I've forgotten much about what my life was like before engineering school took over. While engineering students have to go to school and interact with each other, highly introverted freelance translators don't tend to get out much. School being out for the holidays, today was a typical translator day.
I struggle out of bed, consume caffeine, and read my morning junk on the internet. When I run out of junk (this can happen, believe it or not), I make more coffee and start translating. I take a break for lunch, translate some more, take a break to ice down my shoulder (a new part of my routine), finish up the job, step outside to get the mail, ice down the shoulder again… Not all that interesting to write about.
Yes, that's a day in the life of a translator. Thinking back, I recall that this is partly why I started going to engineering school. The lack of human interaction was getting to me. Admittedly, I'm so introverted that it took ten years before it started getting to me, but even introverts can get lonely and weird from being alone all the time. The beauty of the Engineering School Solution is that I keep company mostly with other introverts, who are generally less annoying than that other type of human.
(News highlights of 2004 are on TV. It's one horrific tragedy after another.)
232 words | December 30, 2004 10:40 PM | Real true story