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: Münster, Germany
Desired location: Star City, Moscow Oblast, Russia
Current work title: Medical Japanese and German to English Translator
Desired work title: Astronaut! (or any title affiliated with space exploration, to be honest)
Languages you have studied or currently speak: English (native), Japanese, German, Russian (elementary), Italian (elementary)
The project you’re most proud of: Every single journal article translation I’ve ever done!
Your current computer setup: Fujitsu Laptop, Samsung 22” monitor, external keyboard and mouse
Do you own a smartphone? No, I am not a fan of phones in general and tend to buy the cheapest possible, but am on my way to get a Samsung Galaxy S4 as we speak
Favorite time of the day: Morning – the start of a new and exciting day!
Favorite gadget (apart from computer & smartphone): Easy – My Xbox 360!
Next conference/event you’re planning to attend: IJET in Tokyo – can’t wait!
How many hours per day do you usually work: Very variable – usually between 5 – 8 and another 2 – 4 for admin
Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Difficult question – I was a nerd at school who wished to be popular, so I learned how to be an extrovert, but that’s just for show J
Are you an early-riser or a night-owl? Night owl! Hoot hoot!
What do you listen to while you work? Instrumental piano and violin music.
And a few non-work related questions to get more personal 🙂
Your babies or pets, incl. names and ages: Does my Xbox count? Probably not, right? [Catherine: Sure does!]
Next city/country you want to visit: City: Tokyo, Country: Denmark
Favorite vacation place: Japan!!
Favorite book: Everything by Tolstoy – my favourite story is The Coffee House of Surat… but I also love Ivan the Fool and The Death of Ivan Illyich.
What are you currently reading? Hmmm…embarrassing as it is to admit, I’m reading “Act like a Lady, Think like a Man” by Steve Harvey. The use of slang is downright annoying (and sometimes incomprehensible) but the message is great… although come to think of it, I’ve been reading “relationship advice” books for about 6 years now and still no results, so perhaps I need to rethink my strategy! 🙂
Author bio
Dr. Sarai Pahla is currently a freelance Japanese and German to English medical translator who is also a non-practicing medical doctor. In her free time, she enjoys playing first-person shooters on her Xbox, studying new languages (next on the list is Russian) blogging in her own blog, Loving Language, and reading other translation blogs. She is also currently inching her way slowly towards a future career in space exploration.
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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One of my favourite online people. I really enjoyed reading this interview, Sarai, having connected with you on social media as well and I was looking forward to finding out a few more things about you.
Considering we were born on the same day, month and year, we are pretty different 🙂 (No, I don’t believe in astrology and zodiac or stuff like that, so I wasn’t exactly expecting a personality doppelganger).
Same day, month and year and you’re both translators?? Wow, that’s a very nice coincidence! Don’t you just love social media for giving you the chance to meet? 🙂
Oh, absolutely. I have met (albeit virtually) so many lovely people – most from our industry. I look forward to reading the rest of the interviews. This little glimpse in these wonderful people’s personal lives make you get closer. Besides, curiosity is natural and I think we all have it in us, right?
Yeap! Plus, we get so many great ideas that we can apply to our own everyday working lives, along with suggestions for books, music and so much more 🙂
Yes, I love getting these little insights into other people in our profession – thanks Catherine for starting this up – so many people have participated!
There are a lot more 🙂
Difference is what makes the world go round! 🙂 I think we’re alike in all the ways that really count – we’re both awesome people and we clearly have some daring since we’re both quite far from the country where we were born… and of course, we both LOVE languages! 😉
Indeed!
Nice interview, Sarai! I’ve read “Act like a Lady, Think like a Man” too, and I found it highly enjoyable, we shouldn’t be ashamed of our guilty pleasures 🙂