Kyung's Posts - CSRNation2024-03-29T06:12:23ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyunghttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/61938909?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://csrnation.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=17vf1dimd7kdy&xn_auth=noWhat I wish I knew my first year as a reportertag:csrnation.ning.com,2015-01-11:1736041:BlogPost:13119872015-01-11T19:30:00.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
<p>I haven't done one of these in a while. So let's talk about your first depo, what you should know and what you should ask and what you should do.</p>
<p>I'm going to assume you know the rate for the job you are about to take, payment terms, you have your equipment, and the job has been confirmed.</p>
<p><br></br> These are things that I like to ask the agency before the depo starts. It will make you look more like a professional<br></br> <br></br> Time estimate - I always ask for a time estimate. …</p>
<p>I haven't done one of these in a while. So let's talk about your first depo, what you should know and what you should ask and what you should do.</p>
<p>I'm going to assume you know the rate for the job you are about to take, payment terms, you have your equipment, and the job has been confirmed.</p>
<p><br/> These are things that I like to ask the agency before the depo starts. It will make you look more like a professional<br/> <br/> Time estimate - I always ask for a time estimate. The agency may or may not know it. That way you're not surprised if the attorney decides to go to midnight and you can have somebody on standby to pick up the kids.</p>
<p>Type of job - I always ask what type of job is it. W/C? Med mal? Expert? Doctor? Patent? Employment?<br/> That way I know what kind of words I might expect to run into and can build a little job dictionary beforehand.</p>
<p>Copy orders - do you want the order on the record, or do you have a form you want me to fill out? Do all parties need to sign an order form, including the taking attorney or just the copy orders? Some agencies want order forms from everybody.<br/> <br/> Do any of the attorneys have a standing order? If they have a standing order, does that mean they do not need to sign the order form? If they change the standing order, then they still might need to sign the copy order form. Crazy isn't it/<br/> <br/> Prior transcript and/or caption - agency may or may not have this. Super helpful if you can get this kind of info before the depo starts.<br/> <br/> Location - Mapquest it the night before. You never know, sometimes there are errors and MapQuest will not pull up an address.<br/> <br/> Is this a Volume I or a continuation of a previous depo? If it is a continuous, do you have a continuing page number? Do you know what exhibit number you will be starting with? This is the type of thing the attorney will kind of expect you to know when you get there. You can either ask them, I see this is a continuing depo, do you have a continuing page number and exhibit number? Or you can tell them, this is a contintuing depo, I show that the last exhibit number marked was 10, we'll be starting with 11.<br/> <br/> Is this a network job? Am I representing you or another agency. Sometimes agencies will cover for other agencies, and in those cases they sometimes want you to say you're from the other agency. It can get confusing.<br/></p>Looking for a new writer, and I found onetag:csrnation.ning.com,2013-03-01:1736041:BlogPost:12614642013-03-01T05:30:00.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
<p>So the other day, I had to stop the depo bec. there was this very loud beeping noise coming from God only knows where. Oh, yeah, it was me. What's going on? Am I about to crash? Nope. My disk was full and I had to end job soon!!!!</p>
<p></p>
<p>Okay. So I say, I just need a quick second to change out my floppy, at which all the attorneys in the room mocked me for using floppies. So there's one reason to get a new writer.</p>
<p>Second reason - I am on Eclipse and I will be…</p>
<p>So the other day, I had to stop the depo bec. there was this very loud beeping noise coming from God only knows where. Oh, yeah, it was me. What's going on? Am I about to crash? Nope. My disk was full and I had to end job soon!!!!</p>
<p></p>
<p>Okay. So I say, I just need a quick second to change out my floppy, at which all the attorneys in the room mocked me for using floppies. So there's one reason to get a new writer.</p>
<p>Second reason - I am on Eclipse and I will be upgrading to Eclipse 5 sometime this year. While I'm going through a shakeout period, I would like a writer that has onboard audio that will sync in case my computer freezes up.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">Third reason - newer laptops are no longer being built with the Expresscard. It's usb all the way. My writer is currently serial to usb or expresscard. I need a new writer that is usb to usb or has blue tooth or something more modern than serial to Expresscard. The Expresscard is not seated very tightly and has been knocked loose during depo which involves rebooting Eclipse in order to start a new file. Not fun.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">So now that I've talked myself into wanting a writer, which one? Hmm, decisions, decisions.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">Lucky me, the DRA Convention was this past weekend. So I hauled MY laptop, MY microphone, My cables to the vendor hall and visited each vendor that I was interested in. </span></p>
<p><br/> ProCat - maker of the Flashwriter (this was the one where they yanked out the innards of your Stentura and put in new innards), looked exactly like a Stentura. This morphed into the Stylus. And the latest generation is the <a href="http://www.procat.com/impression/" target="_blank">Impression</a>.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">Eclipse - maker of the</span> <a href="http://www.eclipsecat.com/product/passport/passport-writer/passport-writer" target="_blank" style="font-size: 13px;">Passport</a><span style="font-size: 13px;">, the first writer put out by this company. As I mentioned, I do have Eclipse software.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">Neutrino Group - they started off with the Piper which morphed into the Revolution Grand and the latest and greatest is the </span><a href="http://www.geminiwriter.com/ProductV1.aspx" target="_blank" style="font-size: 13px;">Infinity Traditional and Ergonomic</a></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">Stenorgraph - the heavyweight champ in this ring. Starting from the Stentura 400 to the 8000 to the Mira to their latest, the </span><a href="https://www.stenograph.com/pages.aspx?docid=740" target="_blank" style="font-size: 13px;">Diamante</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>My goodness how far we've come. They practically write by themselves. I'm hardly necessary. But let's get down to the nitty-gritty.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I tried all four. The only one that I absolutely ruled out for me is the Passport. I really did not like the way it felt. It just was too tight. I know for those of you who like a really shallow stroke, this might have been great for you, but not me. They also told me that I could individually adjust everything. But it seemed very complicated. It is seriously a d 5 to 10-minute process. I don't have that kind of attention span. That's probably why I don't have automatic indexing (but that's another blog). </p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">So after a day at the vendor hall, I was able to rule out the Passport for me. Not to say it might not be right for you. The only other issue is that once again there is a wait list. You can't get one for 8 to 12 weeks. I have no idea why. Call them up and ask. This is as of February 2013. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">The Passport looks like a great machine. It is heavier than the others, but you can really customize the keys and there are all kinds of skins you can buy if you want to customize the look. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">The Diamante, the Impression, and the Infinity were practically plug and play. A few drivers here, a few plugs there, and voila up and running within minutes. All three hooked up quickly and easily to my laptop. I was writing within minutes, and it looked pretty clean. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">I did not try to the Infinity Ergo. But for those of you who have carpal tunnel or other wrist ailments, you might want to take a look. This also has a lot of color choices and customization options for keyboards and screens. You could get one w/out a screen. It has bluetooth. The touch is very nice. However, once again it seemed a little complicated to set up.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">Impression v. Diamante? They're very close in looks. The Diamante's screen folds down over the keyboard, so you cannot have it down and write. The screen will always be up. Some of you won't care. It kind of bothers me because I usually have my writer under the table.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">On-board audio - I said this was important. I tried all three. Honestly, the Diamante had the best audio. The Impression was decent. I had trouble hearing the Infinity. Once again using my mic which looks like the Martel Hi-gain with battery. But then again, I did try the Diamante audio when everybody had left for lunch and the hall was quiet. The other two, unfortunately everybody had come back and there was a lot of background noise.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">The touch - once again all three were nice. All are very adjustable for your writing style.</span></p>
<p>Body - the Infinity is the sturdiest and yet still the lightest. I think Jason Pardykes is actually using metal and it's just a well-built machine that can handle getting knocked over. I know. I knocked two over by accident. Whoops!!! So sorry. I was almost afraid I was going to have to buy it bec. I broke it. The Steno Doctor thinks this is a well-built machine that you will not always be bringing in for maintenance or broken parts.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">The Diamante and the Impression are a little more plasticky, but still nice-looking machines. You don't have the color choices that you get with the Passport and the Infinity. But really, I can't buy a machine just based on the fact of whether it comes in a pretty color. That would be really too shallow; right? Right?</span></p>
<p>So which one did I buy? Well, I bought the Impression. Why you ask?</p>
<p>I liked the touch. I like the fact you can write via usb to usb or use blue tooth.</p>
<p>Did I mention it has a touch screen? That's kind of cool. </p>
<p>The audio is decent. </p>
<p>It's backing up using the SD cards (actually all of them are, so this isn't that big a deal.)</p>
<p>The sales team actually followed up with me. I got practically zero follow up from the other companies. I'd like to work with a company that wants me as a customer. I think it bodes well for the service.</p>
<p>Yes, at the moment their only maintenance is by sending them in to the company, but I think the Steno Doctor will be able to work on them once they take the training.</p>
<p>The build time is one to two weeks. I'll have it in my hot little hands in one to two weeks, at which point I will write follow up with the good, the bad, and the ugly.</p>
<p>Oh, there's also whispers of writing directly to an attorney's iPad from the writer via bluetooth. Oooh, that sounds kind of exciting, especially if you're a realtime writer who doesn't want to/can't use CVNet. This might be a possible workaround. Keep your fingers crossed.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">So that's why I went with the Impression. I also spoke with my friend who has an Impression and they liked it a lot.</span></p>
<p>I got a pretty good deal with convention pricing and everything.</p>
<p></p>
<p>UPDATE - 3/9/13</p>
<p>So I checked in with ProCat Flash. I had been told lead time on the writer was one to two weeks. So I thought I'd have it by now. Alas, per ProCat, it takes a couple of weeks to build and then it goes through quality control. So will probably ship 3/18/13.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>What I wish I knew - second yeartag:csrnation.ning.com,2012-12-23:1736041:BlogPost:12549852012-12-23T14:50:51.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
<p>Hey,</p>
<p></p>
<p>It's been a while. Don't know if anyone is listening or reading. But here's a thought. Instead of my annual rant and rave about the tax man coming, how about I tell you how I keep track of stuff so that when I have to go into the tax man (or THE MAN) as I'll be calling him from here on out (as in don't let the man get you down). Anyhoo, I digress.</p>
<p></p>
<p>So you've got your Depobook. You have your shoebox full of receipts. You've got your mileage written…</p>
<p>Hey,</p>
<p></p>
<p>It's been a while. Don't know if anyone is listening or reading. But here's a thought. Instead of my annual rant and rave about the tax man coming, how about I tell you how I keep track of stuff so that when I have to go into the tax man (or THE MAN) as I'll be calling him from here on out (as in don't let the man get you down). Anyhoo, I digress.</p>
<p></p>
<p>So you've got your Depobook. You have your shoebox full of receipts. You've got your mileage written down. You've got a list of expenses and you know how much you made (kind of) What? You don't keep track of your checks? Why!!!! (Long rant here).</p>
<p></p>
<p>Let's start at page one. Keep track of your mileage. It's a writeoff. Ideally, we should run out at midnight on New Year's Eve and write down the miles on your odometer. If you do that every year and subtract Jan 1, 2012 from Jan 1, 2013, then you will have your mileage for the year. I mean, really, what else are you doing on New Year's Eve? Ok. Ok. After you kiss your SO, then go out.</p>
<p></p>
<p>That was step one. Step two is a little bit more complicated. Keep track of your mileage. Every time you drive to a job, write down your mileage. I use GoogleMaps. The IRS will accept it. I then move the mileage to my spreadsheet and have nifty formulas to built in that does the math for me. Here's the thing. You can only write off business mileage. Driving to and from the store does not count. You take the job mileage number and subtract from total miles driven, and voila, you have the number of business miles driven for the year. Whoo-hoo. The IRS will not believe that you use you car a 100% for business.</p>
<p>Keep track of maintenance on your car, insurance, and DMV fees, parking fees (if not reimbursed by agency.)</p>
<p></p>
<p>Next, business expenses - paper, toner, postage, CE, conventionsn, printer cartridges, oil for your shredder, Depo Books, hanging file folders</p>
<p>LIcenses - yearly software support, NCRA membership, state license, DRA membership (state association), amount you paid to the person doing your taxes</p>
<p>Equipment - new writer, new software, new digital recorder, new head phones, new car, whatever - if you can depreciate it over several years and it's related to your work, write it down, laptops, maintenance on said laptops</p>
<p>Scopists - I 1099 anyone who I send more than $600 to in a year.</p>
<p>Gifts - only $25/person.</p>
<p>Quarterly taxes - I highly recommend paying quarterly. Just pay an estimated amount. It should be as much, at least, as the amount you paid last year. They will ding you if you underestimate too much. And it also hepls in April so you will get hit with less of a tax bill.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Home office expenses - must have dedicated home space, not a corner of the kitchen table - telephone, mortgage/property tax, Internet, utilities.</p>
<p>Now, I choose to keep track of all this in a Excel spreadsheet. The Excel spreadsheet is set up with the first tab being all expenses and yearly income. Then it has links to subsequent tabs which is each individual agency I work for and monthly tabs.</p>
<p>This is where it gets really complicated, might need some basic Excel spreadsheet skills.</p>
<p>So each agency has a tab wherein I write the job name, job number, date, page rate, expedite, parking, mileage, etc. Each agency page has multiple months.</p>
<p>Then I have tabs for each month, with links to each agency so I know how much I made on a monthy basis for that agency.</p>
<p>So on the agency tabs I can tell how much I made year-to-date for the agency. And the monthly tabs, I can tell how much I made for the month.</p>
<p>Then the monthly tabs populate up into my first page, which is the yearly income. So the first page of my spreadsheet has how much I've made total for the year along with expenses for the year. I also have a nifty graph so I can see how much I'm making monthly in a visual way ('cause that's just how I am).</p>
<p>So I print that out and take that to the accountant. They really don't want your little receipts in your shoebox. Save those for the MAN when you're pulled in for your audit. The spreadsheet is no good without backup. Your bank statements, your Depobook, your shoebox full of receipts, and your 1099s are your backup.</p>
<p>Hope this make sense. It does get a little complicated. </p>
<p>P.S. for the super anal, I also have spreadsheet that takes the yearly info so I can see how much I'm making year over year in terms of annual income, page rates, and pages produced. I find it interesting, but that's just me.</p>
<p>If I missed any writeoffs, please feel free to share.</p>
<p>What do you take into the accountant?</p>
<p></p>Free Wi-Fi is your friend - Love it!!tag:csrnation.ning.com,2012-12-23:1736041:BlogPost:3775432012-12-23T14:13:36.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
<p>Free Wi-Fi, gotta love it. I use it all the time for work. I use it when I get a call from an agency or attorney while I'm out on a job, I didn't get that file, can you re-send it. I use it when I've decided to work remotely, i.e., not from home.<br></br> <br></br> The important word here is "free." I am outraged that the cell phone companies want you to pay $60/month so that you can buy one of those wi-fi cards. Don't do it, I say. There are plenty of places you can get wi-fi for free.…<br></br> <br></br></p>
<p>Free Wi-Fi, gotta love it. I use it all the time for work. I use it when I get a call from an agency or attorney while I'm out on a job, I didn't get that file, can you re-send it. I use it when I've decided to work remotely, i.e., not from home.<br/> <br/> The important word here is "free." I am outraged that the cell phone companies want you to pay $60/month so that you can buy one of those wi-fi cards. Don't do it, I say. There are plenty of places you can get wi-fi for free.<br/> <br/> Panera - All locations. Buy a cup of joe & plop yourself down.<br/> Starbucks - Join their rewards card program (free) and you can have at least two hours a day free.<br/> It's a Grind - free access.<br/> lots of public libraries.<br/> Lots of independent coffee shops.<br/> Some McDonald's are getting in on the act.<br/> Some airports<br/> Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf<br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.wififreespot.com/">http://www.wififreespot.com/</a> - Before you go on vacay, check out this website and figure out where the wifi is where you'll be staying. I know of very few reporters who aren't "working" during their vacays and you never know, something might expedite and you need to get it in sooner than expected or someone's system crashes and you need to send your stuff in from wherever you are. I always take my laptop on trips. How about you?<br/> <br/> Of course, if you're staying at a hotel w/wi-fi access great. But I find that a lot of hotels charge you for the privilege of using their wi-fi. Random aside - How come the high-end hotels charge you for the wi-fi, and the cheapie hotels throw it in for free along w/the breakfast buffet? I dunno.<br/> <br/> These are all free. No theft involved.<br/> <br/> Edited to add Chick-fil-A. God send if you've got a kid.</p>Ironictag:csrnation.ning.com,2012-05-07:1736041:BlogPost:12272942012-05-07T15:25:19.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
<p>Wage and hour lawsuits - taking a depo from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with no breaks, and all they keep talking about is did you get your 15-minute rest break after five hours, did you get your 30-minute lunch break. The thought wanders through my mind, when do I get my rest break. Am I getting paid time and half here?</p>
<p></p>
<p>ADA discrimination lawsuits - having to lug all your equipment up two flights of stairs bec. there is no elevators.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p>Wage and hour lawsuits - taking a depo from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with no breaks, and all they keep talking about is did you get your 15-minute rest break after five hours, did you get your 30-minute lunch break. The thought wanders through my mind, when do I get my rest break. Am I getting paid time and half here?</p>
<p></p>
<p>ADA discrimination lawsuits - having to lug all your equipment up two flights of stairs bec. there is no elevators.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>Court Reporting Diseasestag:csrnation.ning.com,2012-03-18:1736041:BlogPost:12226282012-03-18T15:21:17.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
<p>These may all be fatal bec. the reporter may stand up and shoot the person who is so afflicted.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Carpenteritis – cannot form a coherent sentence, false starts at least three times per thought before finally laying down something completely incomprehensible on the record. Never takes breaks, badgers the witness, and is very argumentative. You’ll know you’re in the presence of attorney who has Carpenteritis bec. it will feel a little like you’re taking a deposition where…</p>
<p>These may all be fatal bec. the reporter may stand up and shoot the person who is so afflicted.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Carpenteritis – cannot form a coherent sentence, false starts at least three times per thought before finally laying down something completely incomprehensible on the record. Never takes breaks, badgers the witness, and is very argumentative. You’ll know you’re in the presence of attorney who has Carpenteritis bec. it will feel a little like you’re taking a deposition where Porky Pig is the questioning attorney. Caveat, usually only takes deposition of expert witnesses for which they are totally unqualified to take. Reporter may experience flashbacks and PTSD when going over transcript. May experience some growth of transcript due to excessive use of dashing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Terminal Interruptus - This can afflict both the witness and/or the attorney, wherein the offendee is unable to allow anyone else to finish a sentence without answering in the middle of the other person's sentence. Often leading to answering the wrong question, totally losing track of where they’re going in their questioning and/or answers leading to the reporter having to read back a crap-load of mess which is completely incoherent bec. there is not a single completed sentence and/or question to be read back. At which point they look at you as if you are at fault.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Silent Objector – attorney who decides that they’re just going to mouth the objections or make some complicated hand signal to denote that he’s making an objection. Reporter must be able to lip read and/or mind read.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Oris Hera – where the attorney doesn’t actually open his mouth to speak, speaking through closed lips. Makes it very difficult to understand what the attorney may be saying, may also be complicated by speaking with the hand over the mouth.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dire celeritas – speaking so quickly that words are left out, incorrect words are used, and no one can understand the attorney so that the reporter is constantly asked to re-read bec. no one knows what the person said in the first place.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Incompreheterenteritis - very badly worded questions and/or answers where either the attorney or witness may be making up words, names are mangled and no spellings are obtained bec either the witness doesn't know the spelling or the witness is obviously spelling everything wrong, including his own name.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Expeditis roughitis - Attorney or assistant will contact agency after depo is over asking where is the rough draft. Note - attorney will have requested rough draft at said deposition. Another disorder in which mind reading is required by the reporter. Also, usually happens on depos where the day started at 8 a.m., went past 6 p.m. and everybody just wants to get the heck out of dodge.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Tangenitis - the witness will go off on random tangents, taking three pages to answer a yes-or-no question.</p>
<p></p>
<p>mentala perturbada - Could afflict attorney or witness, usually the witness. Characterized by witness who are in pro per, on drugs, and.or delusional. Deposition should probably be canceled due to incompetence of witness, but never is bec. this will probably be the second or third attempt to get the witness there and this is the first time the witness has shown up and usually the attorney is from out of town, this will be the only time they will have to depose witness. They have a tendency to go all day and the witness will be afflicted with several of the diseases from above.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Exhibitia - attorney insists on marking the exhibits themselves, asks you for Exhibits stickers, proceeds to number up to 50, then only uses 5. He may or may not return the remaining stickers to you. At some point during the depo, he will turn to you and ask you what exhibit number are we on?</p>
<p></p>
<p>Exhibita simulata - Attorney will try to hand you exhibit while he and witness are both talking and will hold exhibit in mid-air while you are taking down everyone. After you have caught up and are trying to mark aforesaid exhibit, attorney will or witness will immediately start speaking.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If you have any you’d like to add, feel free.</p>Taxes - 2009 - What I wish I knew my first yeartag:csrnation.ning.com,2010-01-05:1736041:BlogPost:11203472010-01-05T17:00:00.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
It's been a while, and I've been a little bit under the weather so what better time to talk about a dreary subject than taxes. Yay!!!!!<br />
<br />
Short and sweet.<br />
<br />
Do I have to pay quarterly taxes?<br />
<br />
Yes, Virginia.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.allbusiness.com/business-planning/business-structures-sole-proprietorships/1028-1.html" target="_blank">Sole Prop</a><br />
<br />
<br />
Also, I use <a href="http://%20filetaxes.com/" target="_blank">File Taxes</a> to produce the 1099 for my scopists and/or proofers.<br />
<br />
<br />
If you paid anyone…
It's been a while, and I've been a little bit under the weather so what better time to talk about a dreary subject than taxes. Yay!!!!!<br />
<br />
Short and sweet.<br />
<br />
Do I have to pay quarterly taxes?<br />
<br />
Yes, Virginia.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.allbusiness.com/business-planning/business-structures-sole-proprietorships/1028-1.html" target="_blank">Sole Prop</a><br />
<br />
<br />
Also, I use <a href="http://%20filetaxes.com/" target="_blank">File Taxes</a> to produce the 1099 for my scopists and/or proofers.<br />
<br />
<br />
If you paid anyone more than 600 this year, you need to send them a 1099. If any agency paid you more than $600 this year, they need to send you a 1099. best of all, they need to have it to you by January 30, 2010.<br />
<br />
Oh, and if you made less than $600 from an agency, still need to report it even if you dno't get a 1099 from said agency.<br />
<br />
<br />
Happy Tax filing.Interpreters get away with murder.tag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-11-17:1736041:BlogPost:11105032009-11-17T02:56:09.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
So I'm at a depo today. The interpreter says to counsel, "Please say you have an afternoon matter."<br />
Counsel says, "Do you have another matter to go to?"<br />
<br />
Interpreter says yes. Attorney ways, well, then I guess we'll have to end early for you. Then during the whole, the interpreter keeps looking at her watch.<br />
<br />
If a court reporter did any of the above behavior, we would literally get killed. I swear.
So I'm at a depo today. The interpreter says to counsel, "Please say you have an afternoon matter."<br />
Counsel says, "Do you have another matter to go to?"<br />
<br />
Interpreter says yes. Attorney ways, well, then I guess we'll have to end early for you. Then during the whole, the interpreter keeps looking at her watch.<br />
<br />
If a court reporter did any of the above behavior, we would literally get killed. I swear.Getting Paidtag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-10-26:1736041:BlogPost:11044662009-10-26T02:58:33.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
So really, it's not a matter of keeping busy alone, but also one of getting paid.<br />
<br />
I'm noticing a trend of agencies taking longer and longer to pay reporters, which is bad. So what's going on?<br />
<br />
I know agencies are having a harder time collecting from their attorney clients, who in turn are having a challenge collecting from their clients. It's all very easy to say, but I'm working for the agency and they need to pay me on the O&1 when they say they're going to pay, which I fully agree with.…
So really, it's not a matter of keeping busy alone, but also one of getting paid.<br />
<br />
I'm noticing a trend of agencies taking longer and longer to pay reporters, which is bad. So what's going on?<br />
<br />
I know agencies are having a harder time collecting from their attorney clients, who in turn are having a challenge collecting from their clients. It's all very easy to say, but I'm working for the agency and they need to pay me on the O&1 when they say they're going to pay, which I fully agree with. And then the agency tells the attorney, but you owe me the money, not your litigant client. So where does it all end?<br />
<br />
But if the agency doesn't have the money to make the payroll, what do you do? Do you not take any more jobs from them until you are paid up? But then who will they get to cover their jobs? Will they go out of business and never pay you? It's an endless, vicious cycle.<br />
<br />
This is where you've got to make the touch decisions. I can't make those decisions for you. I can tell you how I make those decisions.<br />
<br />
Do I feel the agency is honest? Do I feel I will eventually get paid, even if it's a couple more months than I was expecting to wait? Can I personally wait that long or will my mortgage end up going unpaid and I end up homeless?<br />
<br />
I know an agency that is not paying me but is still returning my phone calls and keeping me in the loop is going to get a lot more slack than an agency who I have to continually chase down.<br />
<br />
All the politicians and economists say the economy is getting better. I can't tell if that's wishful thinking or if they believe if they say it enough times, it will be true. All I know that sometimes I feel like I'm at the bottom of the food chain, and I'm getting squashed.<br />
<br />
So what can I do? I guess I'll keep taking those jobs from the agencies that I believe and I trust and keep hoping that it will get better.Time, time, time. What time is it?tag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-10-23:1736041:BlogPost:11031042009-10-23T16:30:00.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
Well, the world is getting smaller or so they tell me. And if you work for several different agencies, it can get quite crazy in terms of keeping track of time.<br />
<br />
This may not have happened to you, but you want to call an agency 3 o'clock your time and you realize it's 6 o'clock their time and you've missed the boat. Or the attorney wants the job by end of business their time, and you lose track of time.<br />
<br />
Here is a website that might help you with that problem.…
Well, the world is getting smaller or so they tell me. And if you work for several different agencies, it can get quite crazy in terms of keeping track of time.<br />
<br />
This may not have happened to you, but you want to call an agency 3 o'clock your time and you realize it's 6 o'clock their time and you've missed the boat. Or the attorney wants the job by end of business their time, and you lose track of time.<br />
<br />
Here is a website that might help you with that problem. <a href="http://www.time.gov/" target="_blank">The official US time</a><br />
<br />
It will give you the time in different places around the world.<br />
<br />
Don't forget that pesky daylight savings time either. And if FedEx or UPS says it will be delivered by 8 a.m. or 10 a.m. or noon or by 3 p.m. next business day. That way, you can follow up with agency or FedEx.Waiting . . .waitingtag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-10-19:1736041:BlogPost:11002242009-10-19T15:54:17.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
So I'm scheduled for an 8 a.m. depo this morning. I am up at the crack of dawn. Barely. Haul myself down here. Of course, the witness is not here. So I'm just waiting. I am thrilled that I have Internet access so I can blog online. I can also take care of my farm on Facebook and play some games.<br />
<br />
Oh, yeah, I can also finish that transcript.<br />
<br />
Waiting. Sounds like they might be calling it and sending me home.
So I'm scheduled for an 8 a.m. depo this morning. I am up at the crack of dawn. Barely. Haul myself down here. Of course, the witness is not here. So I'm just waiting. I am thrilled that I have Internet access so I can blog online. I can also take care of my farm on Facebook and play some games.<br />
<br />
Oh, yeah, I can also finish that transcript.<br />
<br />
Waiting. Sounds like they might be calling it and sending me home.Here's another secret.tag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-10-03:1736041:BlogPost:10915692009-10-03T03:50:50.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
Quite honestly, I don't want a ton of pages. My goal is not to write more pages, but to get paid more for the pages I do take.<br />
<br />
So when I ask agencies the rate, and they tell me I'll make it up in volume, I'm often of two minds. Do I really want to make it up in volume?<br />
<br />
I don't feel like a hamster. Do I look like a hamster? Why would I want to run just as fast to stay in place?<br />
<br />
Too many times, I hear it's a great job, you'll get a lot of pages. But what's the rate? Oh, well, you'll make it up…
Quite honestly, I don't want a ton of pages. My goal is not to write more pages, but to get paid more for the pages I do take.<br />
<br />
So when I ask agencies the rate, and they tell me I'll make it up in volume, I'm often of two minds. Do I really want to make it up in volume?<br />
<br />
I don't feel like a hamster. Do I look like a hamster? Why would I want to run just as fast to stay in place?<br />
<br />
Too many times, I hear it's a great job, you'll get a lot of pages. But what's the rate? Oh, well, you'll make it up bec. there will be lots of pages. Uh, no. I'm not "making it up." I'm working harder for the same amount of money. Not my goal in life. Why should I take down 200 pages at $3/page when I can take down 150 pages at $4/page?<br />
<br />
If you use a scopist, it makes even less sense. Let's say you get that 200 pages at $3/page. Then you give it to your scopist so you can go out the next day and take another 200 pages on this case. Well, you'll get paid $600 minus $200 for the scopist equals $400.<br />
<br />
Whereas, if I take the 150 pages at $4/page. I send it to the scopist. I get $600 minus $150 for the scopist, I just made $450.<br />
<br />
Oh, by the way, I can still take a job the next day and not feel totally fatigued and burned out by the time the weekend rolls around and all of a sudden I have 400 pages versus 300 pages to proof before sending it to the agency.<br />
<br />
Don't get me wrong. Of course, I want pages. But I'm just kind of bummed when I hear people (some court reporters) say I don't care what the page rate is, all I want is pages. I say to you, you should care.<br />
<br />
Anyhoo, just something to think about.What I wish I knew my second year as a court reporter - scopists - Part IItag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-10-01:1736041:BlogPost:10905002009-10-01T00:10:49.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
Now, where was I? Oh, yes. Scopists are your friends.<br />
<br />
Okay. So where can I find these scopists? Why you can find them right here on CSRnation under the classifieds.<br />
<br />
If you are on Eclipse, you can find them at the Advantage website.<br />
The T3 website has a list of <a href="https://totaltranscripttransfer.com/findascopist.htm" target="_blank">scopists</a>.<br />
Here's a list of scopists by <a href="http://www.scopists.com/scdir/index.html" target="_blank">state.</a><br />
<br />
Now, that you've found this…
Now, where was I? Oh, yes. Scopists are your friends.<br />
<br />
Okay. So where can I find these scopists? Why you can find them right here on CSRnation under the classifieds.<br />
<br />
If you are on Eclipse, you can find them at the Advantage website.<br />
The T3 website has a list of <a href="https://totaltranscripttransfer.com/findascopist.htm" target="_blank">scopists</a>.<br />
Here's a list of scopists by <a href="http://www.scopists.com/scdir/index.html" target="_blank">state.</a><br />
<br />
Now, that you've found this wonderful list of scopists, how do you choose one? Well, that's the hard part. And basically it can be a lot of trial and error. Treat it like an interview process.<br />
<br />
I personally send out an e-mail to the scopists that I think will match my needs. I e-mail them and request rates and turnaround times. I will not go into rates. Scopists can charge whatever they want.<br />
<br />
After I get the rates back, I will then ask for their phone number so that I can "chat" with them about my expectations and their expectations of me. This is an opportunity for me to get to know them and for them to get to know me. What I'm interested in knowing is how much experience they have, what kind of depositions they've done, how many reporters they work for, have they been working for the same reporter for a few years, do they have a good relationship with the reporter, what is their billing cycle, do they provide references.<br />
<br />
**NOTE OF WARNING** If the scopist cannot provide any referrals or they tell you they don't have any reporters that they work with regularly or they do a few jobs for one reporter, but then they don't get any more work, it might mean that their work is not good. Of course, if they're starting out, then they probably haven't had a chance to build up a clientele. I am always willing to give new scopists a chance, but realize that it is very time-consuming to train with a new scopist.<br />
<br />
If you don't scare them off, and they don't freak you out, then this is where they ask for your preference sheets or you provide them with your style preferences, usually in some written format. I will then try to send them a small job. They take the job, I get the job back, I go over it. It's perfect (rarely).<br />
<br />
Why do I say rarely? There's a huge learning curve for scopists to pick up your style. Also, honestly, some scopists are not so great. They can promise you the moon, but sometimes they can't deliver. This can be the most painful part of the finding a scopist process. I've already been through three or four this year.<br />
<br />
But that's it in a nutshell. Questions?<br />
<br />
Oh, yeah. You want to know the nitty-gritty mechanics of sending out a job to the scopist. This is an ideal world scenario. Do you think ideal world should be hyphenated? Probably. Anyway.<br />
<br />
Take small job Monday. My definition of small job is 50 pages or less. Resist the urge to keep it for yourself. Too often people fall into the habit of saying why should I send out this tiny job to the scopist when I can do it for myself. Ignore that little voice. You do not want to send out 200 pages of crap to a scopist you've never used before. I guarantee you something will go wrong. It is best to send the scopist a small transcript. Not only are you getting to know them, they are getting to know you. There is nothing more annoying than having to go through 200 pages undoing something that just doesn't fit your personal style.<br />
<br />
Sorry for the digression. Back to the ideal world. Take the job.<br />
<br />
Go home. Go through and fix spellings or words that you want to add to your job dix or your main dix.<br />
Zip up the audio file. I use WinZip to compress the file. Then you send it off via <a href="http://www.yousendit.com/" target="_blank">yousendit.com</a> or sendthisfile.com or whatever file sharing site you wish.<br />
<br />
But why can't I just e-mail it to them. Because even zipped up, your audio will be too large to send through a regular e-mail service. It will probably time out your webmail and cause you much frustration. Trust me, zip it and send via Internet, not personal e-mail.<br />
<br />
You can e-mail your text file, your job dix, and your note file to the scopist. In Eclipse, if I send them those three things, the scopists should be able to choose conflicts, thus training my dictionary to pick the correct conflict. They can also global words for you and add them to your dix. I also like to send a word list. If there are words that I don't have spellings for, I kind of expect scopists to do some research on the web, but I try to keep that to a minimum.<br />
<br />
After scopist is done doing what the scopist does, you should get the text file back and the dix file. Look through the dix and add those to your job or main dix if they are helpful Go over file.<br />
<br />
The file should be complete, No drops, no untranslates, no mistrans. Scopists are human, they might miss a couple of things here and there. But basically, it should be ready to do a final proof. I always do a final proof. Some people do not. Personal choice. I do not judge.<br />
<br />
Repeat.<br />
<br />
Sorry for such a long post. If you have any questions or if I've missed something, please let me know.What I wish I knew my second year as a court reporter - scopiststag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-09-20:1736041:BlogPost:10846952009-09-20T05:08:37.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
Scopists are here to make your life easier. There are good scopists out there and bad.<br />
<br />
Scopists see all sorts of writers. Don't worry if your transcript is horrible, unless it is horrible on a consistent basis. Then worry. But seriously, scopists are not here to judge how good or bad a writer you are. If you are a truly horrible writer, they will either refuse to take work from you or charge you an arm an a leg.<br />
<br />
I don't care what they say. Everyone has drops, except for maybe Mark K. (you…
Scopists are here to make your life easier. There are good scopists out there and bad.<br />
<br />
Scopists see all sorts of writers. Don't worry if your transcript is horrible, unless it is horrible on a consistent basis. Then worry. But seriously, scopists are not here to judge how good or bad a writer you are. If you are a truly horrible writer, they will either refuse to take work from you or charge you an arm an a leg.<br />
<br />
I don't care what they say. Everyone has drops, except for maybe Mark K. (you know who I mean.)<br />
<br />
Don't think your transcript has to be perfect before you send it to the scopist. That would kind of defeat the purpose of having a scopist. Then you need a proofer.<br />
<br />
When should you start looking for a scopist? Well, I didn't use one my first year. I was learning my software, learning how to put out a good transcript. I was spending time getting a really good grasp of the mechanics of producing a transcript. I probably didn't get a scopist until my second or third year as a reporter. If you don't have a firm grasp of how you want something to look or your "own" style in producing transcripts, it's hard to answer someone else's questions.<br />
<br />
Part II - scopists will be about where, when, and how.Another Day in the Life - Blackoutstag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-08-28:1736041:BlogPost:10724432009-08-28T16:30:00.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
So we're going merrily along and all of a sudden the lights go out. Darn it!! Long story short, there was a black out.<br />
<br />
I have recently had my writer shimmed and made paperless. Also, I have a Stentura 8000. The battery is shot. I always run on electricity. I got it refurbished about a year ago, but then it ran down again and will no longer hold a charge.<br />
<br />
So basically, I had about 2.5 hours on my laptop. I think there were batteries in my digital recorder, but I could not write to my writer.…
So we're going merrily along and all of a sudden the lights go out. Darn it!! Long story short, there was a black out.<br />
<br />
I have recently had my writer shimmed and made paperless. Also, I have a Stentura 8000. The battery is shot. I always run on electricity. I got it refurbished about a year ago, but then it ran down again and will no longer hold a charge.<br />
<br />
So basically, I had about 2.5 hours on my laptop. I think there were batteries in my digital recorder, but I could not write to my writer. Nor did I want to honestly. There was no way I could do manual. My writer was shimmed so the platen doesn't advance very far at all. And then I would have had to use my paper notes to produce a transcript. I've gotten very spoiled. The thought of having to go through the paper notes to produce my transcript made me shudder.<br />
<br />
So we had to adjourn and come back the second day for Volume II. The attorney said that he only had a half an hour left. Hah!!. Three hours and 119 pages later, he finally concludes Volume II.<br />
<br />
So if we had continued on the night before, I would not have gotten done until after 8:30 p.m. My laptop probably wouldn't have lasted that long w/out power. My battery only lasts about 2.5 hours with heavy usage. And using our realtime software is heavy usage.<br />
<br />
Also, they wanted rough drafts and a 1-day and 2-day expedite on everything. There's no way I would have been able to do that from paper notes.<br />
<br />
So things to learn.<br />
<br />
When an attorney says he has half an hour, don't believe them<br />
If the power goes out in the building, call it quits.<br />
<br />
On a positive note. At least the elevators were working and I didn't have to haul equipment down 9 flights of stairs.Working on transcript from helltag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-08-27:1736041:BlogPost:10719162009-08-27T13:30:00.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
I know this transcript is horrible bec even my scopists are remarking that the people in this deposition are CRAZY.<br />
<br />
Constant interruptions, constant rudeness from all parties involved. Witness to Q attorney, Opposing Attorney to Q Attorney. Actually, I guess the Q attorney was not too bad in terms of rudeness, but constant interruptions and talking over each other despite my statement saying that they need to talk one at a time. Court reporter being ignored when trying to interrupt…
I know this transcript is horrible bec even my scopists are remarking that the people in this deposition are CRAZY.<br />
<br />
Constant interruptions, constant rudeness from all parties involved. Witness to Q attorney, Opposing Attorney to Q Attorney. Actually, I guess the Q attorney was not too bad in terms of rudeness, but constant interruptions and talking over each other despite my statement saying that they need to talk one at a time. Court reporter being ignored when trying to interrupt simultaneous speakers.<br />
<br />
At one point, the attorney's iPhone went off. He decided to hold it up and show it to me. Hello, I'm concentrating, stop trying to distract me. Not only was there constant interruptions, but the Opposing attorney kept making random comments from the peanut gallery.<br />
<br />
Of course, they wanted a rough. Of course they want it expedited.<br />
<br />
And it was on video too. The height of unprofessionalism. They should both be sanctioned..<br />
<br />
I ended the day with a headache. I needed a stiff drink.Here's a secret.tag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-08-21:1736041:BlogPost:10686822009-08-21T19:00:00.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
I really hate expedites. I'm too old to not be sleeping at night. I always feel like I don't have enough time to get out a quality job. I'm always afraid that I will screw up when I fill in the worksheet bec. I'm so tired from staying up all night to get those next-day expedites out.<br />
<br />
I don't mind a one-week expedite. Those are great. But it's the next-dayers that kill me.<br />
<br />
Of course, I do like the money, but I'm at a point where I think I would rather get my sleep.<br />
<br />
On the positive, usually a…
I really hate expedites. I'm too old to not be sleeping at night. I always feel like I don't have enough time to get out a quality job. I'm always afraid that I will screw up when I fill in the worksheet bec. I'm so tired from staying up all night to get those next-day expedites out.<br />
<br />
I don't mind a one-week expedite. Those are great. But it's the next-dayers that kill me.<br />
<br />
Of course, I do like the money, but I'm at a point where I think I would rather get my sleep.<br />
<br />
On the positive, usually a good paycheck. Also, it's always nice when you're done with the expedite. But really not my favorite way to spend time.<br />
<br />
Also, I especially hate those last-minute expedites. You know, you took the job on Monday, and they call you Wed, surprise, we need it tomorrow. Bleh!! Uh, you know, I actually do have other transcripts. Whatev.One of those doh momentstag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-08-12:1736041:BlogPost:10624102009-08-12T02:23:24.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
Don't you just hate it when you read back wrong. The question is perfectly correct on the screen and for whatever reason, what comes out of your mouth is not what is on your screen.<br />
<br />
For instance, today the name was Jim so-and-so. I read John so-and-so, when the screen said clear as day Jim so-and-so. It kills me bec. then the attorney says this is how you spell the last name and by the way the name is Jim so-and-so. Of course, it's all videotaped.<br />
<br />
It's one of those times you wish you could…
Don't you just hate it when you read back wrong. The question is perfectly correct on the screen and for whatever reason, what comes out of your mouth is not what is on your screen.<br />
<br />
For instance, today the name was Jim so-and-so. I read John so-and-so, when the screen said clear as day Jim so-and-so. It kills me bec. then the attorney says this is how you spell the last name and by the way the name is Jim so-and-so. Of course, it's all videotaped.<br />
<br />
It's one of those times you wish you could say, oh, that's what I had I just misread it. Bleh. Of course, nobody believes you and you just feel like a fool.<br />
<br />
It's very small comfort to know that I had it correct.Readbacktag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-07-29:1736041:BlogPost:10564212009-07-29T16:09:44.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
I took Volume II of a depo. Volume I was taken by a completely different reporter. I am a 5'2 Korean woman. The reporter for Volume I, the day before, was a tall, blonde white woman.<br />
<br />
At the start of the depo, the attorney turned to me and asked me to read the last question from the day before.<br />
<br />
I just looked at him for a second. I was so amazed my mind actually went blank. I reminded him that I wasn't the reporter from the day before.<br />
<br />
I know we're interchangeable, but I thought this was a…
I took Volume II of a depo. Volume I was taken by a completely different reporter. I am a 5'2 Korean woman. The reporter for Volume I, the day before, was a tall, blonde white woman.<br />
<br />
At the start of the depo, the attorney turned to me and asked me to read the last question from the day before.<br />
<br />
I just looked at him for a second. I was so amazed my mind actually went blank. I reminded him that I wasn't the reporter from the day before.<br />
<br />
I know we're interchangeable, but I thought this was a little excessive.Things you wish you could say during a depotag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-07-29:1736041:BlogPost:10564172009-07-29T16:03:48.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
Feel free to talk over each all you want, I'm not listening.<br />
<br />
I write at 225 wpm, I will drop all words starting at the 226th word and on for those minutes you choose to speak at 300 wpm.<br />
<br />
Do you think the room has been struck deaf. We can all hear you whispering really loudly to your client and chances are that counsel can hear you instructing your client and I can hear you. Take it outside if you don't want it on the record.<br />
<br />
Why do you think I am a lip reader and can put your objection ion…
Feel free to talk over each all you want, I'm not listening.<br />
<br />
I write at 225 wpm, I will drop all words starting at the 226th word and on for those minutes you choose to speak at 300 wpm.<br />
<br />
Do you think the room has been struck deaf. We can all hear you whispering really loudly to your client and chances are that counsel can hear you instructing your client and I can hear you. Take it outside if you don't want it on the record.<br />
<br />
Why do you think I am a lip reader and can put your objection ion the record if you don't speak up or just raise your hand and mouth the word at me.<br />
<br />
It's not funny. Sarcasm doesn't translate well.(to the witnesses)<br />
<br />
When you ask me what Exhibit No. 6 is, I probably won't know. My job is to mark the exhibits, not keep track of the content of the exhibit.<br />
<br />
The witness knows nothing. Stop it!!!!<br />
<br />
Garbage in, garbage out.<br />
<br />
For the love of God, please stop making up words.<br />
<br />
<br />
Feel free to add anything you wish you've said during a depo but have not.Pandora has started chargingtag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-07-28:1736041:BlogPost:10556142009-07-28T00:04:33.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
I am absolutely bummed. I wrote a <u>long</u> while back about Pandora, which is an online music service where you can listen to music while you're proofing. It used to be all free. And I discovered a lot of new music.<br />
<br />
Well, they've started charging. You get 40 hours free, and then they charge. You can pay $36 for the year, which is not much. But it's like paying for radio, I rebel.<br />
<br />
Today I listened to <a href="http://new.music.yahoo.com/launchcast/" target="_blank">Yahoo Launchcast</a>. Not…
I am absolutely bummed. I wrote a <u>long</u> while back about Pandora, which is an online music service where you can listen to music while you're proofing. It used to be all free. And I discovered a lot of new music.<br />
<br />
Well, they've started charging. You get 40 hours free, and then they charge. You can pay $36 for the year, which is not much. But it's like paying for radio, I rebel.<br />
<br />
Today I listened to <a href="http://new.music.yahoo.com/launchcast/" target="_blank">Yahoo Launchcast</a>. Not bad. I guess I will be listening to that until the new month starts.Parking aggravationtag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-07-01:1736041:BlogPost:10446912009-07-01T13:12:50.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
We started at 9:30 and went to 6:55, which is a very long day for me. Bec. I have to leave my house at 7 a.m. to make it to downtown L.A.<br />
<br />
Then I parked in the Los Angeles Mall, which closes at 6 p.m. This is before I found out the attorney was planning on going past 6 p.m. So I had to pre-pay my parking and tape the parking receipt to the inside windshield of my car so they wouldn't tow it. Then after we were done for the day, which if we ended at 6:55, I didn't get packed up for another 20…
We started at 9:30 and went to 6:55, which is a very long day for me. Bec. I have to leave my house at 7 a.m. to make it to downtown L.A.<br />
<br />
Then I parked in the Los Angeles Mall, which closes at 6 p.m. This is before I found out the attorney was planning on going past 6 p.m. So I had to pre-pay my parking and tape the parking receipt to the inside windshield of my car so they wouldn't tow it. Then after we were done for the day, which if we ended at 6:55, I didn't get packed up for another 20 minutes.<br />
<br />
Then I had to find City Hall East so that I could go down their elevator bec. the regular parking entrances were closed bec. it was after hours. The building I was in closed at 5 p.m. The security guard did not know where I was supposed to go. So he directed me to the police substation across the street. Thank goodness it was open. They knew where I needed to go.<br />
<br />
Then I had to walk to City Hall East to talk to the watch commander and get him to let me use the elevation to get to the parking structure. At this point, I was back at the Los Angeles Mall, all the escalators had been turned off. So I had to drag my bags up and down stairs and escalators.<br />
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Once, I made my way to City Hall East and was able to use their elevator to access P1, then I had to walk the length of the parking lot to get to my car. Then I had to take this weird maze to get out of the parking lot.<br />
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Exhausted.Fourth of Julytag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-06-30:1736041:BlogPost:10441912009-06-30T02:51:08.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
<p style="text-align: left;"><img alt="" height="331" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/71828211?profile=original" width="329"></img></p>
<br />
Jumping the gun as usual. It sounds it's going to be slow for work this Friday. Also heard that a lot of cities around the nation are not going to be able to afford a Fourth of July celebration, which is a shame.<br />
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I don't know about the rest of the nation, I think in most of California fireworks are illegal. So what are you going to be doing for the Fourth of July? Barbeque? Parades? Staying at home? Concerts?<br />
<br />
We're going to the The 25th Annual…
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/71828211?profile=original" alt="" width="329" height="331"/></p>
<br />
Jumping the gun as usual. It sounds it's going to be slow for work this Friday. Also heard that a lot of cities around the nation are not going to be able to afford a Fourth of July celebration, which is a shame.<br />
<br />
I don't know about the rest of the nation, I think in most of California fireworks are illegal. So what are you going to be doing for the Fourth of July? Barbeque? Parades? Staying at home? Concerts?<br />
<br />
We're going to the The 25th Annual Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration and Concert on the Green put on the Irvine Police Association.Proper Costco Etiquettetag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-06-20:1736041:BlogPost:10398382009-06-20T22:00:00.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
Proper etiquette for snatching food from the sample people.<br />
Make one long queue.<br />
Do not cut in front of others.<br />
Do not collect for your whole family.<br />
Do not stand behind the sample person and reach over them to snatch from the table.<br />
<br />
Please say thank you.<br />
Take a napkin.<br />
Throw you sample wrapper/napkin away in the trash bin. Do not leave for the next family that will be using your cart.<br />
<br />
Observe the right of way. Very often difficult to tell. But if in doubt, go with the flow of traffic. Do not…
Proper etiquette for snatching food from the sample people.<br />
Make one long queue.<br />
Do not cut in front of others.<br />
Do not collect for your whole family.<br />
Do not stand behind the sample person and reach over them to snatch from the table.<br />
<br />
Please say thank you.<br />
Take a napkin.<br />
Throw you sample wrapper/napkin away in the trash bin. Do not leave for the next family that will be using your cart.<br />
<br />
Observe the right of way. Very often difficult to tell. But if in doubt, go with the flow of traffic. Do not decide to create your own roadway in the middle of the aisle. Please park your cart courteously so that others may get around you.<br />
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This is not bumper carts. If you must pass the slower-moving cart in front of you, politely say excuse me. Try not to tailgate. I know it's very difficult.<br />
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Do not run over small children. If you think the fit might be tight, don't try to go around. Have some patience or ask politely. You will feel bad if you sideswipe someone or taken someone out at Costco.More pet peeves - spelloutstag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-06-16:1736041:BlogPost:10367712009-06-16T15:19:41.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
Yes. Yes. I know I'm ranting lately, and this hasn't happened recently but when it does, I feel very dismissed.<br />
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So you're asking for spellouts and the attorney tells you just to spell it phonetically or they tell you we'll do it later and you know they're just going to run out the door at the end of the depo or you're asking the witness spellings and the attorney tells the witness, let's go. Or they ask you in that tone (you know the tone) are you done yet?<br />
<br />
Excuse me, but I'm trying to make a…
Yes. Yes. I know I'm ranting lately, and this hasn't happened recently but when it does, I feel very dismissed.<br />
<br />
So you're asking for spellouts and the attorney tells you just to spell it phonetically or they tell you we'll do it later and you know they're just going to run out the door at the end of the depo or you're asking the witness spellings and the attorney tells the witness, let's go. Or they ask you in that tone (you know the tone) are you done yet?<br />
<br />
Excuse me, but I'm trying to make a good transcript here.<br />
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Of course, there the considerate attorneys who give me their paralegals information so I can verify spellings with their assistant later. That's kind of nice.Another pet peeve - business cardstag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-06-14:1736041:BlogPost:10358812009-06-14T16:32:34.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
You know you're getting old when you can't read the business cards that the attorney's are handing out.<br />
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I have a particularly difficul time with 8 and 6 and 0. Last night, I had to whip out my huge Sherlock Holmesian magnifying glass to look at the attorney's phone number.<br />
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I guess with all the added information on these attorney's card, the font is getting smaller and smaller. Well, at least that's what I tell myself.
You know you're getting old when you can't read the business cards that the attorney's are handing out.<br />
<br />
I have a particularly difficul time with 8 and 6 and 0. Last night, I had to whip out my huge Sherlock Holmesian magnifying glass to look at the attorney's phone number.<br />
<br />
I guess with all the added information on these attorney's card, the font is getting smaller and smaller. Well, at least that's what I tell myself.copiestag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-05-28:1736041:BlogPost:10269982009-05-28T14:25:15.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
So I see a lot of discussions about the page rate and getting paid. But what about the copies? Yeah, the copies.<br />
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Are you guys getting a lot of copy orders or are most of your jobs O&1? Here in Southern California, they do the heinous Southern Cal stip where they relieve us of our duty to maintain the transcript and send the original to the other side, so they don't order a copy. Not so prevalent in Northern Cal.<br />
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How old is your oldest outstanding copy order? How old before you write it of…
So I see a lot of discussions about the page rate and getting paid. But what about the copies? Yeah, the copies.<br />
<br />
Are you guys getting a lot of copy orders or are most of your jobs O&1? Here in Southern California, they do the heinous Southern Cal stip where they relieve us of our duty to maintain the transcript and send the original to the other side, so they don't order a copy. Not so prevalent in Northern Cal.<br />
<br />
How old is your oldest outstanding copy order? How old before you write it of as loss and give up on it? Do you ever give up on an outstanding copy order?<br />
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Does the agency make you get it on the record, or do they have a form for the attorney to sign? Honestly, I kind of prefer the form. I think it's harder for them to change their minds afterwards.<br />
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What percentage of your annual gross does the copy make up? Is it even worth it to go after those small piddly copies?<br />
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I'd love to hear your viewsBike ridingtag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-05-24:1736041:BlogPost:10250972009-05-24T01:30:00.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
Well, today I bought a bike. We moved to Irvine a couple of years ago, and there's lots of trails and things. My daughter is five now. It will be nice for the whole family to be able to go bike riding together.<br />
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I got a nice purple beach cruiser.<br />
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I have to tell you, I haven't been on a bike in over 25 years, maybe 30. I was terrified. I was pretty sure I would be able to ride it once I got it going on. The hard part for me is getting on and getting off without falling over. But I did it.…
Well, today I bought a bike. We moved to Irvine a couple of years ago, and there's lots of trails and things. My daughter is five now. It will be nice for the whole family to be able to go bike riding together.<br />
<br />
I got a nice purple beach cruiser.<br />
<br />
I have to tell you, I haven't been on a bike in over 25 years, maybe 30. I was terrified. I was pretty sure I would be able to ride it once I got it going on. The hard part for me is getting on and getting off without falling over. But I did it. Whoo-hoo.<br />
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Anyhoo, I've probably aged another year and added some white to my hair, but I survived.Maintenancetag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-05-22:1736041:BlogPost:10245602009-05-22T21:25:33.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
So I'm down to my last three packs of paper. So I go to Steno Doctor to buy another case.<br />
<br />
I've been thinking about going paperless for a while now. But my ink ribbon is still good. I want to time it so that I run out of paper and ink at the same time, but that's never going to happen. While I'm there, they tell me Stenograph is going out of the paper business, which I vaguely remember getting an e-mail about them selling off that part of the business to Pengad or some other business entity. So…
So I'm down to my last three packs of paper. So I go to Steno Doctor to buy another case.<br />
<br />
I've been thinking about going paperless for a while now. But my ink ribbon is still good. I want to time it so that I run out of paper and ink at the same time, but that's never going to happen. While I'm there, they tell me Stenograph is going out of the paper business, which I vaguely remember getting an e-mail about them selling off that part of the business to Pengad or some other business entity. So in the meantime, until the price of paper is going to go up. A case is $65. OMG.<br />
<br />
So I ask them, how much is it to get my machine set for paperless. Free. Hot diggety-dog. I've also been thinking about getting my machine shimmed.<br />
<br />
how much to get it shimmed? Well, it's free with a maintenance. Well, since I haven't gotten my machine maintenanced since January 2006, I think it's time. So put my machine in for a maintenance and it will be set up to write paperless and shimmed.<br />
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I'm very excited. It will be like getting a brand new machine. I can hardly wait.<br />
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In the meantime, I might have a very nice paper tray for sale in the future.David Alan Griertag:csrnation.ning.com,2009-05-11:1736041:BlogPost:10169132009-05-11T03:59:28.000ZKyunghttps://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kyung
So we went to the Improv last night to see David Alan Grier. The man has gotten older, but he is still very funny.<br />
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At one point, I was laughing so hard my stomach was hurting. I thought I was going to die if I didn't start laughing so hard. So funny!!!
So we went to the Improv last night to see David Alan Grier. The man has gotten older, but he is still very funny.<br />
<br />
At one point, I was laughing so hard my stomach was hurting. I thought I was going to die if I didn't start laughing so hard. So funny!!!