My first depo (5/28/08)

[Sharla Preciado]

THIS IS A COPY OF WHAT I POSTED ON MYSPACE AFTER MY FIRST DEPO. I'M PHASING OUT MYSPACE AND MOVING ONTO FACEBOOK AND CSRNATION, BUT I WANT TO SAVE THIS FOR POSTERITY, SO I'M POSTING IT HERE:

May 29, 2008

I only have a couple of minutes because I've been working feverishly all day on editing my first transcript and I really have to get back to it, but I wanted to tell everybody that I did it! I went on my first job, it was a monster, and I DID IT! I'm so happy! I want to talk to ALL of you and tell you all about it, but I thought this would be the easiest way to give you all the scoop:

I was told that it was 99% sure to be a nonappearance and I'd make, like, $150 just for showing up, waiting around, and doing the cert of nonappearance. They said if it did actually go, it would definitely be less than an hour.

It turned out to be a huge medical malpractice deposition of a doctor who specializes in anesthesiology in open-heart bypass surgery and is testifying as an expert witness in the upcoming trial. There were FOUR attorneys who all flew in from Kentucky for the depo and had to finish by 3:00 to catch their limo from the hospital back to the airport (!!!) These guys were big shots, and I was way out of my league. But I DID IT! I can't stop saying that.

I can't believe I actually did it!

We went for almost 6 hours and didn't take a lunch break, it was over 200 pages (2 whole pads of steno paper!) and the best part....THEY ALL ORDERED COPIES!

I wasn't sure how I felt about it during the hours after it ended yesterday. I was really afraid that when I opened it and checked it against the audio, that I was going to find tons of drops, but so far it's been pretty good.

My only fear right now is that I'm pretty sure that I accidentally turned off my audio for part of it, and it might be a part where they were reading from some medical reports and I dropped because it was so hard and so fast and I just figured I'd be able to look at the reports later since they would be exhibits. They didn't turn out to be exhibits. :( So if that's the place where my audio was off.......ewwww.....I don't know what I'll do. I talked to an experienced reporter and an agency owner about it today, and they think I will be able to get my hands on the reports if I need to by contacting the attorney(s). So it sounds like even my biggest mistake is going to be fixable. Whew!

I'd better get going. I want to do some more before I go to bed, and I have an EARLY depo tomorrow at 7:30 a.m.

Okay. I love you guys! Thanks to all of you that I've already talked to that have been so happy for me, so interested to hear all about it, so supportive when I was freaking out afterwards, etc.

I can't wait to hear all of your success stories too!

Love, Sharla

[Melissa]

Good job Sharla!!!
That really sounds like a crazy job for your first job!!! You should be really proud of yourself for completing your first job and here's to more and more depos!!!

[from Debra Maples]

Sharla, that is a great story and I am so happy for you. Thanks for sharing and welcome to the CSRnation site. I am rather new here, too, and I love it. Good luck in your career!

Debra

[Janet]

Wow, that brought me back in time! For my first job, they sent me to a hearing at Boston Police Headquarters -- No one else would go, I'm sure. The attorney questioned the witnesses, fast, fast talking police officers, from across the room. I wanted to melt into the floor. I survived it. And I survived the next job they sent me to, bankruptcy court, with ten or more lawyers talking. They certainly didn't break me in gently. But each time I made it through, I became better and better to the point I'll take anything now.

Pushing yourself beyond your limits is the way to grow. You started early! It's painful, but it pays off.

Thanks, Sharla, for sharing that!

[Jackie]

Thanks for posting this! I am about to go out on my first job next week, so this is encouraging -- scary, too, but exciting to read about!