The loneliness of the part-time translator

Lately, I've been doing a fair bit of translation, and I'm sad to say that it does tend to sap my will to live somewhat. It is a bit like writing that awful essay about 'industrial themes in French 19th century literature', when you rewarded yourself for writing a whole sentence by staring out of the window for a full 15 minutes and wondering if your bladder could withstand yet another cup of tea. Translation in my field is equal parts detective work, dull formulations and rage inducing formatting. No wonder I'm so breezy and light hearted when I have lessons, I mean it's such a relief to have a NORMAL (well relatively) conversation with ANOTHER HUMAN BEING, rather than the usual monologues that go something like:
Is 'fabrication' production or manufacture? Do I care at this stage?

I know I'm very lucky to have the linguistic abilities that I do, but it seems that I've fallen into the default position of someone who sort of speaks five languages, i.e. a translator. I always said I would never translate (or teach for that matter - ha!), but here I am, knee deep in the stuff, and while I do enjoy the freedom that being a freelancer entails, I must admit that I feel frustrated as I sit in front of my computer for the 10th consecutive hour and my 18th cup of tea.

God knows how I would survive if I did this full time!

Translation is not the most glamorous business...

Ah yes, I remember now

See? This is what happens when you try to combine too many things at the same time: one of those things is always going to be the loser, and in this case turns ut it was the blog... Pesky things, like work and sleep generally get in the way of providing quality content on every weekday.

Ok, but I will give a little summary of what I've been up to: carrying boxes up and down stairs, running 12km on a beautiful autumn afternoon, getting ready for a meeting, translating a hotel website (and wanting to be a guest), teaching English and French, successfully avoiding the rain (though I think this is going to come to a sudden stop in approx 15 mins), making fantastic pie pastry (if I do say so myself), baking not so fantastic muffins (a case of over-stiring I believe), reading one million other blogs and forgetting to do one million other things.

You?

An embarrassment of surprises

So it turns out that all my internet orders turn up at the same time, the bedside table, the boots plus a whole bunch of books I ordered (for my bookclub see). Then on top of that I do some restrained shopping (one top, one pair of tights). And then the next minute, after pigging out on all this consumerism, I feel faintly nauseous and mildly embarrassed that I've spent all this money.

I think I need to get over that sharpish.

Hope the weather turns crap so that I can wear the boots though.

Working against the clock

Yup, another deadline I'm sweating against. Boy, do I regret reading all that stuff about the Republican VP candidate instead of translating that annual report.


Hope there's a question about her in the next pub quiz

Other people's business

I'm completely mesmerized by Governor Palin and have been reading about her in the British, American, Swedish AND French press (I like getting all the angles). It's weird, she looks so nice, and yet she is being portrayed as the Antichrist. Also, I was highly entertained by the photoshopped (must be) picture of her in a bikini toting some kind of mini-rocket launcher (or just a big gun - either way, it goes bang, or possibly boom).

Musos having some fun?

This article was in the paper today.

Bob Dylan and Oasis are underrated? Do we live on the same planet perchance?

Göteborg, you continue to tease

I know it must be some kind of proven fact, but simple pleasures are really the best and Gbg is a town that lets you enjoy them to their full extent. There can be nothing more relaxing and exalting at the same time as running errands in town on my bike with very few time pressures: you cycle around, you stop to admire a building you hadn't noticed before, you park with ease, you visit the library, you feel the wind blowing through your hair and life feels good.

Then you go home and try and have in important conversation in Swedish where you grasp about 65% of what was said.

Life in a foreign country, it's a roller coaster man.

That old chestnut about Mondays

Posting will be very slight on Mondays because they are going to be real work humdingers.