Hi David, check out The Brief Zone !
Great Drilling Material For Any Steno Theory...
www.thebriefzone.com

Hey, sorry its been awhile since I wrote but ya know with the busy schedule and all. Oh my daughter is three, just turned three on june 13th, so i had the party planing thing to do and then not only that but her dad causing problems and all. Yea we are all frustrated with school, i havent been so much the past three months since i went online i wasnt really focused on school so much i focused more on me since i had been in school 15 months and was getting exhausted i took me a break, kinda like my summer lol. And i took time for me and i rested and had some fun, now starting monday im going back to ground so summer is over and time to get back to work and im sure ill be frustrated then lol. Nah im not scary but have an active life with drama, i try so hard to get out of it but it seems to follow me without my permission lol. Im a nice, sweet person who can be hyper and silly and crazy, its just me, and i ussually have a lot to say. And its called " tough love" sometimes we all need it, you know kinda like stop your crying and just do it already cause just complaining or talking about it is not gonna get the job done, and this way you can say i did it, instead of im going to or i meant to, which sucks, lol. Positivie things to say, hmmmm, how bout im positively gonna lose my mind if i dont get out of school and have a normal life with a normal schedule to where i can come home and cook dinner and sit down with my child every night to eat and do homework with her and get to bed at a decent hour, lol. No heres one better I positively need to be able to get 8 hours of sleep a night on a consistent basis or ill get to go see the men in white coats and a nice padded room for a vacation, lol. Im just picking on you, yea yea yea im a smartass and i know it and im proud of it, but it makes you smile so its ok. As for something positive, im tired so ill just give you one of my fav poems, i have a copy of it right next to my door so i can see it everyday as i walk out as a way to remind me to keep going and not give up so here it is.
Dont Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When funds are low, and debys are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you mush, but dont you quit.

Life is strange with its twist and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Dont give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you can never tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst
That you must not quit.

Its pretty famous so you might know it but it is inspirational. Ok i got my daughter to sleep early dont know how but i did so i need to go to bed cause starting monday its back to getting up early, and shell be up early tomorrow too, so goodnight talk to you later, Charlene, and have a nice day.

Hey David. Haven't heard from you in a while. Everything going okay? Don't mean to pester. Hope you're doing well.

Hey, your really sweet, but I have to say, I don't think that your wife or gf is going to like you telling me I can talk to you about anything, lol. Oh so I see you are almost there, wana trade places, lol. And really that could be a dangerous thing to say to me, seriously ask my friends, lol. Most days I feel as if it will be an eternity till I get there, while praying it wont be. My daughters name is Cheyanne, I named her after me without giving her my name, so I could carry on my name and she could still have her own individuality. Charlene, Cheyanne, if you look we both start with Ch, both end in e, both have 8 letters in our name, and my middle name is ann, so my middle name is in her first name. And so that explains the wierd way i spelled her name, lol. Thank you very much, and she is adorable, even more so cause you haven't heard her sassy mouth yet, lol. Thank you for the admiration, and like I said saying I can tell you bout anything is a dangerous to say to me, lol, especially since I had a really, really bad dau]y. But I'm going to spare you that, since its really late and im really tired, and I'm not sure bout putting all that on here. And i do feel frustrated cause I havent passed a test in the last 2 quarters, lol. I would have last quarter when I was on ground, except they put my transcription hour last and Id be so tired Id just come home and take a nap before work and if i had transcribed some of those, I would of passed, I wish I had now. And switching to online just made it so much harder cause it is harder material and Im not practicing as much, i know shame-shame, but its my lil break, and too bad its almost up, and im probably going back to ground next quarter, ugggggg time to be too tired again, lol. Thanks for the support, and you got mine, so now quit playing and get your butt out of the nest and get out there and show them what you made of, and try to have fun cause if you dont then you wont want to do it anymore and itll be more like work then a career, and with all that you had to do to get it, you might as well like it, lol. Ok that bed is really calling my name, no really i can hear it, listen, CHARLENE, ya see you can hear it too, lol, so im going for now, but hope to hear from you soon, Charlene.

Oh, the weekend was good. The kids had fun at the party, and when I got home my husband and I went on a date : ) It was nice. I miss him! Unfortunately, I am used to doing things on my own since we are on completely different schedules. Thank God for my inlaws. They are watching the kids for me this week while I'm at school. How was your weekend?

Bummer about your CSR. At least you'll have the extra time to practice for it; right?

Yeah, I'm looking forward to reading your book. Funny there is a character named Paul. When I was in 60-80 class, fresh out of theory, we had a test from a sexual harrassment case, and the accused was named Paul. I had to bite my tongue during this part: Q. What did Paul say to you? A. He asked me if I had ever made love to a man before. Then he told me he wanted to make passionate love to me, and he touched my thigh and tried to reach farther up my leg.
My husband would NEVER use the words "make passionate love" ... way too cheeseball for him. It was one of my first tests out of theory.

It's hot here in CA today. I set the waterslide up in the backyard this afternoon and my girls are all sleeping from playing so hard. I wish I had a pool... someday, maybe after I start working...

TTYL

~Kyla

Hey David, NY huh, just met someone who moved from there not too long ago. So how is school going for you? I think it's a blast and would be less frustrating if there wasn't so much riding on it, you know? The fact that it will be your career someday can make it stressful and kinda scarey, now if this was just for a hobby and fun, I wouldn't feel the pain, lol. I love the school part, it's getting out in the real working world sometimes that has me scared crazy. I love to learn, so it would just be kinda nice to take my time at it, but since it's not paying me and I am doing the parenting, working, schooling thing, I think just chillin isn't an option for me, and I really need to do this thing and get out for keeping my sanity stops becoming an issue and insanity becomes my reality, lol. Respect, well I know what that is, and thanks for giving me mines, I really appreciate that. At least I can't say that I have too much time on my hands and my life is wasting away, so there is a silver lining in it all, just look for it. And really I'm just grateful to get to work, to have my own place, to have a beautiful daughter who is the light within me that guides me to love, and still have the oppurtunity to better myself while getting to learn something new and satisfy my mind with knowledge and learning, while having all of these things. So sometimes while it may seem like a curse, if you think about it, it is really a blessing too be able to have so much when so many people have so few. I may not have the biggest house, but I have the biggest heart, and most love, so really I am already successful, with everything that I have and all I do, and the liscense and career is just the icing on the cake that will happen as long as you dedicate it to. Best of luck to you and us all, Charlene.

Yes, you look like a normal person, though I never had any doubts. LOL I'd be glad to give you feedback on your story. Thanks for asking about my family. Hubs and kids are doing well. I have been going through a rough patch with the twins, but I think I'll spare you the details since it involves fecal matter--LOL-- I think I've got a handle on it. (And if curiosity gets the best of you, I'll share, though I doubt you'll be interested)

Paul (my husband) has to work on Saturday afternoon for a couple hours, and then he has to leave for Minnesota for business on Sunday : ( . He will be gone for 4 days, and it sucks. I am going to my mom's for my niece's birthday on Saturday with the kids. What are you going to be up to?

I did my realtime project. It was VERY easy. And the dictation was so slow that I only got five pages from about 20 minutes. It will require little, if any, editing, so I am relieved. After tomorrow I will have only one week left of classes for this quarter, and then I have 3 weeks off.

My husband wants to take my laptop on his trip, and I feel so guilty, but I feel the need to protect it with my life. He bought the dang thing, but it's like my baby. KWIM? I guess I'll just have to do some major backing up and have a little faith, right?

So when is the next CSR in your state? Here in CA, they are having it the same weekend as the convention. Weird, huh?

TTYL
~Kyla

Hey! I saw your picture in the back issue of the JCR at school!

How's it going?

I just need one more 130 now. I've got my high JC and a low SM under my belt! I have to confess to you that I am going to do my CAT class final project in the 60-80 class. I am just needing something easy right now. Hope you don't think less of me.

Hi David thanks for the luck. I go to Long Island Business Institute in Flushing, Queens. This is my first year taking class...each "semester" it gets more challenging which is something that I like. #)
I live by cypress hills some people call it "Ridgewood" some say its "Bushwick" I say.... "what'ever" it is makes it easier !! LOL.

Haha... Curse words. I'm sorry. I don't mean to laugh. But it is easy for me to be prim and proper online. When my kids aren't around and I've had a couple drinks, I have quite a dirty little mouth. There is no possible way you can offend me in that regard. I'm laughing so hard right now I am literally crying. Let's just say I've been known to use some choice words myself...

Your memory of the community pool sounds so great. My sister-in-law just got her in-ground pool last summer. It is pretty samll, but it is beautiful with a waterfall and a "sandbar" so even the twins can go in.

My husband and all the men in my family are avid golfers. Unfortunatley he doesn't get to go very often. When we were dating, I took a golf class at the community college and tried to get into it, but frankly, I suck. First time at the driving range, I hit the guy next to me. I still like to go with him and watch, drive the cart etc... A few times when we were dating, I carried his bag for him (for the exercise) and all of the other men on the course were like "Where in the world did you find this chick?!". It was fun. All the men thought I was so cool and I'm sure the younger guys thought he was some kind of pimp. It was funny. I certainly wouldn't be doing that now. I'm not patient enough for golf. I am very competitive, and it takes too long to become good at it. I like to say I am pretty athletic, and I don't like to suck at anything, or look like a fool for that matter.

GUESS WHAT!!!!!!! Not only did I pass that last 120, but I was one word away from getting it 100% verbatim!!! And if I had trusted my instinct, I would have nailed it! I wrote this mistroke: KRAL. My outline for criminal is KR-L. My outline for voluntary is SRAOLT. The context was ... intoxication. At first I wrote voluntary, but then I changed it to criminal thinking that I was more likely to add a vowel than stroke the K instead of the S and forget the -T. Oh well. I am still thrilled!

Well, I've got to get to working on my bathroom remodel. (Did you say something about multitasking? LOL) I just pile a million things on my plate and never seem to actually finish anything. I'm always biting off more than I can chew. My house looks like sh*t (there's my potty mouth for ya). I've got laundry piled up everywhere. I haven't cleaned the dinner dishes yet, but I'd rather be here reading and writing messages. Have a good night.

~Kyla

Thanks, David. My holiday was pretty blah.... We had some friends over, and that went way too late on Sunday night/Monday morning. My husband went golfing with his buddies on Monday, and I took the kids swimming at my sister-in-law's. It was okay. For years, up until the twins were born, we always went camping on Memorial Day weekend. So the last few years, I have felt like I am missing something...

I have started working on the Veterans' Oral History Project through the NCRF. I have finished writing one, and I am in the process of editing and researching some of the places referred to. I am enjoying it. This may have been the little change of pace I need to get me out of my "steno rut".

I didn't make it to class tonight -- I just had too much work to catch up on at home (laundry, cleaning etc... ) I'm looking forward to next week -- back to some normalcy, KWIM?

So, how's the progress on getting me a copy of your book? Don't worry. I am not that squeamish. I'd like to read it.

How are things for you at school, Mr. Mysterious? LOL. I hope you don't feel like all we do is talk about my school experience. (which is pretty boring, espescially right now -- Sorry)

Look forward to hearing from you again soon ; )
~Kyla

Hi David. How was your holiday? How's it going?

Glad to hear your doing okay! You had me nervous there for a minute...

I am sooooo behind on schoolwork it isn't even funny. I hope you have a great week! TTYL

~Kyla

Hey, David. Kyla here... Just wanted to check in with ya. Hope you are doing well. I'm sure you are busy, but given what you told me before about your health, and the fact that I haven't heard back from you in a few days (Sorry, don't mean to be pestering or anything - I know you have a life outside of CR forums -- unlike me LOL) just thought I'd pop in again. : )

HHHEEELLLPPP!!!

I am in desperate need of something... I am in a slump. Even the tests I am transcribing that I feel good about turn out to be crap! (Good notes with either a huge drop that blows the whole thing or a bunch of little drops adding up) I am discouraged and frustrated, and as a result, my practice is way down. When I do get around to practicing, my heart just doesn't seem to be in it....
Excuse my language here, but I feel like I just plain suck : (
Any advice?

Yeah -- send me a copy! Here is my personal email address: specialk44@live.com

We have the same issue with Friday attendance at our school. Roughly half of the students enrolled in a class show up on Friday. Of course, I am a diehard -- always there!

My goodness... I hope you are feeling better soon.

Funny you should bring up the subject of movies... I don't get to see many movies, and as a result, I feel like I am completely out of touch with the rest of society in that regard. I like all kinds of movies except horror. I just feel so guilty sitting and watching a movie when I always have a million things to do around the house. Either that or I feel I should be doing homework or practicing. The only TV I get to watch is children's programming or sporting events or home-improvement shows. I used to be a Food Network freak, but I have had to stop, because I've gained toooooooo much weight!!! In fact, I am trying to figure out how I can fit the gym back into my schedule...

I haven't been in the transcription lab all week. I wish we could just transcribe our tests at home. I am not allowed to use my software to transcribe, because I don't have the right kind of writer. I can write realtime, but I have no place to store steno notes other than the writer's internal memory or by writing directly in realtime, and we are not allowed to do that. I want to buy a new writer, but when I do, it will have to be the one I will use professionally, and that is a big decision. Which writer do you prefer?

Thanks for the good wishes. I did have a nice day. My husband got up early with the kids so I could sleep in. (heaven) He brought me my favorite breakfast once I did wake up: Starbucks!! Then I took the kids to my mom's and he went to his mom's (too hard to try to take the kids to both) We had pizza at home for dinner -- no cooking for me. YAY! We don't eat out a lot here. We are really picky about eating out, and all of our favorite restaurants are in my home town, about an hour and a half away.

Did you get to do something with your mom?

So... How is school going? Have you finished your interning project?

Hey David. How's it going?