The interpreter’s prayer

Lord,

Grant me the ability to understand as many terms as I can…

…the serenity to accept the fact that there is no way I can memorize every single vocabulary term in the universe…

…and a strong stomach so that I don’t throw up from nerves.

 Amen.

The money has been shown

Without delving into details, I am happy to announce all the people who owed me money for translating projects have paid.

After all this time that I had to say no to interpreting projects due to my day job, an offer has landed on my lap. I will be doing some interpreting in a little over a week.  The case appears simple, but I still need to prepare. Maybe I should start by reading Céline’s Naked Translations.

 And of course, I have nothing to wear. Can I justify purchasing a business suit and awesome pumps as a business expense? Probably not.

Show me the money

Let me tell you a story.

2005  I decide to launch Jo-Hanna C. Goettsche Translations. I manage to score my first job, the translation of a safety manual from Puerto Rican Spanish to English. Normally, any decent translator should only translate into his/her first language. Somehow, I manage to make it work. All 117 pages. I buy Trados. I learn how to use it. I frequently check the OSHA website, take full advantage of how many English terms appear in anything written in Puerto Rican Spanish, work out a schedule so that I make progress while only minimally neglecting my household chores. Somehow, I manage to deliver the job in a timely fashion.

 And then the waiting begins. Seriously, it took like 2 months to get paid. I learned about the importance of invoices, putting the “payment due in 30 days” part in boldface.

It is now 2007. I am waiting for a paycheck for a much smaller job. Stay tuned.