Based on an idea by Sehdev.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
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Mox is a young but well educated translator. Two PhDs, six languages...
and he hardly earns the minimum wage.
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My sites
Traducciones técnicas - My professional site
Vita Brevis (Spanish). Publishing house whom I collaborate with.
this is exactly what i think my neighbours think of me ;-)
ReplyDeleteYes, it's what my kids often think about me, too :-(
DeleteMy neighbour thinks I am on social welfare ... I cannot help but smile about that, especially because I kept telling him for the past few years that I work at home and that I really need to sleep at night and that I am not so into techno. Seems he just doesn't listen ... :)
DeleteSo funny! xD
ReplyDeleteYo creo que los míos piensan que me ha tocado la lotería y no tengo que salir de casa para trabajar...
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHehehe, this is exactly what I think the postman thinks about me every time he comes home bringing some parcel for my wife (she's an active ebay user).
ReplyDeleteso true, so the same :)
ReplyDeleteHahaha, same here!
ReplyDelete"You can come round/deliver it any time, as long as I know you're coming. You see, I work from home."
ReplyDelete"Oh, err right. I see."
If someone is staying longer for whatever reason (plumber/electrician) and you have to tell them you must get back to your computer, I'm sure they think you're surfing dishonourable sites.(Little do they know that translators around the world on social sites have just been told "Plumber arrives. Is it really impolite to recommend cosmetic surgery?")
They think I am a lazy, comfortably financially sustained housewife, the more I have no children. ;-)
ReplyDeleteSame here!
DeleteSame here with a stress on lazyyyyyy!
DeleteI only leave the house to have coffee/lunch with friends and go shopping ("You're out shopping at 11 am!!!!??!!")... my poor hubby is the "victim" of my consumerist frenzy! HAHAHAHA! And I don't even clean the house because I have someone coming home to do it for me... In my case it's stress on "lazy" and "Financially comfortable"!!!
DeleteThe worst is that my husband thinks I am lazy (after all, he goes to work, and I stay home in my pajamas), disorganized (and that's why I sometimes have to work nights and weekends) and financially irresponsible (how come my rates are so low!).
DeleteHusband thinks, why is the house so messy since I am home "all day", often in my PJ's during the morning hours, while I am working on my translations. Lol! Just the assumption that, because you are home all day means, everything has to be in perfect order. Hello! I am working 8 to 9 hours a day.
DeleteI join your group of "lazy", "comfortably financially sustained housewife" translators working from home. For me the stress falls on "disorganized", as this is how my boyfriend qualifies me every time I answer his question on how long till I finish the assignment, with a guilty "I do not know!". He is unable to understand that often it is impossible to make a precise estimate as to the time a certain translation job may take you, as it involves a lot of "googling" and digging out for information. This entails sleepless nights as there are translation deadlines to be met (especially relevant for short translation assignments), thus causing an accumulation of tiredness. This is why I think that having a freelance translation business is incompatible with following a strict daily routine. Yet, others see me as simply "disorganized"! It depends on the point of view.
DeleteFunny! The postwoman always rings my bell because no one else would open the door for her. And when she brings me a package I am in my pijamas, so I am sure she thinks I am unemployed.
ReplyDeleteSame here. We have several different mail companies in Berlin and all of them have got used to the fact that I am always at home to accept packages for working neighbors etc. I am usually in my PJs until at least 2pm.
DeleteIt's true about the postmen, across all countries as it appears (Poland here). But I could not possibly work in my PJs, I'd be too sleepy :) Can't work without shower, coffee and getting dressed :)
DeleteLos míos me piden continuamente que participe en todo tipo de iniciativa vecinal, escolar o parroquial y parecen no creerme cuando repito (hasta el hartazgo) que mi trabajo me ocupa 8 hs diarias... :-(
ReplyDeleteMi vecina es columbiana, no ha trabajado nunca desde que se casó con su marido alemán (hace más que 30 años. Se ocupa de casa, jardín y "lo suyo". Está encantada si hablo con ella en español. Desde hace 3 años estoy trabajando en casa y ella me preguntó sobre ello y cuando le gije que trabajaba de autónoma en traducciones etc. me miró como si estuviera loca, movió la cabeza y se fue a dentro sin decir palabra. Unos días después ella llamó a mi puerta preguntándome por ya no se qué. Como hacia frío y tuve que recoger la cosa en mi ofocina aproveché y la llevé allá. Mirando todos los libros, el ordenador con sus dos monitores y lo que se veía en la pantalla se quedó muda y ahora ya sabe lo que estoy haciendo en casa ;-)
Deletecolombiana*
DeleteMy neighbours used to think I was a pimp or a drug dealer, probably only working at night when all decent people would sleep :-)))
ReplyDeleteI was one of the first people to have DSL connection in my town and when I told people I "worked with the Internet" they looked at me like a was a maniac or worse...
ReplyDeletesuper funny! happens to me EVERY-SINGLE-DAY
ReplyDeletePoor us! that's it, this is certainly what my neighbours think, but who cares? the most important thing is that we are happy with our job, isn't it? :)
ReplyDeleteYo sí tengo que salir de casa para ir a trabajar y me libro de eso, pero mi novio sí que trabaja en su casa y le pasa algo muy parecido...
ReplyDeleteSame here. Although it's not just my neighbours. Everytime my friends and I have to do some errand it's like "YOU have time right?". It also pisses me off when they say things like, "But why do you put make up on if you're not going anywhere?" Oh well...
ReplyDeleteHa! Perfect! My neighbour actually asked me if I'm unemployed because I don't leave for work of a morning!
ReplyDeleteHahaha, so true.. Also happens in Indonesia..
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be a general disease... Nice one, Alejandro!
ReplyDeleteToo funny. Our Vegas neighbor is actually delighted that I work from home. He gets to drop off his doggie for doggie day care, so everyone is happy. He doesn't think I am unemployed, as he's a potential client and I have actually bib on some of his (government) translations. That said, surely other folks do think we are unemployed. If they only knew....
ReplyDeleteYes, I sometimes wonder whether people believe me when I tell them what I do. I mean, after all, I could work for the CIA, be involved in illegal activities or who knows what. As a translator, you're just different! And I love being different!!!
ReplyDeleteMost of my neighbors moved in years after we built our house. I don't communicate with them at all as they turned out to be people who don't belong in this neighborhood at all... They are more inquisitive than necessary, which is annoying, and I find this out indirectly, through other channels. For example, they spread rumors about me around and park all over the place where they don't belong. SOBs...
ReplyDeleteThis is so true, I'm sure that's what my neighbours think but it's nothing comparing to what my parents' neighbours must think - let me explain: I leave near my folks, the people there know me; plus, I prefer to work afternoons, evenings & sometimes well into the night, my Mom knows this but doesn't believe that it's my choice and generally feels sorry for me for not having 'normal working hours'. So, once she was having a conversation with one of her neighbours about the old times, and how all of us kids used to play together and how not life is not too easy on us etc. And my Mom, without skipping a beat, commented like this: "My daughter works so hard, you know? She works all evenings and most nights, the poor thing; but the money is not too bad and you have to pay those bills, right?"
ReplyDeleteWell, the neighbour's jaw basically dropped to the ground, which is understandable, as only one obvious ehmmm... profession... comes to mind when you think about working at night... :)
Thanks Mom, I love you, you're classic! :))
And, of course, she forgot to mentioned that the work you do at night is translating...haha. Something that my mom could have done.
Deleteexactly, she forgot :)
DeleteHungary: I bring my kids to the kindergarten often by car, though it is just 2 corners from home, everybody else in the neighbourhood does it by walking. I am always at home, always not-make-uped. Once I walk with the kids to the kindergarten, they say: "Oh, how didn't you come by the car? Do you need some fresh air sometimes?" And as I say: "I don't have any urgent order for today, but I have to go back and work" or: "I had a deadline yesterday"... Well, they think I want to be something more special, than they are. Even if they don't really understand the situation. If someone should help some work in the kindergarten: "Oh, dear Mrs X, could you please do this and that? You are at home anyway, right?" :O
ReplyDelete"You're at home anyway" - I absolutely hate this line, but I guess people just don't understand, the worst thing is that sometimes your family and friends don't understand... It took me a while to make these people realize that I'm not just staying home and doing my nails, but actually trying to make a living.
DeleteI work as a full time employed translator for a company, so, even though I work from home I usually try to adhere to a 9 to 5 working schedule just to 'stay in shape' sort of. Who knows when I might need it...
ReplyDeleteNothing lasts forever as they say, and this job is sometimes too good to be true (as I often say to myself).
My ex (emphasis on ex) boyfriend of 7 years couldn't stand me mentioning "clients" in front of his friends or relatives, because there was only one type of "clients" a woman working from home could have, wasn't there?
ReplyDeleteCan you hear yourself complaining? OOOHHH, my neighbours think I am unemployed...oh, the postman must think I am soo lazy...oh, even my friends think I am not doing anything...get on with it! Worst: even my husband thinks I am not doing anything...well, change your husband then! This is just too self-pitying. :-(
ReplyDeleteMy neighbors are happy I am home during the day to keep one eye on the street since our neighborhood is prone to break-ins right after people leave for work in the morning....
ReplyDeleteMy neighbours probably think that I sell drugs....loool
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI have just neighbours, and I am also unemployed, and the legislator how stole, so steals further.
Regards
Mark Grodzki
Haha, this is really funny ! When I go out at 4.30 PM to pick up my children at school, people sometimes say: "You look tired, are you suffering ?" - "No, I woke up at 5 AM to start working, and I still have a lot of work for this evening". I know they don't believe me, anyway they always think that working from home allows you to keep the household, make delicious dishes every day, go to the cinema with your children... Today, I went out shopping for the first time within 3 months ! What really bothers me is when mothers explain me how difficult it is to have children whilst working, and when I agree, they say "Yeah, but YOU DON'T GO TO WORK !" Oh, that's right, but I cannot just switch off my computer and go home or to the next fitness center !
ReplyDeleteI have been a freelance since 1966 and a single mum since 1985. The women in the neighbourhood have no idea what it means to work from home. They keep dropping in at all hours, when I have to meet deadlines, and when I "educate" them that I am not available whenever they fancy, they get upset and stay away. My children are grown up and have left home long ago. The problem is then as now that these ladies are busy with their families in the evening, when I could do with company for the cinema or whatever - if I am not working overtime on a translation. I have turned into a hermit because of all this.
ReplyDeleteNeighbour thought I left my family, when I started working from home :)
ReplyDeleteAll of these comments just confirm my suspicions: us translators are our own worst enemies. My dad used to say: don't dress for the job you have, dress for the one you want. In the same vein we could say: don't dress (or act) like a jobless person if you're a translator, dress (and act) like the boss of your own business enterprise.
ReplyDeleteThis is what I do:
1. Despite getting up at 5 a.m. most days, I shower and get ready to 'go to work' by 8 a.m. Working in my PJs is NOT an option.
2. I plan my week to have at least two or three 'meetings', even if it is with a friend, and NEVER meet them at home, but go to a coffee shop.
3. If my husband comes home early, I greet him and then always remind him that my 'office hours' are until 5 p.m. - he's learnt to accept that.
4. Never get caught lazing about in the garden, or snoozing on the couch by a friend or family member. It just reinforces their impression that you're a jobless yob.
We reinforce the stereotype, and then complain about it? It's time we as translators start seeing and projecting ourselves as successful entrepreneurs, people!
This is so true, hahaha! XD The other day I heard my neighbor telling to his couple "That girl stays the whole day at home. Why does she don't go to find a job? What a looser...".
ReplyDeleteAnd I have to say I do not look like a jobless person, I also get up early every morning, take a shower, dress appropriately and work from my desktop not my coach..