Okay. You're an *itch. I think that takes care of my niceness problem.

I hear what you're saying, but you've got to realize there's room for both of us. Voice writers are filling a need. I think we can co-exist peacefully. After all, there were pen writers before there were machine writers. There are fewer pen writers now, practically non-existent, but that's bec. more people went to using machine. But they continued to work.

Now, if everyone goes to voice writer, that doesn't mean people won't use machine writers. Pen writers didn't die out bec. we killed them. It just evolved.

See. Peer pressure.

Nope. Facebook is evil. Just kidding. But I'm feeling the peer pressure.

Just say no!!

Thanks, Donna, for answering my questions (again)! I will definitely keep in touch! :)

Hi, Dana.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THAT INFO!!! THAT WAS A TREASURE TROVE!!! I SERIOUSLY APPRECIATE IT!!!

You know, because of the information you gave me, I WILL seek CART reporting once I am comfortable in my 180s. You just never know whether this -- CART reporting -- will truly be my niche, right? So I got to find out! Soon enough... :)

I really appreciate that you defend your profession and your deaf/hard-of-hearing students when you said: "This is someone's education and education is expensive. They deserve to have someone who can do a good job and work hard for them. It's not about you making money while you try to put yourself through school, which is what a lot of CR students do. They just want to work and think this is an easy way to make money and I don't have to get every word." I agree with you! When I get into CART, I'll make sure to give my student my 110% best effort. It's not a quick get-rich scheme. It's a CAREER! :)And it's an honor to help another fellow human being. :)

I still don't know where I'll end up once I'm in the higher speeds and/or certified -- whether it'll be court, depos, CART, or closed captioning. That's why I want to try CART and, per your recommendation, DO MY BEST GIVING THE STUDENT THEIR INVALUABLE EDUCATION, and see whether CART is where I'll end up. Maybe I'll love CART as much as you and just do that full-time and eventually get my license with CART reporting, not necessarily the California CSR. Or do both! Hmm... we'll see...

I love how you said that as a full-time CART reporter, you usually have your summers free to pursue other hobbies and take it a bit easier. When you said: "I don't need to work as much as I was when I lived out there and I can pursue other interests." -- did you mean because you no longer live in California? 'Cause I could understand that; the cost of living in California is SO EXPENSIVE! Just wanted to confirm if that's what you meant.

Thanks again for all your help and for recommending that I seek out colleges/universities when I do CART. I'll keep in touch with you here, if you don't mind. I'll let you know of my progress, especially in regards to CART!

THANKS AGAIN, DANA!

Take care as well,
Christine

Hi, Dana.

I was wondering if I could please ask you a few questions about CART. I'm a court reporting student currently at 140, but ALMOST at 160 WPM. I was told that schools do not hire until at least 180 WPM for CART.

Here are my questions. I'd REALLY appreciate your feedback! THANK YOU in advance! :)

1. Are you a full-time CART provider? I hear it's difficult to get steady work, and the students you work for tend to drop classes randomly. Do you find yourself scrambling to look for work more, or do you enjoy a pretty steady work pace?

2. Would you recommend that I do CART while still going to school? What are the pros and cons, in your opinion, of doing CART while still going to court reporting school?

3. Did you go to court reporting school simply for the basis of being a CART reporter? Or are you a certified shorthand reporter?

4. Is it true that in CART (as well as in captioning), you don't need to write everything verbatim but are allowed (and even encouraged?) to paraphrase so that the viewer (student or audience) can understand more easily what's going on.

THANK YOU again for taking the time to answer my questions! I'd really appreciate it!

Have a great weekend!

- Christine

I miss them too. Pam was a s sweetheart.

I wish we could get Linda and Pam on here.