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I would like info on line counting software so I can see if they are calculated correctly.

I think I did. Thats what attracted me to it the most. Call that sad if you want, most people in my life think its sad. But I seriously cannot deal with the average person. I've always been somewhat of a misfit anyway, only because I'm not a gossiper, not a talker about someone behind ones back, and am generally just open to all kinds of people, but I find when I don't get that back, I get so oversensitive that I just want to hide.

I have started back at school, because I do want something more out of life. I am in my mid 30s and let me tell you its so hard being in school with these young insensitive people with attitudes. Case in point, my class last night, I ask a simple question of my class mate and before she could answer, she had to roll her eyes in the back of her head and sigh, like it was a big inconvenience to answer my one little question. Of course making me feel like I did back in grade school...a misfit. Things like that just burn me because it would never occur to me to do that to someone, so it makes me want to crawl back into my MT hole, put on my PJs, get my coco and just punch out lines, collect a pay check, and give the finger to everyone else. Why be nice anymore???

I know this is totally off topic but maybe some of you have the same frustrations and maybe we chose this profession because of our sensitive dispositions? Whats funny, i'm majoring in psychology so I can figure people out and myself, and i'm just starting out, but its the people who I come in contact now that make me want to give it up. Just the overall fast paced and rudeness of the world has got me down today. I used to hide in my house and I remember I was a lot more at peace when I did that. Nobody to look at me sideways or whisper about me for absolutely no reason, other than I'm there or am different from them.

who are sole support on the worst accounts, and the people with someone who contributes to the household income get the easy stuff. They do not care about our welfare and just think we are the captive slaves for them.

My two career choices are either nursing, really interested in psych, or a dental hygienist.

I know more about nursing than the dental and was wondering if anyone could give me any insight on either one, as far as school, working conditions, salaries, anything basically.

I think I would enjoy nursing more, but the schedule for the hygienist appeals to me more with 2 young kids at home. In my area, the schooling is about the same and the salary seems about the same too.

does anyone know the name of that company? Any information would be appreciated.

CALEDONIA, Mich. (AP) - A couple sat by their daughter's hospital bedside for weeks after an auto accident until she came out of a coma and they realized she was not their daughter after all, but another blond-haired young woman injured in the wreck. Their own daughter, it turned out, was dead and buried.

In a tragic mix-up, one family had been incorrectly told their daughter had died in the April 26 crash in Indiana, and another was erroneously informed their daughter was in a coma.

The two young women - both students at Indiana's Taylor University - looked remarkably alike, and the one in a coma suffered facial swelling, broken bones and cuts and bruises, and was in a neck brace.

The family of Laura VanRyn, 22, disclosed the mix-up Wednesday on a Web log that they had used to record detailed updates on the young woman's recovery.

``Our hearts are aching as we have learned that the young woman we have been taking care of over the past five weeks has not been our dear Laura, but instead a fellow Taylor student of hers, Whitney Cerak,'' the VanRyns said on the blog.

Cerak's grandfather, Emil Frank, said news of his granddaughter's survival was a shock. ``I still can't get over it. It's like a fairy tale,'' he said.

Coroner Ron Mowery, whose office handled the case, apologized for the mistake. He said acquaintances of the students had identified the survivor as VanRyn, but no scientific tests were conducted to verify the IDs.

``This tragedy unfolded like we could never have imagined,'' he said.

The VanRyns said that as the young woman began regaining consciousness at a rehabilitation center in Grand Rapids, Mich., she said things that made them question her identity.

As recently as Monday, the VanRyns reported: ``While certain things seem to be coming back to her, she still has times where she'll say things that don't make much sense.''

The coroner said that VanRyn's boyfriend raised initial questions about her identity. Then her father became suspicious when she referred to him by a pet name he didn't recognize.

``He started asking questions and the process evolved to where she actually came to and suggested who she was and wrote her name,'' Mowery said.

In a statement, the two families said they took their concerns to hospital officials, and dental records confirmed that the injured woman was Whitney Cerak.

``Both families understand how this could have happened,'' said Bruce Rossman, a spokesman for Spectrum Health, which operated the rehab center.

Frank, a retired minister in Portland, Maine, said his granddaughter's parents declined to look at the body before the funeral. ``They wanted to remember her the way she was,'' he said.

An official at Taylor University, an evangelical Christian college in Upland, Ind., about 60 miles northeast of Indianapolis, said the Grant County coroner had notified the school of the error.

``We rejoice with the Ceraks. We grieve with the VanRyns,'' said Taylor spokesman Jim Garringer.

The VanRyns, who are from Caledonia, Mich., said their daughter and Cerak, 18, of Gaylord, Mich., bore an ``uncanny resemblance.''

The coroner described an accident scene strewn with purses and wallets.

``I can't stress enough that we did everything we knew to do under those circumstances, and trusted the same processes and the same policies that we always do,'' Mowery said.

Four Taylor students and an employee were killed when their van was struck by a tractor-trailer that had drifted across a highway median. Those in the van worked for Taylor's dining services and were preparing for a banquet for the inauguration of a new president of the 1,850-student school.

Most of the crash victims had funerals with closed caskets. A month ago, an overflow crowd of more than 1,400 people turned out for what they thought was Cerak's funeral in Gaylord, Mich.

Joe Sereno, associate pastor at Gaylord Evangelical Free Church, said the casket was closed both for visitation and for the funeral.

``We did everything you usually do,'' Sereno said. ``We had a memorial service at the church. The family did a private burial the next day. Everybody thought it was Whitney.''

The VanRyn family used the blog to provide progress reports on the young woman, reporting, example, that her hair was in pigtails or braids, that she managed to feed herself some applesauce, that she played a game of ``Connect Four'' with one of the therapists and did quite well, and that she performed an exercise in which her therapist gave her a word and she had to supply the word's opposite.

Calls to the VanRyns and Ceraks were not immediately returned, and a young man outside the VanRyns' home declined to comment to a reporter. An attorney for 'the Cerak family did not return a call either.

Prosecutors are weighing criminal charges against the truck driver, saying he may having fallen asleep at the wheel.

A memorial service for VanRyn is scheduled Sunday in Grand Rapids.

Anyway editing VR at 3 cents a line and not being quick is frustrating... I have been working for a week and I think I made maybe if I'm lucky 200.00, now I left a job making 500.00 a week after taxes... Boy I am stupid... So much for this great career working at home blah blah... I guess I'm totally frustrated considering no one will hire you new and when you get a job they say here is some chicken feed... I can't live off of this, does anyone have any suggestions... I will there is something to be said for getting paid by the hour

What is the difference between using a purchased Expander and using the free one in Microsoft Word? I have many shortcuts I have put in Word and now I'm trying to speed myself up and everyone is saying to use expanders...what's the difference? Are they really better?

I will buy one TODAY if it will increase my speed! Would I be able to transfer all of the stuff I've already made shortcuts for?

On another board I had been posting about my 2 yo girl at home. What I didn't say then is what I can now. I now have legal custody of her! I went from a single (young) middle-aged MT babysitting every other weekend to being a mommy as the mother wasn't in a place to be at her best. I suddenly found myself working one day and with a knock on my door, I became a mommy, just like that! I know this mother did the best thing for her child and I'm proud of her for that. She has already started taking steps to get herself back into a position of getting her daughter back and I'm supporting her ... well as best as I am able.

Geez, both my kids are in their early 20s so I haven't had to be mommy to a preschooler in a loooong time, plus I didn't do MT when mine were little. I've really been through a lot relearning how to be a mommy again. It really IS different today than it was all those years ago! I'm also learning how to juggle keeping little bit and trying hard to keep the impact of this change on my work committments.

I just wanted to say hurray! I'm a mom again! Celebrate with me and send me wishes to be able to figure out the working from home/mommy biz as quickly as possible!

I use the dvorak keyboard for typing. The keys are in different places from the 'querty' keyboard. All the most used keys are on the home row. This requires about 10 times less hand movement. However, it makes you look like an idiot when you try to hunt and peck on someone else's querty keyboard!!

What would you say is the "industry standard" for line counts in an 8-hour work day? Where do some of the companies want you to be? 150 lines per hour? 200 lines per hour? More? Less?

Starting a few months back, I have been working for a company where the people are basically nice and helpful.

However, I find that I'm constantly frustrated by and frightened for patient care by the ESL's. I'm at the point where I'm dreading work and often zone out/play/surf the net (when I should be working) which is the only way to keep my sanity so far.

Any suggestions on where I can go from here and have moderate to few ESL encounters? I have my own computer.

My fiance and I are thinking about including a separate note in our wedding announcements/invitations telling people where we're registered at or a charity they could make donations to in our honor so that we don't have to field a cazillion phone calls asking this. We're thinking about wording it something like "your kind thoughts and presence if possible is your gift to us. For those who'd like to send an additional gift we request that a donation be made to *** charity. We are also registered at ***.

Would you do this to make it easy for people or would you consider it tacky? Personally I'd like it if people sent that when they sent me invitations to help make it easy to know what they want for a gift.

I have just about had it! I mean I have over 14 years experience as Transcriptionist and all I can get is crappy pay rates, which now I am okay but could be better....And I am tired of getting crappy accounts! Whenever I ask to switch over to a different account, they tell me no. And these companies want PERFECTION, even though noone is perfect, for peanuts! I have seen places where they want you to work set hours even though you are an IC. What is up with that? Plus these places never off any good benefits, if any. What are we supposed to do. I am ready to go to a retail job or fast food. Somewhere where I can get out of the house, do my job and not have to worry about it all day long - not have to worry if I get an 9 hour shift worth of VERY BAD dictators. I bet I could surprise myself at how many hamburgers I could flip in an hour because I sure am tired of seeing how much crappy doctors I can type in an hour.

I know when you're an employee that it's customary to gives two weeks' notice, but what about when you're an independent contractor? One of us says that two weeks notice is customary whether you're an employee or IC, but the other says that you don't have to give any notice if you're an IC. Who is right?

First, thanks to all who responded. Your collective experiences and insight were very helpful. I've decided that for the time being I am going to stay put at home. The main reason I was considering going in-house was because I am now alone at home (hubby is in assisted living

). After years of caregiving and progressively becoming housebound due to that caregiving I find myself doing nothing but working and visiting hubby. I thought going in-house would give me a much needed change. However, I've decided that I'd rather select the people I interact with than having that fellowship need met by colleagues in a work environment.

Anyway, thanks again for your input. Most of you confirmed my underlying horror of office politics, gossiping, and pure misery. I do love the company I work with and would have had a very difficult time leaving them. I'm staying put!!

About my incompetent lawyer, if you can be so kind as to call him that. To recap, I paid for my divorce to be filed in January and he never filed, and so my ex-husband filed around April or so. I had to take out a loan in order to pay him, to get things up and going. Two different times, I made sure I told him to include my vehicle, my VIN number and all on my divorce decree, so I could get the ex's name off title, because he takes the title to the pawn shop and my car gets repossessed.

At any rate, my hearing was in July and I never so much as got a copy of the decree, so I went to the courthouse and got one myself, and guess what? the car's not on there. I spoke with him to BE SURE right before the hearing, and my mother was in my presence and can confirm this.

I called him 4 times during the course of the 7 months, wondering what was going on with my case (since he hadn't filed it!), and then just recently 2 times about the car. I got a bill today for an extra $116 for him having to amend the decree about the car, and for the phone call I placed to him regarding it. I haven't gotten any paperwork about the car being put on the decree yet (which I'll probably have to get from the courthouse myself), and indeed, once I do, I'm going to file with the chamber of commerce and state bar, a complaint, but is this bogus or what? I shouldn't be charged extra for something he should have done for what I initially paid him, should I? I kind of wonder if he'll hold onto the stuff until it is paid, but I think this is baloney.

a substantial increase in line rate, etc., on this new platform, or whatever their excuse may be.

That is just plain ridiculous that MQ thinks they can do that, cut your pay. You are supposed to make an increase, not decrease!

So, please answer the question: Has your company ever considered decreasing your line rate for ANY reason whatsoever or is it just stupid Medquist that does this. They sure do set the standard don't they??

um..she is presenting...uh..I mean....strike that..she presents..ur no, wait, yeah presents with.. or here, or I mean WITH symptoms of.........anxiety...................................................................................................................and depression. Period. Make that major depression....no, just depression.

There was a discussion about how MTs would prefer QA to handle correction situations. Here's an example. Right now doing QA on several "new" MTs that were kind of thrown into a new account. They were all suppose to be very well qualified and only suppose to review for "format" issues. Well.....spending a great deal of time adding text that was left out, changing things transcribed that was totally off the wall, besides the format part just not getting yet. I try to be as 'tactful" as I possibly can, offer useful tips, give websites for lokking up info, etc. But right now falling so behind and still making same "format" corrections I was two weeks ago because still not getting it right or just not reading E-mails!! Our responsibilities only go so far. We have to help but you also have to help yourself. Don't transcribe anything you haven't documented somewhere and NEVER leave words out!! That's my 2 cents!!

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