I thought I'd change things up and talk about a new step forward in terms of my "career" as a court reporting student.
As of yesterday, I've purchased a WAVE writer from Stenograph!
Available in gray, gray, or gray!
For those of you who don't know, the Wave is the student version of the very popular professional Diamante machine also released by Stenograph. As far as I can tell, and according to Wikipedia, Stenograph owns 90% of the market, so it's no wonder several other classmates of mine are getting their Waves, too! (Plus, we had a representative come by a few months back and that left a very strong impression on me.)
What I'm most looking forward to with this new machine is:
1) No more using paper.
--> Yes, my tree-hugging ways still governs many of my choices.
2) No messy ink.
--> Just recently, I was having significant issues with my paper, which resulted in many messy inky fingers. Yuck. Plus, per my tree-hugging ways, I like to do a lot of practice on the machine without any paper in it at all, and that causes an unfortunate build-up of ink on the roll. Unnecessary, I tell you!
3) Lighter touch!
--> Need I say more? Seriously, I'm pretty sure there's going to be an obvious difference in finger/hand strain with this lighter, digital touch.
4) Familiarization with Eclipse
--> Ah, a goal that I had since summer. Use my CAT program more. Alas, I opted to focus first and foremost on my writing and accuracy, and let messing around on Eclipse fall by the wayside. Despite what appears to be building up to a rather busy December/January, it's my hope that I'll take the time to work on building my dictionary/briefs, and all around getting more familiar with the many intricacies of the program. Besides, I still have that webinar on Eclipse features that I have yet to watch! D'oh!
The reason for my getting the Wave now is that I told myself I'd switch over to paperless as soon as I passed out of 140. With that goal passed, I'm simply fulfilling my promise to myself. Plus, part of me was holding out on the Passport Touch...until I realized that there was no student edition for it available.
I'm very excited about my new machine arriving next Wednesday, but I know better than to think that a new machine will possibly guarantee faster writing. As a wise classmate of mine says, "The bow doesn't make the Indian." Wise words, Peggy. Wise words.
And with that, I eaglery await its arrival in a brand-spanking new jetbag and rolling backpack.
Quick note about that: I absolutely DESPISE rolling cases!! The amount of air pollution they create with their obnoxious wheels droning and roaring across the granite floor makes my skin crawl and sets my nerves on edge! It sounds like a tornado ripping across campus just outside of the classrooms, as anyone will attest to when I'm trying to hold a conversation over the phone outside.
In the hope of avoiding any further hearing damage to my fellow classmates, I vow to avoid using the roller and am already considering adding back straps to it...
