Back in the Saddle

It was really weird coming back to steno after not doing it for two weeks. I haven't taken a break that long..probably since I started, four and a half years ago. I didn't hate it as much anymore. I felt grateful to be able to even do it again. It's still really hard to get my positioning right. I never really feel like my hands are in the right spot. It's kind of like when you type on someone else's QWERTY keyboard. Your fingers aren't quite sure where to go for a while. Except when I do steno, I never seem to find my groove. So frustrating.

And yet my translation rate is still pretty solid. I've practiced to six news shows so far since I came back, and my average is 98.2%. It's not where I'd like it to be, but it's not bad. I seem to be doing really well at correcting my mistakes appropriately, for some reason. I think maybe I care a little less about it, so it doesn't freak me out so much when I make a mistake. I'm able to stay calm, keep listening to what's being said, and fix the mistake without losing content.

It's hard to get back into the groove of fingerspelling. It's hard enough not to just freeze up when I hear a name, or glaze over it like it wasn't even said. I have to force myself to even phonetically write what I heard. But that's not helpful; then a bunch of weird stuff just comes out. I need to focus on fingerspelling those words. I'm trying, but it's definitely a work in progress. I think there's about a 50/50 chance right now that I'll fingerspell it.

It's just so hard to write anything right now. It's like pulling teeth. I feel like my max speed is about 130 wpm. I'm still hitting 250 when I practice though, so there are moments when it's not so bad. Overall, I think it was good for me to take a break. I didn't like it; I felt like a slacker. But it's good to just let things set and jell, and be away from it for a while.