18-06-2016 10:36 PM - edited 18-06-2016 10:40 PM
Just for fun - how many boxes are you ticking in the list below...... TOP 50 SIGNS OF GETTING OLD: 1. Feeling stiff 2. Groaning when you bend down 3. Saying “it wasn’t like that when I was young” 4. Saying “in my day” 5. Losing hair 6. You don’t know any songs in the top ten 7. Getting more hairy – ears, eyebrows, nose, face etc 8. Hating noisy pubs 9. Talking a lot about joints / ailments 10. Forgetting people’s names 11. Choosing clothes and shoes for comfort rather than style 12. Thinking policemen / teachers / doctors look really young 13. Falling asleep in front of the TV 14. Needing an afternoon nap 15. Finding you have no idea what young people are talking about 16. Struggling to use technology 17. Losing touch with everyday technology such as tablets and televisions 18. When you start complaining about more things 19. Wearing your glasses around your neck 20. Not remembering the name of any modern bands 21. You avoid lifting heavy things due to back concerns 22. Complaining about the rubbish on television these days 23. Misplacing your glasses / bag / keys etc 24. You move from Radio one to Radio Two 25. You start driving very slowly 26. Preferring a night in with a board game than a night on the town 27. Taking a keen interest in The Antiques Road Show 28. You talk to colleagues who are so young they don’t know what an Opal Fruit is 29. Taking slippers to friends’ houses 30. Listening to the Archers 31. Falling asleep after one glass of wine 32. Never going out without your coat 33. Getting bed socks for Christmas and being very grateful 34. When you can’t lose six pounds in two days any more 35. Gasping for a cup of tea 36. Taking a flask of tea or coffee on a day out 37. Joining the WI 38. Taking a keen interest in the garden 39. Spending more money on face creams / anti-ageing products 40. Spending money on the home / furniture rather than a night on the town 41. Taking a keen interest in dressing for the weather 42. Putting everyday items in the wrong place 43. Obsessive gardening or bird feeing 44. Really enjoying puzzles and crosswords 45. Always driving in the slow lane, or below 70 in the middle lane 46. Consider going on a ‘no children’ cruise for a holiday 47. Your ears are getting bigger 48. Joining the National Trust 49. Drinking sherry 50. Feeling you have the right to tell people exactly what you are thinking even if it isn’t polite this is bad,..................................... I've said Yes 29 times
on 22-06-2016 08:27 AM
It was even worse if you worked in a legal office....no erasing of mistakes. If you got to the last word on a page and made a mistake you started all over again.
Thankfully I was a very accurate typist (and being a good speller helped) although speed was one thing I was never accused of.
There was one girl at college with me who could type faster than most of us could take shorthand.
Stawks, 120 was the slowest speed we could do in shorthand to graduate from MBC.
on 22-06-2016 10:08 AM
I was one of those fast typists.......back then. I was THE dictaphone typist and telex operator.
I recall one of the older typists used to type uni students' theses for a bit of extra income on the side. No typos allowed then either......and on foolscap paper no less.
DEB
on 22-06-2016 07:08 PM
@lloydslights wrote:It was best to be an accurate typist back then. What a nuisance it was to erase errors. With the blue, pink, yellow, green and white Bank paper carbon copies all having to be mistake free.
And the "boss" sends back your beautifully presented document to the typing pool because one wrong five-letter word is be erased and replaced with a six-letter one......half spaces.
DEB
And those funny round erasers too. My mother was a dab hand as using them. I however could put holes in the paper....or I would leave marks bigger than the offending mistakes.
Got to love computers but I spend a fair portion of my time correcting other staffer's grammar, punctuation, formatting....and of course spelling. Oh well....my old English teachers would be proud that it all sank in so many years ago.
22-06-2016 08:31 PM - edited 22-06-2016 08:34 PM
Stawks, 120 was the slowest speed we could do in shorthand to graduate from MBC
Lyndal, I left school at 14. That was the certificate I achieved. Typing 100 wpm
How fast was the test FGS? Most people only speak at about 120 wpm.
Were you perhaps doing shorthand from a racecaller or auctioneer? hahahahaha
They told us that the boss would probably only speak at about 100wpm cos they
had to think about the letter they were composing.
on 23-06-2016 09:53 AM
on 25-06-2016 09:28 PM
My first paid job was in a bank. I was a proof operator, plus I did the dishonoured cheques. I didn't have to give them to the boss though, I put the notices in the envelope, sealed them and they went into the "to post" box. I could barely type when I started that job, but became very adept at doing those notices because it was often the same people getting notices, plus the banks address went on there too.
I also became lighting fast on the number pad on the proofing machine and could zoom through it all at lightning speed without having to look at what my fingers were doing. I made very few errors, but they were quickly picked up when I'd hit balance and it didn't. I lost that skill and now wish I didn't with computers having the number keypad. I have to look at that if I'm doing a lot of number stuff.
Best thing I ever did was leave the bank too. I lasted 8 months. I wasn't that well liked because I learned quickly and did the job better than a lot of the others and I don't think they liked me showing them up. I was told a few times I made them look incompetent. I was the outsider and I got sick of it, so changed professions entirely. The change was the best thing I ever did because even after 30 years, I can still honestly say I absolutely love my job and couldn't imagine doing anything else.
on 26-06-2016 04:17 AM
on 26-06-2016 08:39 AM
on 26-06-2016 12:02 PM
Hi tommy!
Just one question; You have been 75 years old for how many years?
I remember your first posts on eBay a few years ago.
Now I am much older than you.
Erica
on 26-06-2016 12:10 PM