When I was 16 I was sent to a secretarial college to learn shorthand
and typing, it was considered something which would be a fail safe for me for the rest of my life, and in many ways I suppose that was true, if all else failed I could always get a job as a secretary. Many people probably don’t even know what shorthand is any more. I was never very enthusiastic about the whole business and played hookey as often as I could frequently going to the movies in the afternoon. However, 
I did end up with 120 wpm in shorthand and around 70 typing. When you consider the kind of typewriters we were using in those days, I reckon that wasn't bad. The keys were always covered over in the college so we couldn't cheat by looking at the letters. I also did bookkeeping whilst I was there. In those days you were expected to be able to go to any job, there were no such things as legal secretaries or medical secretaries, you learnt on the job. When you went for interviews they gave you generalised dictation, not job specific. Once you got the job you had to learn the words pretty quickly. As many of you know we usually bring shrimp home when we vacation in North Carolina this is a dish we both enjoy and have made many times.
Shrimp Creole
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup celery
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tsp peanut oil
flour for thickening
ground black pepper
2 cup fresh tomatoes or canned tomatoes drained
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 Bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp chili powder (or Tabasco sauce) and/or fresh chillis
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup sherry
1 lb shrimp cleaned and deveined
Parmesan
cooked white rice, basmati for preference
1. Sauté onions, peppers, celery and garlic in hot oil until tender. Make a roux with a little flour. Add tomatoes, paste, sherry and seasoning. Simmer 45 minutes. Add shrimp and simmer for 10 mins. Just before service add Worcester sauce. Serve over rice and sprinkle with Parmesan.
Servings: 4
Have a great day
![Jo_thumb[2]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpLVZdIfc09U2-kCwsYE-K9AE0wsLKMpg3OycfAoZtpH2f8uvC-UTPjvh8O3SrGZzsM-D2OGowKK5raarYgtbJtSw_h5FQYMlPMMbHRm8SCes6gHETLzdXGUazKsKS6ejgd1otirmJFKQ/s1600-h/Jo_thumb24.png "Jo_thumb[2]"){kind=small}
One of the women I used to know when I worked in Paris knew shorthand. I read somewhere that Pitman's shorthand has been successfully adapted to other languages with only minor adjustments. I love to way shorthand looks on paper, wish I had learned it, I think shorthand would have been useful, especially in college. And good luck with your sleep apnea test, hope everything goes well. (:
ReplyDeleteI imagine shorthand would be useful in college. My speeds have deteriorated these days, but I still occasionally use it for notes.
DeleteHad my test, actually slept quite well. Find out the results early May.
I was always impressed by those who mastered shorthand; but I would be as I married one!
ReplyDeleteDoes she do Pitman's or Greg's, our teacher knew both, clever woman although we didn't appreciate it at the time.
DeleteI could never get over 50wpm. Just not very coordinated.
ReplyDeleteWe created our own recipe for shrimp creole that replaces the shrimp with tofu. We slice it thin, soak in margarine, and then cook it on the griddle until crisp.
Sounds good, you have to be creative. What about olive oil instead of margarine?
DeleteSleep apnea's pretty common. I both hope that's what it is and not hope that's what it is.
ReplyDeleteGive me jambalaya any day.
Yes it does appear to be pretty common. All of a sudden I seem to know lots of people who have CPAP machines.
DeleteLove Jambalaya.
I learned shorthand many years ago as I thought it was a good way to write encrypted messages. Too bad I forgot it already. I wasn't too good at it and I changed it to my pleasure. It wouldn't have been that bad if I would have been able to read my own writing later, but since changes were never the same, I had a tough time reading it, hahaha.
ReplyDeletei love shrimps!!!
LOL. I did a bit of that too, but I did work for many years as a secretary using my shorthand, so I was once quite good. However, I too lost most of it these days.
DeleteI love shrimp too, we vacation in North Carolina and bring back a cooler full.
I hope your testing went well.
ReplyDeleteThe way kids learn to type now is so different than in the good old days.I had typing classes and they were murder on me. People now seem to figure it all out so quickly, what with keyboards of some type being natural to them from so early on.
Do they figure it out or just do it in their own sweet way. I have seen lots of people just typing with two fingers, they still manage to get up a speed, but its because of them and texting that we are getting all these distortions such as ICU.
DeleteI'm not a shell fish lover, but enjoyed your discourse on typing.
ReplyDeleteI know people who learned short hand, and you are right. My aunt had one of those old type writers. People today would never be able to manage one of those. !! Great post!
What a pity, shellfish are great, especially with a bit of saffron.
DeleteI wouldn't like to manage one of those old typewriters today, they were terrible really.
We are showing our age but kids nowaday wouldn't have a clue about a lot of the things we were taught and wouldn't see the point, apparently that's progress:) Enjoyed your post.
ReplyDelete#atozchallenge
maggie at expat brazil
You're right Maggie. Everything in the name of progress even if we lose old and valuable skills along the way.
DeleteI can barely do thirty words a minute on a computer keyboard.
ReplyDeleteWith all the stuff you do, you had better get your speeds up Alex.
DeleteI didn't do well in typing in school either.
ReplyDeleteI ended up doing the Mavis Beacon CD to learn how to type when I purchased my first computer.
Good luck with the test.
I remember Mavis Beacon on one of my work computers, did try it. There is a good programme on the net that I found the other day, damned if I can remember what it was called. When I do, I'll pass it on.
DeleteWon't know my results til the beginning of next month.
that sounds delicious! (hope you are sleep apnea free)
ReplyDeleteI won't know for a while, but thanks anyway.
DeleteI don't cook, but I'm going to get my sister to make this for me :) haha
ReplyDeleteSo learn to cook, it is one of the most rewarding things to do and everyone has to eat.
DeleteSeventy words a minute on one of those typewriters is pretty darned impressive. Those things gave your fingers a real workout! I started to learn shorthand once, but I was so messy, I could barely read my own squiggles.
ReplyDeleteThat shrimp creole sounds fantastic. I'll be giving that a try!
Good luck with those tests, and I hope your sleep issues (apnea or otherwise) are resolved quickly.
As I used to work with a girl who could type at over 100, I didn't think it was impressive. She was totally error free too which used to really impress me.
DeleteWe love shrimp creole.
Thanks for the good wishes.
My typing wasn't the greatest, but I was once up to 140 wpm with steno - Gregg method. Now I'm lucky if I can read my scribbles.
ReplyDeleteThe recipe looks wonderful, thanks!
Barbara
T is for Triple Play: Two Teasers and Time's Running Out
The Daille-y News
140 is very good. I struggled at 120. No-one really uses it any more though do they?
DeleteJo I did it at college, we learnt pitmans, they also had just brought in the electric typewriter then in our second year after phasing out the older model, brings back mememories. The dish looks delicous as well!
ReplyDeleteMy first electric typewriter was when I went to work for Dupont in Jermyn Street. That was such a long time ago.
DeleteI love shrimp Creole.