I've been away from this blog for a while, which usually means only one of two things: either work has been bad and I'm depressed about it, or it's been good and I'm too busy to update.
Luckily, in this case, it was the latter.
Isn't it nice how all the work seems to suddenly appear just as you are trying to go on vacation for a few days? It's a really good thing that I brought my laptop with me to the cabin near the Catskills that my in-laws rent every year. I had work to take care of nearly every day.
The most stressful part about that was experiencing my first late translation. I had a job due on the Friday when we left town, and for some inexplicable reason, I didn't send it. It was finished and ready to go (completed early, in fact), but for some reason it just slipped my mind to send it out.
This only happened because I usually let my translations sit for a little while, then come back to them with fresh eyes for the final proofreading. In the hectic period just before leaving, I didn't manage to do that.
Needless to say, the client was quite concerned. And since I don't have remote access to my desktop, I had to have a friend stop by the house and send the file for me. I followed up with apologies and discounts and crossed my fingers. Luckily, the client seemed satisfied enough, and even offered me another job soon after. I'm glad that my past performance with them allowed them to overlook this mishap.
Despite all the work, I managed to do a lot of fishing. I caught a bass that was 18.5 inches long - the biggest thing I've ever caught. I was very excited, and I'm really "hooked" on fishing now.
My apologies for the terrible pun - it's been a crazy week.
I should have known that my idea for the title of my blog was too good to be true...
Turns out there's already at least one "Translate This!" blog out there, courtesy of Michael Wahlster. Darn it all! Of course, I'm left with no choice but to take down the name for now until I come up with something more original. Anyone have any good suggestions? (Thanks to Margaret for pointing it out).
Poor communication in business rears its ugly head again. In this case, it's probably my fault - I took on a large job without a clear enough, written description of what I was supposed to be doing. The client is very trusted so I'm not really worried; it's just a matter of clearing up what wasn't done that was supposed to be done.
It's a pain, though, and awkward at times. I need to keep in mind that you can't be too clear about these things right from the start.