I could get used to this… October 18, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Random musings.trackback
Have I told y’all lately how much I love my job? Greetings from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I drove down with a friend who is organizing a conference with the promise that I could have a free room and board and could work from the room. This is the view from my hotel room. I have a couple big jobs that I am working on, so I decided to save my arms and fingers from carpal tunnel and dragged my entire work computer set-up with me – German keyboard, PCU, widescreen monitor, back-up external hard drive, etc. The desk is right next to the sliding door/window – and what a view it is!
All total with bathroom breaks and a lunch and breakfast break we were in the car for 13 hours. We left on Thursday at about 6:45 am and got into the hotel at 8:30 pm. I had a deadline the next day, so I started translating as soon as I got unpacked and got the computer set up. I delivered 6,300 the next day (Friday). I had translated some the day before to ensure I would make it. I ended up subcontracting about 2,300 words to a colleague, because there is no way I would have met the deadline otherwise. I thoroughly checked her work and tweaked it before integrating it with mine.
The second half didn’t come in on Friday as expected, so I was able to enjoy a day off on Saturday. We did some sightseeing and some shopping (and I bought a much-needed sweatshirt). In the meantime, another client sent me some medical reports to translate for delivery early next week, so I translated them today. I also managed to have a leisurely breakfast in the hotel restaurant, take a 2-mile walk along the beach and collect seashells and rescue a monarch butterfly from the surf and carry it to the dunes to let its wings dry, and get a manicure and pedicure. Tonight I attended the opening cocktail hour and dinner for the foundation’s conference. Now I am back in my room to translate the final 330 words to the final medical report.
It’s colder than normal here, and it rained the first day (which was perfect motivation for translating). The sun finally broke through the clouds today for the first time, and it is supposed to get progressively warmer starting tomorrow. I have a facial scheduled and plan to walk along the beach again. I will also be getting two large jobs tomorrow if all goes well. I love the freedom to be able to just relocate and look out the window at the ocean and swimming pools while I work. Life is good…
Musings from an overworked translator 
This is definitely one of the perks of freelance work, so enjoy it now that you got it all to come together! Myrtle Beach can be a fun place to visit in the off season. Barefoot Landing has some great shops – oh, and check to see if there are any good bands playing at the House of Blues, too. Shoot, I’d drive up and meet you for lunch (just an hour away!), but I’m over in Germany right now.
Oh drat! It would have been great to visit with you, Melissa! But have fun in Germany.
Hi, Jill, your blog is my Google Reader and I love reading your posts.
Like you, I also love being a translator! I’ve always travelled with my laptop, but life is getting easier and easier now, with hotspots, wireless connections, smaller computers and so on. Last year my husband took a course in Florence, Italy (we live in Brazil, btw), and there we went. Our son, 4.5 at the time, went with us. I worked every day for our regular client and a few others, but due to the time zone, I usually had free mornings! My son went to an English speaking recreational school, which was GREAT. My English husband went to his course. The weekends were filled with walking around that wonderful city. We spent a month there, and 1.5 month in other places (Rome, Paris and London).
Our profession allows us to do that, and we intend to do it again some years from now.
Thanks, Adriana. I always love hearing from loyal readers. I’m glad you enjoy my random ramblings.
Love the photo!! It definitely puts our job stress in perspective 🙂 I always find that when I’m corresponding with one of my cubicle slave friends and I start an e-mail with “I’m sitting here at my desk, watching the sun set over the Rockies…” I stop for a moment and realize how good we have it!