A break in the action...

I started the day working on the BFA, 33 pages of which (at least) must be completed by the time I go to sleep today for me to have a prayer of finishing the job tomorrow (during which I'll have to finish the remaining 32 pages).

Then the requests started piling in, to the point where I've already started saying "no." (I can hear someone in the gallery yelling "It's about time!")  One looked like it wouldn't take but 30 minutes, so I took it, and another was too good to pass up, for another 15 minutes. In both cases, the work time was fairly well on the mark, but by the time I finished processing the work (placing it where it won't get lost, reviewing it, writing invoices), an additional dollop or two of time went out the door.

I am about 15 pages through today's load, so the issue is still in doubt. I keep running across idiomatic expressions in the French that aren't covered by any of my references, paper or electronic, which force me to go out on the 'net to look for sources that will have bilingual versions of the same text. (The string "site:.ca" is almost always included, since a heck of a lot of Canadian documents have to be bilingual, but that doesn't always work.)

All of this work makes me wonder if there might be enough volume out there to warrant searching for someone to take on board as a staff translator, thereby turning my LLC into something more than just a one-person operation. There's a part of me that thinks "If only I'd settle down and concentrate on translation and give up interpretation assignments..." because my translation work, understandably, falls off dramatically whenever I'm out on assignment, requiring some time after my return to return to some ambient level.

Then again, I may be in pipedream mode, and all the recent work I've been assigned might just be due to the vicissitudes of fate.

Wonderful stuff to wonder about, surely, but I better return à mes moutons.

Cheers...

Getting slightly ahead of myself...

Okay!

I've done 38 pages, which sounds like a lot, except that these pages have been averaging just over 110 words per page. I have 27 pages left for tomorrow. I would've probably gotten more done if it weren't for the telegraphic style and shallow context of the material (technical reports). And if frogs had wings...

This past week, the local market had some kind of sale going on for "Healthy Choice" frozen dinners (10 for $1.49 each). After trying a couple of meals, I went back and loaded up on them, so technically now I don't have to cook (assuming two meals a day) until pretty much the end of the month.

Normally, the prospect of eating meals out of a box turns me off (anyone remember "C-rats"?) unless there's a darned good accompanying reason (fishing, hiking, mushrooming). I guess I just added "working like a maniac" to that list as well.

My eyeballs, if they were able, would probably jump out of my head and beat me senseless for abusing them so much today. I think I'll go give them a rest. I feel better, now that I'm that much closer to the goal.

Cheers...