Remembering Jan

This week a colleague of mine passed away after having fought valiantly against an inoperable brain tumor. Jan was full of energy and passion - and she just LOVED court reporting. She was an inspiration to us all; she gave of her time selflessly to the benefit of our association and profession.

But what she did on a personal front was even more inspiring. She got the treatment she could, and accepted with Grace her diagnosis. She didn't rail at God or ask "Why me?" Instead, she believed that this was the path that she was chosen for and followed it through.

She's with God now and is surely one of the brightest stars in Heaven.

A Week and Home - and Mentoring!

This week is a busy week in Raleigh's Business Court - and I am so GLAD! I love my job - really. We're having hearings EVERY DAY this week in our courtroom. And what's even more fun about this week is that one of the student reporters that I mentor is going to pay me a visit on Wednesday.

So we'll get to catch up on where she is in her schooling and she can get pumped up about this great profession again. It's been a while since she sat in on anything with me - SMAFT, about a year or so, when we did a pretty crazy medical over at UNC - videotaped. This is going to be a whole different ball game.

One thing that makes me happy about my job is that I really enjoy the folks I work with - and that was a huge concern I had, office politics that is, when taking a full-time job. I'm not a political beast, and I pretty much tell it like it is, so I am really glad to have been matched with a group whose dynamic matches my personal style so well. Whee!

Cautiously Optimistic

The computer has been sitting in my trunk, drying out. I brought it back in today. I tried to boot it up - and it DID! Now, I have ZERO battery, so it didn't stay up long. I've let it sign off and now it's charging.

If it boots up this weekend, it's coming upstairs and ALL FILES will be offloaded. Immediately!
My goodness, it's possible that we have dodged a bullet.

I've learned my lessons. (1) No beverages near my computer and (2) back up every week, at least.

Phew... provisionally.

The Countdown

NCRA's professional testing cycle includes skills examinations on the first Saturdays of May and November. I have achieved the highest level of professional certification in my field - the Registered Diplomate Reporter - which certifies that I have amassed the professional experience and knowledge of a well-rounded professional court reporter. What I lack is the consistency and accuracy of the realtime reporter.

I have taken the test three times. Twice I actually felt really good about the skills test - it was a nice narrative about a mundane topic; the third time was Congressional Record, at which subspecialty I am appallingly deficient. This November I'm thinking that we're going to have another difficult, possibly Congressional Record-type, test.

With two months before the exam, I know I've waited a little long to start my practicing. However, I have a new steno machine (the LightSpeed) and a nice portable computer (my ASUS) and I plan to focus on my LS setup and my accuracy on small words.

I will be using the Google Calendar to record my practice. If you're in the testing mode and want to have a buddy to spur you on with your practice, let me know and I'll allow you access to my calendar. I think in this manner we have a "conscience" that keeps us honest even if our own doesn't. After all, how easy it is to say "I'm too tired" or "I have too much work to do" and neglect our practice? With a buddy, perhaps many more of us can succeed where alone we have not.

Practice makes permanent. Let's shoot for a positive result on November 1.

Of Cokes and Keyboards

A reminder, gentle readers, to keep fluids away from your laptop.

Imagine the scene: 7:30 p.m. after a long day, you're downstairs in your living room, having left the upstairs office for the day. Reclining on the couch to veg, with a nice Coke Zero and a warm kitty cat, watching mindless sit-coms is your goal.

Then, the phone rings. A lawyer from the trial you covered last week needs an excerpt of one witness's testimony for closing arguments. TOMORROW. So you traipse upstairs with your cold pop. Turn to your IBM notebook computer which serves as your main computer on your desk. Find the requisite testimony and start to transcribe. A question about HIPAA and its spellng comes up - this is okay, because you have a little cheat sheet on your bulletin board (HIPAA - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) but... alas, your arm clips the bottle of Coke and it spills, yes, SPILLS onto your notebook's keyboard.

The file that you so diligently found and transcribed - and which was ready to be offloaded - has now disappeared into the ether. Why? Because Coke and keyboards don't like each other. One quick despairing moan and an even quicker pop-fizzle, and like that, your work has been lost.

Fortunately, the file is still resident on a USB drive, but now you have to do it over again.

Hopefully the fast action of a quick run-over with paper towels and a blow dryer will bring my IBM baby back to life (Hey, it happens - my husband's computer had the same thing happen, and after about four days, he was able to power it up again). Only time will tell.

An update upon my return from Denver will be forthcoming.

So the moral, my friends, whether you're a court reporter or not, is DO NOT DRINK SOFT DRINKS NEAR YOUR COMPUTER. Water only, if you must. Instead, take breaks frequently and guzzle your beverage of choice.

Recovery

Wow, the one thing I didn't realize was how tiring traveling is. Last week, all week, I was in Winston-Salem in Superior Civil doing a med-mal. I didn't drive daily; oh, no, I got a hotel. But by 5 p.m. on Friday, I was exhausted, and still had a two-hour drive.

Saturday was a whirlwind of activity and Sunday was a complete crash/meltdown.

Being away from home certainly reminds me I prefer to eat my husband's cooking and sleep in my own bed. The novelty of the travel and the new people and interesting case was nice - but mentally and physically draining.

It's good to be in home county this week.

Another Week, Another Courthouse

I love being a rover. You never know where you're going to be assigned.

This week, I'm assigned to 15B, Orange Chatham - Civil. Monday I drove to historic Hillsborough, NC - revolutionary history there, folks! - and went to the old courthouse. It's a beautiful building. No security here - heck, it's civil... there were loads of television news crews out and about, though. Turns out my compatriot, the resident reporter for this region, had two high-profile cases coming on for plea; one is the murder suspect in the Eve Carson murder (UNC Student Body President) and the other is the driver of the SUV into the Pit (the congregating area near the student union at UNC). Big stuff.

Me, I had status conferences in civil matters. One of the most fun judges I've worked for so far, though, Judge Manning, made it a great morning. We had a pretty short docket and I only got a few motions, but it was good seeing some familiar faces. I saw one of the attorneys I used to occasional take depositions for out in the audience (hi, Tom!) and another I had taken a ton of asbestos abatement deps for (hi, Brian!) and I felt very comfortable in this unfamiliar courtroom.

That's the one consistent thing with this position - no matter where I go, people are so VERY friendly and make you feel right at home.