Hey, Pam! Glad to see you found your way over to CSRnation. How are things over in Lafayette?

I can't remember if we actually met in Lafayette at NVRA's CEU seminar or not. I'm a friend of Donna Brandt's. Remember...you called me a few months ago to take job in Amite for Lori. I also work with Kaufman and CRLA. I also called you to get the name of your typist. I LOVE HER!!! I'm definitely keeping her number. They do keep me pretty busy around here, but I'm finally getting all caught up this week. YAY!!!

I swear I would lose my head if it weren't attached to my body!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course I remember you!!!! I've been so busy lately that I feel like a dog chasing its tail in circles, getting nowhere fast!
So I'm curious, how are you going about steno? I know Donna is doing the same thing.

I was studying steno before I switched to voice, although I was nowhere near the speed you were. I've just been practicing on my own and trying to get back to it. It's really hard to find the time and it may all be for nothing anyway, because my wrists are in such bad shape (carpal tunnel) that I'm really not sure how long I'll be able to keep it up. But I'm trying!!!!!!

BTW: You responded to my post on your own page :-) If you want to comment on someone else's page, you need to hit the "comment back" link. Just thought I'd throw that in there.

I was doing a home study program. I got through theory pretty quickly and was up to about 100 wpm when I decided to switch to voice. I was unemployed and hungry and needed to work ASAP. That's why I switched. My plan was to continue speedbuilding and eventually get certified in steno as well. I just had no idea how busy I was going to be once I started working. But I guess that's a good thing, right?

I'm on Audioscribe, but I'm not having a lot of luck with realtime either. Part of it is my mask, but the other part is that these people talk so darn fast, it's nearly impossible to keep up, much less insert speaker IDs, punctuation, and whatnot. And, of course, they always speak over each other even after you've asked them not to. Argghhh!!!! I am going to give it one more shot, though. I'm going to order the Accuspeak mask and see if that makes a difference. I thought the Smart Mic was going to be okay in the very beginning, but the thing just quits working when it gets too much moisture buildup. I'm using the Martel mini right now, but it doesn't work that well either for realtime. The Accuspeak is my last option. If it doesn't work, then I'm back to square one. Wish me luck.

You know I didn't even know how this site worked! I didn't know people put postings on here. Yes, I can do typing. When I first started doing reporting, that's what we did - typed it all from a tape!
nancy
405-826-4557

Hey, Pam! E-mail me at jcrenegar@gmail.com and we'll discuss! --Chris :-)

What speed can you write right now, Pam?

Do you know what theory you initially learned?

I just refreshed my memory by reading your profile . . .

If you made it to 180, I just don't think you need to start from scratch. The Stenomaster theory really works great with theories that have been around a while. Instead of starting over, you can slowly learn to write more efficiently.

The other student who referred to courtreps, or whatever it is, is not Mark Kislingbury's site, and it is my opinion you should stay away from that school.

There's a J.C. out here in CA that has online classes that you might want to check out. It's Cerritos College. I'm not sure it's exactly what you're looking for, but check into it.

When you get your feet back on the ground and are back up to that 180 or so, definitely join Mark K.'s Club. He will get you to the end of your journey.

Good luck!

No, Mark doesn't recommend Jen. I really can't comment on anything pertaining to it, but I'd recommend you stay away from Jen.

I'm not sure how close, but I think Mark is moving in the direction of a school. Wouldn't that be wonderful!

Hey Pamela, it's nice to hear from someone close to home. My family live in Baton Rouge. I learned the stenomaster theory. This is Mark Kislingbury's theory. It's awesome, can't say enough about it. The best decision I made on this journey. After waiting for six months for the stenomaster online school to open, I joined Simplysteno.com. This is basically a RPR prep program. Very affordable. Very structured. Always able to make contact with Marc. This was another "best" decision for me. :) It really depends on where you are in your theory. I had gone to school like 20 years ago, so I had the basics. I chose to relearn some things and it's taken me a little while, but I think that time is going to pay back big dividends in the future. You have to be at 60 wpm to join Simplysteno. Hope this helps. Good luck, Kim

oh wow! I'm seeing in your comments you were at 180? Oh, girl, you go!!!!!

Pam,

I think Kim is right on with her comments. Her learning Stenomaster theory on her own -- WOW! -- and then moving on to Simply Steno I think is a great route to take. So many students are happy with Marc at Simply Steno. I think you'll like it, and surely you can get up to 60 wpm in a blink.

Just join Simply Steno after you're at 60 and then keep trying to incorporate the Stenomaster theory into your own.

Mark Kislingbury, Magnumsteno.com, has an awesome speedbuilding "club" that you can join. You need to be in the higher speeds, BUT after getting back familiar with your machine, it would be really awesome to check out the club, maybe join for a month for $29 to see how you like it -- maybe not for the FAST dictation, but for Mark's philosophies, brief practice, and incredible knowledge on how to build speed and write short.

Again, I recommend you stay away from Courtreps.

Michael B.

I'll butcher the spelling if I try. :)

Is there that much difference between Procat and Eclipse? I keep hearing about Eclipse being awesome, but no clue why.

I tried to be a little less opinionated on the Student group site . . .

Whatever you do, don't go with Phoenix theory.

They write "you" YOU.

It takes three strokes to write bombing, bombs, bombed.

Yes, they come back for a silent -b and all the inflected endings.

My local school switched to it about two years ago, and I just heard they're already switching over to StenEd. While that's not the best choice, it is a sound theory that at least makes sense.

Just trying to keep you going down the right path.

Oh, that didn't sound right . . .

"My local school" means the one logistically closest to my house that, thank God, I never attended.

HI PameLa
I am CurrEntlY traIninG in ThE steNo MAsK. WiLL tesT iN BatoN roUge In OctoBer. HoW is The Job MarkEt In YOUr areA? It'S sliM piCkenS herE! MosT everTonE UseS the MAchiNE.

I am in Bossier/Shreveport area.

Hey, girl. It's nice to hear from you. Work's been kinda slow lately. Lots of cancellations. I'm hoping things will start turning around soon and jobs will actually stay on the books. I was doing really well on my machine, but I had to put it down for a while because I have too many problems with my wrists and arms. My machine is a manual student writer. I keep thinking if I had a better one that it would be easier, but those things are just too darn expensive, especially if my wrists won't cooperate.

How about you? How's it going over there? I hope you're busier than I am right now. Although I'm glad my job canceled this morning 'cause it's just too dang cold to go out :-)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Yes. Everyone swears by Magnum Steno. I was considering giving it a try too before I had to put things on hold. When I save up a few $$, I'm going to see about trading in my writer for some sort of upgrade. But as slow as it's been, that might take a while. Which writer and CAT do you have?

A friend GAVE me her old Stentura8000 and I have Procat, which I use for voice, but can also do steno.