20 (or so) questions on how Charles Ek works
This series of posts was inspired by Lifehacker’s How I Work series, which I’ve been reading for quite some time and thoroughly enjoy. It’s about time we discover how our colleagues work and get to know them a little better.
If you want to participate in this fun series, send us an email at info@linguagreca.com so we can send you the Word template where you can fill in your answers and your bio (incl. your site/blog/social media links) and then send it back to us as an attachment along with your photo (optional but preferred). If you don’t like any of the questions, just delete them and add your own. You can read the previous interviews here.
Location: Delft, the Netherlands.
Desired location: I am not sure yet, it might be New York, Ibiza, Luxembourg or Malta.
Current work title: Independent translator and localiser.
Desired work title: Same.
Languages you have studied or currently speak: I work with Polish (native), German and English. I am currently studying Dutch and Spanish and trying to study Moroccan Arabic. I used to speak fluent Russian, but now it is pretty rusty.
The project you’re most proud of: I’m proud of all my software and game localisation projects.
Your current computer setup: Well, it may come across as geeky now: I work usually on my PC with water-cooled 8 core CPU, 16GB of RAM and 4 monitors of 19” with a 5:4 ratio that are installed on a quad-mount stand. I built it myself and I’m proud of it. I also have an Ultrabook to work outside my home office.
Do you own a smartphone? Yes, Sony Xperia.
Favorite time of the day: Morning, when I still have a lot of energy and ideas for the new day.
Favorite gadget (apart from computer & smartphone): My full-frame DSLR camera.
Next conference/event you’re planning to attend: The list is quite long. The Translation and Localization Conference in Warsaw, BP14 in Budapest, International Conference on Translation and Accessibility in Video Games and Virtual Words in Barcelona and a few local events.
How many hours per day do you usually work: Usually about 8 hours, quite often up to 12.
Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Introvert, but I become more open among my friends.
Are you an early-riser or a night-owl? I can be both, depending on my project deadlines.
What do you listen to while you work? I usually listen to radio stations in my working languages, plus in Dutch and Spanish. Sometimes I enjoy the silence and sometimes I switch to ska, RnB or jazz.
And a few non-work related questions to get more personal.
Your babies or pets, incl. names and ages: None.
Next city/country you want to visit: I would like to explore Mexico and Nepal.
Favorite vacation place: I don’t have one favorite place. I liked Morocco and India a lot, I also enjoyed my backpacking journey through Romania.
Favorite book: “The Little Prince” and everything by Tolkien.
Favorite song: Currently “Liquid Spirit” by Gregory Porter.
What are you currently reading? I tend to read many books simultaneously, currently about five. But I’m about to finish “The Wealthy Freelancer” by S. Slaunwhite, P. Savage and E. Gandia.
Author bio
Dorota Pawlak is an English to Polish and German to Polish translator and localiser. She specialises in IT, video games and finance. In her free time, she enjoys reading and playing racing games. She is also addicted to yoga, travelling and photography. You can find her online at her website, Twitter or LinkedIn.
About the author
Catherine Christaki has been a full-time English-Greek translator since 2001 and co-owner of Lingua Greca Translations since 2012. She specializes in Information Technology, Medical, and Technical texts and loves writing for the Adventures in Technical Translation blog. She regularly shares her experience and insight on social media and blogging for translators, giving interviews and presenting at conferences. Connect with her on Twitter @LinguaGreca.
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Thank you Catherine for having me here 🙂
My pleasure Dorota, thank you too for participating! 🙂
You have to tell me more about your journey through Romania. Which places did you see? How did you find the food?
Alina, I did like the Romanian food, although as a vegetarian I couldn’t taste many traditional dishes 🙂 Soups, salads and stuffed peppers were definitely my favourites.
I visited many places, starting from Timisoara and Oradea, through Cluj Napoca, Sibiu, Biertan, Medias, Sighisoara, to Baile Tusnad and Brasov, Harman, Rasnov… Then I climbed to Piatra Craiului, stayed several days in Bucharest and set off to Constanta ending up in my favourite Sf Gheorghe. It took me more than one month and the people I met were absolutely amazing 🙂
Oh, yes, not many options for vegetarians as far as traditional dishes are concerned. 🙂 That was quite a journey I’d say and I’m glad you liked it. Did you visit any of our famous castles?
Yes, I visited the castles too. There are so many great places to see there and one month is definitely not enough to cover all of them:)