Musings from an overworked translator

Guest post: Write-in candidates for ATA President-Elect and Director September 22, 2019

Dear ATA colleagues,

As many of you are aware, a group of us have been quite vocal about the issue of decoupling, specifically regarding the ATA Board diluting a membership right that is clearly granted in the Bylaws. Although the Board has agreed to postpone the effective date of decoupling until January 1, 2021, they have not formally agreed to seek membership approval in the form of a Bylaws amendment. We have attempted to dialog with the Board and have been rebuffed through various means, including being told that we had 6 years to bring this issue up, and that we were “too late”.

As a result, I am pleased to ask your support for Jill R. Sommer and I running as write-in candidates for the following positions:

President-elect: Robert Sette

Director (3-year term): Jill R. Sommer

The prime concern we have is to ensure that the voice of members is heard. You may have received messages before prior Board meetings saying “We are listening”. I guarantee you that if we are elected, we will hear your concerns, and our hearing will not be selective.

Our “platform” covers the following:

1. 1. Membership vote on decoupling: We support holding a Bylaws amendment vote as a prerequisite for opening the ATA certification exam to non-members, as well as an assurance that no member funds will be used to support non-members taking the exam.
   2. Consideration of member input and dissenting views: The Board has rebuffed member input on significant issues and has squelched dissenting views. Though policies and procedures are important, if they are to be enforced, they need to be communicated in a timely and effective manner.
   3. Continued inclusion of interpreters: We are a diverse association in terms of the languages we all work with, as well as the segments of the industry in which we work. Full-time interpreters, full-time translators, and all gradations in between deserve a voice in ATA affairs.
   4. We support more transparent, useful and timely information being provided to the membership. There is no reason that members should wait 3+ months for approval of the meeting minutes to learn factual information on action taken at ATA Board meetings. As a corollary, the policies according to which the Board operates should be easily available to the membership, notwithstanding confidentiality issues.
   5. Reform of the nominations process: We support the very recent Board action supporting multiple candidates for each elected office of the association. Diversity of views and “new blood” is very important in all director and officer positions, to avoid the leadership being monolithic (re: languages, policy positions, segment of the T&I industry, etc.).
   6. While this is not really a “plank” of our platform, Jill and I are both full-time freelancers, like a majority of our association.

In conclusion, I respectfully ask for your support for Jill and I for the specified positions. We are both available to answer any questions you may have.

Best regards,
Robert Sette, CT

Congratulations on 300 issues of the Tool Box Journal May 23, 2019

Jost Zetzsche sent out his 300th edition of the Tool Box Journal last night. That is indeed an amazing achievement, and I would like to take the time to congratulate him and thank him for all of his valuable contributions to the translation industry. He makes translation technology easier to understand and is an effective go-between between us and the toolmakers.

The ATA website had this to say about Jost in their article about awarding him Honorary Membership (the photo is also from the ATA website):

“Jost is the industry’s leading translation technology consultant and a published author on various aspects of translation. His computer guide for translators, A Translator’s Tool Box for the 21st Century, is now in its 13th edition, and his technical newsletter for translators goes out to more than 11,000 translation and interpreting professionals. In 2012, Penguin published his co-authored Found in Translation, a book about translation and interpreting for the general public. His most recent publication, Translation Matters, is a collection of 81 essays about translators and translation technology collected over the past 15 years.”

Congratulations, Jost! We look forward to another 300 editions.

Tips for the upcoming ATA conference October 7, 2016

It’s now less than a month until the ATA Annual Conference in San Francisco. I just wanted to share some administrative tips for those of you who may not be active on the listservs and might have missed it.

• Be sure to download the conference app and if nothing else please use it to submit session and conference evaluations. This will save ATA money and will ensure that the conference fee, which is now designed to break-even instead of lose money, will remain as low as it can possibly be.
• Bring your own tote or messenger bag to the conference. ATA decided last year to do away with them, since most people threw them out and, most recently, recycled them at the end of the conference. There will be an ATA messenger bag to purchase at the ATAWare table, but they sold out very quickly last year. So either bring your own bag or buy the messenger bag as soon as you check in.
• If you are planning on attending the Job Fair this year be sure to bring some printed resumes with you to hand to the companies there. The companies will have signs indicating exactly what they are looking for, so you won’t need 30. Maybe print out 10 just in case. Better to have too many than too few.
• Be sure to order and bring your business cards. I’ve been buying mine from Vista Print, but there are lots of affordable options. Just be sure to splurge a little and get one that doesn’t have an ad for the printing company.
• We will be in the Financial District again. This is close to the Embarcadero Center and the Ferry Building with its many restaurants and artisan food market as well as within walking distance of Chinatown and my favorite restaurant, The Tadich Grill (I highly recommend the cioppino). If you want to eat at the Slanted Door, which is also fairly close (1 Ferry Building #3), I recommend getting a reservation.
• For those of you who will still be there on Sunday, Jose, Joe and I are getting a group together for dim sum. Please let me know ahead of time if you’d like to join us so I can make the reservation. Dim sum is best enjoyed with a group.

ataTalk December 17, 2015

From the latest ATA Newsbriefs (12/16/2015):

ATA has launched ataTalk, a forum for discussions of ATA policy, activities, and governance issues. It’s a place where members can voice opinions and be heard by the association at large. Questions and problems that need to be addressed right away should continue to be directed to president@atanet.org.

I am very excited about this. Maybe this discussion can finally get off the Business Practices listserv and other places like LinkedIn, and focus the discussion in one central location so it isn’t so scattered.

ATA conference recap November 9, 2015

Today is the first day back after the ATA conference. I’m moving a little slowly, but I am up way earlier than I would usually be up (probably because I felt like going to bed at 9 PM last night but pushed it until 11). The first couple days back are always kind of anti-climatic, and I have some malaise, missing all the action and seeing all the wonderful people.

The conference this year was held in Miami. I didn’t see much of the city. I have traveled too much this year (having had vacations in Iceland, Charleston and New York City), so I decided to make it a short trip and just focus on the conference. Also, I just rescued a cat from a neighbor’s backyard and have been stressed out trying to integrate him with my cat and dog. I flew in on Wednesday night (missing the Buddies Welcome Newbies event and Welcome Reception, which I was sad about) and flew out Sunday morning. So I didn’t hit the beach or venture too far from the hotel this year, and that was okay. I was able to focus on sessions and on catching up with colleagues.

The hotel was located on the river, which was nice because I wasn’t tempted to hit the beach. We were able to watch yachts, pleasure boats and shipping barges float through and sail under the high MetroMover bridge and the drawbridges. Traffic in Miami is intense, so I was happy to rely on the MetroMover, taxis and Uber when I did venture out.

I had booked a room by myself, but was talked into having a roommate at the last minute. She ordered a roll-away bed and tucked it away in the corner. The two of us did not see much of each other (she was usually asleep by the time I got in), but she was an extremely pleasant roommate. If you are afraid of the cost of the conference, having a roommate can defray that cost. ATA offers a roommate referral service every year. This year it was in blog form, which may not be the best format, because I could not delete my original post and had received several inquiries about being a roommate after booking my king bed room. If anyone has a better solution please let me know so I can pass it on.

Wednesday night was spent catching up with friends in the bar over drinks and a quick flatbread. It was an early night for me though, because it had been such a rough week and I needed a good night’s sleep to fully enjoy the conference. Thursday night was the German Language Division event at the Intercontinental Hotel. I had toyed with the idea of not attending, because it is expensive and usually too crowded for my tastes (I can get a little claustrophobic). The venue this year was really dark, but it was very roomy and I found a table and sat down with some friends to catch up. The constantly circulating trays of appetizers (tuna tartare, beef empanadas, ceviche, caprese skewers, a Caesar salad wedge and some meat ball) filled us up.

One of the highlights for me is quickly becoming a tradition – a visit to a Brazilian churrascaria. I organized a group of 8 on Friday night. We had a couple others join us as the night progressed. The more the merrier I say. We went around the corner to an affordable churrascaria (only $27 not including drinks and dessert when they normally runs around $40) and ate our fill from the salad bar, hot dishes and skewers and skewers of meat. This particular restaurant didn’t have its liquor license, but that’s okay because we were there for the company and the food. Too bad the group of Germans who followed us to the restaurant thought I was joking when I told them there was no alcohol there. They ended up leaving and having a lovely meal elsewhere.

My presentation (Beyond the Basics: Tips for Better Formatting in MS Word) went well, and I received a lot of compliments. I was a little surprised that I finished it so quickly, but that left plenty of time for lots of formatting questions. One thing I did want to say (and it is probably my fault) is that it is probably a good idea to applaud for the speaker before you leave the room. This was not the first time I witnessed this at this conference. Like I said, it was probably my fault because I tend to be embarrassed by applause, but it also happened in the session directly after mine. We aren’t trained speakers, so we are not trained to pause for applause. Please make sure you do so to thank the presenter.

The only true criticism I had about the conference was not having enough seating for breakfast and not announcing the lack of tote bags early enough that some attendees weren’t surprised by the news (a move I applaud, BTW), but I think overall it was an excellent conference. The seating in the Regency Ballroom was comfy and offered a good view of the podium. I attended three fantastic medical translation sessions on the first day, attended several other sessions on project manager-translator relations, financial translation and PDFs, was able to take a break to hit the pool and to have a leisurely lunch with colleagues at the uniquely named restaurant El Cartel, and got to see just about everyone I wanted to see.

I spent Saturday afternoon in the bar and had the best networking experience of the conference. I met some amazing colleagues who I did not know through several I did, and we all ended up friending each other on Facebook at the end. We had planned on having a post-presentation drink and attending the Closing Session, but it was so enjoyable that we just stayed and stayed and stayed. I look forward to getting to know them better this year. You all rock!

Saturday night I went out with my core group of girlfriends and finally got a chance to see and talk with Corinne McKay, our President-Elect. I’m sure she is going to do an excellent job! We went to a Cuban restaurant that was loud and dark, but it had great food and the company was excellent. I had my first Rum Chata as well as a Cafe Cubano and some amazing plaintains, lobster and shrimp.

While filling out the Overall Survey in the airport I realized that I did not attend a single special event. This surprised me, and I intend to change that next year. The organizers offer something for everyone, and I hope that those of you who attended found a special event that you enjoyed.

And now it is time to buckle down and get back to work. I had some work pile up while I was at the conference. Isn’t that the way it always is? I hope those of you who attended had a great time at the conference. I urge those of you who have not yet attended to consider attending it next year. It’s in San Francisco and the hotel is in a fun location, near the Ferry Building, Chinatown and the Tadich Grill. The conference is a highlight of the year for me and everyone else who attends. It reenergizes me and makes me love my job even more. I’m just going to really miss the freshly squeezed passion fruit juice.

For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, here is the ATA’s official video recap of the conference.

Quick tip for the upcoming conference October 30, 2015

From today’s ATA Newsbriefs:

Bring your own tote
The ATA Conference is eliminating the conference tote. But don’t worry! There will be a Goodie Bag available for collecting swag in the Exhibit Hall. Want something a little sturdier? A “professional version” of the old conference tote will be for sale at the ATAware table.

I think this is a great idea, because most of us have been recycling our bags after the conference and there won’t be mix-ups since the totes will no longer look alike. Plus, I’ve been bringing this one with me for several years now.

See you all in Miami.