Changing gears...

I do not remember the last time I was so unproductive in a translation. It might be explained by the fact that I have to deal with terms such as left ventricular internal diameter in end diastole, and I want my translation to be right. Or there might be another explanation.

If there is one, it'll wait, as I've just been tapped with a 5,000-word job due - gulp - tomorrow!? (Actually, as much of the job as I can do by tomorrow morning.) Tally-ho!

Cheers...

It happens every time...

Rush job, of the type where you have to print the original in order to do the work. (The pages are too "busy" to even attempt to put the Russian and English on the same laptop screen.)

The CX4600 that I had stashed at the parents' place is in need of new cartridges, which is currently plan "B." Plan "A" is to go by the Staples we visited yesterday for batteries and have them print out the files (supposedly, they do that sort of thing, but I have my doubts).

The job involves just under 5,000 source words, containing a moderate amount of boilerplate that I think I have on my machine, somewhere (which just makes printing out the original that much more acute of an issue).

Of course, all of this happens just at the moment my dad has a doctor's appointment, so it's likely that by the time we're finished with the doctor and Staples, I'll be able to start this job only around 4 pm.

Then again, it's not like I have a hot date anywhere tonight, and aside from the train and taxi rides to the airport, I can sleep while others do the piloting.

* * *The above was written about 2:30 pm, as I was about to leave with my dad for the doctor's. I should have saved myself the nervous energy and settled down to do the job without the benefit of a printout. The support at Staples for printing documents is strictly for "plain vanilla" jobs, I guess. I got two of seven files printed before it became clear that we could go no further, and the guy behind the print counter was kind enough to comp me the two printouts so far.

I then went over to the other side of the store and argued with myself about buying (a) just a black cartridge for the CX6400, for $25, (b) buying a whole set of cartridges for about $65, or (c) buying a whole new inkjet printer for $70.

Alternative (a) won out, but now it turns out that the print head and the cartridge are separate items, and that replacing the cartridge does not fix printing due to old, dried ink. In fact, what's funny is that now, the cyan, yellow, and magenta heads are running at 100% (with almost no ink), while I'm not getting even a trace of black on the test sheet.

It's 4 pm. I can't waste any more time or money. I have to start work on this job.

Cheers...

Finished!

The original plan was for me to send as much of the job in by tomorrow morning as I could, with the rest to follow by Monday morning. Apparently, however, the client is really anxious to get this document back, so the original due date of tomorrow held, and I would still send as much of the job as I completed by tomorrow morning, preferably all of it, but not to worry about stuff in figures.

So, some 6 hours into it, I've completed something just over 5500 target words, and all that is really left for me to do is: send it off!

* * *It is really a shame I couldn't get the printer to work, else I could have bought my LIRR ticket for tomorrow over the Internet at a slight discount. Ah, well... (UPDATE: Printers have nothing to do with it, time does. Apparently, after purchasing a ticket over the Web, it's mailed to you, so you have to allow for that time.)

* * *I haven't mentioned it before, but I've broached the idea of the old man coming down to spend the winter with me in Houston. His response was "I'll think about it," which in my experience, translated into ordinary English, is a "no." We'll see. I said I'd touch base again once I am back from Kazakhstan.

* * *Speaking of Kazakhstan, I have been informed that - due to logistics problems (I suspect our usual hotel is overfull) - I will be spending my one-and-only night in Moscow on the inbound leg of the campaign out at the airport Novotel. Hopefully, they will have an inexpensive (and preferably) convenient way of getting into town, else my carefully laid plans to arrive at mid-day will cause me to spend a marvelous afternoon listening to planes take off from nearby runways.

I had planned, actually, to spend some time during my evening in Moscow with my sister-in-law and mother-in-law to inform them of my mother's death - I despise using the phone for such news, it turns out - so I'll have to come up with an alternative way of visiting them that won't break the bank, or I'll have to break down and use the phone.

* * *And then, it's off to bed, with the alarm set early enough for me to be able to take a quick shower, pack, and get out on the road.

Cheers...