Musings from an overworked translator

Savoring the slow days March 24, 2009

After work 12- to 14-hour days all last week and translating a total of around 34,000 words I woke up this morning with a dull headache, but was committed to enjoying the day. It’s chilly but sunny, and the birds are singing and building their nests. The perfect spring day. I had a nice lie-in with my dog, Lily, tucked in firmly by my side (I don’t know if she was afraid of the windows rattling from the spring gusts or was cold, but she usually sleeps at my feet – or rather ON my feet). She almost pushed me out of bed this morning, and that’s unusual. After letting her out to run around the backyard, I fired up the computer and checked my e-mail. I translated the two remaining responses in the survey (final word count: 35,789 – 5,000 of which were translated by a colleague so I could enjoy the weekend) and put on a pot of coffee. I have a 4-cup Gevalia coffeemaker that makes the most delicious coffee… I have a medical report due later today, and one of my colleagues is checking several spots for me. I’ll be heading out to deliver Meals on Wheels in about half an hour, which brings me great joy. I then have an appointment scheduled at 2 with a colleague through LogMeIn to finally remove all vestiges of Office Live, which causes Word to crash every few minutes and drive me batty. Once my computer is fixed and the translation is delivered the day yawns ahead of me, and I plan to embrace it. I’ll definitely go on a walk with Lily in the local park – or maybe even head down to her favorite dog park. I’ll read several chapters of The Private Patient by P.D. James and maybe catch up on some TV shows. The evening will be probably spent watching several movies (Hancock and The Dark Knight) that I borrowed from the public library and have to return soon. Sounds like heaven, doesn’t it? Now if you’ll excuse me, I need a refill on my coffee…