Thank you for the birthday wishes and positive thoughts Christine! I will check out your page soon!

Here's one for you! :)

Thanks, Christine.
I think I've visited your blog a few times. Thanks for sharing :)

Thank you for the b-day wishes!!!

Hello, Christine, I love your page, it is ver inspiring. I am very excited about court reporting also. I switched from the nursing field to this. My sister is a working cr ahe told me about this a little over two years ago. I been in school since February 07. I am finally at the end of the beautiful road to success. I just passed a 200 Jury and need 8 more. I feel I am going to start passing everything I need now. It is such a good feeling when you get to this high speed. Practice really do pay off. Keep in contact with me on your progress, we can motivate each other.

The poster was a surprise from some very talented classmates for the CSR banquet, which is the closest thing we have to a graduation ceremony for the program at Cerritos College. And the awesome cake was part of that celebration too.
I finished the program in May of this year and took the CSR in June. And we've been married for nearly four years now. We were married long before I ever considered court reporting. But I think it's very sweet that you two are waiting until you've reached your career goals.
Anyway, what school do you go to? What speed are you at? I'll look forward to hearing more about you to even things up!

Thanks Christine for the birthday wishes!!!

Wow! You must have some work ethic. I can't imagine trying to get through the program with so much on your plate. I had heard this could be a very lengthy process, so I quit my job to go to school full time and made some sacrifices so we could afford to live on one income. . . .lived with awful roommates, didn't have cable or internet or a landline, etc, etc, etc. But it was all worth it.
I'm doing depositions right now, but I'm not really sure what I want to do in the long run. When I was school, I always planned on working in court. Then I started thinking about broadcast captioning. I think I'd like to do it all eventually.
As for practice tips, I would just say practice material that's either much faster, much more difficult, or much longer than your tests. I suppose that's not very original, but it worked well for me.
When I was preparing for the CSR, I put together a very large binder filled with study guides, class handouts, etc, covering every subject, and I just studied it every day. Having everything organized in one place helped, I think.
Anyway, I hope that helps. Good luck in school. Keep me posted on your progress. :)

HIIIII Christine XD
So I looked at your blog and now I am thinking of un-adding you as a friend... I don't know if I can be friends with someone who likes Bill O'Reilly..... LOL >_<
But since we are both trying to be court reporters... I guess I can let that one slide... haha.
But really your blog is great. All the little motivational stuff and tips are really helpful. I never seriously though of just doing little 20 minute exercises until I saw it on your page and thought hey if it works for someone else maybe it will for me.. And it does! So ty for that!
I am pretty sure I like the Bryan College online course... I don't have anything else to compare it to so as of right now it is the best! haha. Those student loans are going to be fun to pay off. I think I have 15k ish "invested" in my education lol.
Right now I am in 80-100. .. I am about a week or two from going into 100-120. SOO close! haha. I started Bryan last July so about a year. I guess I am going at an ok pace..?
You are a busy bee!! I didn't know that you could do transcription work while in school at that speed, but you sound like you are in the legal "loop", which is a great place to be! I bet you are learning so much being at your job and it is super-preparing you for when you finish school. I am jealous! haha.

You have a great weekend too! ^_^ Keep that blogspot going!!
-Cody

Thanks for B-Day card. Funny, because I truly do like comic book type stuff. And the Justice League is Awesome! How'd ya know?

Again, Thanks!

Hey!
I realize that you wrote on my wall back in May, and I am so sorry that I am just now getting back! I haven't been on in awhile! I just moved to report in SC! You had asked me about school and how to get out. Are you still in school now?

Lauren

Thank you!! I hope you have a great day, also!

Debra

Hey Christine, how was your first day back at school?

Sorry to hear about the fleas - yuck! My family had to deal with those recently back home and it certainly doesn't sound like a fun time!

Thanks christine!

Know of anyone who could use pad ends? I work in court and I save them. Have a full case! Call me at wk if ur interested.

Thank you for the b-day card.
I hope you have a nice day.
Michele

Thank you, Christine, how is everything going for you?

Hey! Wow! 160 is definatley the turing point! From now on it is all up hill! :) I don't know about you, but I never got nervous during test or anything, so that wasn't an issue for me. I had a lot of technology issues. I hate computers! Anyway, I always practiced way above the speed I was taking. Even if it was really frustrating or if I only got 10 words in the whole 5 min take, I would just keep doing it. So come test day, everything was way slower!
My teachers always said to do some accuracy and some speed and some at the right speed, but I did all speed all the time. I never had an accuracy problem, and if that is something you struggle with, then obviously, you should work on it. :)
Just pay really close attention to everything your teachers say, even if it seems stupid or like it wont be important because, trust me, it comes up! Everything comes up at some point! If you ever need any help with anything, let me know! I would be happy to answer questions or help in any way I can!
I remember how awful school was! Just hang in there! You will be out before you know it!

Lauren

Thanks for the birthday wishes, Christine. - John

You, too, Christine!

Thanks for the B-day wish!

Thank you for the Happy Birthday message.

Hey Christine!
It is nice to be in 140s, but now there's a whole new world of stress! In October it will be a year for me. I want to be out in less than two years if I can help it!! How are the 160's going for you? Keep up the good work!
-Stephanie

Hi Christine... Thanks for the sweet birthday message!! :)

I am at South Coast College. I have one more 190 to pass, and 2 more 200's. School is going great right now.. I am super motivated to finish. Once I got thru that 170 wall (8 months--ughhhh!!).. I have made a lot of progress. Like you, trying to finish ASAP! I will check out your page. How cool of you to chronicle your experience. Good Luck to you... :)

Take Care.. Suzanne :)

Thank you for the cute b-day pic! Love "Steno Nerd"! So cute! Good luck with school! You can do it! :)

thank you sooo much!!!
I am making my birthday last all week!!
sit out again anytime!!
kathy

hey hey hey!

I saw your blog and *gasp! I am in it!! haha. ty! I have no idea how to make a transcript, what one looks like, and making copies? PSH I don't even know how to work a copy machine haha. ASCII? I have no idea what that stands for lol. ANDDD you are getting paid for that training? That is the good life ^_^ Busy schedule though!!
So are you going to the DRA barbecue this weekend? If so, see you there!
I have a cute little quote that I give you permission to use on your blog lol!!

"I write down everything that I want to remember, so now instead of trying to remember what it was that I didn't want to forget, I spend the time looking for the paper that I wrote it on."

Good luck in 160 this semester!

Christine, Roll with it. I defied all odds and became a court reporter. I raised three spoiled-rotten boys and worked seven days a week for over 19 years. I couldn't figure out how to take a vacation for the longest time. Now I am fat, dumb, and happy and would love to help out people like you that have the same drive. Rock on, sis. All things are possible if you believe. If I did it, anyone can! PS: Yes, I ended my sentence that way. Nobody talks like they dictate. Tell your teachers to get a grip. GOD BLESS.

Thank you for the birthday comment. Good luck to you in school! It sounds like you're really positive & that helps!! I know you'll be done soon. -Nanci

Thank you for the birthday wishes!!

Good Luck with your 160 Test!!

Christine,
Thank you for the birthday wish. It was a nice surprise.

LIsa

Yaaaayyyyyy good job!

Congradulations! on passing your last 160 speed test, it is such a good feeling when you move up. It is going to be a really good feeling when we are finish. Good luck! with your one 180's.

Hi Christine! Guess I don't check this enough...considering I'm getting back to you now and you wrote me in July!

I go to College of Marin. Been there for about a year now (including theory). I'm currently somewhere between 125 and 150. I need to practice more!

Thanks for the link to your blog, I'll check it out!

Best of luck,
Caroline

Thanks for the b-day message. CONGRATULATIONS!!! on your 160s. Keep working hard, future CSR.

Hey, Christine. Love your website! Yes, being a court reporting student/flight attendant is certainly not the best combination in the world. That is why I so badly want to GRADUATE! :) Yes, the schedules are sporadic and I have to lug my machine to every hotel room and practice on the road.

Thanks so much for the birthday wishes!

How cool! Wish I were more savvy about how to post fancy messages on this site. Thanks for the B-day wishes!

Thank you!!

Hello Christine,

Thank you so much and congratulations on promoting on to your 180's. I wish you much success and thank you for believing in me in my last strides to get out of school.

Thank you soooo much for your Birthday wish, Christine!!! :)

Thanks for the tutorial:)

I've gotten some practice at beach weddings--haha.

My first wedding was in Hawaii at Waimea Falls. We lived there at the time so we didn't incur any airfare expenses, but their wedding packages were affordable and OH SO EASY. My budget was also saved by the fact that I had no expenditure for flowers since we were married outside in the lushest backdrop imaginable. We opted not to get married at the waterfall, but that would make for beautiful pictures as well.

My second marriage (and last one ever) was part of a cruise. The cruiseline coordinated the event and forwarded along all of the requirements for marrying outside of the U.S. Again, they made it very easy, and the site in Cozumel was stunning. Pick a location, and they will do the rest. The cruise and wedding day for the five of us and my parents ended up being so much more economical in the long run than a traditional wedding (and certainly less than adding on a honeymoon).

But part of my verbal prenup with David was that the wedding trip did not count as a honeymoon because I had three kids in tow! We'll be planning a real honeymoon alone soon:)

Good luck and congratulations!

Thank you for the b-day wishes, Christine!! That was very sweet of you!! Good luck with CR school!

Thank you for your response, Christine. I would love to be a broadcast captioner, that is what got me interested in thie profession. I actually switched from going to school for my RN to this after I did research on close captioning.

Thank you for the birthday wishes, Christine. I also will check out your website. It sounds that you have interesting topics to look at. I'm at 190 speed currently and trying to get into qualifiers. Well, I added you as a friend, okay? Thanks again.

Dearest Christine,
I had to leave you a message to tell you that you are a COMPLETE GENIUS! I read your blog post about your carrying case and went home this past weekend. My parents wanted to get me a graduation gift, so I mentioned the suitcase, which they bought and I got it last night. AMAZING! It makes such a difference that I can just put my laptop in there with everything else. Thanks so much for the great idea and especially for sharing it!

How are your tests going?
Jackie

Woohoo! 4 tickets to Disney land!!!
Gratz :)

Thank you for the b-day wishes!

Hello, Thank you for the birthday wish!
Well, when I started doing CART writing, I was in qualifier's. I, like you, had always been told not to or to stay away from that because it will somehow alter your writing. I started a couple days of week, working all over the LA area at different colleges. Wow, my dictionary grew overnight (which cut my editing time in half for tests, etc) I was providing Realtime with many curious students wanting to read directly off my screen (confidence builder, hello:))
I also feel I was fortunate to have that setup experience, working with professors/staff. So if I answered your question, Yes, I think it's a great idea. Now, that I think back and I wonder why it is frowned upon, the only thing I can come up with is they (school) are afraid you may not complete the program and never become a CSR. I don't thing you have anything to worry about. You seem determined. I wish you all the best and feel free to call me or write me.
Take care.
Denise
denise1csr@aol.com

okay, there is no spell check..
lol