Musings from an overworked translator

Fanta: The Reich Stuff? June 2, 2008

I should be translating, but just stumbled on this interesting bit of trivia on my Snopes.com gadget on my iGoogle page. I had never heard the urban legend that Fanta was invented by the Nazis. It isn’t true, but the story of how it was invented is very interesting. Apparently Fanta was invented during World War II when it became difficult to get the ingredients to make the syrup. A German-born Coca-Cola employee, Max Keith, came up with the idea to make a new soda with whatever they could find to keep the factories operating and protect Coca-Cola people by keeping them employed during the war.

The importance of ergonomics – and a good desk chair June 2, 2008

One of the things I stress to the students at Kent State’s Institute for Applied Linguistics is the importance of ergonomics – and most importantly a good desk chair. You will most likely be sitting at your computer for 6 to 10 hours a day (sometimes more), so it is very important to set up an ergonomically correct workstation. One of my former students bought a massage desk chair and loves it. Friends in Germany love sitting on exercise balls because they exercise your core muscles and force proper spine alignment. I had one in Germany that had little nubs to prevent it from rolling away when you weren’t sitting on it. I really regret not bringing it with me in my move back to the U.S. The main requirement is that the exercise ball be high enough to allow you to sit comfortably at the desk with your arms at a 90 degree angle to the keyboard.

Your computer monitor should be at eye level and there should be no glare from light sources behind or in front of the monitor. Ideally, the light should come from the side. Your desk chair should be adjusted so that your feet are flat on the floor (or resting on a foot rest – a telephone book can also be substituted for a foot rest) and the lumbar support presses comfortably against your back and follows the curves of your back. When the armrest on my last desk chair broke, I moved it to the living room computer and bought a used Herman Miller Aeron chair. The Aeron chair is considered the BMW of desk chairs and is priced accordingly ($700 to >$1,000). You can frequently find them at used office furniture stores or from offices that are going out of business.

I also find an ergonomic keyboard to be invaluable in preventing repetitive stress injury and carpal tunnel syndrome (I also use a little software tool called ‘WorkPace‘ to monitor my work level and force me take regular breaks, but more on that another day). I have two German Cherry keyboards with a built-in touchpad right under the arrow keys. They are so well-used that the letters have worn off some of the keys. There are numerous ergonomic keyboards and click-less mice out there to choose from. I find having a built-in touchpad prevents my arm from getting sore from constantly reaching for a mouse. The hot pink button is a ‘Panic’ button I bought from a local gag store.

You should also place the items you use most frequently within easy reach from where you sit. For translators, this means the phone and the dictionaries you use most often should be closest to you so you do not need to stretch to reach them. Dictionaries and reference materials I use less frequently are in bookcases scattered around my office (the sloping ceiling does not allow tall bookcases).

It is much better to prevent the injury from occurring in the first place than recuperating from a debilitating injury. The health consequences associated with desk work, such as a stiff neck, strained eyes, sore forearms or tingling and numbness that would indicate carpal tunnel, are easily preventable if you take the time to set your workspace up correctly. I also go the extra mile and try to get regular, monthly massages to loosen the rock-hard muscles in my neck and shoulders.

Spelling Bee fever May 30, 2008

Reading the paper this morning (yes, despite having a blog and working on the computer 24/7 I prefer to start my morning with a cup of fresh-brewed German coffee, turning the pages with newsprint-stained fingers), I was reminded it is time for the annual Scripps’ National Spelling Bee. As you all know, most translators have mad spelling skills and an interest in words. When my friend Corinne was in town to present at a NOTA event for local teachers and visit me two weeks ago, we went to see The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a Broadway musical about the spelling bee that is currently touring the country. I hadn’t laughed that hard in a long time. Almost every line was LOL funny. If you get a chance to see it, you should take advantage of it! You might even consider applying to be one of the four audience members who gets to spell words on-stage with the others. The night we were there one woman with excellent spelling skills flummoxed the actor playing the vice principal when she spelled a particularly difficult word, designed to eliminate her, correctly.

For those of you who won’t be able to go see the musical, ESPN will be broadcasting the semifinals live today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and ABC will carry the finals live this evening from 8 to 10 p.m.

The ebb and flow of the translation industry May 29, 2008

Thanks to the encouragement of my friend, Corinne, I have decided to share my inane thoughts and helpful tips with the world. You are probably wondering who I am and why I need a blog. I am a German to English translator and have been in the translation industry since 1995, when I graduated with an M.A. in translation from Kent State University. I lived and worked in Bonn, Germany for six years and have been back in the U.S. since 2001. I am a freelancer and work from home, which affords me the freedom to pick and choose jobs and take breaks whenever I want. I use a lot of tools in my job and have amassed a ton of helpful hints, and I plan on sharing them for posterity through this blog.

You’re probably wondering about the title of this post. It never ceases to amaze me how the field of translation can be so feast or famine. A few weeks ago I was eking by on a couple hundred words a day, and today I have assignments totally approximately 15,000 words – all due by June 4th. I also have a test translation I have been trying to finish, but it isn’t going to happen until I get the paid work off my desk. Most translators I know have periods in which they doubt their career choice – and it is generally in periods of feast and famine. The trick is knowing that this too shall pass. It’s important to remind yourself that your nightmare translation job will be over eventually and the next plum job is sure to come in any day now. I love my job – and plan to use this blog to explain why. I hope you enjoy it.