One at a time, please!

I sat in on a depo yesterday that, to be honest, drove me a little bit bonkers. The deponent refused to answer questions verbally, but rather repeatedly tried to respond with nods and grunts instead. The attorneys were constantly asking her, "Was that a yes?" or "Was that a no?". She must have been gently reminded a million times to please wait until the question was completely asked before answering, or to speak clearly using actual words when she responded. This was a court reporter's nightmare. In addition, one of the attorneys was really soft spoken and so listening for his objections proved a little challenging, especially since it was just one more thing to worry about in the mix of all these constant interjections. All in all, it was a classic case of too many people speaking at once or cutting each other off mid-sentence. By the end, everyone's little nuances were starting to drive me completely nutty. The court reporter did interject only once out of necessity, and handled the entire experience in stride (probably thanks to her 30 plus years of experience.) I myself wanted to interject and yell, "Hey lady, try speaking with some actual words!!!! And everyone, please, just one at a time!" Of course, I refrained. Instead, I sat quietly taking down, as best I could, everything that was being spoken, and quietly thanking God that for this very day it wasn't me who was responsible for creating the official record.

Pity Parties Not Allowed

It’s that time of year again when our dear friend, cupid, comes calling. Funny how February hits, and then all at once the world at large is head over heels “in love.” Suddenly street corners are peppered with vendors peddling their roses and flowers for last minute purchase, the first two aisles in the grocery store are chalked full of all things pink and red, and for some crazy reason Hallmark is running low on their stock of “I love you” cards. For the record, I personally am (and always have been) a fan of this somewhat commercialized holiday. Maybe I’m just a sucker for sweets, flowers, and a good excuse to buy a card or two, but anyone who knows me should not be too surprised by that revelation. However, I do find it somewhat annoying the amount of pity that is pointed in the direction of anyone who is remotely single. It seems glaringly obvious around this time of year. I would like to note that my dear friends (yes….you know who you are) are most definitely NOT guilty of this. I’m blessed to have wonderful people in my life that, whether coupled up or not, have NEVER made me feel like a third-wheel or a “pet project” with their entire mission strictly being to find my soul mate. But that being said, it is actually somewhat surprising to me how often people say things, or act in a way that can give you the impression that they somehow think your life is missing some important piece of the puzzle without a significant other attached to your right hip. I don’t believe they are consciously or purposely doing this, and it is especially not out of any ill-will. Yet, I wonder…did it never once cross their minds that there are singles out there that might actually be okay with their singeldom?! I have not quite yet figured out how to respond to this attitude of pity that somehow is thrust in the direction of all those who are unattached. I find I am baffled, and yet equally annoyed by it. I do have a life, I do have plans, and I am quite happy and content with my current non-relationship status. So why do I feel the need to somehow defend that? So to those out there that are blindly, without thought or reason, looking at me with pity, I say to you this...

I’m no less of a person just because I do not receive a surprise bouquet of flowers from an admirer. I work hard and I have my own money. If I want flowers, I am fully capable of buying them myself. I have many times before, and will no doubt again purchase myself a bright and lively bouquet to cheer up a random, dull day. And please don’t feel compelled to worry about whether or not I have a date or any special plans for St. Valentines. If you have nothing better to worry about, then my friend, I think you have too much time on your hands. One is not measured merely by the amount of V-day loot they do or don’t receive. Yes, it is entirely possible for someone to be quite happy on Valentine's and have no valentine at all. As shocking as that may seem, please know this...while some people might be settling down into cozy coupledom, some people just might not be settling. I’m happy flying solo, and pity need not be directed my way.
Love, peace, and Happy Valentines. ♥

Chronicles of a Court Reporting Intern - Part 3

Up to this point, my internship hours have been primarily split between shadowing with a local freelance firm doing depositions, and shadowing at the federal courthouse. After spending time in both environments, I've discovered I really love the courthouse. You might remember my earlier post where I mentioned perhaps a job as an official would be my least likely choice. Obviously, I was surprised to discover that I actually really love the court environment. The variety of things you see and hear are fascinating, and I really enjoy experiencing the judicial process at work, especially from start to finish. Although I have sat in on a variety of hearings, it has been trials that really seem to fascinate me.

My most memorable experience at the courthouse happened on a day I was originally supposed to shadow my mentor. She unexpectedly became ill and, as a result, she made last minute made arrangements for me to shadow a different reporter. Several trials were scheduled to start that day, and as a result, the security line was quite lengthy due to a heavy influx of potential jurors. Consequently, I didn’t make it in time to go with my arranged replacement reporter. When I finally arrived at the CR offices, the team of reporters was nice enough to help me find another trial to sit in on. It just so happened to be a copyright case with eight attorneys that had also ordered realtime services. So I hurried off, following a very well-known reporter in the court reporting field, to sit in on the jury selection and opening statements. For the sake of privacy, I will merely dub this reporter, the Queen of Realtime, a title which is most fitting.

As you can imagine, it was a real challenge for me to keep all eight attorneys straight. Plus, adding voir dire on top of this made the very start of this day a little more “fun” than I had anticipated. I spent the first half of the day entirely confused by which attorney was which and I quickly realized I needed to practice my speaker identifications a bit more aggressively. The material of the case was also extremely thick and tedious, and the pace quick and rapid. I was having to stroke out a lot of words merely because of the nature of the material. My hands and arms were tired, but somehow the resident Queen of Realtime was busy making it look so easy and effortless.

Since I was sitting next to the law clerk who also had a computer screen with a realtime feed, I was able to glance over occasionally and see just how perfectly she was writing. I found my own screen full of red untranslates and mistrokes. How was she so darn good at this? I felt like my arms were about to fall off and my mind was starting to become numb from having to think so hard. I immediately remembered the valued advice from a reporter I had met about six months prior. He had advised me to invest in monthly massages. All of the sudden I was starting to see why he would say that. Again, I found myself wishing I had been practicing my speaker designations a little more ardently.

The day proved extremely challenging and exhausting, but I truly enjoyed the experience. Later, my mentor contacted me and asked if I had been scared off by the challenging day. We both enjoyed a good laugh over what I had been thrown into. (I have found that reporters are often quite careful to select hearings and depos that will not be too terribly overwhelming or difficult for a student.) Ironically, I never felt intimidated or scared at all. Maybe I was foolishly naive not to realize how extremely difficult it was, but I loved the challenge and, as always, I loved seeing the legal process first hand. To add icing to my court reporting cake, the intense seven hour courtroom workout proved very helpful. The following day was test marathon, and I surprisingly (or perhaps maybe not so surprisingly) passed both my 200 Q&A speed tests.

List Making....a way to survive being TYPE A.

After a much need hiatus, I have found my way back to the land of work, school, and reality. You missed me, right?! My trip to Cincy was wonderful, and thankfully I have returned feeling quite rested and ready to get back in the groove of life.
I’m starting my semester off by getting organized, mentally refocusing, and willing myself to work hard and be productive. Because I’m totally Type A and the queen of list-making, I have constructed a list of things that stand in the way between me and graduation. These items MUST and WILL be completed this semester. Why, you ask? Well for one, I am a huge believer in setting goals. “Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination." (Fitzhugh Dodson) Obviously, my ultimate goal is graduation. It never was my dream to be a lifer when it comes to balancing work and school.
However, there is a much less glamorous reason as well for writing this list. Brace yourselves, now. Perhaps you, too, did not know this little insight I’m about to reveal. Believe it or not, apparently money does NOT grow on trees. Who knew?! Personally, I think it would be a lovely sight to see a gloriously handsome oak tree blossoming nothing but dollar bills in the spring. I am in the desert though, so perhaps a cactus would be nice…with some Andrew Jackson’s poking from its slender prickly spines. Sadly, my imagination is not reality, and I will not be plucking cash from a living plant anytime soon. The hard cold fact is, I’m tapped out. My financial aid has run out and I’m running on empty when it comes to my good ole’ stock pile of cash. So you see, do or die, this is my semester. I got nothing else, so it just has to be. So I will pen my list and work hard to cross each item off as I complete them, one step at a time.

Clearly, you probably could care less about what my actual list entails, but since I’m very visual, I just need to see it on paper (or a computer screen for that fact) so I know what I have to do. Plus, my neurotic, crazy self secretly enjoys crossing things off a list once they are done. So without further ado, I hereby declare to the world my laundry list of must-do’s this semester:

Pass two 225 QA speed tests.
Pass my 3 exit level mentor tests.
Complete 30 more hours of internship.
Finish editing my 50 page transcript. (I’m nearly finished with this anyway)
Complete my internship book and submit.

Wait..is that it? I’m surprised with how actually simple this list looks. I don’t think I have forgotten anything. Perhaps the only thing that has truly been stopping me from completing school has just been myself. Ay, there's the rub.

Cincyland

va•ca•tion (noun)

[vay kàysh`n]

1. Break from work

2. A period of time devoted to rest, travel, or recreation


There is no better way to spend my semester break from school than by also taking the week off from work and heading back to see friends in Cincy. Although, I admit, I had hoped that I would be celebrating the end of school all together, I still am thankful that the end is at least virtually around the corner. So I've left the sunny, warm 70 degree desert behind, and have landed smack dab in the middle of winter (18 degrees when I landed, to be precise.) But what better way to warm up than with the cozy and familiar company of old friends. So, here's to a week of having nothing to do and all week to do it in.

Random Useless Things I Learned Today

Heating food up in the microwave on Styrofoam plates or bowls can cause prostate cancer (or at least according to my co-worker.)

Veggie burgers smell terrible!

The tea, Maca, is a natural replacement for Viagra. (Not to be confused with Matcha, a green tea which you can find widely available at your local Starbucks.)

If you keep someone on hold long enough, they will just go away.

No word in the English language rhymes with “month”. Go ahead...try and think of one.

Credit card companies are basically pure evil.

Miss Sweet Things down the hall, thinks making coffee for the office is beneath her. (Hey, you know you wanted a little workplace gossip).

Your gunky mascara can be revived with a quick 30 seconds in the microwave. I still think I’ll just go buy a new tube.

Thanks to Facebook, I now know my friend is looking for a petite blonde, with long flowing hair, light eyes, and a goofy personality. Seriously people! We are posting way too much info on FB already!

I've discovered I'm actually more stupid now as a result of all this meaningless information.

Chronicles of a Court Reporting Intern - Part 2

I’m a little bummed I have yet to shadow any CART providers. Although it has not yet worked out, I have had the opportunity of talking and spending time with several reporters who do provide CART services. I’ve decided I will just consider this as more of an instructional type of interning. Yes, perhaps this is a slight bend in the rules, but the wealth of knowledge that they have shared with me has been invaluable and extremely insightful, so I say it's okay.

For my non-court reporting friends, CART is simply an assistive technology which allows more effective communication for individuals with a hearing impairment. For instance, say an individual has a hearing impairment and is enrolled in college. Thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act, they have the right to request assistance, thus, enter a CART provider. A CART provider would attend class with the student, and using the same “court reporting” skills, provide realtime services. In essence, they would translate every spoken word as it is being said, and their translation would be fed to a computer screen for the student. This is just one example of CART. There are obviously, other areas where CART services can be provided beyond the educational setting.

I've always loved the idea of doing something that really helps other. As someone who provides these services, you are really making a difference. It seems that it would be a very rewarding and satisfying job. I am very hopeful that at some point I will be able to sit in, and shadow a CART provider, as I'm sure this would give me an even better perspective. I am very fascinated by this area and have great deal of interest in it.