Mailbag Monday - Comments And Critiques From Around The Country
Every now and again I like to open my Inbox and post comments and questions sent to me personally by students, reporters and scopists from around the country. Mailbag Monday is what I will be calling today's post. Here are some interesting samples recently, though out of privacy, I've chosen to replace proper names of schools with the ### sign:
”Hi Todd, I received an AA degree in Court Reporting in 1986, however, ended up being a 'stay at home' mom for the last 15 years! I am currently attending ### College mad have successfully completed Theory 1 and 2 for Realtime-that was new to me. Now I need to brush up on my speed. I find your site very interesting and fun. Any information or tips from you would be so appreciated. It's so exciting for me to be entering the work force again, especially as a Court Reporter--the best job in the world!” - B.L.
”Could you please tell me which shorthand machine most of your reporters use? My court is in the process of researching them, and I've been appointed to do the research. I'm trying to get a feel for which machines reporters like the best. Thank you for your help.” - M.H.
”I currently hold a Texas and Calif. license. I am thinking about moving to Florida. Is it true that I am not required to take a state exam to obtain a license to work in Florida? Thank you!” - S.M.
”Hi, Todd. My name is ###. I am a former ### College student. You came to speak at out school and you did such a great job. I am interested in working for your agency in the near future. I just took the state exam in March. Results should arrive around April 26th. I would like information as to what it is you look for when you hire a court reporter. I appreciate it. Thank you.” - V.V.
”Hi! I would love to order one of those cool steno T-shirts!!!” - M.P.
”I just want to thank you for this service you offer regarding the deadline calculator. I work in the Legal Department of a privately held company and in addition to legal deadlines we have numerous deadlines to monitor. You have made my life so much easier and I wanted to thank you for that. Being the type of entity that we are, we do not have occasion to use court reporters, but I would not hesitate to share your information with my friends in the law firm arena. Thank you again. Your icon now appears on my desktop.” -C.E.
”Todd, Thank you so much for speaking at the ### Legal Secretaries meeting last week. I absolutely love your date calculator on your web site. I shared it with the other secretaries in my office. We use Mac computers here, so we can't get programs that help us calculate dates. I have been doing it manually. Thank you, thank you! ” - R.B.
”I am a court reporting student and would like to know if I can have information regarding the Western New York area in regards to needing certifications to begin work as a new graduate. I am originally from ###, NY and will be relocating to Western New York upon graduation. ”
- K.V.”Todd, I'm a court reporter from Rhode Island and I'm flying out next week to take the CSR (Can't take the cold!) Stumbled upon your site (lucky me) in searching for Cal. rules, regs, etc. Took each quiz and they were very helpful, as laws and procedures are different here. Any advice or additional sites you'd recommend for out-of-staters to prepare for the test? Also, a friend of mine who took CSR years ago said they set up a room for dictation to practice after the written tests for the skills portion, but I don't see that in the info. Should I bring my own practices tapes to do in my room or do they still have the practices on Friday afternoon for Saturday's test? Thank your for taking time out of your busy day to read this email. p.s. Is there plenty of work in Cal for freelancers? I'm looking at the San Diego area. Thanks again.”
-D.D.”I have been reading with fascination how quickly your firm has grown in such a short period of time. I have been a court reporter for approximately 11 years and I have not accomplished half of the things that you have. Of course, I prefer to just report as opposed to owning the firm. But I have incredible respect for someone with your ambition and talent. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with your firm. If you increase your business in Florida, particularly the Tampa and south Tampa areas, I will take on all the work that you are willing to give. Thank you.” - F.S.J.
”Hi Todd! I got a chance to take a look at your blog and especially the entry about the speech you gave last Wednesday. I really enjoyed how you broke down your experience of it. In my opinion it truly was a winner. Thanks for the mention in the blog as well - it was really nice of you. I must say that it was truly a pleasure to have met you and I wish you great luck - I am sure we will see each other again - perhaps the ### Conference? Take Care.” -D.B.
”I read your article about Marketing Forward written for LSI. I am Vice President of Legal Secretaries International Inc. Our corporate offices are in Houston. I would like to use your article in our Affiliate newsletter, but modified to fit our organization. The marketing forward applies to whatever organization your with.” - T.B.
And then this one -- a very big ouch! -- from New York...
”This article is very poorly punctuated, and I am shocked that whoever wrote this article for print doesn't know that the period goes inside the closed quotes and the comma goes inside the closed quotes. I would not be pleased to have my name associated with this article, if I were you, Todd, as it definitely seems as though you are the one who created the text. Or maybe you just don't know proper punctuation yourself.” - A.S.
She was exactly right, however. And the error was found and corrected promptly. But still the truth hurts sometimes! :)
Monday, April 28, 2008
