| Blogs > spiritwoman45 > Life in the Canyon |
|
Typing – The Ultimate Irony Still adjusting to the quirks of my ultrabook but loving it. The fact that my decision on what one to get was based on the keyboard function for typing reminded me of the irony of the whole typing thing. When I was in high school I was in what was then called “college prep” classes, for the purpose of preparing me to go on to higher education. This enabled me to avoid what was for me the more tedious classes included in the “business” curriculum. Of course there was the “home economics” curriculum for the girls preparing to be homemakers but that was never an option since grandma insisted I needed a means of self-support. She learned this one the hard way and was determined her female descendants would not be placed in the same circumstances. However – one of the mandatory college prep classes was typing. I suffered through learning the keyboard position and managed to pass the minimum requirement on the old manual office model typewriters. This exercise in repetition only confirmed that I would go to college as I could not imagine typing all day – I hated it. In college I did type my papers but by then things had improved a bit. I got a portable electric typewriter the first year they were available and plunked my way through but was never a good touch typist. Onward to professional career. Initially I had a secretary who took shorthand and typed my documents. Things progressed and I dictated via portable machine and a typing pool typed and produced my work. Next came word processing. For me it was a magic place. I would call in, dictate my reports via phone and the next day they would be on my desk. I never thought much about how it worked it just did. Enter the computer age. I avoided typing as long as I could but finally word processing evolved and we all had to produce our own reports. Fortunately I did remember the keyboard position all of those years but it was still practice, practice, practice to gain any speed. At the time I was producing some 80 – 100 pages a week of narrative reports. That was a lot of practice. In less time than I would have thought I was typing with the best of them. I even managed to “choke” one of the early systems because I typed too fast for it. Then came a stint as a site manager. Like it or not I had to learn more about computer systems than my right brained mind ever wanted. I reached the point of the words going directly from brain to keyboard. I could even carry on a conversation with someone while typing something else. Once I left my day job I thought that was it except for e-mails. Then came distant relationships and family communicating – IM, Messaging etc. I never did do much of that. I prefer text and voice and in rare circumstances . But – Irony of ironies, joke of the Universe etc. here I sit typing and now it is for social interaction as well. You never increase know when something will increase in value so much, even if it is something you hated. Spiritwoman ^i^ |
|||
7/10/2012 1:15 am |
Hi Spirit: When I was about 8 yrs old I asked my parents for a typewriter and taught myself to type using the correct finger position. By the time I got to high school I was already typing over 100 wpm and that was on an old typewriter where the keys would jam if you went too fast. In grade 12 I won a typing contest of three big high schools and had the highest speed - 114 wpm. With computers I got faster and faster over the years and once had my typing speed tested at a government employment agency. They said it was the fastest speed of anyone ever tested there. I can type the entire alphabet in 2 seconds.
| ||
|
I'm a run of the mill kind of typist, I get through what I'm typing, but always seem to have a few mistakes to correct. But even including the mistakes I enjoy typing out my stories and keeping hard copies of what I have written. Alfie...
| ||
|
I'm one of those who paid to have my papers typed in university. It wasn't expensive back then. When I decided to try grad school in my 50s I found the word programs on puter were super easy. I'm still a 2 finger typist.
| ||
7/10/2012 8:27 am |
A definite advantage - switch one keyboard for another. Spiritwoman ^i^
| ||
7/10/2012 8:28 am |
Hi Spirit: When I was about 8 yrs old I asked my parents for a typewriter and taught myself to type using the correct finger position. By the time I got to high school I was already typing over 100 wpm and that was on an old typewriter where the keys would jam if you went too fast. In grade 12 I won a typing contest of three big high schools and had the highest speed - 114 wpm. With computers I got faster and faster over the years and once had my typing speed tested at a government employment agency. They said it was the fastest speed of anyone ever tested there. I can type the entire alphabet in 2 seconds. Spiritwoman ^i^
| ||
7/10/2012 8:33 am |
I told you so is so appropriate. My grandmother, the one who insisted I have a way "to support myself" tole me that if I could type I would always be able to get a "better" Job. Don't know about better but during the times I was moving around I could always find a job typing. If it makes you feel vindicated I hated accounting and bookkeeping even more, avoided them like the plague, then had to learn all about spreadsheets and Excel when I was a site manager. Spiritwoman ^i^
| ||
7/10/2012 8:34 am |
I'm one of those who paid to have my papers typed in university. It wasn't expensive back then. When I decided to try grad school in my 50s I found the word programs on puter were super easy. I'm still a 2 finger typist. Spiritwoman ^i^
| ||
7/10/2012 8:37 am |
I'm not sure my granddaughters know what one is. My daughters learned to type on a computer when they were kids using a program called "Mario Teaches Typing". It was like a Mario game and you had to type certain things faster and faster to make him run! Seems to have worked as my oldest started her current career in an entry level job requiring typing and never even took a class! Spiritwoman ^i^
| ||
7/10/2012 8:41 am |
I'm a run of the mill kind of typist, I get through what I'm typing, but always seem to have a few mistakes to correct. But even including the mistakes I enjoy typing out my stories and keeping hard copies of what I have written. Alfie... I used to keep hard copies of everything but since I am even worse at filing had to give it up. When I left one job I had a pile about 3 feet high of hard copies of every report I produced during my time there. Spiritwoman ^i^
| ||
7/10/2012 10:36 am |
I learned to type in the RCAF, just before I entered first year university. It was a very valuable skill for the next four years.
| ||
7/10/2012 1:03 pm |
I learned to type in the RCAF, just before I entered first year university. It was a very valuable skill for the next four years. On a related but humorous note - My son in law was very well versed in office and computer skills but joined the army for action. However, once he returned from deployment to Kosovo and was assigned to a new base they determined that since he could type his promotion to Sargent would be supervising the office and conducting drug testing. Fortunately this was at a time when he soon had the option of reenlisting or moving on. He moved on. After a few years of physically active civil service jobs he once again finds himself back in the office if he wants to promote. The good news is that maturity has mellowed him a bit. Spiritwoman ^i^
| ||
|
Typing - I am excellent if there was a three finger typing contest ever to be held and my speed is just too good to be true - about a 04 words a minute. Lol @ Friendly133. I never learnt typing - stole some moments of typing at work whenever something classified was to be created and then it took me forever. Many thanks for sharing - have a great day, SpiritGirl   ."To fight the darkness do not draw your sword, light a candle" - Zarathustra
| ||
7/10/2012 8:32 pm |
I'm a great one for typos. That about says it all.
| ||
7/10/2012 11:16 pm |
Computers are so much easier to use. Can you imagine we used to use those old manual things? Spiritwoman ^i^
| ||
7/10/2012 11:17 pm |
I'm a great one for typos. That about says it all. Spiritwoman ^i^
| ||
7/11/2012 6:54 am |
Computers are so much easier to use. Can you imagine we used to use those old manual things? The biggest advantages is the ability to correct typos without having to erase or use correction fluid.
| ||
7/11/2012 9:40 am |
I seem to make typos these days no matter what. Arthritis in my fingers. They often do not go to the places my brain tells them any more. Spiritwoman ^i^
|
×
×