Hey kiddo! I got to meet Michael day before yesterday! I heard you did recently also. That was cool, wasn't it. And I hear you have been sick. I had what sounds like the same thing that I got right after Thanksgiving, and it is almost gone now. Michael was in awe of you, how sharp you are, how fast you have gotten where you are, how fast you type. Me TOO!!!!!!! You are awesome. Oh, I also heard we both had car problems! Mine was the water pump, what was yours? I am sorry I have not been on line. I have been fortunate enough to get 40 hours a week pretty much at Lowes, and also trying to get to school. I missed the qualifier today. I was not a happy camper. I called the teacher's cell phone to let her know I might be a minute or two late, but then they had it EARLY! I could not believe it! And it turned out I was only two minutes late. I had gone 80 on the freeway to get there, and RAN from my car to the building to get there. But I guess I was not meant to be there.

I hope to hear from you soon!!!

Candice

Miss you; contact me. I called you yesterday as I was near your home, but no answer. You're also not on-line. Miss you.

Okay, Stephanie: I found that passage. I remember telling you when we first began to read my site, all about me and then I won't have to repeat anything. You may not know how to go to others site and find my responses to them. Well, I found the story about me that I've told to many and it must have missed you. This, I know was to a girl I believe in Ohio; it was about my experience @ the State Exam and I also informed Clay about this when I met him at the CCRA convention. I'd asked him what was his goal at the CSR and he said to pass the test. Right there in front of his most loyal fan, his CSR mother, I told him; NO! That's too low of a goal. He must have listened because his errors was on 7. I'm so proud of him. Now it's your turn to up your goal. It's very attainable for you, because I know of nobody with the skills that you have. But again, we'll save that for later. For now, here is the passage & the/my story. I hope you enjoy it. Again, though, it is a diatribe:

Hello, My Dear; Wow, that was a toughy question you asked me. We are all susceptible to nerves controlling us. It is very, very to control them. I guess I can give you some more on how I overcame them. You must remember a few things. First of all, I fell victim to this many times which is why I needed 4 tries before I passed my exam. Now, the written part was no problem, because you know what you know. The answer is already there, in multiple choice form, and all you have to do is pick it out. No problem there. But to control your nerves so that you hit the right keys...that's an art. Our teacher sent us to relaxation classes, etc., but honestly, that didn't do any good. I'm not familiar with yoga and all that, so I never tried them either. But I am a runner. They told me that if I exercised right before the test, that my body would be calmer at exam time. So, on the early morning hours of my state exam, with I believe my test at 7:30 a.m., at 5:00 a.m. I left the Marriott Hotel and ran a few miles. When I returned I soaked in a hot tub of water and really try to clear my head and take a deep breath and relax. We all know what's at stake here, and thus the nerves. but that's what I did and I think it contributed a little bit. But that's not the secret. The secret is this. You have to have your mindset in the right place. Use all the knowedge you have. Knowledge is all your experience, learnings, and what you "know" over the years of your life. Wisdom is how you use that knowledge. Well, my dear Friend, here comes that Wisdom: I "know" that in class, I used to pass my test all the time with 99% accuracy. You see, we have to pass at 98.5% in class to prepare us for the 97.5% state exam. I have no problem passing that 98.5 percent with 99% frequently. Why? Because I'm already qualified, just waiting for the exam to come & no pressure. then, when I get to the exam, here come the nerves. Well, this is what I did. I realized that every time I had gone to that State Exam, I WAS TRYING TO PASS THE TEST. That's not what I should have been doing. Remember, back in life they always taught you to set your goals higher than you actually want to achieve? Well, my goal was to low. TRYING TO PASS THE TEST is to low of a goal. So, my last state exam, when I went, I had a new goal. I was going to ACE THE TEST, not just pass it. I wanted a 99%, like I always get in class, because that's what I'm capable of and I know I can do it because I've been doing so. So, I had to really pump myself up. I walked into that state exam room, looking at those readers as though they were the enemy. They stood in the way of my career or another stint in school. I wasn't gonna let them set me back again. They have their careers, Dammit, I want mine and I want it now. I looked them each in the eye, dead in the eye, as they read. I was DARING them to say a word that I couldn't write. I wasn't going to hesitate. If it was tough, I was just gonna throw something down, because I've ALWAYS been able to read my notes, & I have a memory. the only thing I can't read in my notes is what isn't there. I know my mistakes & I know my errors. I was so determined and focus as I stared at each one of them, that I NEVER even fell behind. I seemed to be writing the words before they finished them. I was challenging them: come on! COME ON! COME ON, DAMMIT! Give me something, give me your best shot. Suddenly, they all stopped reading and looked at me. Oh, Hell! it was over. I KNEW I had this shit! I was one proud peacock walking into the typing room. I was finished in a hour and a half. I re-read my test 10 times. Each time I read it, I was able to perfect it a little bit more. Finally I looked at the clock and with only 8 minutes left, I finally got up and turned my exam in. Six weeks later, my results? 99.02%! Baby, you can start applauding now. I hope to applaud for you one day too. It can happen just like that. Learn to control yourself, because no one else can. You have a beautiful husband, I'm sure, who can help you RELAX yourself before you go. Have him send you off with some extra good-loving, giving you something to look forward to coming back and when you do, you'll also be bringing him good news, too. Practice this with your tests at school and master this technique, so that when you go to the exam, your confidence will override anything and you'll have an easy time. I pray this for you and it is soooooooooo possible, I'm quite sure it'll happen. Until I hear from you again, I remain, Your Friend....Peace Out, Baby. Delete Comment

Oh, My Dear Mentee:
I can't believe you just said what you said: "You don't dare aim so high"????? If you aimed that high, baby, that would almost assure that you will pass. You didn't hear about my story on that? Maybe I'll cut it from whoever I told it to and paste it onto you. You already see that Cassandra & I envy you for having the skills you do and for doing what you've done and here "WE" are out here. We KNOW you will be out here very soon; and I don't know about Cassandra but my error count on my CSR was 17 or so. When I heard how good Clay was doing, I figured he'd be under 5 and he got 7. See? I was real close....very, very close. I'm quite proud of myself. Now, his mother was surprised, but I don't see how. I'd be VERY surprised if you don't beat that and at least get into the under 5 category. Maybe it's a little early for you to see that now, but when you start passing those qualifiers in the 99% range, you're gonna need to set your goal a bit higher to assure you stay there. I won't harp on it now, but Girl, I tell you, when you do DO it, just remember, you heard it here first. I DO know what I'm talking about and Cassandra ain't no fool either. And neither of us would EVER lie to you or give you "false" hopes. Just believe us, we do see something in you and we ain't mistaken about it. So, we'll just leave it for now, because it's your story being written...but I tell you, once this book is finished, I swear it can very-well be a best-seller and you can remember you heard that first here too. Anyway, make sure you get back to your friend Tami and congratulate her son, Clay. I have heard of people doing better. There are some schools whose students consistently do under 5 errors on the state exam and I'm sure there have been 100%'s also. It's not that hard, especially when you have a tough curriculum, which some schools do, to make sure their students handle it. These schools have a 90% pass rate. I know how they do it. You will, too. Well, I'm glad your move went okay. I knew you were busy, that's why I haven't bothered you. And if you did a little extra dictation before the move weekend, then you needn't worry about your speed. Your fingers probably did need the rest after you worked them so hard. But once you get back to the grind, it won't be long then...just detemination, consistency, and self-discipline and it'll almost be all over. The end is in site. Now, I just wrote Candice and told her and am telling you as well, I've finished your dictation c.d.'s. I went to my son, last Monday, and him and his Cerritos J.C. court-reporting girlfriend copied them for me. She asked me your name but she didn't recognize you. She is in the 100 wpm class. So, I'm ready for delivery of your stuff. I see you've told me you're busy now; so in the very near future, our day will come. I hope you enjoy them and they do you some good. Once you have these, my concern for you will go down, my confidence in you will go up, and the waiting will be enjoyable. Can you stand much more of that? Girl, if you only knew. Okay, I'll let you go now, until I hear from you again, I'm always there for you, okay? Peace out.

Well, my Dear; I see you're already a friend of Tami's. I just congratulated her. Her son, Clay, passed the CSR with only 7 errors. That was awesome. I expected definitely no less. I KNEW he would be under 10 and I wouldn't have been surprised if he hit 5 or under. That's really where I thoughe he'd be. He also passed the WKT of the RPR. I'm sure he'll get the RPR too. I told him that I'd inform you of his latest achievement. I also told him that YOU were gonna challenge that error count he had. I know this is where you should be too. I told him that I'd been thinking about him a lot the past two weeks, which is true, and I'd been thinking about how close to zero errors he would come. I believe you are of that quality too. You see, going into that CSR wondering how close to zero in errors you will get is a good mindset to go with. That way, whatever the result, at least you come out with a CSR. Anyhow, I've missed you and hope you get back with me soon, okay? Take care......OH! I've got those cd's for you now. They're ready. My son and his girlfriend (the court reporting student at Cerritos) did them for me and I have a few more surprises for you, too. So, holla back at me ASAP, okay?

My goal is to try to qualify no later than March, so that I can move back to southern california the end of March. I have a lot of hard work ahead of me though, and really need to get my nose to the grindstone! I think this whole csr nation thing was brought to me just for that purpose. You hang in there, things will definately get better for you. I work at Lowes here, and only get scheduled 10 hours a week, and need many, many more to cover my storage fee in Riverside, my car payment, insurance and one credit card. I have been fortunate to get as many as 38 hours a week, but boy is that ever a lot when you have school full time too. It truly is a struggle, I need a lot of energy!!!

I just spoke to Michael. He is so great! He told me I needed to work on 240, to be able to get the qualifier at 200, so that is what I am going to practice today!!!!, and he also said to do the finger drills, which I usually do, and to practice hard material out of a book, or do congressional record. I plan on doing all of the above! I hear from him that you are a girl wonder, and have hardly been in school for maybe 9 months and already in qualifying! Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kuddos to you! I have been in school for years and years, and even more years, but have had a LOT of life happen, but I am proud that I have kept going. It is a hard thing to get through, but will be so very worth it. I love writing on my machine, and I can't wait to get to work!!

I also went to Cerritos for a short while, but at that time, they did not have qualifying at night, so I had to change schools. Cerritos is also an awesome school! I loved it there too. I just want to finish. My writing is just not as clean as it should be, and honestly I don't know what to do anymore. Do you have any sugggestions? This is really a great way to get help and network. I wish I had known about it earlier. I think it is perfect timing for me. How long ago did you join csrnation?

Nice to meet you. Like I just explained to Michael, I do actually live in Sacramento for now. I am living with my sister and her husband, just until I qualify, and then my mom and dad want me to move back down souht to Hesperia to live with them, as they are getting older. I am anxious to get back that way! I go to the Charles Jones Skills and Business Center right now, Argonaut. It is the very best school I have ever been to!! And I have been to a lot of schools. I used to go to Sage, and then found out about Tri-Community in West Covina. What a wonderful school THAT is. It is a jewel! And then when I got here, I could not believe how great this one is! Where do you go? What speed are you in? I have to get my picture up on this site! I think this is going to be very good for me, and pray I can finish and qualify asap!!!! Talk to you soon, Candice

Hey, My Dear;
Just gonna tell you now, my other mentee is Candice Curtis. Look her up and chat a bit. I got her to join this site now and she can use more friends as her list is short for now. I can envision sitting with you both at breakfast or dinner or lunch. I'll be contacting via phone soon & will see you soon too, okay?

Well, hello there, whiz kid; guess who? That's right, your mentor. I've read all the advice people gave you on your accuracy and speed. This is very good advice from everybody. I can tell you whose advice I like the best right now, and it just so happens to be Cassandra Mandeville Dechter. She is the most complete taking into consideration everything you are and said. I can't stress enough to you exactly all that Cassy has said. I know your confidence is low or a little down now, so I'll tell you this and do it if you can....NO, not "if you can".... just do it, like Nike says. Cassandra and I have enough confidence in you to make up for the lack of confidence you have in yourself. So, instead of letting your lack of confidence in yourself bring you down, slow you down, and/or hamper you, just forget about it all. Put is aside. Lock it in a trunk and just ride the confidence that Cassie & I have. In other words, just BELIEVE us, HAVE FAITH IN US, and then, you'll get to where you want to be the most...I promise. If you only knew what we know. YOU ARE IT, GIRL....YOU ARE IT! Okay, enough of that, I'm gonna go back to e-mailing you, but I just wanted to put my comment on here and we'll continue privately, okay? Let's go!

Hi Stephanie, thanks for the congrats! Yeah, I did start with Cerritos theory, but I'm almost completely converted to Mark's! A while back Tami suggested to not come back for my endings: D, Z, G, R. Have you started that? Thats what I started with and then I just added Mark's concepts one at a time.

He has a book out called Magnum Steno which is a good book to look to for ways to change your writing and make it shorter. His phrases with AND also helped me A LOT. SKP- is and. So you can do and then SKPEN and I..SKPEU and you SKPU.. and he..SKPE. There is a lot of stuff you can do with that and!

Hi! Thank you very much for the comment. You pictures are great too! It's awesome that you had a celebration for your 200:) I am fairly new to reporting also. It's different from being in school to being in the "real world"! lol. It's nice to meet someone who is young also:D Sometimes I feel left out b/c I'm not at extremely high speeds like some of the seasoned court reporters on here

Stephanie,

You have to check out Mark Kislingbury's website, Magnumsteno.com. He's up and running on his online dictation class. It's only 29.95 a month. I guarantee he will help you be an awesome reporter/writer. He's a wonderful teacher, and, of course, the Guinness World Record Holder on speed writing. Definitely has the credentials to back up what he preaches. :)

And I typed this so fast, that I've already seen a mistake. "is you mastery" should be "your mastery." I'm in between witnesses here in an arbitration and typing as quickly as I can. Sorry about that.

(tipping hat)

Stephanie, what I would be concerned about is you mastery of the ability to get stuff on the screen by being able to fingerspell quickly, your mastery of your suffixes and prefixes and that you're comfortable with them. Also, the ability to have your numbers come up correctly is crucial. Having words in your dictionary is a no-brainer. Get as many in as you can, but for those times when you know something isn't going to translate correctly, you have to be able to either fingerspell that word(s), or, be able to put something up that means the same to get the point across. Verbatim is the first idea, but if you heard, "there is going to be a lot of saturation today," and you know "saturation" isn't going to translate, you can either quickly fingerspell it, or, you could write something like "it's going to rain a lot today." Hope that makes sense.

One thing with CART is you have some flexibility over depos or court in the example I mentioned above. You want to do the best you can and bring your A game to the event, but make sure you have your A game.

Hope that helps get ya started.

(tipping hat)

Thank you Stephanie. I would appreciate that. And thank you for replying to my post. I just called back the first hand surgeon to see if he would see me again. My finger doesn't look too good, and it's starting to kind of sting. I did not sleep good last night, just thinking about it. I just hope he calls me back because I have a lot of questions for him. When he told me my nerve was cut and I needed surgery, I kind of froze, and did't hear another word the doctor said after that. I know that I should have asked a lot of questions when I was there, but all I could do was cry. You talk to people and then they open your eyes. Oh, you should of asked this,, and that. But like I said, I never heard another word after he gave me the news. Yes, i would like for you to ask your old teacher about me. I'll take any feed back I can.. Thanks a lot Stephanie. I really do appreciate it.

Sorry it took me SO long to get back to you! I do like CASE Catalyst, it seems to work pretty well, somewhat user-friendly, and no problems so far (since I got it a little over a year ago). However, I have no prior programs to base this opinion on, as CASE is the only one I've ever had. When I was in school "on ground" in San Diego, they didn't offer this technology until you got until your higher speed classes. So, I'm just LOVING the technology part of it period, but to give you a really good idea about the program, I would say that you should talk to someone that has actually used more than one program before taking my word for it! ha ha Have a good week!

Hi Stephanie, check out The Brief Zone !
Great Drilling Material For Any Steno Theory...
www.thebriefzone.com