I'VE BEEN SIMPSONIZED!

So since today is Sunday, I wanted to relax a bit while surfing the net, and I stumbled upon the Simpsonize Me site. I was able to create myself as a Simpson character! Too funny! Click here to see me, Steno Nerd (AKA Christine), as a Simpson character... and then go ahead and make your own by clicking here! It's fun, free, and so very entertaining! I know... this post has NOTHING to do with steno-anything, but that's ok, right? We need a little chuckle every now and then! And this site hits the spot! D'oh! ;) How about you? What sites do you go on when you want to relax, unwind, and just get a good laugh? Do share!

STUDYING BRIEFS W/ FLASH CARDS

Everything has become digital now, including flash cards -- the good old fashioned way of studying and prepping for tests! I've long given up on "hard copy" or 3x5 flash cards when I came across Flash Card Machine, a site where you can create your own digital flash cards for free! Verdict: LOVE IT! Not only can you store your flash cards here for free, but you can also share your studying tips -- in our case, steno briefs -- with other students and vice-versa, which is always a good thing! For instance, maybe you're trying to brief the word "conversation," and your brief source (usually a handy dandy HUGE brief dictionary!) is giving you a stroke that you just can't memorize or your fingers just won't contort to. Now, instead of writing the word in just one stroke as a brief, because you can't think of a brief that works for you, you're forced to write "congratulations" in its usual four strokes (four syllables). Not good! That's one of the reasons I like this site so much. You put your briefs out there for the world to see, and then you're ALSO able to glean from fellow users there, too! See, everything IS so much better when we share! :) Click here for pages of steno briefs that other court reporting students have already shared. Click here to sign up for your free account at Flash Card Machine. And happy studying!

MY TECHNORATI CLAIM

u39kfah84e

ATTITUDE

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~Herm Albright, quoted in Reader's Digest, June 1995 Attitudes are contagious. Are yours worth catching? ~Dennis and Wendy Mannering Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine. ~Anthony J. D'Angelo, The College Blue Book If you don't think every day is a good day, just try missing one. ~Cavett Robert It's so hard when I have to, and so easy when I want to. ~Annie Gottlier Oh, my friend, it's not what they take away from you that counts. It's what you do with what you have left. ~Hubert Humphrey Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same. ~Francesca Reigler If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it. ~Mary Engelbreit He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts. ~Samuel Johnson Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures. ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr., Life's Little Instruction Book To be upset over what you don't have is to waste what you do have. ~Ken S. Keyes, Jr., Handbook to Higher Consciousness Defeat is not bitter unless you swallow it. ~Joe Clark The only disability in life is a bad attitude. ~Scott Hamilton I don't like that man. I must get to know him better. ~Abraham Lincoln To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it. ~Confucius I don't think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains. ~Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl If we shall take the good we find, asking no questions, we shall have heaping measures. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes. ~William James What is possible? What you will. ~Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. ~Robert Brault, www.robertbrault.com Success is due less to ability than to zeal. ~Charles Buxton Anywhere is paradise; it's up to you. ~Author Unknown We awaken in others the same attitude of mind we hold toward them. ~Elbert Hubbard Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time. ~Betty Smith Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold. ~Maurice Setter For my part I believe in the forgiveness of sin and the redemption of ignorance. ~Adlai Stevenson A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes. ~Hugh Downs Very often a change of self is needed more than a change of scene. ~Arthur Christopher Benson

YOUR QUIZ RESPONSES!

THANK YOU to all who took the time to go through my "Getting To Know You" Quiz. Interesting answers! I love all the responses! You guys have great info to share... and you guys are pretty funny too! I like that! ;) Below are some of what you wrote in the short paragraph answers. Enjoy and thanks again! I know going through 15+ questions takes a lot of time and effort... but then again I wouldn't have noticed since I LOVE to take random, fun quizzes! There, now you know a bit more about me. :) P.S. Feel free to add any more answers in the comment section! The more, the merrier! :) P.P.S. I seriously am grateful for all these answers from you! This will help A LOT of court reporting student (like myself) and even others who don't know about the court reporting profession OR who might be looking into it! WELL DONE, CR COMMUNITY! YAY! :D

Briefly share why and how you got into Court Reporting:

• I was hoping to land a hot, rich atty -- things don't always work out as planned... j/k
• 25 years ago I was typing for court reporters, and I realized I was doing most of the work and they were making most of the money, and it kind of made me mad. So I guess I got into court reporting out of spite!
• Actually my journey started 20 years ago. I was in court reporting school, and an unfortunate car accident injuring my hand and wrist forced me to drop out. I had to overcome being in a cast for over a year due to broken bones and surgery! So, I went to college where I completed my B.A. in English. I always wanted to return to my first true vocational love, court reporting...so here I am!!!
• In high school, the choices were accountant or...come to find out my business law teacher's wife was a court reporter. Never heard of such a professional until then. Somehow the job description intrigued me; set your own hours, master a skill, strong in the English language = Sold!
• I needed a career change at 50+ years and thought of returning to stenography, which I studied and enjoyed 35 years ago.
• A dare - I was dared to do it. A bet - I was bet I couldn't do it. I lost. My health went bad. I scope because I fell in love with the whole shebang.

Your best tip(s) for Court Reporting Students:

• Practice, practice, practice. Concentrate on theory before speed. Focus.....
• Find ways to stay motivated Don't give up.
• Intern with a court reporting company doing all aspects of the industry
• Seeing the "light" at the end of the tunnel is a MUST! Sometimes it seems like the teeny tiny baby steps you take while transitioning to the next speed can be excruciatingly sloooooow. I have told friends it feels like I'm a snail moving in slow motion...now that's slow!! Keep going forward, don't condemn yourself or get down on yourself for not getting there faster. You will get there. You will succeed. It's just a matter of time, and patience!
• The Sky is the limit. Always have a positive attitude. Always. Go and take a look at a real-live court reporter. If she/he can do it, so can you...and even better. Whether it's court or freelance, be the best you can be. Always be professional.
• Write yourself a check for an amount you envision you will earn as a reporter. Write your name in as the payee. When practice and dictation and tests seem endless, pull out your check and know -- KNOW -- you have the power to earn that in a day. But you have to get through with school first. School will end. It's up to you when.
• Read it, hear it, write it. Practice everyday.
• Practice, believe and lean on others when you need to.

List your Pros and Cons of Court Reporting:

PROS:

• All the reasons I listed in the "why I became a court reporter" question.
• Supportive community of reporters, salary, flexibility.
• Working from home office
• The Pros are truly infinite. Controlling your destiny, knowing that you are among the elite that finally made it to this point. The variety that the career allows for---never a dull moment!
• Freedom in lifestyle, flexibility. No boss! Master of skill. Come & go as I please. Unique profession. Professionalism. Challenge. Income.

CONS:

• Some seasons require working practically 24/7. Moving to another area requires starting over, essentially, because you have to break in all over again. Freelancing means you never know where the money is coming from or when it's coming.
• Carpal tunnel syndrome, adversarial environments of litigation
• Long depos
• I guess the only con might be the long hours of sitting and possible hand injuries that are possibilities.
• Nothing is bad that can't be dealt with or seen as a positive.
• The only con is the lengthy prep time to learn the complicated theory. But, that's also a pro because I love a challenge and knowing I am becoming proficient at something most people don't understand. Stenotyping is sort of like a secret language that only a few intelligent people are able to decode. :)
• ASSHOLE LAWYERS

What year, between your birth year to the current date, would you call your happiest and why?

• 2009, right now. I'm in court reporting school and on my way to finishing! Once I become a licensed CSR, I'm going to marry my very best friend, and we'll start our life together under one roof! :D
• Yes, I would really like to call my current birth year (date) very happy indeed!
• 1982 - the birth of my son.
• The year after college, because I helped people the most that year.
• 2007 - Christmas with Dad
• Wow, that's a thought provoking question. I really have tried to live in the NOW, so for sure this year, this day, this moment, this is what I try to make the happiest. Could I have been any more vague?
• 1970 when I was born. This is the day my world began and my life for me to appreciate and cherish for all the days, each one of them.
• 2009. I'm still here, alive and well, enjoying every moment.
• The summer of 1996. My husband loved me. I had two wonderful children. We were flush. We had a full crew that got along great. The summer was as perfect as it could get. Absolutely nothing bad happened or went wrong.

What else do you want to see at Steno Nerd?

• More comments and input from Readers.
• Free Steno Paper, Exhibit Stickers, et cetera for filling out your survey.
• More subscribers because this is the best and most up to date steno blog I've come across!
• Perhaps you could talk about equipment and ratings of such. What people are using for their machines/software etc? Truly though your blog/site is awesomely creative!! Thank you!
• Interesting things that people have learned and wish to share with others.