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Meeting in the Halls aka Strangers in the Night

When you all go out to the job, do you ever meet other court reporters? I know I do. I see another person w/a Stenograph bag just like mine. I know they're a reporter. I always try to strike up a conversation.

I usually ask them what law firm they're going to if we meet in the elevator. If it turns out we're on the same case, it's usually a chance to commiserate about being sent to the same depo or try to figure out who's going to go home.

If it turns out there are multiple depos, it's a chance for me to network and find out about the other reporter, how long they've been working, what software they use, what agencies they work for. It occurs to me that some might find this intrusive, but on the whole I've found that most reporters are pretty friendly. We live and kind of work in a vacuum unless you work in a court room. We go to the deposition, we go home and produce the transcript.

Almost every reporter I've met is chatterbox, including myself. Which is great!! No one can empathize w/you as well as another reporter.

So hopefully no one thinks I'm being intrusive or too nosy. I'm just really interested and curious in other reporters.

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Comment by Rhoda Collins on March 22, 2008 at 7:01: I keep trying to get local CRs to join...."I have no time.." or "Once I am done editing, I am NOT staying on the computere!" LOL!
Rho

Comment by Kyung on March 22, 2008 at 5:49: Now that we have all these wonderful online forums, that stranger in the night might have been someone you've been chatting with online all the time. So say hi!!

Comment by Rhoda Collins on February 23, 2008 at 8:03: Our area is just not 'chatty'. I love living here compared to where I grew up, and it offers a LOT for education/life/etc. But the folks that live here have their 'friends'...or so it seems...and it is hard to 'chat'. I miss PA in the sense that I think it is friendlier. I moved to Rochester, NY in 1987 and would never move away, but I try to share with Rochestarians whenever I get the chance at how 'cold' they can be to new people. My mom and I decided it was because it is a blue collar area?

The sad thing is, I feel I am 'becoming' one of them! I would probably look at you strange in that elevator and wonder 'what' you want. 'Tis sad, I know. BUT get me together for a 'meeting' of CRs in this area and I would be fine. I participate with the school I graduated from and go talk to students; I talk to anyone about CR'ing that will listen, lol. But hit me 'alone' in an elevator?? I would probably be tight-lipped in the sense of wondering what info you are trying to get out of me about my firm/etc. I found the firms here are kind of 'competative' or just can be 'gossipy' if you let it. I want to just have fun and not get caught in the gossip part.

So, whether it is 'me' becoming one of 'them' or me just not wanting to get into the CR gossip line, I am not sure, lol.

I did find cliques at the Case training seminar and the NCRA convention. I would have LOVED to have seen 'more' friendlier faces than I ran into....

Comment by Patricia Babits on February 23, 2008 at 7:27: I'm normally pretty shy but as soon as I see another reporter I'm a huge chatterbox. It is impossible for me to see another reporter and not talk to them. It doesn't happen too ofthen, though. Once in a while I'll spot one on the ferry or in the hallway at the lawfirm.

Now I've been doing work for a firm that does a lot of depos at their office, and I've had a chance to interact with other reporters there more often which is nice.