Intro to Keyboarding was a requirement for the college track at my high school for Freshmen. I think the school didn't want us to have any excuse for handing in handwritten reports.

I took typing in high school and we all lined up on brand new IBM Selectric typewriters (with the font ball).

Then I took shorthand my senior year, which was a two period class with an extra of typing my senior year. I was the only guy in shorthand and one of the few in typing. However, I did get my speed up to 95wpm and it kept me fed for decades on various temp jobs.

They also had a class for court reporters and that was probably the best investment public school ever made in those girls' lives, as that was a pretty good gig in 1979.

I made a fair amount of money typing up kids papers when I first moved to Utah after graduating. The only typewriters most students had access to were in the student center, and they were busy and badly maintained.

Never took typing. My mother bought books for me to learn on an electric typewriter we had, but I never really did them. I still type incorrectly and can't really type more than 35 wpm on a test. BUT if I sm typing as I am composing, I type much faster. Also only use the left hand shift.

Keyboarding was required in my high school for all tracks, but I was excused because I was the copy editor for the school paper, and that job included typing all the handwritten stories that the reporters handed in, on a computer. We then printed them out, and pasted them on the paste up sheets.

Long story short, I type fairly fast and semi-accurately, but not at all correctly!

When I was younger (like say age 7 - 12) I used to practice typing on a typewriter with my moms old typing books. I also tried to learn shorthand, but I was unsuccessful.

This day sucks. I went to the store for supplies (tissue, water, cat food, stuf flike that). I went to the small town general store type deal because its smaller and not as overwhelming. Plus it doesn't trigger my anxiety over being "caught" out when I'm supposed to be sick.

I normally buy Penny Blue Buffalo grain free cat food, which isn't available in grocery stores but there are some grain free alternatives so I fgured i'd get one of those. I can't get a couple of cans of cat food because she will refuse to eat canned food.

So I got what I needed, plus a few things I didn't (fancy rootbeer! Damnit i need a treat. Organic locally made vanilla pudding, easy on the throat!) and came home.

Where I promptly dropped my keys between the deck and the house. The deck is all enclosed underneath and I was looking under there, trying to reach, lying on the freezing ground (my phone was inside the house, i didn't take it, why would i need it?) and finally I saw an old plastic coat hanger under neath tehre and tried that. Didn't work. Tracked down a neighbor who was home, she warily leant me another coat hanger (also plastic) but longer. Didn't work.

By the way it's like 19F outside and i don't have any gloves on because I can find 1 glove from 4 different pairs.

I went to the shed - hey it's unlocked, pried the door open (it was frozen shut) found nothing. Trudging back and I looked at some fallen branches and started berating myself for not picking these up sooner when it hit me. Branch, thin. Long.

After two tries of more lying on the freezing ground I got my keys.

I really need to hide a key outside.

And Penny is refusing to eat her food, I mixed it in with what little of her regular food I have but she's meowing and trying to cover it up.

Like David, I took a typing class in high school on IBM Selectrics. They ruined me for every other keyboard I've used since. I loved the way when you pressed down on a second key, the first key you pressed would get pushed back up.

{{{{{askye}}}}} That is a very bad no good way to start your day. I'm sorry.

I would look at Mother's shorthand books and think "I will never learn this." I had a hard enough time with cursive, I had no faith in doing coded cursive correctly. I was also dreading slide rules, but technology advancements saved me from both those fears.

That's exactly what it's like.

When I was driving to the store I was thinking "even though I feel like crap I will try to match up at least one pair of gloves" and now I'm like...fuck it that's too much thinking. I'm going to put on comfy clothes, drink water and...do something. Maybe finish up the Librarians or rewatch Leverage.