re-cap of the day I spent a whole week stressing out about and telling myself what an embarrassment I was going to be to the profession that is stenography!
As with most situations I tend to stress out about, it wasn't that bad at all. In fact, I believe the term I used was, awesome, as in, I awesomed all over the place. Sure, it's a verb. Especially, when you're doing it so well!
When I say I awesomed all over the place, I'm referring to the fact that I did not vomit in the ladies upon arrival, I did not hyperventilate mid-depo and run from the room crying. In fact, I had a really good time. That, my friends, is awesoming like a pro!
Actually, it was a lot easier for a few reasons. One: They didn't want a bunch of parentheticals, just the questions and answers. Two: They don't want any cert pages, index pages, or appearances pages. They basically want the students to be able to see how they were speaking and that's it. Three: I had another student in the room and we were mostly able to swap off writing. Each depo was about 30 minutes, so it was nice to get breaks. Four: I had prepared like a squirrel prepares for winter. I had researched the case, gotten a glossary of terms together, created a job dictionary, and made briefs for what I thought would come up a lot. (Also, I had the amazing Jade King's help with said glossary.) Five: I had a recording device. (GASP!)
I know, I don't want to rely on audio, but give me a little break here. I have to have transcripts and while I feel I did a good job for my first time being out in a live setting, I was not fast enough nor familiar enough to produce a clean transcript and miles away from anything close to realtime. This was a learning experience. And I learned quite a bit.
Lessons learned:
A) Get a comfortable carrying case for all of your equipment, preferably with wheels.
I do have a rolling bag that came with my Wave, but it doesn't fit anything but my Wave and maybe a couple notebooks.
B) Always have a super professional-looking cable bag with you!
C) If you haven't memorized the sworn statement yet, bring one with you that you can stick in an easy to see place.
D) If you don't have one, have your husband run out the morning of the event and get you a recording device. Then, while you're putting your makeup on, have him read the instructions and give you a 3 minute rundown on how to use your newly acquired device.
E) Save your finalized glossary in order to help you identify just what the hell you were trying to write, later, when you're transcribing.
F) Inject yourself with coffee and a smile!
The day went by so fast! Seriously, it was that much fun! I arrived at DU and parked in the underground garage and found the parking pass marked, Court Reporters, which made me a little happy in my... NO! Not there, you dirty readers, you. In my heart because one day I'll be a real court reporter! I headed up to the third floor and set up my equipment. I was the first one there. I moved the chairs around the conference table and set myself up where a plug was nearby, where I thought I would be close enough to everyone to hear well, and where my stuff wouldn't take up too much room. I wish that I would have gotten pics of the place, but I was too worried about doing everything right.
The law students were really personable, for the most part. It was easy to tell which students really had a passion for their studies. They knew the ins and outs of the case and put their own spin on playing attorney or witness.
There were two moments where we were all trying very hard not to crack up hysterically. The case was about a snowboarder who pretty much did too much partying while having high blood pressure and taking a medication that wasn't really for his particular condition, as well as blood doping.
One of the students took the stereotypical snowboarder attitude as he played the witness and talked about how awesome he was and how awesome his snowboarding was and how awesome his sponsorship was. The whole time I was singing, EVERYTHING IS AWESOME! In my head! It was... wait for it... AWESOME!
About 2:30 p.m. I think I began to understand what Jade was talking about when she said she has a little doze... That's great if you're fast enough, but not when you're dropping here and there like I was.
All in all, it was a great experience. And I am so completely re-energized about being a stenographer. I am so grateful that I got this opportunity and can't wait for more! I still have a ton to learn and definitely need to work on that speed, but I'm really looking forward to what this summer will bring!
Sorry, still loads of exclamation marks!!!!!!
P.S. I get extra bonus points for being able to dress professionally and turn around and go straight to work where I had to dress like Madonna in the 80s, complete with teased hair!
As with most situations I tend to stress out about, it wasn't that bad at all. In fact, I believe the term I used was, awesome, as in, I awesomed all over the place. Sure, it's a verb. Especially, when you're doing it so well!
When I say I awesomed all over the place, I'm referring to the fact that I did not vomit in the ladies upon arrival, I did not hyperventilate mid-depo and run from the room crying. In fact, I had a really good time. That, my friends, is awesoming like a pro!
Actually, it was a lot easier for a few reasons. One: They didn't want a bunch of parentheticals, just the questions and answers. Two: They don't want any cert pages, index pages, or appearances pages. They basically want the students to be able to see how they were speaking and that's it. Three: I had another student in the room and we were mostly able to swap off writing. Each depo was about 30 minutes, so it was nice to get breaks. Four: I had prepared like a squirrel prepares for winter. I had researched the case, gotten a glossary of terms together, created a job dictionary, and made briefs for what I thought would come up a lot. (Also, I had the amazing Jade King's help with said glossary.) Five: I had a recording device. (GASP!)
I know, I don't want to rely on audio, but give me a little break here. I have to have transcripts and while I feel I did a good job for my first time being out in a live setting, I was not fast enough nor familiar enough to produce a clean transcript and miles away from anything close to realtime. This was a learning experience. And I learned quite a bit.
Lessons learned:
A) Get a comfortable carrying case for all of your equipment, preferably with wheels.
 | |
| I had to carry two bags. My totally awesome TokiDoki bag and my laptop bag with all of my equipment. HEAVY! |
B) Always have a super professional-looking cable bag with you!
D) If you don't have one, have your husband run out the morning of the event and get you a recording device. Then, while you're putting your makeup on, have him read the instructions and give you a 3 minute rundown on how to use your newly acquired device.
The day went by so fast! Seriously, it was that much fun! I arrived at DU and parked in the underground garage and found the parking pass marked, Court Reporters, which made me a little happy in my... NO! Not there, you dirty readers, you. In my heart because one day I'll be a real court reporter! I headed up to the third floor and set up my equipment. I was the first one there. I moved the chairs around the conference table and set myself up where a plug was nearby, where I thought I would be close enough to everyone to hear well, and where my stuff wouldn't take up too much room. I wish that I would have gotten pics of the place, but I was too worried about doing everything right.
The law students were really personable, for the most part. It was easy to tell which students really had a passion for their studies. They knew the ins and outs of the case and put their own spin on playing attorney or witness.
There were two moments where we were all trying very hard not to crack up hysterically. The case was about a snowboarder who pretty much did too much partying while having high blood pressure and taking a medication that wasn't really for his particular condition, as well as blood doping.
One of the students took the stereotypical snowboarder attitude as he played the witness and talked about how awesome he was and how awesome his snowboarding was and how awesome his sponsorship was. The whole time I was singing, EVERYTHING IS AWESOME! In my head! It was... wait for it... AWESOME!
All in all, it was a great experience. And I am so completely re-energized about being a stenographer. I am so grateful that I got this opportunity and can't wait for more! I still have a ton to learn and definitely need to work on that speed, but I'm really looking forward to what this summer will bring!
Sorry, still loads of exclamation marks!!!!!!
P.S. I get extra bonus points for being able to dress professionally and turn around and go straight to work where I had to dress like Madonna in the 80s, complete with teased hair!
Saturday, February 22, 2014
The Annual CCRA Luncheon:
Yes, my lovely readers, today was the much anticipated CCRA (Colorado Court Reporter's Association) annual luncheon. I look forward to this event, not merely for the networking potential, but because the food is usually impeccable at The Denver Chop House.
This year was particularly beneficial as I got to meet up with my local mentor and get to know some other reporters as well. Being in the 180/200 speeds this time, you tend to get more out of functions like this because you're ALMOST THERE!
We were in the Caboose room this time. It was freaking beautiful! I can't say I didn't wish that the gorgeous bar wasn't an open bar... Also, the music was all from the 1940s to 1950s and made me want to Lindy Hop my way to and fro from the bathroom.
These events are usually full of announcements that don't necessarily apply to students at the time. However, some exciting news for those employed in our lovely state was shared. We're trying, and looks like we'll probably be getting, the ability to administer the FCC type test here so that reporters will no longer have to make a sort of exodus in order to achieve that certification! Yay!
And... More exciting news. Page rate increases are on the horizon! Apparently, we've not had a page rate increase since 1998. Yikes! So that is definitely something that is exciting.
There was an entire segment on "What Would You Do?" where reporters answered that question to varying situations that can arise on the job. Most of the scenarios had to do with sharing transcripts between attorneys (no, no) and attorneys or witnesses bringing their own recording devices to depositions, or the lovely scenario where an attorney announces himself as a fast-talker and that he's not to be interrupted. One of the scenarios presented gave me a thought... It was that an attorney at a deposition is looking at your realtime feed on your laptop, which is not being provided to either counsel, you, the reporter, hide your screen by making it go blank (here's where I learned a handy stroke for that: B*N/B*N) and the attorney is persistent and wants to look at your screen. It was suggested to use the a fore mentioned stroke to hide your screen, but I couldn't help thinking, can't you just say something to the effect of, "Hey, Mr. Attorney, if you want realtime, you have to pay extra." Or, "Hey, Mr. Attorney, if you want realtime, you have to ask for it beforehand!" Maybe not in those charming words, but something more professional.
This was not offered as a solution at all. I am not sure of the ethics involved in such a situation, or whether or not suggesting that the attorney can request a realtime feed is possible, it's just what popped into my head at the time.
While we're on the subject of realtime, I was surprised how many working and seasoned reporters at the luncheon were not regularly providing realtime at all of their jobs. I'm not judging, obviously, but seeing as how that is where the industry is moving, particularly in the international fields, why not? Quite a few of them said they had been writing realtime for themselves, but fewer still stated that they had been providing realtime regularly on jobs.
WHAT?
This seems so antiquated to me because I'm involved in many groups and pages and admire so many reporters that are providing realtime all day, every day. That being said, I'm now wondering how realistic it is to expect to be realtime proficient out of the gate. I mean -- at 225, and realtime ready? Or is that a pretty unrealistic expectation? Inquiring minds want to know, so leave a comment below. Ha. I'm a poet. No, really, I am, you can check out my poetry blog if you need proof...
NightGlassPress
Shameless self-promotion.
Anyway....
I have to be properly at 200 wpm in order to begin shadowing my local mentor. So I have a goal to work towards. I am also going to be taking part in mock trials at DU (Denver University) on March 28th. This will be a good way to see where I'm lacking and what I'll need to work on.
I was hoping to get the ball rolling on sitting in and possibly learning to scope or proofread properly. That hasn't happened yet. I always tell everyone that I want to have the skills to do anything steno related that life could possibly throw at me. I think I get the "smile" the, "she's quite naive" smile a lot as a result. Maybe it is naive, and maybe I'll prove everyone wrong one day.
I want to scope, proofread, CART, international freelance, depositions, captioning, and even French to English subtitles or captioning. I want it all and why not? I got into this career path because there are so many options and because I know myself. I'll get bored if I have to be an official in the same court house day in and day out. No thanks. Oh, and after learning about tennis captioning, HELL YES, PLEASE!
All in all, the food was good. It would have been better if I didn't have to attempt to eat and then decide to not eat marble rye bread. YUCK. That's just preference, though. As I've said, the food at The Denver Chop House is always amazing, the staff is lovely to a T, and the space is elegantly vintage.
I really love how supportive the community of reporters is here and abroad as well. I couldn't help but talk about a certain amazing reporter in HK who's my inspiration and motivation.
Proudest Moment: Avoiding a theory war confab with a student who was encouraged to switch from Phoenix Theory to StenEd because Phoenix is an inferior theory... (Mouth successfully shut.)
Least Proudest Moments: Hitching down my skirt and slip so many times that I couldn't help but think about this video: You Don't Know How To Behave in a Dress
Love & Peace & STENO!
-L.A.
This year was particularly beneficial as I got to meet up with my local mentor and get to know some other reporters as well. Being in the 180/200 speeds this time, you tend to get more out of functions like this because you're ALMOST THERE!
 | |
| In-car selfie before the event... :P |
We were in the Caboose room this time. It was freaking beautiful! I can't say I didn't wish that the gorgeous bar wasn't an open bar... Also, the music was all from the 1940s to 1950s and made me want to Lindy Hop my way to and fro from the bathroom.
These events are usually full of announcements that don't necessarily apply to students at the time. However, some exciting news for those employed in our lovely state was shared. We're trying, and looks like we'll probably be getting, the ability to administer the FCC type test here so that reporters will no longer have to make a sort of exodus in order to achieve that certification! Yay!
And... More exciting news. Page rate increases are on the horizon! Apparently, we've not had a page rate increase since 1998. Yikes! So that is definitely something that is exciting.
There was an entire segment on "What Would You Do?" where reporters answered that question to varying situations that can arise on the job. Most of the scenarios had to do with sharing transcripts between attorneys (no, no) and attorneys or witnesses bringing their own recording devices to depositions, or the lovely scenario where an attorney announces himself as a fast-talker and that he's not to be interrupted. One of the scenarios presented gave me a thought... It was that an attorney at a deposition is looking at your realtime feed on your laptop, which is not being provided to either counsel, you, the reporter, hide your screen by making it go blank (here's where I learned a handy stroke for that: B*N/B*N) and the attorney is persistent and wants to look at your screen. It was suggested to use the a fore mentioned stroke to hide your screen, but I couldn't help thinking, can't you just say something to the effect of, "Hey, Mr. Attorney, if you want realtime, you have to pay extra." Or, "Hey, Mr. Attorney, if you want realtime, you have to ask for it beforehand!" Maybe not in those charming words, but something more professional.
This was not offered as a solution at all. I am not sure of the ethics involved in such a situation, or whether or not suggesting that the attorney can request a realtime feed is possible, it's just what popped into my head at the time.
While we're on the subject of realtime, I was surprised how many working and seasoned reporters at the luncheon were not regularly providing realtime at all of their jobs. I'm not judging, obviously, but seeing as how that is where the industry is moving, particularly in the international fields, why not? Quite a few of them said they had been writing realtime for themselves, but fewer still stated that they had been providing realtime regularly on jobs.
WHAT?
This seems so antiquated to me because I'm involved in many groups and pages and admire so many reporters that are providing realtime all day, every day. That being said, I'm now wondering how realistic it is to expect to be realtime proficient out of the gate. I mean -- at 225, and realtime ready? Or is that a pretty unrealistic expectation? Inquiring minds want to know, so leave a comment below. Ha. I'm a poet. No, really, I am, you can check out my poetry blog if you need proof...
NightGlassPress
Shameless self-promotion.
Anyway....
I have to be properly at 200 wpm in order to begin shadowing my local mentor. So I have a goal to work towards. I am also going to be taking part in mock trials at DU (Denver University) on March 28th. This will be a good way to see where I'm lacking and what I'll need to work on.
I was hoping to get the ball rolling on sitting in and possibly learning to scope or proofread properly. That hasn't happened yet. I always tell everyone that I want to have the skills to do anything steno related that life could possibly throw at me. I think I get the "smile" the, "she's quite naive" smile a lot as a result. Maybe it is naive, and maybe I'll prove everyone wrong one day.
I want to scope, proofread, CART, international freelance, depositions, captioning, and even French to English subtitles or captioning. I want it all and why not? I got into this career path because there are so many options and because I know myself. I'll get bored if I have to be an official in the same court house day in and day out. No thanks. Oh, and after learning about tennis captioning, HELL YES, PLEASE!
All in all, the food was good. It would have been better if I didn't have to attempt to eat and then decide to not eat marble rye bread. YUCK. That's just preference, though. As I've said, the food at The Denver Chop House is always amazing, the staff is lovely to a T, and the space is elegantly vintage.
I really love how supportive the community of reporters is here and abroad as well. I couldn't help but talk about a certain amazing reporter in HK who's my inspiration and motivation.
Proudest Moment: Avoiding a theory war confab with a student who was encouraged to switch from Phoenix Theory to StenEd because Phoenix is an inferior theory... (Mouth successfully shut.)
Least Proudest Moments: Hitching down my skirt and slip so many times that I couldn't help but think about this video: You Don't Know How To Behave in a Dress
Love & Peace & STENO!
-L.A.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Not an Update, Update:
Hello there steno peeps! I thought I would take a moment out of my busy day of de-cluttering my house and update you on where I'm headed over the next 6 months.
First, February 22nd is the annual CCRA (Colorado Court Reporter's Association) luncheon. Which, I will be attending for two reasons: the food and meeting up with my local mentor. I am really excited to meet my mentor there and, hopefully, get the ball rolling on making dates to sit in with her on depositions. Plus, the food at the Denver Chop House is outstanding.
Right now, I have been focusing on building my speed and accuracy like crazy. I have also been studying for the RPR WKT test. I am scared to death, almost, to sit in and actually write at a depo. I really need to work on nailing my speaker identifications and parentheticals as well as keeping up with the speed and accuracy of the multiple speakers. I plan on working on these skills until my fingers feel as though they may fall off as I will have mock depositions coming up on March 28th at DU's law school.
April will bring with it the opportunity to take the RPR WKT test, which I hope to pass on the first go. Hence, the studying.
July should be an extremely eventful month as I am hoping to make it to the NCRA convention in San Francisco for many good reasons, the best being meeting my mentor, Jade King, as well as any of you lovely people who take a few minutes to read this once in a while. Also, in July, I will be making my first attempt at the RPR Skills test. I would love if this would be my first and only attempt, but realistically, most people don't pass it all in one go.
I would like to be working by the fall. However, if I am able to be interning like crazy, I'll take that too!
Okay, so that is the update here. Thanks for reading. Keep your fingers crossed that opportunities and luck will come my way and I'll do the same for you.
Peace.
First, February 22nd is the annual CCRA (Colorado Court Reporter's Association) luncheon. Which, I will be attending for two reasons: the food and meeting up with my local mentor. I am really excited to meet my mentor there and, hopefully, get the ball rolling on making dates to sit in with her on depositions. Plus, the food at the Denver Chop House is outstanding.
Right now, I have been focusing on building my speed and accuracy like crazy. I have also been studying for the RPR WKT test. I am scared to death, almost, to sit in and actually write at a depo. I really need to work on nailing my speaker identifications and parentheticals as well as keeping up with the speed and accuracy of the multiple speakers. I plan on working on these skills until my fingers feel as though they may fall off as I will have mock depositions coming up on March 28th at DU's law school.
April will bring with it the opportunity to take the RPR WKT test, which I hope to pass on the first go. Hence, the studying.
July should be an extremely eventful month as I am hoping to make it to the NCRA convention in San Francisco for many good reasons, the best being meeting my mentor, Jade King, as well as any of you lovely people who take a few minutes to read this once in a while. Also, in July, I will be making my first attempt at the RPR Skills test. I would love if this would be my first and only attempt, but realistically, most people don't pass it all in one go.
I would like to be working by the fall. However, if I am able to be interning like crazy, I'll take that too!
Okay, so that is the update here. Thanks for reading. Keep your fingers crossed that opportunities and luck will come my way and I'll do the same for you.
Peace.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)