Theory Completed!

And yes, I AM still alive!
I apologize for the absolute stillness on this blog as of late. It wasn't that I'd lost any interest to write--far from it!

In face, after the days (and lessons) began ticking by, I thought to myself, "Hell, I'll just hold off until I hit the next big milestone!"

And that milestone is that I have just completed all 40 lessons of StenEd theory! Woot! I feel quite accomplished!
Remember way back with my earlier post Setting a Goal? Well, I'm so pleased that I was able to fulfill it!

Seeing as I've been attending class/lab four days a week, from opening to closing time, it should come as no surprise, and just because I've finished theory doesn't mean I'll be stopping my routine. Quit the contrary, things are really ramping up!
Let me talk about how interested the past week or two has been.

While steadily progressing through the last six-or-so lessons, I'd actually begun dabbling a bit in Bridge lessons, as well as attending some 80 Speedbuilding classes.
There is a certain luxury about "just auditing" that really takes the pressure off of performing during those classes. But they were still quite a learning experience! Getting used to the 80-100 wpm speed, the demand of flying fingers, and the realization of how darn useful briefs will be!

Truth be told, I haven't actually formally completed a single Bridge lesson yet, so I'm okay with cutting myself some slack. Let me explain first what "Bridge" refers to.

It's a special set of lessons designed to help "bridge" students over from the typical 40-60 wpm dictation during lessons into 80+ wpm speed-building classes. Apparently, way back when, a lot of students were getting really discouraged at the early speed-building classes, and were dropping out.
Bridge consists of 32 lessons with about 10 new briefs for incredibly common and useful phrases. The first lessons includes briefs for "as soon as", "as a matter of fact", "as a result of", etc...
See? You can see how common these phrases just spit out of someone's mouth.

One other interesting thing that happened to me was that I tried a 80 Literature test...and I believe that I passed! I had to mark up my mistakes myself, and if my calculations are correct, then I passed it! That's somethin'! Although I chalk it up to the content of the dictation being pretty easy. And in fact, most of my mistakes were silly typos made during transcription! In a way, I felt as though my notes were better than the final paper! Such silly, silly mistakes. If I let my mind sit on it too long, I find myself getting irked by it again.

The important thing is that I can foresee entering speed-building as being very doable!
And like my first goal of completing lesson, I would like to go out on a limb here and strive to reach the 120 speed-building classes by the end of the summer session (8/2/2013)!

Stick around and see how it goes!

Current Lesson -- Bridge Lesson 1

The Importance of Humility

(another steno entry, so pardon the funky formatting at times)

Here I am, sitting in the court reporting classroom, near the end of a rather long day.  You see, the lab room is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays up until 9 o'clock p.m . .  That's pretty late, don't you think?
Only 2 other students are in here with me, and they're all quiet.
Today was a good day.  The lab opened early, so I snuck in closer to 9 :30 a.m . , working on my theory drills until 1 of the instructors came in to explain more about future class options that are part of the certification requirements.  It looks like a lot, but all I keep thinking is," how can I pass this program even faster than the 4 years?  "
I bet that's what everyone tells themselves when they start the program.

The short session did remind me that I should contact my college to request a transcript -- depending on what classes I already took, I may be able to waive some of the courses here.  One can dream, right?
I finished and submitted my quiz for lesson 27 and had started reviewing the ones in lesson 28.  The usual instructor wasn't available, so I was taught by a male teacher named "Eric."  Boy, was he tough. Let me just say that the experience was very humbling to say the least.  So far, I have done very well on each and every lesson, but I was reminded today that I still have a long way to go, and shouldn't let my small successes get to my head.
Not to mention that my relatively perfect track record when it came to quizzes has also been obliterated!  I want to blame it on the machine, which started to roll up its own paper in the middle of the quiz, but I know better than to place the blame on other things.
Going forward, I'll double check to make sure that my paper isn't acting up, and that I'm much more gracious object my current position.

In other news, all of next week is Spring Break, so the school will be closed.  I plan on settling down at home to continue making progress through the lessons so that I can complete them all far before the end of the semester. I can then devote the rest of the time to polishing up my notes, writing, and everything.
Maybe by then, the weather will be a little nicer, too...

Current Lesson -- Lesson 29

Commuting to School

What a beauty!

As I mentioned previously, I am finally free of a job, and can now dedicate much more time to my theory lessons. Part of that involves attending the "live" classes at West Valley College, rather than online.

Don't get me wrong, the online classes were great, and I do plan on referring to them often from now on, but it is beneficial to be where I can easily ask an instructor to clarify a point, etc, etc...

Yesterday was my first day attending class, and it was quite a new experience. Being surrounded by people--and their many sounds--was a bit distracting at first, but I consider it good practice for the actual job. After all, the world is full of many noises that one can't avoid.

One of the best things about attending class, however, would have to be the COMMUTING! I get to bike down 8.4 miles down (just double-checked on Google Maps) each way, which takes roughly 40 minutes. That's a good 1 hr 20 minutes worth of exercise a day!

Plus, the route there is just wonderful, as the majority of it is via a very peaceful and quiet trail. Even the road portion doesn't seem to be very car-active, and I don't have to worry about many confusing turns.

There's also the added bonus of the school's locker room facilities--complete with warm showers and...blow dryers! What a real luxury!

It's a great season to be starting this commuting route, and once it really warms up, I may even incorporate some rollerblading! So far, I've been fortunate enough to avoid having to lug around my own writer or laptop, so that may put a bit of a wrench in the works later on, but I plan on adapting when it comes up.

Until next time... happy riding!

Current Lesson -- Lesson 27

Free From Work

(yet another attempt at steno-ing my blog)

At long last, I'm able to talk openly about what has just happened to me.  To be clear, this was really some thing that had been building since last fall.

Today was my last day at my job.

As I said before, I had been thinking and planning on leaving since around late November of 2013.  It was a mix of politics at the workplace, a newfound love for all things steno, and a need to do something new and different with my life.
If you couldn't tell by looking at the top image, I used to work at the videogame company NAMCO BANDAI.  I worked there for four years, and did learn a lot.  For such a long time, I was convinced that I would always work at a place that had to do with Japanese -- in one way or another.
Now, though, I'm looking forward to the chance to do something so different, so new, so... far from Japanese.  Perhaps, in the future, I'll use Japanese once again, maybe even having to do with court reporting!

Still, I will miss all the amazing people I met on the job, and hope that they do well there or beyond.
with this change in my life, I will have much from time to dedicate to my education, and will hopefully complete the program even sooner.

Current lesson:  25

Office Space

No, I'm not talking about one of the best films of all time.

Yeah, you WISH this is what this blog was about.

I'm talking about the importance of having a designated work space to do your steno practice.

The same day I purchased my used writer off of Craigslist, I immediately started setting up my "home office." It didn't consist of much; just an armless chair and the writer in front of me. A stack of binders to one side provided a surface for my books--though at the time, I didn't actually have any books.

I was still only experimenting, but I quickly figured out that I needed a space that was completely without interruption.

Lucky for me, my boyfriend never steps into the bedroom until it is time to sleep. (He's the type that understands the importance of compartmentalizing spaces.)

So, I kept the same basic minimalist set-up, but changed rooms from the guest-bedroom/computer-room to the bedroom! I know some people can't stand the thought of working in such close proximity to their bed, but it's not really a "temptation" for me.

Not much in the way of glamour, but gets the job done.

It's just like seeing the world from my lap...

It's actually good timing that I post this now, because once I start attending class in-person this/next week, I may not have much reason to study from home as much.
I've heard of garages, kitchen tables, living room couches, and other locations serving as people's personal work spaces, so I'd be pretty curious to know how it's working out for some people!

Current Lesson - Lesson 24

Married!

This post is actually not entirely about steno-ing, because I wanted to take the opportunity to record a little something that happened in my life. (Plus this blog has been pretty photo-dry lately...)

I just got married to my beautiful and wonderful boyfriend of three years!

Surprise bouquet and matching boutonniere, from my mother.

Thank you, mom!!

In the interest of changing careers in the near future, and our general lack of interest in big events, we held the marriage ceremony at the county clerk's office, complete with random witness provided by the city.

Our "random witness" captured some excellent shots!

Some impromptu photo shoots, errands/steno practice, and a romantic dinner rounded out our special day.

In due time, we'll hold a "proper" wedding ceremony, where friends and family can come and share our happiness. But until then, I'm just happy to be sharing my life with this man. He was even sweet enough to say that he will continue to support me in and my interests as part of our life together.

The official marriage date is 3-13-2013, and we were toying around with the idea of having the wedding on 4-14-2014. That gives us a year to plan. Let's see if we fulfill the prophecy!!

And in steno-related news, I managed to finish the Lesson 22! It was a doozy of a chapter. I'll definitely to review and brush up on my "-sion" endings, because I know that my notes were pretty sloppy. Lesson 23 should be much easier, as there are far fewer concepts to grasp. For fun, I flipped through the rest of the chapters to see what's in store! Very exciting to be nearly halfway through the 20's. 

Current Lesson -- Lesson 23

Steno Blog Entry - 1st Attempt

for a long time now, I've been wanting to write my PWHROG using my skills from class.  Right now, I am at part 21 -- just did it this morning.  We learned how to do words that start with "EX."
I'm quite excited because I've reached this far in the class, but of course there are still many words that I don't know.  Once I get to the office, I'll trans late the quiz into good writing and hand it in to the teacher.  I hope I've done well.
as for what I've been up to...  Let's see, last night I watched a show called "TK*EBGS TER" with my boy friend.  Yesterday I spent a lot of time working on my bikes.  I had to change the tires, and also cleaned up a new bike which I'll be giving to my niece for her birthday.  It's coming up in two weeks!
going forward, I hope to keep up writing this way for practice, so please excuse the slow times in between writings.  Later then!

current less on -- less on 22.



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Wow, that was fun practice! Still some errors and words that I don't quite know how to "trans late" correctly into steno, but it's a first try! In other news, the weather is warming up into a beautiful spring (almost like summer!) so here's hoping that it keeps up!