The Eleven Fingers

Typing is one of activities that a lot of people do. Like in Indonesia, a rise in PC and laptop ownership has also increased the typing frequency. Unfortunately, despite the high frequency of typing, it seems that the typing skills of Indonesians is still low. It is evident from the fact that I still can see a lot of people use 'eleven fingers' when typing. Eleven fingers is a humorous term for typing using just the left and right forefingers, thus forming eleven-like shape. All  my classmates are the followers of Eleven Fingers. Even I noticed my friend who is a computer programmer still commits that sin. I used to be one of them until God shows me the right path. 

Actually, I first learned how to type using 10 fingers in 2012. And my reason why I learned the skill was not because I wanted to be able to type fast. But I wanted to take revenge on one of my classmates (the follower of Eleven Fingers) who kept humiliating me because I typed slowly. Therefore, I was so determined to learn the skill that in less than a week I could strike all the keys on the keyboard without looking. I keep improving the skill until now. I think that 10-finger typing makes me look more professional, besides making me type faster. So, I really recommend that you learn the skill and break your relationship with Eleven Fingers. 

To learn how to type using 10 fingers is not as hard as what you think. You don't have to memorize the location of each key on your keyboard. You only have to locate the F and J keys and place your left and right indexfingers gently on that keys. There is actually an easier way for you to locate those keys without looking. Try to touch the F and J keys again. Can you feel the bumps? The bumps are there to help you locate the keys. Now, place your left middle finger on the D key, the ring finger on the S key, and the little finger on the A key. Your right forefinger, middle finger, and little finger should be rested gently, respectively, on the K, L, and semicolon (;) keys. The keys on which your fingers rested now are called home row keys. The home row keys can be considered as the starting point from which all keystrokes are made. While for the thumbs, they should be rested on the space key.

After you know the idea on how 10-finger typing (more commonly known as touch typing) works,  now you are ready to learn more. The easiest way to master the skill is by using free online typing tutorial. One of my favorites is typingweb.com. It provides comprehensive lessons and is really easy to use. After you are good enough at touch typing, you can try other typing websites, like typeracer.com where you can compete with other typists from all over the world.

In the first few weeks your typing speed may become slower because you are still in the process of getting accustomed to not looking at the keyboard while typing. But after you get the hang of it, you can reach the speed of 40 WPM (word per minute), and increase the speed to the level that you never think you are capable of. My typing speed now is 50-80 WPM. That speed is nothing compared to other typists who can reach more than 150 WPM.

Welcome to My Blog and My First Post

First of all I'd like to thank you for coming by my little blog. Well, it seems like there's another boring blog for you to read, but trust me I've put my heart into it. And I'll do my best to write decent blog posts (or at least something clear enough to read).

Talking about writing, I can't believe I finally start posting something on my blog. Actually, I created this blog a long time ago, but I left it unattended. Paradoxically, the more I tried to post something on my blog, the less enthusiastic I got. And my purpose of creating this blog was actually to help me improve my writing. I intended this blog to be a substitute for diaries. 

I want to be level with you that I'm not really into writing. I find it difficult even more difficult than taming my mom's anger. Besides, I have a lot of bad experiences with it. As a college student of course I have to do a bunch of writing assignments. And every time my lecturers announce at the beginning of the semester that I'll have to write scholarly papers, all of a sudden that dim and gruesome pictures overwhelm me. It's just like a nightmare. I can't imagine having to sit for hours in front of my laptop. I'm not exaggerating, but I always get this tingling sensation in my head every time I write.

I don't have any animosity towards writing, but I just think that I'm not really good at it. One of the reasons why I think so is that I'm not good at it. I don't know what to write. My brain feels numb and my hands shiver. Moreover, I always feel nervous when the due date is approaching. It's so frustrating to know my friends, who start the writing later than me, have already finished their writing assignments. Even those who start writing a day before the due date can finish their assignments in no more than eight hours. While for me, even though I start the writing weeks before the due date, I am still struggling with my paper. Even, often times, I have to stay up until the next morning. 

Despite the heart-rendering true story, my papers always turn out well. That seems magical to me because for me my papers don't deserve high scores. I'm not saying that I don't deserve those A's, though, for I think this success is due to  my efforts and determination, and luck (which contributes 99.9%). 

However, now I have come to the realization that I should start to love writing. Especially after one of my lecturers explain the benefits I can reap from it. He said that by writing we can reflect on what we've learned and make it last longer in our memory. Then I started to think that perhaps that's the reason why I don't get the most out of what I've read. So, it is my lecturer who has provided me a spark of interest in writing. It is just the same feeling I got when my English teacher in middle school washed away my hatred for English, and it turns out that now I become an English major. So who knows that I can be a writer in the future, even though it seems impossible to tell from this post. But, I'm sure that by keeping on writing I can produce a finely honed piece of writing.