Go On, Make My Day

The last time I saw the phrase "Go on, make my day" was on a picture of a vicious dog, displayed on the window next to someone's front door. The dog was obviously going to enjoy carrying out his normal duties of protecting the house and getting his teeth into the intruder's leg. The dog's instinct, breeding, daily life and training, as well as the owner's expectations, will have been satisfied by the unwise and rash actions of the unfortunate person who does not heed the notice. Whether there was actually a dog in residence that day, or at all, might be questioned but finding out for sure is not on anyone's to do list. An equally convincing version is a portrait of the dog, making clear its breed and large size, with the words underneath "I live here". The satisfaction of someone or something making your day is when you finally have proof that your skills, methods, equipment or, in the dog's case, teeth used as weapons, actually work and do the job efficiently.* It inspires confidence that the situation can be dealt with successfully again and again with the tools that you possess, and puts you back in charge, and not at the mercy of events, problems or intruders.

*efficiently - the short form does not have an Ell stroke, but you can add a disjoined Ell if you felt it was necessary for clarity

GO ON, MAKE MY DAY
Buy a clock like this for
your shorthand dictator

There is a shorthand lesson in here somewhere! When you have spent a lot of your precious time learning the skill, it is only natural to want to use it at every opportunity. Using it for real, rather than practising, highlights the fact* that you have a new item in your armoury for dealing with and capturing the endless flow of information – just like getting a new laptop, a camera that does more than just take pictures, or an Iphone that has all the apps that you need to make your life easier, faster and more efficient. There is no pleasure in having a new “toy” unless you are able to put it to work for real and gain a genuine satisfaction from possessing the necessary tools for what you wish to do.

*Fact - the phrase omits the "F", see
www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/phrasing4-omission.htm

GO ON, MAKE MY DAY
Tell me a bedtime story
or recite all the Short Forms
to get me to sleep

At work I sometimes imagined how things would be if I did not know shorthand. It was not that I would be doing that work in a different way. The reality was that it would just be someone else doing it and getting paid for it instead of me, and I would be doing the less interesting copy and audio typing jobs. I eagerly awaited each assignment and looked forward to proving my skills. I would leave the noisy typing room and go upstairs to the main offices with my pristine pad and pen, and find the desk of the person who had requested someone to take the notes and type them up. No-one dictated really fast, because they were composing the letters, reports or minutes, and stopping to think all the time. Nevertheless I had to be "on the ball" as they often wanted it read back to them to check up on the wording. No computers in those days to make proofing easy! At first, reading back was less* than comfortable, but it was a good training ground. I soon found that it was essential to mark the separate paragraphs clearly, so that I could find my place quickly.

*"Less" has downward Ell only in this phrase, the outline on its own has upward Ell.

GO ON , MAKE MY DAY
Tell me I have reached 200 rpm

Once I had successfully completed my first few assignments at real-life shorthand writing, I was ready and willing to do it as often as possible. The instruction to go and take the shorthand really made my day. There was also satisfaction in seeing a job through from beginning to end,* as well as getting about more to meet the people in other parts of the building. For the learner, passing speed tests is very gratifying but the pleasure of achieving the finished result on paper - the transcript, letter or report, entirely accurate, complete and neatly laid out - not only makes your day, but also that of the person who requested it. Your qualms about your own shorthand ability, and their worries about whether the report will be what they said, will evaporate and be rapidly forgotten. Working on improving suddenly becomes very much more attractive, smoothing your path on future shorthand assignments. A job well done is also a good advertisement for the benefits of shorthand. A practical demonstration in a real job situation, especially when a deadline is met easily and in good time, is infinitely better than the mere relating of opinions on the merits or otherwise of shorthand.

*"from beginning to end", see
www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/phrasing8-intersections.htm

Unlike the ferocious dog, it is quite in order and perfectly legal for you to “sink your teeth” into shorthand. When you achieve your first successful dictation attempt, however short and at whatever speed, I know from experience that this will certainly make your day and provide the energy and incentive to continue your efforts to improve. When you smash through your personal speed target, whether that is 20 words per minute or 200 words per minute, or anything in between, I would like to say, “Go on, make my day” and let the rest of us shorthand devotees know, via the Guestbook, of your victory, which I trust will be just one in a succession of shorthand achievements. (868 words)