Hey,

I know you!!! How are you doing?

Broadcast Captioner!! Whoo-hoo. You go!!!

Things are going okay. I currently have a bout of tennis elbow, but it's getting better, I guess. It's hard to not use your arm. But I can't complain. I move to Irvine and have been freelancing.

So how'd you end up in AR?

Sorry about your tennis elbow. Congrats on the freelancing though. Are you enjoying it??

I ended up in AR because I was sick of the traffic and I had some friends here and thought I would give it a try. It's been 2 1/2 years already... was just back in CA and I think I'm about ready to come home. I love it here, it's beautiful, but I'm working from home and I just feel so darn far away from my profession. No one here does what I do. Know what I mean?? Thinking of getting my RPR though. We'll see.

It'd be great if you came back. Get a pic up there. People want to know what you look like.

Hey,

I'm wearing a witch's hat. How scary can you be. I'm going this weekend. I've been to Bubba Gump several times down here. I like their bucket of trash. Thanks for the recommendation.

When you moving back?

You sound like me. I always mean to get into the hair stylist sooner, but I"m always running around and my hair is a total wreck before I can get in. It looks nice.

Happy Halloween!!

Are you going to any fabu parties? Are you dressing up? Not me.

My daughter will be a rainbow witch. I will be posting pics. Stay tuned.

No. No Candy. I will end up eating. I plan on recycling Geneva's candy and just handing it right back out if anyone comes to our house.

Hey,

How are you doing? What's going on with you? Is it snowing where you are?

Sorry to hear that you're sick. But you've got snow!!! I know. I know. You're used to it. But it still sounds exciting in the abstract. Put up a few lights. Be festive.

She's four years old now. She'll be five in April. They really do grow so fast.

It would be awesome if you moved back. I'd love to see you.


Wow. It must be mind-blowing to see them go off to college

Just a though. Sunny and warm her. No ice and sleet.

Well, it wasn't like I was winning the nicest girl at SCCCR back when you knew me. Haven't changed much.

It's cold here. It was 36 this morning.

Christmas was good. We went to my mom's house. She did all the cooking. Geneva got a lot of presents. The weather here was kind of rainy. But I like rain, so I was okay with it.

Christmas turned out very merry for us bec. everyone in the family is still employed. Whoo-hoo.

What did you do for Christmas?

I never have plans for New Years anymore. I'm old and married and have a four-year-old. We end up usually passed out on the sofa while our four-year-old dances around us.

Sounds like good times. DH wants to go on some kind of date night next week. I don't know. We'll see.

Happy New Year!!!

I thought you might enjoy a Peep show,

Happy Easter

Things are pretty busy. I've had a couple of big depos, so they're sucking up a lot of time to produce.

I wish we could get Linda and Pam on here.

I miss them too. Pam was a s sweetheart.

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

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

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

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

Just say no!!