A Translator's Day

23/3/2006

This translator's day now begins with the day. Earlier it began at dusk on the week end when client’s love to send work and ended some weeks later when the work was dispatched. Now it’s just get out of bed, log on.
There was a lot of desperation because one is not working in the best of conditions.
There was more desperation as one skimmed through the various groups in between hours of typing at break neck speed- one person finds it stupid of translators to seek help with terminology and assumes that one has posted queries without any search. Another accuses one of being firang.
On the "White" site, there is the usual bashing of the Natives. Good fun for the Pale Face especially since most sensible Indian translators are too busy working to be bothered to hang out at such dhabas. The Chinese are inscrutable - they come, they post and they vanish. The Malays have no axe to grind since they only work within their native language... and English. They are equally discreet about the rampant Islamophobia. There is a kind of Jihad watch going on at the "White" site and I'm now in the line of fire for trying to say that it's not about Islam, it's about the oil.
It's 5 pm now- must get off this chair before I fossilize here.
And then? A minimalist shower, brush teeth (yech- that's my iguana breath out there), try not to burn the rice tonight. If resident Boy needs chauffeuring, Man and translator will do the needful and thus provisions will also be bought as in fruit, some booze for the 2 middle aged workaholics to ease the tired muscles at the end of very full days (work work nor dare to shirk while goblins laugh).
There might be a breakfast meet with local translators- looking forwards to that. Although the present 11, 000 words will be followed by another batch. Thankfully the client is as sweet as ever and has sent me the word counts so that I can invoice- some money for when this one's put out to pasture. I doubt that even then it will be enough to buy the simplest of roofs over the head but what the heck! At the end of the day all a Hindu needs is the Rs. 10,000 for the cremation (wonder what it'll be when this one croaks?).
That was pretty morose and hope tomorrow won't be more so. Hehehehehe, cackle, mrhahaa, cough cough cough. Yes, I'm still smoking like a fish.