Saturday, May 16, 2015

dennis: SERVING MS. BROWN, PART 3 – TYPING AND SHORTHAND


One of the skills that makes me valuable to Carol and the other Women on staff is my ability to write (or “take”) shorthand. Shorthand is an abbreviated way of writing and one can literally record hundreds of words per minute and do so very accurately. It’s obvious how valuable this skill is in business, whether keeping record of a business meeting or taking dictation.


(As a young newspaper reporter, Charles Dickens taught himself shorthand and used it to take down verbatim accounts of political meetings, and later to capture the colorful dialects and dialogue that filled his novels.) One would think that this skill would be widespread, but it isn’t, alas; in fact, i’d guess it’s almost a lost art today. In the past it was mostly secretaries and stenographers – the vast majority of whom were Women -– who had this skill.

When I was in high school, my Mom was wise indeed and petitioned the school administrators to allow me to take typing and shorthand in place of the machine shop and drafting classes. i was college-bound and She realized the value of both these skills in a college environment. But even She could never have realized how valuable they’d prove to me in a business environment! So, i enrolled, although i was ridiculed by my classmates, some of whom inquired whether i’d be taking home-economics, too. Taking these courses took me outside the norm...

Well, i had the last laugh, since shorthand and typing have been amazingly useful to me. Not only does shorthand allow me to take accurate notes but it uses a script that is so unique to an individual, that it’s much like encryption – It’s not only fast and efficient, but almost secret! The stereotypical shorthand taker is a 1960s - 70s Woman, often depicted sitting on Her boss’ lap, the tops of Her nylons visible below Her hiked-up skirt, “steno” book in hand, taking dictation. But i’ve known a number of men wise enough to use it to their own and their Female boss’ advantage. And it’s secret in another way, too; unless someone looks at your notes, they’ll never know you’re using shorthand. A little consolation for guys who fear being accused of ‘writing like a lady’! Yes, i’ve been accused of this – patriarchy is easily threatened! For those of us who use shorthand, we consider it provides a real advantage to the business-person; think about it, how valuable are accurate and complete notes?
 
Just as Mom had predicted, typing and shorthand were useful in college, too, where i was again ridiculed for both. Last laugh again, good notes and professional papers were invaluable to my academic performance and my subsequently securing a full scholarship. And typing grew to be much more, for it morphed into “keyboarding,” a necessary skill for efficiently writing software! i’m still laughing!

Are my skills valued? They certainly are! Any time Carol loans ‘Her bitch’ to another Female staff member, it’s likely that staff member wants to employ my shorthand skills to record a meeting and my typing skills to type the notes of that meeting.

It’s nice to be appreciated!



5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Its wonderful to be able to be taking down the wisdom of a superior like this. It is Her giving to you and you taking and being the tool of Her expression.

Its also of course called dictation and we love nothing better than to be dictated too by a Female dictator.

Femsup

Anonymous said...

@Femsup - +1

i never learnt shorthand but i wish i had. those that new it did well in lectures etc. right now though i try to be paperless i wonder if there is an ipad shorthand taker app?

typing is easy enough, i taught myself at a very young age. if only i had learnt more about household chores though, i still struggle to get excited about ironing (dennis loves it i seem to recall) but shoe care is something i can get geeky about. truth be told i don't do enough of either, must renew my internal vows to be more worshipful. that's why i like to check this blog everyday, i love the tips and tricks and examples of devotion and love the comments and replies (good and bad!)

i still forget that simple trick of listening. it's odd that we need to be reminded of such simple things.

Thanks to dennis' and marks' Wives for letting them spend time on this)

AW

Mark Remond said...

dennis responds to femsup:

i am well aware of the term 'dictation' and the act of 'taking dictation'. It's a very useful skill that i use throughout the day, not just in meetings. Carol is quite the high energy Woman and it takes some efficient writings to capture all of Her thoughts, comments, and demands. i know that She remembers every one so i'd better do so as well.

This said, shorthand is a VERY useful business skill no matter what the situation. We have Women in the company who learned shorthand for their own benefit and you can believe that none of these Women is EVER going to be 'taking dictation' from anyone, especially a man!

d

Mark Remond said...

dennis responds to femsup:

Yes, i love to iron - it's not a chore, it's a hobby! As for what housework, it's easy to learn. If your Wife is doing housework - and She shouldn't be! - ask Her to teach you with the understanding that you'll take over the learned chores once She thinks your skills are up to Her standards.

Listening is a most important male skill. If a man is a good listener he can learn a lot. In our family the only way i hear about the Women's plans and thoughts is to listen. I listen whenever i can but often i'm invited to sit quietly and properly at the periphery of the room to listen to the Women's conversation. And i'd better be listening because when i'm invited to listen, the Women just may ask about something that's been said - and i'd better know!

d

Anonymous said...

If we are given the honour to be in the company of intelligent and commanding Women who wish us to benefit from their wisdom we should grasp it with both hands. I think its a very complimentary thing to be asked to be there when big decisions are being made by the Women. I might or might not be asked for my opinion but to be day dreaming or inatentive is worse than despicable given that they have honoured me so with being with the adults.

My lass is very firm in Her belief that males can never be adults but when older are older bigger children. A Girl can become a Woman but a man remains a boi.

Femsup