End of Fall Semester + CNBC + Winter Break

Quick Edit: I got the results of my two finals; so I thought it'd be best to record them.
Vocabulary: 198/200, CAT Final: 100/100

All right, fine. So I didn't pass my 200 QA or 180 Lit in time for the end of the semester.
But, you know what? I am very okay with that. More okay than I thought I'd be, and that's probably because:

a) I still feel very accomplished with other aspects of my educational journey -- mainly the CNBC interview (Oops! Have I not shared that here yet?) and my article writings for state/national association publications.

b) Any tests we pass through ev360 over break will still count! That essentially means that I have about a month and half of time before the spring semester to knock something out of the park, I that's something I intend to do.

First things first. The CNBC interview:

This first clip aired Monday November 24 morning on CNBC:

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000333230&play=1

 
A second clip which aired Monday evening (starts at minute 23:20) on Nightly Business Report :
http://nbr.com/2014/11/24/nightly-business-report-november-24-2014/

Here's an article of the story:

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/careers/court-reporter-job-makes-six-figures-no-college-degree-n255426

I've only been on break for one week, but it's already been a whirlwind of activity! Seeing as I have to wrap up my 40 hours sitting out in depos and court AND submit transcripts for them, that can really gobble up a day. But, hey, isn't that just as good as focused practice? It's certainly a different kind of practice.
That and transcripts has been taking up the majority of my study time, but I'm relieved that at least I've got the court 20-page transcript DONE! Next up, depo transcript. Then that PM2 session from the SF Mock Trial of November 1. That ought to be a doozy~~

So, to reiterate, the game plan is to (in general order of importance):
- study 3+ hrs a day on Ev360 drills (200 QA is my next real goal)
- finish transcribing transcripts for Apprenticeship class
- accumulate as many depo/court hours as possible
- transcribe SF Mock Trial PM2 session
- transcribe VHP project
- transcribe church sermons
- ... translate for scanlation groups <-- yes, I am back into them just to enjoy more Eruri and keep up the JP!

I'll write again come the start of the spring semester, and hopefully by then I'll have some very good news to share regarding my test progress. Just imagine it, if I knock these two out by then, I'll really only have all my 4-voices to deal with. @_@ Down the final stretch!

200 JC Passed!

So, the unofficial pass from last Thursday was official!

200 JC passed on 10/30/2014!

The news came at a great time. I got the email on Saturday morning while in the midst of a grueling mock trial in SF. I was getting my butt handed to me, thinking to myself, "What am I doing here? I don't belong here..." but at least I got the confirmation that I can at least handle a 200 JC test.
It did take quite a few tests to pass this, though, and it was the kind of test that relied heavily on the content of the test. A trickier JC will still leave me in the dust. ;_;

Still, I take my achievements where I can get them!
And truth be told, I'd actually hoped to pass a test in time for Halloween, so I did technically meet my goal!
My next goal will be to pass either a 180 Lit of 200 QA before the end of the semester. Passing BOTH would be so killer!!

Here's to the fresh start of November. Fall is in the air, fires are burning in the fireplace, and it's the last full month before winter break where I can focus on studying on ev360 and accruing apprenticeship hours!

I hope to have good news in time for that!

A Few Good Things in October

Wow.

I've really been meaning to write this for a while -- a buildup of wonderful, lovely, uplifting, and exciting things that all happened in the month of October! Well, it's still the 30th, so I'm squeezing it in in time!

CCRA Convention + Scholarship Essay
Of course, the month started off with the fun CCRA convention down in Indian Wells. I ended up carpooling/rooming with Lydia and Therese, and I have to say, it could not have gone better! I still can't believe how much $$ we saved by using Airbnb and splitting the cost of gas! It was less than $100 for each of us TOTAL for the weekend! So many meals were covered at the convention that I didn't spend a penny for a meal! Plus, there was the karaoke on Sunday night which I just rocked!
Some weeks prior, I'd also submitted my entry for their scholarship essay. Seeing as I didn't win the NCRA one, and I hadn't heard anything from CCRA since, I figured that I hadn't won. WELL! Imagine my surprise when I was mentioned as one of the two winners of the scholarship award during the Saturday luncheon! And that came with a cash prize of $500 big ones ($100 of which I promptly spent on electing fellow classmates to sing at the karaoke...)!
That same essay has now been featured in the latest CCRA eNewsletter, so more people will have a chance to read it!

CNBC Interview:
On Oct 16, a small crew from CNBC came to interview instructor Maggie, fellow classmate Gabriella, and myself! The interview took about 10-15 minutes total, and the interviewer Jane Wells was so wonderful at making the whole experience laid back and enjoyable! It was held outside with Gabriella and myself seated side-by-side as we answered questions about our backgrounds, interest in the field, etc...
How did this come to pass, you wonder? About a month prior, I was contacted by NCRA to ask if I would be interested in being interviewed as part of their Take Note campaign (in an effort to get more students into the industry.) I feel pretty gosh darned proud that I was recommended by name by some members of NCRA as a good student candidate for the role.
The energy on campus was tangible! All the students dressed up special for the in-class footage that was taken after the interviews and I was just beaming all day. I felt on top of the world! For the weeks leading up to it, it's all I could think about -- almost obsessively -- so as soon as it was done I felt incredibly relaxed, like a burden had been lifted. Oddly enough, as soon as it ended, I thought to myself, "Now, what's the next thing I'll aim for?"

Article in JCR:
The networking-at-conventions article I'd written for the JCR was finally printed in their October issue! Woo-hoo! First it was only released digitally, but there is a certain amount of pride one gets on seeing her article in a two-page spread. Check out the Oct 2014 issue if you're curious!

Possible Test Pass Today...?
Okay. I really think I've got this one in the bag. It's my 200 JC which I was able to complete on ev360. I went through three tests (all utter failures) until I came across this one which was actually DOABLE! Based on the online results, it's a pass (98.3%,) but I will wait for Linda's official feedback before I announce it officially here.
It'd be pretty sweet if it were a pass because (a) I've dressed up for Halloween today -- b/w salsa dress and (b) I clearly remember last year's Halloween where I'd also received news of not one but two test passes. And I think those were in for the 140 speed level!! Wow! 140 to 200! This is great! Okay, wow, getting ahead of myself now. Better not jinx it.
Until later!

180 QA Passed!

At long last! And here, I'd hoped to get this one wrapped up during the summer semester (and go pretty close a few times!!)  But at least I got done with in the first month of the fall semester!

180 QA passed on 9/16/2014!

This one was passed by figuring out a mess on notes and even utilizing some logic to make sense of the "story." Phew! I look forward to passing some more 180 QAs to really solidify my skills. Here's to a clean 180 QA!

Going forward, I foresee it taking a while before passing a 180 4-V. So I'll be aiming to pass the 200 JC next! Also, my sister has talked about coming down to visit in November sometime, so I should really aim to pass it in time for that!

Today I have the pleasure of sitting out with a working reporter for a live depo! What fun!

I may write again to discuss the CCRA Convention taking place the first weekend of October. Otherwise, stick around for the next test-pass update!

160 Lit Passed!

LEEEROOOOY JENKINS!

Wow! What a great way to start the last week of school!
I passed my 160 Lit test with 14 errors on July 28, 2014!

Mind you, that was after a week's worth of family visiting. Granted, I've felt ready to pass a Lit for a few weeks now, and the previous test I took was "failed" with an excess of only 14 errors! It was time!
All right, you non-CR students, it may not seem like it, but a 14-error gap from passing it pretty gosh darned close!

And would you believe it, I took a 180 QA today and it felt gooood! I haven't even officially graded it yet, but based on my own count of "Gee, I'm really not about that word" or "Yikes, I may have guessed a few times in this sentence," I have about 20 errors. And there's a maximum of 23! So uncomfortably close!

I'll grade it tomorrow morning to and see.

If I passed it, it'd mean I surpassed my original summer semester goal and would then only have those dreaded two 4-voice tests to focus on during fall. AND I did a 200 JC for fun and it's looking pretty good so far; so I'll definitely focus on passing that in the fall too.

Here's to some good news tomorrow! Otherwise, until after NCRA Con!

180 JC Passed!

Waaaahooo~~!

180 JC passed on July 15, 2014!

It was my goal to pass both the 180 JC and 160 Lit before the end of the summer semester, and I've made it halfway there!
The tricky thing is that there are so few chances left to pass a 160 Lit. There's this coming Monday and...that's about it! Unless I tackle one of the online tests available.
 I'll say this about the online tests with EV360. I'm surprised by how frequently the readers for the tests are sorta...inconsistent! Some don't even sound like trainer readers, they're just regular people reading. Regular people reading? Preposterous, right? Pfft!

In any case, this comes at a great time because my family (Chrissy, mom, and Ella...and then later Tina) will be visiting next week. Now I don't feel so guilty about taking some time off to hang with them!!!

Going forward, I'll begin focusing on upping my 160 Lit skills with the online tests (my least favorite of the categories) and hopefully pass something next week!

Until then!

RPR WKT - Preliminary Pass!

Great news today!
I just got a preliminary pass result on the RPR Written Knowledge Test I took yesterday evening! I use the word "preliminary" because there is the slight chance that some of the answers I gave to questions won't end up counting, but it should be okay! I'll find out for sure in 3-4 weeks. If I wrote again, it'll be to say that it was a fail. Otherwise, just trust that it was pass.
The great thing is that this test pass will stay with me forever, meaning I've completed one fourth of the RPR certification! The RPR will open up more job opportunities around the country and can also sometimes lead to higher pay rates.

My test was scheduled at a nearby testing center at 6pm, but I was itching to get out of the house and away from my study materials by 4:30. When I arrived early at 5:30, it wasn't long before I was ushered in to take the test.

The room is lined with desks of computers sectioned off with cubicle-like walls. In the center of the room is a glass-walled "control room" where two test administrators are seated to watch the test takers and come out to help with breaks or whatnot. They were two friendly women and seemed entertained by my buoyant demeanor. You are not allowed to bring anything in, so all personal possessions, save for one more form ID, comes with you into the testing area. That, and a laminated sheet with marker to take down any notes. I used it primarily for writing any "incorrectly" spelled words and to tally up my results.

Of the 115 questions, 9 were total "WTF" moments, 8 were "Mmm, educated guess?" and the remaining 98 were "Okay, I've got this in the bag...prettymuchhopefullyunlessomethingfunnyhappens."

There was a surprising number of technology-related questions, but they were generally get-able. I thought to myself that they might be difficult if you were either very computer-illiterate or 50yrs+. The questions test your knowledge of using everything from mail addresses/attachments to scanners to computer drivers. But, wow, you really have to know your Windows OS. I felt sorry for any heavy Mac users, but then again, no CAT software is supported by Mac, as far as I can tell.

Besides that, covering the Advisory Opinions was a very smart move as there were some nearly verbatim questions to answer. So long as you've reviewed them, you'll get those answers done.

One other section that kept tripping me up was anything related to CART providers. I've never really focused much on their duties or responsibilities, let alone in the courtroom setting, so I was always having to make educated guesses about those.
The English-related questions were always in the form of having to pick the correct sentence from the choices provided, with a heavy focus on proper punctuation and those dreaded homophones.

As for how that all amounted to 115 questions, it beats me. One second, it's dragging on; the next, it's over! Of the hour and a half I had allotted, I used all by 8 minutes of it!
Needless to say, it's wonderful that it's over as I don't have to wrack my brain over memorizing any more factoids unless the CSR!

T-minus 1.5 weeks of school until summer break with my family visiting next week! I've decided to be a well-balanced student and actually hang out with my family members while they're here.
Until then!

160 4-V Passed!

It's finally happened. After a four-month dry spell, I have passed my 160 4-V on June 26! And with it, I can officially say...

I'm in the 180s!!

The emotion that hit me today as I graded my test pass was one more closely affiliated to humility than ecstasy. This pass came at an incredible time.
This week has overall been a whirlwind of emotions school-wise (don't worry, life is doing just fine.)
Monday had me almost in tears as I dragged myself through a 160 Lit.
Tuesday had me leaping with joy as a tackled a satisfying 180 QA.
Wednesday had me seeing red, livid over the debacle of the 160 4Vs given.
...And then, there was today, Thursday. The week could not have come ended better.

In a way, I am actually more confident about my ability to pass some of the 180s in a more timely fashion mainly because Lits and JCs don't require more than one reader. That whole wildcard just doesn't apply, and I won't have to worry about all the readers being on the same page (figuratively and literally) until I start seriously attempting my 180 4Vs.

The stakes have raised as some 180 tests now require higher levels of passing grades. And that's nothing to say of the 200s. Still, I am very happy and can finally go out and celebrate with some long-deserved sushi!

With only a month left until the end of the summer semester (aaaand family visiting the second-to-last week,) let's see if I can pass my 160 Lit and 180JC. Call me crazy, but I think it may happen.

Beginning of Summer Semester 2014!

I haven't had much to say since my last post in what? February? regarding my school progress.
That is because, sadly enough, there wasn't much progress to report!

I think I already went over some of the reasons for the slooow-down, but looking back on the spring semester, I would definitely chalk it up to one simple fact:

I DIDN'T PRACTICE ENOUGH.

As simple as it sounds, I ignored my own cardinal rule about school -- that it comes first and foremost!
Knowing that art modeling gigs would dry up for the summer, I shamelessly took on a heck of a lot more jobs than I should have over spring, even going so far as to skip some days of class for it!
Mix that with some stressful passive-aggressive classmate tension and a Renaissance of Johnlock fanfic, and you've got a recipe for disaster*.

*"Disaster" may be too strong a word. After all, I did totally ace my READ53 and CTR26 classes, getting a 102% and highest final score for each class respectively. Plus 198/200 on the English vocab and 194/200 on the Medical vocab... Heck, I shouldn't beat myself up over it too much.

Still, things are going to be different this summer semester. The compacted semester (only 9 weeks!) means we're back to good, old extended class times WITH slightly different reader arrangements and NO academic classes to worry about! I'll be the first at the door when it opens and the last to leave when it closes, so help me!!

Additionally, I've got some new (and free!) online practice/test-taking sites to supplement my studying:
(1) EV360 --> My school is lucky enough to have been gifted the entire semester free. It contains bucket-loads of practice dictation as well as auto-graded tests!
(2) RTC --> Realtimecoach.com is a website with bucket-loads of practice dictation too. Only it also gives you realtime feedback on how you're doing. I was generously gifted 2-months free by a court reporter at the Eclipse Training Convention I attended in Las Vegas this April.
(3) StenoU --> Okay, nothing new here. In fact, depending on how these other online programs go, I don't think I'll be using StenoU again. Of all the times I've signed up for it, this past semester was the first time where it felt like a waste. Materials weren't uploaded as frequently (or to my liking), and, of course, I didn't really take full advantage of it. Plus, you have to pay in 6-month increments which is just bully-bull.

Okay, so here's my new goal for the summer semester:
- Pass 160 4-V
- Pass 160 Lit
- Pass 180 JC

I would be happy with those three!!
Until then!

Post-DRA Convention 2014!

Wow! What an experience!
I just got back from a weekend in Palm Springs for the 18th Annual DRA Convention. In a nutshell, I'd say that the convention could not have gone smoother. I made tons of connections, realized the value of Facebook, and learned a wallop of information! I'd been preparing for this event both mentally and physically (in a way) for a few months, so it was great to finally have it happen.
There were a few things I did to prepare for it:
(1) cut/color hair!
(2) get a business suit!
(3) make business cards!

I wound up snagging a great deal on a beautiful navy blue 3-piece from Banana Republic thanks to the President's Day weekend sales. I almost went for a Theory suit at first..for nearly 3x the price! Yeesh! Maybe for my second suit...

Thank you, vistaprint.com for the affordable and good-looking business cards!

People seemed pleasantly amused by my card!

Of all the panels I attended, I loved anything presented by NCRA President Nancy Varallo (she's such a good speaker,) though I was also tickled by the panel on cyber-safety! Ooh, talk about reinforcing  my paranoia.
However, every panel was so interesting and informative that my head is still reeling, trying to keep everything straight. Here was another fun thing obtained at the con...

Collect them all!

Ironically, the first week back to school was actually more nerve-wracking than before. I really psyched myself out about having to get as many certifications as I can before I'm "ready" to work abroad. Some talking to other working reporters, however, has since calmed me down. Phew!

I've still got that 160 4-V to pass, but I know that I'll pass it in the coming weeks. I just need to stay cool and get through it! Once I do, I can finally start on my apprenticeship hours. I really can't wait to attend more depositions and get a much better sense of what it's like in the "real world."

I'll set my next goal as setting the 160 4-V by the end of March! Let's see how it goes!

160 QA Test Passed!

Remember how in my last post I mentioned how I'd felt REALLY good about this one 160 QA test I just did?
Wellll, it turns out that I'd passed it back on Monday after all! 11 errors, so it was well within my 20-error limit! I am so stoked, because now I only have 160 4-V to get through!

160 QA passed on February 3, 2014

And compared to last week (being the first week of school), my hands have been stellar on 160 4-Vs! Granted I haven't quite corrected them yet, but I'm eager to see how I did on the two I just did this past week.

In other news, I just had a wonderful phone conversation today with a very supportive and very helpful rep from a certain deposition firm whom I love! May share more on that later! Next time I write will either be about my passing a 160 4-V or about how the DRA Convention went!

Current Goal: Pass 160 4-V by 2/20/2014

Return to Spring Semester!

I write the at the start of the second week of the glorious Spring Semester!
And it's shaping up to be quite a semester! All good, trust me.

First of all, my schedule is much more open, meaning:
a.) no more riding back home at 8pm on average ever night
b.) more modeling opportunities = money!*

I'm taking an online Reading class which should be loads of fun and a bit of a breeze to boot!
Speed building, however, is a whole new beast. It feels like I'm out of the Kiddy Pool for once, as things are much more serious and more trying. It's only been one full week, but wow 160 has been kicking my butt! My fingers are dragging in letters left and right, and there is much new stuff to adapt to. Like the fact that we have four live speakers on 4V days! And that's twice a week! I shouldn't complain. It's all really good practice, but I just recognize that I still have some rust to shake off of my fingers until I'll feel like I'm flying again! Although StenoU is still being good to me, somehow. I felt quite good about this past 160 one. Maybe no real drops, just messy writing. ^^;

So my latest goal for this semester is to complete a 160 QA and 160 4-V in time for the DRA Convention which is taking place at the end of February! That gives me just under a month now, so we'll see! Ooooh, how nice it would be to say "I'm in 180" while I'm there. Drreeeeam~~
I'll also have to look back over my previous post(s) to see how much I missed covering over the looong holiday break. You'll hear from me then!

*Not that I'm only doing modeling for money, but I've decided that my goal is to see how much of the total COST of my court reporting academic career I can essentially offset by modeling. So far, it's made a difference of $2,000. Hopefully that number will go much higher as I have more favorable hours in the day to devote to modeling. I know it shouldn't compete with my studies, so we'll see how well I can strike a balance!