For those of us who are self-employed and who use contractors, well, January 31 is a looming deadline. 1099s have to go out - but first you have to confirm your numbers are correct. And make sure you have all the tax ID numbers and correct addresses.
Then, at least in our state, our business personal property reports are ALSO due. That means you have to list all the purchases you made during the preceding 12 months. Oh, you also have to list what you've gotten rid of - like old printers, fax machines, steno machines, computers - and know what year you added them so the tax people know where to remove them from.
Added to that, you still have to work on your year-end stuff. To add insult to injury, if your firm/agency is a corporation, you have a March 15 deadline instead of the April 15 deadline to get your business taxes done.
Makes one appreciate a good system of accounting and filing. And wish for another snow day.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Professionalism is in the Details
It's the little things that make you stand out as a valued court reporter. You know, the pesky things that you'd just as soon NOT do because you're in a bad mood... or tired... or sick... or for whatever reason.
The things that you sometimes don't do because you're distracted by something in your life - you know, smiling and saying "good morning" to the bailiff or the clerk or the secretary. How hard is it, really, to smile? I think there's a statistic somewhere that says it takes more muscles to frown.
Offer to get a cup of coffee, a water, whatever - when you're up. You're not the only one who's busy, you know.
Do your paperwork. Really, whatever it takes - even if it's a few extra moments at a break or at lunch. Go over the calendar (or the notice of deposition) and make sure you have all the names correctly noted. Keep track of what cases were heard, in what order, what time each session started and finished.
Don't be afraid to ask that witness to speak up - really, when you're listening to a playback because your notes are scrambled, you don't want to have to guess.
These little things you think are tedious make YOUR record that much more complete than someone else's.
Meet deadlines. Don't procrastinate and think that you've got more time than you have. Invariably, the weekend before the deadline, something really important will come up.
Always... always work as a team player with the folks around you. You know the ones - the clerks, the schedulers, the paralegals, everyone; these are the people who can make your life run that much more smoothly. And, really, there's no cost to being nice.
Be aware that every little thing that you do on the job, in your paperwork, in the follow-through, is a reflection not only of you, but on all of us in the profession.
The things that you sometimes don't do because you're distracted by something in your life - you know, smiling and saying "good morning" to the bailiff or the clerk or the secretary. How hard is it, really, to smile? I think there's a statistic somewhere that says it takes more muscles to frown.
Offer to get a cup of coffee, a water, whatever - when you're up. You're not the only one who's busy, you know.
Do your paperwork. Really, whatever it takes - even if it's a few extra moments at a break or at lunch. Go over the calendar (or the notice of deposition) and make sure you have all the names correctly noted. Keep track of what cases were heard, in what order, what time each session started and finished.
Don't be afraid to ask that witness to speak up - really, when you're listening to a playback because your notes are scrambled, you don't want to have to guess.
These little things you think are tedious make YOUR record that much more complete than someone else's.
Meet deadlines. Don't procrastinate and think that you've got more time than you have. Invariably, the weekend before the deadline, something really important will come up.
Always... always work as a team player with the folks around you. You know the ones - the clerks, the schedulers, the paralegals, everyone; these are the people who can make your life run that much more smoothly. And, really, there's no cost to being nice.
Be aware that every little thing that you do on the job, in your paperwork, in the follow-through, is a reflection not only of you, but on all of us in the profession.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Monday morning scramble!
Picture yourself on a Monday morning. Your schedule says you're "on the board," meaning available to be picked up to go anywhere. Two cups of coffee and you're sitting in your gym clothes in front of the computer...
Ring, ring.
Yep, it's your scheduler. Head of to Durham! ASAP. Regular reporter is sick, so as soon as you can get there. Phew, glad I hadn't left for the gym yet.
Hair's a disaster, gotta change clothes, put on makeup, make sure I have my equipment (hey, it's been COLD down south lately) and boogie on over to Durham. We're on the record 90 minutes later... for two civil motions.
Love civil. Did I mention that already? Saw a former client (he shaved his mustache!) and met a new (to me) judge.
Best thing? Short day... back home by 2 p.m. Back in my gym clothes. Still haven't worked out, though.
Wonder what tomorrow will hold?
Ring, ring.
Yep, it's your scheduler. Head of to Durham! ASAP. Regular reporter is sick, so as soon as you can get there. Phew, glad I hadn't left for the gym yet.
Hair's a disaster, gotta change clothes, put on makeup, make sure I have my equipment (hey, it's been COLD down south lately) and boogie on over to Durham. We're on the record 90 minutes later... for two civil motions.
Love civil. Did I mention that already? Saw a former client (he shaved his mustache!) and met a new (to me) judge.
Best thing? Short day... back home by 2 p.m. Back in my gym clothes. Still haven't worked out, though.
Wonder what tomorrow will hold?
Thursday, January 15, 2009
One Down!
I have already taken care of one of my resolutions - to attend a realtime workshop to help me focus on my writing and get better at it...
The Anita Paul Realtime Mastery workshop was not cheap, nor was it easy; it was, however, enlightening! I learned about "unstacking" my writing, how to differentiate between prefixes and suffixes and many other great things.
What I liked about it was it was something that was meant for all reporters - no matter what their realtime skill level. If you WANT to learn, this is a program for you. Whether you're a neophyte with turning on the computer and getting a feed just for yourself or if you're hooking up to attorneys, there's always something you don't know or wish you could do better.
We had a nice group of folks (mostly from Florida - hey, it WAS in Orlando, after all) and we interacted very well. We had some breakout groups, some cheerleading, some practice testing, and just general classroom learning and sharing of experiences.
I've determined that my first course of action in the realtime regard is changing how I write my terminal punctuation - I'm going to eliminate stacking by changing my period to P-P (preponderance is now P*P) and my comma is going to be W-B. I've already started to use it, and IT WORKS!
Keep focused on your goals and you'll be amazed at how you progress!
The Anita Paul Realtime Mastery workshop was not cheap, nor was it easy; it was, however, enlightening! I learned about "unstacking" my writing, how to differentiate between prefixes and suffixes and many other great things.
What I liked about it was it was something that was meant for all reporters - no matter what their realtime skill level. If you WANT to learn, this is a program for you. Whether you're a neophyte with turning on the computer and getting a feed just for yourself or if you're hooking up to attorneys, there's always something you don't know or wish you could do better.
We had a nice group of folks (mostly from Florida - hey, it WAS in Orlando, after all) and we interacted very well. We had some breakout groups, some cheerleading, some practice testing, and just general classroom learning and sharing of experiences.
I've determined that my first course of action in the realtime regard is changing how I write my terminal punctuation - I'm going to eliminate stacking by changing my period to P-P (preponderance is now P*P) and my comma is going to be W-B. I've already started to use it, and IT WORKS!
Keep focused on your goals and you'll be amazed at how you progress!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
From December to January...
The End of the Year... a time to reflect on what we've learned, things we've done and some things we never finished. Friends we never connected with even though they're nearby; old friends we've rediscovered.. and the time we ponder how we will live in the upcoming year.
Here is a list of my top accomplishments for 2008:
Here are my goals for 2009 (keep me honest, please! Ask me how I'm doing):
Happy New Year... May 2009 be full of all good things.
Here is a list of my top accomplishments for 2008:
- New Job with the State of NC (and I LOVE IT!)
- State-of-the-art equipment for my profession (still learning them)
- Doctor's release after the 10th anniversary of my cancer diagnosis
Here are my goals for 2009 (keep me honest, please! Ask me how I'm doing):
- Take and pass the CRR (certified realtime reporter) exam and earn a 15% raise
- Attend the training workshop for my software to I can be more efficient at work
- Increase my social time with my friends - esp. those I've missed this year
- Assist students and new reporters are they make the transition to this profession
- Eat better and exercise more (isn't that on everybody's list?)
Happy New Year... May 2009 be full of all good things.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Counting Counties
There are 100 counties in North Carolina. So far as a rover, since February, I've worked in 14 of them. Some of them are pretty far-flung, too! This past week, due to illness in the family, my vacation to Las Vegas was nixed, so I became "available" to work Wednesday/Thursday/Friday.
I was "picked up" by my boss - she called Tuesday afternoon - for the remainder of the week in Rowan County. Now, since I'm not a native of NC, I wasn't really sure where that was. Turns out, that's Salisbury (almost to Charlotte!). Now, driving from Wake Forest, that was going to be two-plus hours. Needless to say, I packed my suitcase.
It was an interesting week - with a tainted jury pool, a member of the venire cited for criminal contempt of court (that was interesting), then another trial (communicating threats) that ended up with an acquittal... and then, the killer day, Friday - probation violation calendar. From start to finish, 9:30 a.m. to 4:53 p.m., we handled over 100 cases. With two judges! First judge sent the jury out for deliberations, and then left; second judge did probation court and took the verdict. Bizarre day.
Never a dull moment in court! Only 86 more counties to go. We'll see how long it takes.
I was "picked up" by my boss - she called Tuesday afternoon - for the remainder of the week in Rowan County. Now, since I'm not a native of NC, I wasn't really sure where that was. Turns out, that's Salisbury (almost to Charlotte!). Now, driving from Wake Forest, that was going to be two-plus hours. Needless to say, I packed my suitcase.
It was an interesting week - with a tainted jury pool, a member of the venire cited for criminal contempt of court (that was interesting), then another trial (communicating threats) that ended up with an acquittal... and then, the killer day, Friday - probation violation calendar. From start to finish, 9:30 a.m. to 4:53 p.m., we handled over 100 cases. With two judges! First judge sent the jury out for deliberations, and then left; second judge did probation court and took the verdict. Bizarre day.
Never a dull moment in court! Only 86 more counties to go. We'll see how long it takes.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Fall... finally
October and November are great months, two of my favorites. I love the snap in the air - sleeping with the windows open - and the wonderful smell of leaves. This past month has been busy, with driving to Goldsboro a couple of days, lots of time to Raleigh, and then, today, to Newton, NC.
It's a three-hour drive to Catawba County from my home in Wake Forest. It was dark when I left, but as the sun rose, I was driving along the interstate and saw some really pretty foliage in the morning light. Wow, how pretty. Golds, reds, oranges on both sides of the road - and the scarlets were the best. The sky was Carolina Blue, the autumn hues were fabulous, and the temperature was moderate.
Not a bad day for a drive. Get out there!
It's a three-hour drive to Catawba County from my home in Wake Forest. It was dark when I left, but as the sun rose, I was driving along the interstate and saw some really pretty foliage in the morning light. Wow, how pretty. Golds, reds, oranges on both sides of the road - and the scarlets were the best. The sky was Carolina Blue, the autumn hues were fabulous, and the temperature was moderate.
Not a bad day for a drive. Get out there!
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