Phew!
Having had a rip-roaring good time with my sister for the first week of November, it took me until the second week of being back in school to really GET IN THE GROOVE again.
And as you can see, the effort paid off!
140 Lit Test Passed on November 18th, 2013
That's the first of the 160-level tests, albeit it the slowest of them. It felt only okay-ish and I DID only pass by the skin of my teeth. ^^;
Like the 120 Lit test from before, I feel like "Hmph. Not my best work." A lot of luck, easy verbage, and even some guessing got me through this test. But I look forward to future tests where it comes easier.
Today also starts the beginning of what will be two solid weeks of DOUBLE-TESTING! That means two tests given during each class.
While this doesn't completely help my goal of completing 160 JC by the end of the semester because only one test will be given in the 15 minutes before class, every bit counts, right?
My passing 160 JC is really 50/50 at this point. I feel like it'd have to be a really "good" (read: easy) test and read by a consistent speaker. I've also already booked myself a lot of modeling gigs during these last few weeks, so some may cut into my remaining opportunities. But I'm pretty okay with that. I feel honestly that I'm just not THERE yet with160 yet. It's the truth, but I already see 160 not quite on the horizon. He's a little closer to me than before and with every passing day, he'll get even closer.
Hopefully I'll have some exciting news before the end of the semester is out! Otherwise, I'll just say what a great Winter Break it'll be!
Until then!
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Level 140 Passed!
Wow, it feels like a while since I last wrote!
I had originally prepared a draft of this post where I was going to talk about some class structure changes that had come into effect here at WVC, as well as the repercussions thanks to them.
Luckily, however, I suddenly found myself at the brink of passing tests, so I figured, "Meh, I'll just wait!"
And so I am happy to announce that I have passed my remaining 140 wpm tests! That means I reached my goal of passing 140 by the end of October.
140 4-V passed on October 28, 2013
140 QA passed on October 30, 2013
That's right, folks, I actually passed a 4-voice before a QA!! What is the world coming to??
(Honestly, it's all thinks to this deliciously slow-ish 4-V that Maggie gave on Monday night. Bless my lucky stars.)
Now, you're probably thinking, "Okay, so she passed her 140s. Guess that means it's onto 160 class!"
Wellll...not quite. You see, that brings me to the topic I meant to bring up before.
As of the end of September, students enrolled in 80-140 class CANNOT attend the high-speed classes (160-220). Why, you ask? Because the new administration at school doesn't understand the importance of push/trail classes for CTR students, and see it only as follows: "A student enrolled in one class but attending a different class FOR FREE?? Not on MY watch!"
They don't see it that a student at the 140 level would essentially be taking advantage of just enough hours in both the lower and higher speed classes to equate to the regular amount of hours that they are entitled to by unit payment.
The best that our sympathetic instructors have been able to do is come in 15 minutes before class and push us at 160, topped with a 160 test (except for 160 4-V).
This is likely the biggest reason for my "delayed" passing of tests. Remember, I've maintained a pretty strict 2-week pass average for every test, but lo, it took me a full month before I passed a test!
...Then again, I did pass two in one week, so in a way it does still even out. Does'nt it?
Without the ability to routinely sit in at 160 class in order to a) improve 160 wpm processing ability, b) feeling like 140 is "pssht, slow!" c) more exposure overall, I think this contributed mainly to my pass rate in the month of October.
I admit, though, there may be a few more reasons to consider:
1) No more push classes.
2) Picking up more modeling gigs.
3) One week was totally stressed due to bad interaction with sister-in-law.
I have no regrets regarding the second reason, but I won't even get into that last one! However, it did teach me a valuable lesson in dealing with depressed/neurotic types. Just stay away and don't feel like you can fix them (or that you HAVE to). All the mental anguish I spent mulling over that horrible interaction really left me drained and unfocused for the following week of class. A week where I could have been making some serious progress!
On the bright side, these test passes come at an excellent time because my wonderful twin sister will be coming down to visit all of next week! This means I won't have to have any pressure or guilt about not being in class. In a way, I feel like I've earned this little one-week vacation. And to top it all off, I get the good news on Halloween! When I'm dressed up as Nicki Minaj (yet again) and look forward to the days' festivities!
Lastly, you might be asking yourself, "Okay, what's next then"? Well, I still have a solid month of school left to hopefully do the following:
1) Further perfect my 140 speed and accuracy
2) Begin working more through CAT software
3) Possibly purchase a digital writer to aid in transition to 160+
4) Pass 160 JC and 140 Lit before the end of the semester
As I mentioned above, with so little practice time in class at the 160-level, that last goal may be a hard one to achieve, but I'm going to think positively!
Until then! Happy Halloween!
I had originally prepared a draft of this post where I was going to talk about some class structure changes that had come into effect here at WVC, as well as the repercussions thanks to them.
Luckily, however, I suddenly found myself at the brink of passing tests, so I figured, "Meh, I'll just wait!"
And so I am happy to announce that I have passed my remaining 140 wpm tests! That means I reached my goal of passing 140 by the end of October.
140 4-V passed on October 28, 2013
140 QA passed on October 30, 2013
That's right, folks, I actually passed a 4-voice before a QA!! What is the world coming to??
(Honestly, it's all thinks to this deliciously slow-ish 4-V that Maggie gave on Monday night. Bless my lucky stars.)
Now, you're probably thinking, "Okay, so she passed her 140s. Guess that means it's onto 160 class!"
Wellll...not quite. You see, that brings me to the topic I meant to bring up before.
As of the end of September, students enrolled in 80-140 class CANNOT attend the high-speed classes (160-220). Why, you ask? Because the new administration at school doesn't understand the importance of push/trail classes for CTR students, and see it only as follows: "A student enrolled in one class but attending a different class FOR FREE?? Not on MY watch!"
They don't see it that a student at the 140 level would essentially be taking advantage of just enough hours in both the lower and higher speed classes to equate to the regular amount of hours that they are entitled to by unit payment.
The best that our sympathetic instructors have been able to do is come in 15 minutes before class and push us at 160, topped with a 160 test (except for 160 4-V).
This is likely the biggest reason for my "delayed" passing of tests. Remember, I've maintained a pretty strict 2-week pass average for every test, but lo, it took me a full month before I passed a test!
...Then again, I did pass two in one week, so in a way it does still even out. Does'nt it?
Without the ability to routinely sit in at 160 class in order to a) improve 160 wpm processing ability, b) feeling like 140 is "pssht, slow!" c) more exposure overall, I think this contributed mainly to my pass rate in the month of October.
I admit, though, there may be a few more reasons to consider:
1) No more push classes.
2) Picking up more modeling gigs.
3) One week was totally stressed due to bad interaction with sister-in-law.
I have no regrets regarding the second reason, but I won't even get into that last one! However, it did teach me a valuable lesson in dealing with depressed/neurotic types. Just stay away and don't feel like you can fix them (or that you HAVE to). All the mental anguish I spent mulling over that horrible interaction really left me drained and unfocused for the following week of class. A week where I could have been making some serious progress!
On the bright side, these test passes come at an excellent time because my wonderful twin sister will be coming down to visit all of next week! This means I won't have to have any pressure or guilt about not being in class. In a way, I feel like I've earned this little one-week vacation. And to top it all off, I get the good news on Halloween! When I'm dressed up as Nicki Minaj (yet again) and look forward to the days' festivities!
Lastly, you might be asking yourself, "Okay, what's next then"? Well, I still have a solid month of school left to hopefully do the following:
1) Further perfect my 140 speed and accuracy
2) Begin working more through CAT software
3) Possibly purchase a digital writer to aid in transition to 160+
4) Pass 160 JC and 140 Lit before the end of the semester
As I mentioned above, with so little practice time in class at the 160-level, that last goal may be a hard one to achieve, but I'm going to think positively!
Until then! Happy Halloween!
Monday, September 23, 2013
JC 140 Passed!
What a great way to start the week!
In fact, this entire weekend has just been grand, but alas, this is a steno-centric blog, so I won't bore you with the details.
However, something very steno-related that occurred this weekend was that I could feel myself being able to type faster...in my brain! I especially felt it as I was able to keep up pretty well brain-steno-ing along to a speaker's speech at a wedding. Before, it'd have been more jilted or hesitant. It flowed much better, likely faster than what my fingers can actually do right now.
I think that this is something that should be emphasized more often in school. Physically sitting at the machine is important, but just as important is mental practice! I've said this since the very start, even back in Theory, you take in new information, whether it's briefs or speed,m and then you let is ferment...incubate in your head so that the next time you get to sit down in front of the machine, it's already had time to settle into your brain and find a home to roost in. Yes, a lot of BIRD imagery, eh?
This can be achieved by simply daydreaming about steno briefs, brain-steno-ing along with any audio you're listening to, repeating sets of brief families you're trying to work on, etc... That actually may be one of the reason I slept so poorly last night. I was steno-ing quite frantically in my head while trying to sleep.
Anyhoo, I'm so happy to see that I have passed a Jury Charge at 140 on September 23, 2013, as it keeps with my general pace of test-passing. I consciously feel that QA at 140 is also just around the corner, and save for a slight interruption with my schedule due to a funeral this coming weekend, I hope to complete it within the next few weeks.
Until then, cheerio!
In fact, this entire weekend has just been grand, but alas, this is a steno-centric blog, so I won't bore you with the details.
However, something very steno-related that occurred this weekend was that I could feel myself being able to type faster...in my brain! I especially felt it as I was able to keep up pretty well brain-steno-ing along to a speaker's speech at a wedding. Before, it'd have been more jilted or hesitant. It flowed much better, likely faster than what my fingers can actually do right now.
I think that this is something that should be emphasized more often in school. Physically sitting at the machine is important, but just as important is mental practice! I've said this since the very start, even back in Theory, you take in new information, whether it's briefs or speed,m and then you let is ferment...incubate in your head so that the next time you get to sit down in front of the machine, it's already had time to settle into your brain and find a home to roost in. Yes, a lot of BIRD imagery, eh?
This can be achieved by simply daydreaming about steno briefs, brain-steno-ing along with any audio you're listening to, repeating sets of brief families you're trying to work on, etc... That actually may be one of the reason I slept so poorly last night. I was steno-ing quite frantically in my head while trying to sleep.
Anyhoo, I'm so happy to see that I have passed a Jury Charge at 140 on September 23, 2013, as it keeps with my general pace of test-passing. I consciously feel that QA at 140 is also just around the corner, and save for a slight interruption with my schedule due to a funeral this coming weekend, I hope to complete it within the next few weeks.
Until then, cheerio!
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Goal Adjustment
I passed another Lit 120 test just yesterday and it was strikingly better than the one from last week.
As you'll recall, I didn't feel like last week's was my "best work," but this go around I felt much better for it.
For that reason, I want to push my finish-140-level-by-Mid-October goal to now the END of October.
That's still tight considering how every next speed level requires more time to complete.
This was a nice start to the week, whereas last week's I just felt out of it. A bit tired, a bit groggy. I really chalk it up to having learned about my new brother-in-law passing on Tuesday. I think that was it, just left me feeling a bit emptier and distracted.
I'm happy to know that these "less-than-stellar" times happen because I am reminded that they are temporary and I can get past it.
Every single person in this program has experienced this and I like that sort of quiet camaraderie we have.
I'll also want to write a little post about GRAMMAR because I had such a wonderful learning experience the other week about it. Until then!
As you'll recall, I didn't feel like last week's was my "best work," but this go around I felt much better for it.
For that reason, I want to push my finish-140-level-by-Mid-October goal to now the END of October.
That's still tight considering how every next speed level requires more time to complete.
This was a nice start to the week, whereas last week's I just felt out of it. A bit tired, a bit groggy. I really chalk it up to having learned about my new brother-in-law passing on Tuesday. I think that was it, just left me feeling a bit emptier and distracted.
I'm happy to know that these "less-than-stellar" times happen because I am reminded that they are temporary and I can get past it.
Every single person in this program has experienced this and I like that sort of quiet camaraderie we have.
I'll also want to write a little post about GRAMMAR because I had such a wonderful learning experience the other week about it. Until then!
Thursday, September 5, 2013
120 Lit Passed!
I passed the 120 Lit test yesterday on 9/4/2013! Yaay~~...
I know I should be happier about it, but to be honest, I felt that it wasn't the best work I could have done. A lot of luck was involved and common phrases. It was very much like a jury charge, which made it easier for me, but when it comes to some truly DENSE literary...well, I still feel like I have a while to go before I really feel like I'm out of 120.
This is sort of how every pass out of a speed level feels. Like...as though you don't quite belong there. Yet.
Yesterday, I also felt VERRRY good about one JC test, which I got only 58 errors on! Hey, that's pretty good considering they're been closer to 100+ lately. It just goes to show that every day and week here at school makes a huge difference!
Not to sound too petty, but I actually feel that I could've done even BETTER on that JC test last night had it not been for a student's coughing that distracted me!!! >_< It was so very...noisy and bothersome and the whole distraction/anger mix certainly did not help!
Anyhoo, considering that there are 6 weeks until mid-October, my "get out of 140 level" goal will be a bit tight. That amount of time is passed on the fact that I've managed to pass a test every two weeks on average since the start, but perhaps I should be more optimistic this semester! After all, I have both a day AND night chance to pass a test!
I know several people who have gotten stuck on the 140 MV tests, so we'll have to see how long that holds me up, too. Thankfully, however, I am able to attend school nearly every day without interruption, so that does put me in a good spot.
Either way, I'm happy to report on this recent test pass and just look forward to wrapping up 140 JC. I predict that it'll be my next pass. ^_~
Until then!
I know I should be happier about it, but to be honest, I felt that it wasn't the best work I could have done. A lot of luck was involved and common phrases. It was very much like a jury charge, which made it easier for me, but when it comes to some truly DENSE literary...well, I still feel like I have a while to go before I really feel like I'm out of 120.
This is sort of how every pass out of a speed level feels. Like...as though you don't quite belong there. Yet.
Yesterday, I also felt VERRRY good about one JC test, which I got only 58 errors on! Hey, that's pretty good considering they're been closer to 100+ lately. It just goes to show that every day and week here at school makes a huge difference!
Not to sound too petty, but I actually feel that I could've done even BETTER on that JC test last night had it not been for a student's coughing that distracted me!!! >_< It was so very...noisy and bothersome and the whole distraction/anger mix certainly did not help!
Anyhoo, considering that there are 6 weeks until mid-October, my "get out of 140 level" goal will be a bit tight. That amount of time is passed on the fact that I've managed to pass a test every two weeks on average since the start, but perhaps I should be more optimistic this semester! After all, I have both a day AND night chance to pass a test!
I know several people who have gotten stuck on the 140 MV tests, so we'll have to see how long that holds me up, too. Thankfully, however, I am able to attend school nearly every day without interruption, so that does put me in a good spot.
Either way, I'm happy to report on this recent test pass and just look forward to wrapping up 140 JC. I predict that it'll be my next pass. ^_~
Until then!
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Fall Session Begins
So I'm just about rounding out my first week of the Fall Semester.
I didn't even post about how the full 3 weeks of "summer break" went, but boy am I glad I had them. I think I was honestly starting to get pretty antsy and eager to leave by the end of fall. But as my last post showed, that final day was well worth it! I passed all of my classes with flying colors, so now it's on to Fall Semester!
This semester will be pretty busy, if I do say so myself. The breakdown is as follows:
MONDAY:
- get in by 10am when the lab opens; do transcriptions or other homework
- 140 speed building class from 12:30-1:15
- possibly live read for the high-speeds
- 160 speed building class from 3:05:3:05
- 140 NIGHT speed building class from 6:00-7:45
TUESDAY:
- same
- same
- same
- Basic Medical Terminology from 5:45-10:00pm!!!!!
WEDNESDAY (see Monday)
THURSDAY:
- same
- same
- same
- Court and Depositions Procedures class from 4:15-7:45pm!
FRIDAY:
- no class (phew!)
As you can see...pretty garsh darn busy, I'd like to say. But I'm really excited! I've already tended the first Medical Terminology class, but I think it's going to be a blast! (an easy blast, heh heh heh) But honestly, I'm eager to learn about the human body and all the pathological and structural terms that come with it. Ironically enough, I'm also doing the extra medical terminology for my speedbuilding class anyhow, so it's a two birds with one stone situation.
So far as I've just begun venturing into the 140 level, I've had so-so results from my tests. It honestly reminds me of how it was when I first started the 120s. Sorta like, "Nooo way I'm gonna pass this test, but oh hey look, only double-digit number of errors."
I sense and I WANT to get through the 140 level a little faster than with 120. With the night classes and more dedicated time, I really think I'll be able to do that. My goal right now is to be done with 140 by mid-October. I feel like the 120 Lit and 140 JC will be the first to go, hopefully knocked out in just the next few weeks. The remaining two might take longer, but it'll be SOOO worth it for the following reasons:
(1) Scheduling. With 140 class at 12:30 and 160 down at 3:00, there is an incredibly awkward amount of time between them. Other students have echoed my thoughts that the gap in time is pretty annoying.
(2) Art modeling. That's right, I've just picked up art modeling to make a little extra cash, and boy do I love it!! However, many morning art classes finishing at 12:00pm which makes it tough to rush to school in time for 140. Once I'm out of there earlier class times, I'll be able to take on more gigs and further away ones, and still make it to campus on time.
I thoroughly enjoy my art modeling so far. The praise, the opportunity to be naked, and just the overall participation in art is such a good feeling!! I hope to continue it and do very well at it.
So yeah, let's see how my mid-October goal turns out!! Until later!
I didn't even post about how the full 3 weeks of "summer break" went, but boy am I glad I had them. I think I was honestly starting to get pretty antsy and eager to leave by the end of fall. But as my last post showed, that final day was well worth it! I passed all of my classes with flying colors, so now it's on to Fall Semester!
This semester will be pretty busy, if I do say so myself. The breakdown is as follows:
MONDAY:
- get in by 10am when the lab opens; do transcriptions or other homework
- 140 speed building class from 12:30-1:15
- possibly live read for the high-speeds
- 160 speed building class from 3:05:3:05
- 140 NIGHT speed building class from 6:00-7:45
TUESDAY:
- same
- same
- same
- Basic Medical Terminology from 5:45-10:00pm!!!!!
WEDNESDAY (see Monday)
THURSDAY:
- same
- same
- same
- Court and Depositions Procedures class from 4:15-7:45pm!
FRIDAY:
- no class (phew!)
As you can see...pretty garsh darn busy, I'd like to say. But I'm really excited! I've already tended the first Medical Terminology class, but I think it's going to be a blast! (an easy blast, heh heh heh) But honestly, I'm eager to learn about the human body and all the pathological and structural terms that come with it. Ironically enough, I'm also doing the extra medical terminology for my speedbuilding class anyhow, so it's a two birds with one stone situation.
So far as I've just begun venturing into the 140 level, I've had so-so results from my tests. It honestly reminds me of how it was when I first started the 120s. Sorta like, "Nooo way I'm gonna pass this test, but oh hey look, only double-digit number of errors."
I sense and I WANT to get through the 140 level a little faster than with 120. With the night classes and more dedicated time, I really think I'll be able to do that. My goal right now is to be done with 140 by mid-October. I feel like the 120 Lit and 140 JC will be the first to go, hopefully knocked out in just the next few weeks. The remaining two might take longer, but it'll be SOOO worth it for the following reasons:
(1) Scheduling. With 140 class at 12:30 and 160 down at 3:00, there is an incredibly awkward amount of time between them. Other students have echoed my thoughts that the gap in time is pretty annoying.
(2) Art modeling. That's right, I've just picked up art modeling to make a little extra cash, and boy do I love it!! However, many morning art classes finishing at 12:00pm which makes it tough to rush to school in time for 140. Once I'm out of there earlier class times, I'll be able to take on more gigs and further away ones, and still make it to campus on time.
I thoroughly enjoy my art modeling so far. The praise, the opportunity to be naked, and just the overall participation in art is such a good feeling!! I hope to continue it and do very well at it.
So yeah, let's see how my mid-October goal turns out!! Until later!
Saturday, August 3, 2013
120 Level Passed!
Wow, I last wrote about mid-July, but it took until August 1st to complete the final 120 test. 3-Voice!!
I have to explain a few things about how momentous I feel this accomplishment has been.
First of all, I was feeling very down just a week ago, because I was frustrated about not passing this final test. I believe I'd mentioned in my last post that I had the goal of completing the 120 level by the end of the semester, but I was starting to feel convinced that I was not going to accomplish it.
There is only one chance a week to do each category, so 3-V were few and far in between. The only additional opportunity was on Thursday nights starting at 6pm. To be honest, I'd started feeling a little burned out over summer semester and was really starting to look forward to the 3-week break in August.
Would you believe it? I was REALLY close to not even staying late on Thursday for that last-of-all-last chances, but boy am I glad I did! I passed the 3-V test with 12 errors (15 being the max)! I was so elated, I immediately called up Martin and said, "We're going out for sushi!"
I think that this experience has reminded me that I shouldn't let myself get so down and frustrated. I mean, if you look at it, it was still a solid two weeks between tests which has been the pattern since I started speed building. Next time I start to get frustrated, I should remind myself that (1) this isn't a race, (2) it'll come when it comes, and (3) 2-3 weeks is the normal timeframe.
I should also mention that Thursday August 1 was also the semester's vocab final exam, of which I apparently scored 198 out of 200. I have reason to believe that the Scantron machine misread two of my entries because I had to erase a previous answer and fill in the correct one. Call me stubborn, but I KNOW that I got a perfect score. I should be happy either way, but I probably won't be satisfied until I have it looked into a little bit.
Anyhoo! I'm already in the second day of my vacation, and will write next about what my daily studying routine should be. No goals set for the break except to study, study, study! I wanna stay sharp for when I start up Fall semester again!
I have to explain a few things about how momentous I feel this accomplishment has been.
First of all, I was feeling very down just a week ago, because I was frustrated about not passing this final test. I believe I'd mentioned in my last post that I had the goal of completing the 120 level by the end of the semester, but I was starting to feel convinced that I was not going to accomplish it.
There is only one chance a week to do each category, so 3-V were few and far in between. The only additional opportunity was on Thursday nights starting at 6pm. To be honest, I'd started feeling a little burned out over summer semester and was really starting to look forward to the 3-week break in August.
Would you believe it? I was REALLY close to not even staying late on Thursday for that last-of-all-last chances, but boy am I glad I did! I passed the 3-V test with 12 errors (15 being the max)! I was so elated, I immediately called up Martin and said, "We're going out for sushi!"
I think that this experience has reminded me that I shouldn't let myself get so down and frustrated. I mean, if you look at it, it was still a solid two weeks between tests which has been the pattern since I started speed building. Next time I start to get frustrated, I should remind myself that (1) this isn't a race, (2) it'll come when it comes, and (3) 2-3 weeks is the normal timeframe.
I should also mention that Thursday August 1 was also the semester's vocab final exam, of which I apparently scored 198 out of 200. I have reason to believe that the Scantron machine misread two of my entries because I had to erase a previous answer and fill in the correct one. Call me stubborn, but I KNOW that I got a perfect score. I should be happy either way, but I probably won't be satisfied until I have it looked into a little bit.
Anyhoo! I'm already in the second day of my vacation, and will write next about what my daily studying routine should be. No goals set for the break except to study, study, study! I wanna stay sharp for when I start up Fall semester again!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)