Today was the first day back to school. We had a 2 week summer vacation. I used most of my vacay time racking up my required freelance intern hours. I still need to transcribe all the hours of depo I sat out on and submit all the paperwork. I'll do this slowly and surely each passing day (there's no due date).
I admit that during the break, besides going to the depos, I did not practice on my machine as much as I had planned to. I felt that I was getting enough strenuous practice in the "real world." It felt GREAT! On one of the depos, the witness had a very thick accent. It was really good practice trying to understand her and write correctly.
Unfortunately, there's nothing more dramatic to report other than the thick accent, haha. Oh, except this tidbit from one freelance reporter. I asked her if it's true that most freelance reporters go shopping when their job finishes early... and she said "YES!" Well, at least she does (as do several others that I know)! How awesome! Can't wait for that, haha!
I went to TimeAndDate.com to calculate how many days there are between today, the first day of school, and the last day of school, which is December 16th. We have 101 days for our Fall 2011 term at DAS. 101 days breaks down to 3 months and 10 days... 8,726,400 seconds... 145,440 minutes... 2424 hours... 14 weeks (rounded down)... to get our goals completed!!!
This is the first time that I've gone to school full-time without working (thank you, hubby!). This is also the first time that I've clearly written and defined my goals for each school term. Using this combo of focused schoolwork (full-time with no job) and accountability with my handy dandy dry erase board in our kitchen (I LOVE the feeling of accomplishment I get each time I cross out a test I've just passed!) has helped me progress like never before... and I will not slow down now!
My specific goals to finish by the end of these 101 upcoming days are to:
- Pass my 180 4-Voice Q&A at 5 minutes
- Pass my 200 4-Voice Q&A at 5 minutes
- Pass my 200 4-Voice Q&A at 10 minutes
- Get into Qualifiers and pass that too!
If I don't cross off all of the above items as "DONE" by the end of the 101 days, that's okay. At least I'm striving for the moon to land among the stars. Once the Fall terms ends, next comes the Winter term... and I'll keep chugging away at court reporting school until I am officially done and I take and pass my CSR and RPR exams with flying colors! All things are possible through GOD who gives me the strength!
3 comments:
Hi , I'm a new student and just getting into theory. I am currently having a little trouble remembering the spellings of some of the words and applying the concept to the other words. Any suggestions ?
btw !!!! I am in LOVE with this blog and how you run it.. I think you're great and once I saw you talk about God I fell in love all over again. "All things are possible through GOD who gives me the strength!"
Hi, Sydney!
Thanks so much or the kind words about my blog! The LORD is the stronghold of my life, and I know I cannot do anything good apart from HIM. :)
Congrats on starting Theory! I know what you mean about trying to remember which keys make which sounds. I think the best way to get over this hurdle is memorization... period!
Here's what I suggest:
Split your practice session in 2 ways: 1/2 of your practice time, practice with a picture of the steno keyboard in front of you (like this one here: http://www.depo.com/images/pic_steno2.gif), and with the other 1/2 of your practice time, REMOVE that picture and write everything by memory. You won't get everything perfectly at first, but the important thing is you are trying to practice through memory. When you really are lost, bring back that picture for a split second... and then continue without it. I really believe it's all about memorization by repetition, repetition, repetition.
Hope that helps! :)
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