Rest in Peace

Missing someone gets easier every day because even though it's one day further from the last time you saw each other, it's one day closer to the next time you will.
-- Author Unknown

R.I.P. Grandpa
xoxo

Ciao, baby

Thanks to my new pals at JM Steno, I sold my old Stentura 200SRT student writer yesterday. I decided there was no point in keeping it around to merely collect dust, and the idea of making some cold, hard cash wasn’t totally unappealing either. Since I recently upgraded to my very first professional writer, the super smooth Diamante, I decided it was time to purge. Of course, I must admit that although my sassy little student writer had definitely seen better days, I still had a fond attachment to her and was slightly sad to see her go. After all, I have worked that little puppy to death these last couple of years, and I feel a little bad leaving her behind just as I’m on the verge of ending my journey through school, the same journey that we embarked upon together. Plus, she was my first “extra-limb.” You only have one first, you know.
I often joke, you see, that my machine is my “extra limb” because I sometimes feel that wherever I go, my machine is sure to follow. That little writer has simultaneously become my best friend, yet my worst enemy. It is my ticket to a future, yet it is that total pain in my butt that always gets in the way of a really carefree social life and it torments me daily when it comes to my battle to beat 225. Then, of course, there is the classic student – guilt complex. If I’m not using my machine, I am most certainly feeling guilty about not doing so. It consumes a huge part of my life. It is waiting for me when I come home from work. It is with me when I watch TV. I swear I even catch it glaring at me as I drift off to sleep all the while saying, “PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!” Yep, it is still there when I wake up. It is nearby when I sip my morning cup of Joe. Heck, that little thing has even accrued frequent flyer miles as it has travelled with me to places like California, Arizona, and Michigan. It’s as if it is ALWAYS present, quietly reciting the mantra, “PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!” Hence, the feeling that she is indeed an extra limb, and another crucial part to my existence.
Sadly, though, she has run her course. I bid ado to my little ol’ trusty student writer and say a fond farewell. Please know it’s not you, it’s me.


R.I.P. my little sassy stentura

10 grammar mistakes that make you look stupid

After reviewing the test results for a 200 Jury Charge mentor test I recently took, I was thrilled to find that I had received an A for my punctuation grade. I would like to randomly point out here that although speed and accuracy are a necessary requirement to be a skilled court reporter, a good chunk of this profession also requires excellent spelling and punctuation skills. Sadly, I have always felt that I lack in this department. Thanks to a healthy dose of eternal optimism, I have chosen to merely view this as a minor glitch in my master scheme to overtake the world of court reporting. (Insert evil laugh here)
I am confident with a little practice I will improve in this area, and I have been making an effort to do just that. So the A for my punctuation grade was a delightful little dose of encouragement. On that note, it is only appropriate that I share an excerpt from an article that I recently read.

10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid
By Jody Gilbert, TechRepublic

#1: Loose for lose

No: I always loose the product key.
Yes: I always lose the product key.

#2: It's for its (or god forbid, its')

No: Download the HTA, along with it's readme file.
Yes: Download the HTA, along with its readme file.
No: The laptop is overheating and its making that funny noise again.
Yes: The laptop is overheating and it's making that funny noise again.

#3: They're for their for there

No: The managers are in they're weekly planning meeting.
Yes: The managers are in their weekly planning meeting.
No: The techs have to check there cell phones at the door, and their not happy about it.
Yes: The techs have to check their cell phones at the door, and they're not happy about it.

#4: i.e. for e.g.

No: Use an anti-spyware program (i.e., Ad-Aware).
Yes: Use an anti-spyware program (e.g., Ad-Aware).
Note: The term i.e. means "that is"; e.g. means "for example". And a comma follows both of them.

#5: Effect for affect

No: The outage shouldn't effect any users during work hours.
Yes: The outage shouldn't affect any users during work hours.
Yes: The outage shouldn't have any effect on users.
Yes: We will effect several changes during the downtime.
Note: Impact is not a verb. Purists, at least, beg you to use affect instead:
No: The outage shouldn't impact any users during work hours.
Yes: The outage shouldn't affect any users during work hours.
Yes: The outage should have no impact on users during work hours.

#6: You're for your

No: Remember to defrag you're machine on a regular basis.
Yes: Remember to defrag your machine on a regular basis.
No: Your right about the changes.
Yes: You're right about the changes.

#7: Different than for different from

No: This setup is different than the one at the main office.
Yes: This setup is different from the one at the main office.
Yes: This setup is better than the one at the main office.

#8: Lay for lie

No: I got dizzy and had to lay down.
Yes: I got dizzy and had to lie down.
Yes: Just lay those books over there.

#9: Then for than

No: The accounting department had more problems then we did.
Yes: The accounting department had more problems than we did.
Note: Here's a sub-peeve. When a sentence construction begins with If, you don't need a then. Then is implicit, so it's superfluous and wordy:
No: If you can't get Windows to boot, then you'll need to call Ted.
Yes: If you can't get Windows to boot, you'll need to call Ted.

#10: Could of, would of for could have, would have

No: I could of installed that app by mistake.
Yes: I could have installed that app by mistake.
No: I would of sent you a meeting notice, but you were out of town.
Yes: I would have sent you a meeting notice, but you were out of town.

Now stop making me sic and use some good grammar already! :)

Words

I recently stumbled across an article (click here to see it) about a captioner who covered the horrors of 9-11. As I read it, I was reminded of just how necessary and vital a captioner’s role is in providing assistance to those with a hearing impairment. Can you imagine turning on the t.v. and watching those horrific events being played out, yet having no words to accompany it? Although to some it may only seem like little words running across the screen, to others it is those very words that help to keep them connected to the world that moves silently around them. Hellen Keller put it best… “I am just as deaf as I am blind. The problems of deafness are deeper and more complex, if not more important than those of blindness. Deafness is a much worse misfortune. For it means the loss of the most vital stimulus-- the sound of the voice that brings language, sets thoughts astir, and keeps us in the intellectual company of man. Blindness separates us from things, but deafness separates us from people.”
I say kudos to captioners everywhere. For with every little word you write you are helping bridge the gap that rests between the world of silence and that of sound, one that so many of us take for granted.

Double take

I made an impromptu trip to the store this afternoon after realizing I needed a few packaging supplies so I could mail a box to a friend. As I was checking out I did what all stores genuinely love to see their customers do, I made a last minute impulse purchase. Now I warn you, it was nothing terribly exciting or super extraordinary, just a pack of gum to toss into the bottom recesses of my handbag. However, when I went to grab my usual pack of Extra (the green kind), I did a quick double take and then paused for a brief moment, complete with gum in hand. Sitting directly beside the stack of Extra was a stack of Doublemint gum, each neatly packaged in their signature green cartons with little sprigs of mint printed on the front of the packages. As if to prove that advertising really does work, my mind instantly went back 20 years and began playing back the circa 1985 Doublemint gum commercial of my childhood. As the jingle was playing in my mind, I suddenly longed to smell the cool, minty scent that reminds me instantly of my grandparents. Suddenly, I was no longer standing in the checkout line at the store, but rather I was little girl in my grandparent’s kitchen in front of a tiny drawer chalked full of little packs of gum.
Ever since I can remember, my grandparents always had an endless supply of gum, always 5-stick packs and always Doublemint. Throughout my childhood, whenever I was at my grandparent's I would always raid their stash of gum from the drawer that somehow never seemed to go empty. It’s as if there was a magical, bottomless drawer full of Doublemint that could only be found at grandma and grandpa’s. I suddenly snapped out of my walk down memory lane, and immediately placed the pack of Extra back on the shelf. I decide, instead, to purchase a little piece of nostalgia. Even to this day, before I put a stick of that minty fresh gum into my mouth, I first take little whiff of that classic Doublemint scent, and think of them. I am reminded that scent is a powerful thing. For today, it brings back to me a little hint of my grandmother, who I miss dearly, and a memory from my childhood that will forever be nestled away in my mind.

Expect the Unexpected

Yesterday I was scheduled for more internship hours with a court reporter I frequently shadow. I thought it would be quick two hour depo with nothing particularly out of the ordinary. Perhaps that was my first mistake of the day. After all, even after the brief time I have spent interning, I’ve already discovered that you just really never know what you are going to walk into. I guess for a brief nanosecond (or maybe longer) that little tidbit of knowledge somehow escaped my head. So 7 1/2 hours later I realized two things: 1.) I wasn’t making my 2:30 appointment and 2.) Don’t forget to plug your computer in.

Sweet Sprinkles

As if it isn't already bad enough that I live a only a short two-minute walk away from one the best shopping places in town (yes, the temptation for excessive shoe buying is at an all time high), today I discovered a new destination that I find equally enticing, but on a much sweeter level. The shop around the corner I speak of is named Sprinkles. This super chic cupcake shop is the perfect blend of sugar and spice coupled with pure decadence. These beautifully delicious confectionery delights are too pretty to pass up and too yummy not to indulge in. And bonus!!! These sweet yum-yums are made with all natural ingredients and have no artificial preservatives or trans-fats. Of course, with ingredients like sweet cream butter, belgian dark chocolate, and citrus zest, it is entirely impossible not to create a simply divine cupcake. Flavors range from Ginger Lemon to Chocolate Coconut (and oh how I love coconut). Without a doubt, I will be frequenting their tasty cupcake bar again very soon. Now to decide what flavor to order next!

Check out Sprinkles here