On January 23, 2002

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NEW PROMPT:
Writer's Cramp is seven years old today. What did you do in 2002, when The Writer's Cramp was started? A story or poem reflecting what you did on Jan 23, 2002.
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On January 23, 2002, I was hosting my AOL medical transcription chat room. The topic scheduled that night was quality or productivity. As usual, we barely touched on this subject since I was anything but a strict host. For one hour each week, I simply wanted people to gather and relax after working hard all week.

I only had a few rules: No swearing, and that included the S word (snow) in the winter months; no union talk since that subject was verboten to most of us; no picking on each other or ganging up on one person. That last one I never had to enforce because all my chatters were perfect ladies and gentlemen. In my six years of hosting, it disappointed me that I never had to use my AOL tools to kick a person out of my room.

Getting back to January 23, 2002, we discussed Google, a favorite way of MT’s to search for medications, operating room equipment, and other terms used in this profession. At one point, one woman shocked us by saying she’d never heard of Google. I’m hoping seven years later that all of you reading this have Googled extensively. If you want to learn how to use this marvelous tool for MT’s and writers, just read my articles linked below:

Google: A Writer's Tool - Part I  (E) An explanation on how to use the Google search engine. . #1123627 by J. A. Buxton

Another MT warned, “It's GIGO on the net,” something all of you reading this should remember. GIGO, as you might know, is garbage in, garbage out. Not everything on the Internet is valid, so be careful if you’re checking for accuracy in your stories.

One point brought up in that chat, also critical to writers on WDC, would be to use correct grammar and punctuation. Even years after I stopped doing medical transcription, I use many of my punctuation online sites saved during that year.

The year 2002 was important to me, not just January 23rd. That was the year I took early retirement at the age of 60 from medical transcription and started writing a little bit. Other than that, this prompt entry is short since my memory bank is empty for that long ago.

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Microsoft Word count = 355

"The Writer's Cramp"  daily entry for 01/23/09
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