Typing

Typing

I type for a living and I type well. It may be more word processing and less typing now; but I still call it typing. And I have been typing since forever.

I started typing in junior high on a manual typewriter that will build up your pinky fingers in no time flat.  You need strong pinkies if you are going to pres the “a or p” keys. Once in high school, the typewriters had at least become electric and untold hours were spent doing timed tests for typing speed and accuracy.  I had a business teacher during high school that told us girls if we wanted to be secretaries than we had to be the best money could buy.  I have never forgotten her words and they have served me well for over 40 years.  I have never been without work for very long all though I have in the past turned down jobs that didn’t seem like a reasonable fit to me. One company said that excess chatter was frowned upon.  I knew right then that I couldn’t work there. I told them that I lived for excess chatter and would be perpetually in trouble.   Another office manager told me that she only explained things ONCE and you had better get it – didn’t take that job either. 

Job interviews always come with a typing test and they are annoying.  I have never taken a typing test that I didn’t complete the page, have to take the page out, turn it over and start again.  Sometimes I did this twice. One test I had was sitting at a rickety old metal typing table and I thought the poor table was going to shake it itself to death.  I shared these thoughts with the interviewer. I didn’t take the job.

Another time the keyboard on the computer was so sluggish that it never fully kept up with me.  At the end of my test my score was very high until you counted up all the run on words and sentences.  I was asked if I’d like to take the test again – nope – there would be no difference.  The keyboard just can’t keep up.  I got that job by the way.

I am grateful to the bosses who took a chance on somebody with no knowledge of the work (i.e., insurance claims or patent law both come to mind).  I don’t believe I disappointed either firms and stayed on with each of them for many years.

I know that I am likely working at my last full-time job now.  I believe I will know when it’s time to hang up the keyboard; but that time hasn’t arrived just yet.  While my memory may be lagging a bit, there is nothing wrong with the key pounding I am still able to do.  I love nothing more than typing straight text an opportunity that is rare these days and that I miss.  Now the assignments are more likely to be add headers and footers and correct the formatting which by the time I get a document has really gone downhill.  Dull stuff like that. 

I’ll keep typing, you keep reading – deal?

P