Report from the 50th ATA conference November 17, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in ATA, Random musings, Translation.10 comments
Opening Ceremony of the 50th ATA Conference
I have finally worked my way through all the mail, bills, errands, etc. that piled up while I was traveling to Myrtle Beach and NYC. It didn’t help that I immediately got slammed with work (not that I am complaining about that!!!) when I got back from the conference. I’ve had some time to mull things over, and I would like to share my impressions of the conference with you all.
The view of Times Square from my hotel room
The hotel bar
As I’m sure you have read everywhere else, this year’s conference had a record 2,300+ attendees. The hotel was located in the heart of Times Square, which was exciting, but also really expensive. In past years my fellow translators and I would hang around the hotel bar and network after hours, but with a beer costing $12 and a mixed drink at $16 there wasn’t a whole lot of hanging around being done. Also, the hotel didn’t have a lot of seating that encouraged you to hang around and catch up with friends and make new ones. The conference was spread out over four floors, so unless you already made plans and specified where to meet it was rather difficult to find people. There were quite a few attendees who I wanted to see but never did. Plus, I specified my cell phone number as my on site contact information, which never made it into the attendees list due to the sheer number of attendees that needed to be listed. I got home from the conference and had two calls on my answering machine from people looking for me at the conference.
Michael Wahlster presents the ins and outs of Twitter to a packed room
The presentations were without a doubt top-notch this year. With all the proposals submitted only 1 out of 4 proposals were accepted, so the presenters really were the cream of the crop. I did not venture much out of the hotel this year and only attended one clunker, which was held by an invited speaker who was clearly out of her depth. The highlights for me were Karen Leube’s presentation on German-English medical translation and Chris Durban and Lillian Clementi’s Up the Down Economy! Growing Your Practice with ATA’s Client Outreach Kit. Karen’s presentation opened my eyes to several translation methods I have immediately started implementing, and I had heard good things about Chris Durban’s presentations for years. I hope to use some of their ideas to branch into marketing to some direct clients this year.
Amanda showing off her double microphones and conference badge
My presentations were very well-received. As usual, they were held at the same time as presentations I really wanted to attend, like Renato Beninatto’s and Nina Sattler-Hovdar’s presentations. Maybe next year. Amanda Ennis and I presented the first session for new attendees for something like the fifth year in a row. We’ve got our schtick down and still hopefully manage to make it quite fresh and entertaining. We’re the Abbott and Costello of translation :-). We have props and everything. This year they filmed us, which was a little intimidating.
Tuomas at the start of our presentation
I was most excited about my second presentation of the conference, Making Portable Document Format Files Work For You, with Tuomas Kostiainen. Tuomas showed the attendees the ins and outs of Adobe Acrobat, such as editing PDFs, filling out PDF forms, and creating electronic signatures, and creating translation memories from PDFs using LogiTerm AlignFactory. I filled the second half of the presentation showing everyone how to create PDFs in Word and Excel and how to use optical character recognition tools to create MS Word files for translation in translation environment tools. I also briefly touched on formatting in Word. We received lots of enthusiastic feedback, which is always appreciated.
Chair massages complements of Bodyworks and ATA
The highlight of the conferences for me are the free chair massages that are available to attendees in the back of the Exhibit Hall. There is usually a bit of a wait, but I find if you wait until during sessions the wait isn’t as long. While you are waiting you can sit and massage your feet on an electronic foot massager. The massage therapists are always top-notch, and I enjoy slipping them a little tip as a thank you for giving me a little relaxation in the midst of all the craziness.
Presentation at the SDL Trados booth
The Exhibit Hall is also a central draw of the conference. Vendors such as tool vendors, universities, dictionary companies and translation agencies staff their booths to show us the latest and greatest in translation and interpreting. I usually buy a dictionary at the conference every year, but I never managed to get to the Intrans Books stand this year. I did stop at a couple translation agency booths to say hi to project managers with whom I have worked in the past and to reconnect with agencies who I have lost touch with when my project manager(s) left the company. I also walked through the Job Exchange at least once a day to make sure my resumes and business cards were replenished and prominently visible.
CETRA Reception
Last but not least, the networking. In addition to the blogger lunch I organized on Day 1 and the Kent State lunch on Day 2, I was invited to several private receptions for various translation agencies with whom I work. I enjoyed finally meeting one of my favorite project managers after talking with her on the phone for several years now. Plus, it is a nice opportunity to sit down and really talk with colleagues in a smaller, quieter setting.
View of the Chrysler Building from The View
I had planned to leave on Saturday afternoon, but decided to stay an extra night when a friend offered me her free bed for the night. Since I had driven to Baltimore and took the bus to NYC it wasn’t a problem to stay. I went out for a wonderful dinner at The View, which was the revolving restaurant on the top floor of the hotel. We sat in the lounge, enjoyed the buffet and even got to watch the fireworks from the World Series over the skyscrapers. Afterward we headed down to the conference dance and danced a bit before calling it a night. It was a great way to end the conference.
All in all I am very glad I went to this year’s conference. The presentations were interesting, and despite a couple minor complaints the venue was fabulous. I wasn’t feeling well, and some people noticed it enough to call me after the conference because they were concerned. I ended up being really sick the whole next week and am still not 100%. However, I still managed to meet what promises to be two new agencies, reconnected with some agencies and colleagues, met some really great new people, and got to hang out with my friends. And I got to see the Naked Cowboy 🙂
Twenty years ago today… November 9, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in German culture, Random musings.8 comments
“The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a concrete barrier erected by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) (East Germany) that completely encircled the city of West Berlin, separating it from East Germany, including East Berlin. The Wall included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed a wide area (later known as the “death strip”) that contained anti-vehicle trenches, “fakir beds” and other defenses.” – Wikipedia
The East German government built the Wall on August 13, 1961 to stop East German citizens from fleeing to West Germany. Once the Wall was up the vast majority of East Germans could no longer travel or emigrate to West Germany. Families were separated and East Germans who had worked in West Berlin could no longer go to their jobs. Around 5,000 people attempted to escape over the Wall after it was built, with death toll estimates between around 100 and 200. I had always been fascinated with German culture, and after I watched the movie “Gotcha” starring Anthony Edwards I decided I wanted to be a spy in East Berlin and studied German and Russian in college.
I was living in Salzburg during my academic year abroad. The previous year I had taken a German culture class, and my professor had stated we would never see the fall of the Berlin Wall in our lifetime. That professor was our Academic Year Abroad (AYA) adviser that year, and our group had just returned from a trip to Vienna, Austria. We were all amazed when the first dominoes started falling, when Hungary proclaimed itself a democratic republic and opened its border on October 23rd. The inflow of Hungarians into Austria was immediately apparent. East Germans were also fleeing to Austria through Hungary. Hungary tried to close the border again, but the damage was done. East Germans clogged the West German embassy in Budapest and refused to return to East Germany. This then triggered a similar incident in Czechoslovakia and mass protests within East Germany.
I remember November 9th being a very exciting day. The East German government announced that East Germans would be allowed to cross through the border checkpoints, and the people started flowing through. It was chaos. The border guards didn’t know what to do or how to react. East Germans walked through the West Berlin streets, unsure what to do with themselves. Lots of people climbed onto the Wall once they realized the border guards weren’t going to retaliate. Strangers were hugging and kissing each other. I remember sitting around the TV in my Austrian dorm watching the happenings in Berlin, crying. My parents told me later they were looking for me at the Wall, but I had an art history exam that Monday so I stayed home to study (what an egghead, right? That is one of my biggest regrets in my life…).
I got my chance to hammer away at the Wall in February when I traveled through Berlin during our month off. We still needed transit visas to enter East Germany and to cross the border into East Berlin, but we were free to visit the museums (the Pergamon Museum was and is amazing!), shop in the East Berlin stores, and chop away at the Wall. It was bizarre. The photos you see above were taken there of me – in the Wall and in front of a hole in the Wall with a guard house behind it – and I didn’t realize a guard stopped and posed behind me.
When I visited Haus der Geschichte while living in Bonn as you got closer to the late 1980s in the exhibit they had a recording of the “chink-chink” sound of chisels and hammers chopping at the concrete that you could hear along the Wall back then. It brought tears to my eyes and transported me back to February 1990. My pieces of the Wall are among my most prized possessions.
My dream of being a spy was crushed that day, but I stuck with the languages, graduating with a double major in German and Russian and a minor in Political Science. I went on to get a Master’s in translation and the rest is history. All’s well that ends well.
Congratulations Germany on a peaceful transition of power 20 years ago and a successful reunification.
Hitting the ground running November 3, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in ATA, Random musings.2 comments
I made it home safely with a few cosmic and inspiring twists in my day yesterday. Suffice it to say that I truly believe I was an instrument from someone on the Other Side and helped a man in dire straits yesterday. I can’t go into more detail here, because my mother reads the blog and wouldn’t approve (Mom, this is one of those “Czech Republic” stories. Trust me, you are better off not knowing about it).
This morning I was up early and was unpacked and had my laptop contents transferred over to my work computer by 9 a.m. I am fighting a bad cold, but feel slightly better this morning after a good night’s sleep (I still can’t breathe though). It’s my annual post-conference cold. I think I was fighting it the entire conference though, because I wasn’t my usual chipper and networking self. All in all it was a very good conference. I attended lots of interesting presentations and ventured away from the hotel a little bit (but not as much as I had planned to). I have about 4 blog posts inspired by the conference, one of which I think will create lots of discussion because it is going to be a bit controversial. However, I think I should be tip top again before writing anything controversial.
I enjoyed meeting many of you at the conference this year. I will be posting about the blogger lunch tomorrow. We were 18 people in total, scattered over five tables (unless I missed some of you). I enjoyed being greeted in the hallways and after presentations with comments about my blog. It is very gratifying to know that people enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.
I have a full day of invoice writing, proofreading, translating and voting ahead of me, so I’d best get cracking. Today’s Adam@Home made me chuckle, so I am going to leave you with this fun little cartoon:
ATA conference update October 29, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in ATA, Random musings.12 comments
The biggest complaint I hear about the ATA conference every year is the fact that guests have to pay for Internet access on top of paying a large hotel bill when every Motel Six or Quality Inn offers free Internet access with rooms starting at $39.95. Last year in Orlando one of the agencies sponsored Internet access, so we got spoiled very quickly. I’ve been going through Internet withdrawal while here, because it costs $16.95 a day to connect to the Internet at the Marriott Marquis on Times Square. I knew it would be expensive, but I had no idea it would be THAT expensive. I felt cheap, but I lowered myself to go to my favorite agency owner’s room to send the agency a file on Wednesday. Luckily he had a sense of humor about it.
I bit the bullet tonight and purchased access, because I came home after the GLD dinner because I wasn’t feeling well and wanted to post on the blog and catch up on Twitter. I may even go to T-Mobile tomorrow and upgrade my phone. I’ve been meaning to do it for several months now, but I digress…
Anyway, back to my point… I was told that the hotel offered the conference attendees access for $2,000.00 a day. That may just be a rumor, but it certainly sounds credible. If that is the case, if half of the attendees would pay an extra fee for Internet access that would cover the costs of Internet access during the conference. Sure, we have the Cyber Cafe in the Exhibit Hall, but it is only open until 6 p.m. and there are long lines. Susanne III suggested an opt-in for Internet access. If ATA were to offer an opt-in check box on the Registration Form (perhaps in the area where one can order the conference DVD) for $10 for Internet access for the four days of the conference I think that would more than cover access for those who want it – and those who do not need it would not pay for it through the registration fees. I know I for one wouldn’t mind paying extra for it, because it is less than $67.80 plus tax (4 days at $16.95).
As freelancers we are dependent on the Internet to ensure our clients do not feel ignored. That means we need to check our e-mail at least once a day even if we are at the conference. I understand I could cover this by purchasing a Crackberry or a T-Mobile Dash, but I know I for one go through Internet withdrawal without access.
So what say you, ATA decision-makers? Would this be a viable solution?
I could get used to this… October 18, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Random musings.5 comments
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…
Please excuse the silence October 14, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Random musings.1 comment so far
Hi everyone,
Please excuse the silence for the next couple weeks. I have two large projects starting up in the next couple days (when it rains it pours!!) and will be in and out of town over the next couple weeks. I will of course be at the ATA conference in New York City and am frantically trying to get everything done before tomorrow. Why is it that whenever you go out of town you run around trying to get everything done you should have gotten done weeks ago? And of course I always feel my apartment should be spotless for when I return (no idea why, it really doesn’t make any sense, but that’s how it is with me). So please excuse the silence. I’ll be back in November with lots to talk about. The ATA conference always recharges my translation batteries.
Blog lunch at ATA conference October 8, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, Random musings.16 comments
Since we had such a fun time last year I was thinking it might be good to organize another lunch at this year’s ATA conference for fellow bloggers and those of you who read our blogs. We met last year for lunch on Thursday, the first day of the conference. I suggest we meet in the lobby right at 12:35 or so. I will be presenting the First-Time Attendees presentation until 12:30. Feel free to meet me in the back of the room if you want to be sure to find me.
Since the conference hotel is directly on Times Square I was thinking the Stage Deli might be a good choice. There are plenty of options for both vegetarians and meatatarians. The sandwiches are massive and can be shared or taken back to the hotel to eat for a late-night snack. The hotel is located at 1535 Broadway (on W. 46th) and the Stage Deli is at 834 7th Avenue (which is at W. 53rd and 7th – just 7 blocks down and one over). If anyone has another suggestion, please add a comment here. The restaurant should be within walking distance of the hotel.
If you are interested in joining us, either add a comment or send us an e-mail so we can be sure to look for you.
I want to be a plumber September 25, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Random musings, Translation.3 comments
Martin at False Friends, Good and Bad Translation, Denglisch, Tipps für Übersetzer just posted the best blog post I’ve read in a while. If you understand German, you should run right over there and check it out. In the meantime, I have written him to see if I can translate it and post it here for all you non-German speakers. He basically tells the story of a plumber who has to work over the weekend and then has a DIY client mess it up along the motto of “Ich kann’s besser/I can do it better.” It’s priceless!
Working from home has its advantages September 22, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Random musings.7 comments
I finished my big project yesterday on schedule and am looking forward to things calming down a bit for about a week or so until the next big job starts up. I’ve really been enjoying the comments on the last post on whether you work with distractions. It seems as if, like me, most people prefer to work in silence or have quiet music in the background. And no one takes naps. That said, working from home does have its advantages. I have a small translation to work on, but I am planning a big cleaning day today. A fall cleaning if you will. Hope you all are having a great week!
Words every client should hear September 16, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Random musings, Translation.3 comments
RT: @sarahdillon: A good translator isn’t expensive – just see how much a bad one really costs you & you’ll agree…
Thanks, Sarah, I could not agree more!
Musings from an overworked translator 