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: Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Desired location: Anywhere with water or a beach
Current work title: Freelance German to English translator
Languages you have studied or currently speak: Native (American) English, fluent in German, some knowledge of Russian
The project you’re most proud of: I once translated a 20 page FTP manual in a day because I was so familiar with the process and the terms. I also really enjoyed translating the dialog and commands for a point and click computer game called “Secret Files: Tunguska.”
Your current computer setup: ASUS computer with a widescreen, flatscreen monitor and ergonomic German keyboard
Do you own a smartphone? Yes
Favorite time of the day: Night time. I love it when everyone else is asleep and the world is quiet.
Favorite gadget (apart from computer & smartphone): My Roku streaming Internet player.
Next conference/event you’re planning to attend: ATA 55 in Chicago. I had planned on sitting it out, but my newbie from ATA 54 convinced me to attend.
How many hours per day do you usually work: Depends. I have been known to work 12 hour days, but right now I am limiting myself to just a couple hours a day because I am trying to heal a bum knee (dancing until midnight at the ATA conference is fun, but one should condition oneself for it ahead of time).
Are you an introvert or an extrovert? I am an introvert at heart, but no one believes me. I need ‘me time’ to regenerate my energy.
Are you an early-riser or a night-owl? Night owl. My clients know my office doesn’t open until 10 a.m.
What do you listen to while you work? Nothing. If I do listen to music it is usually classical or New Age music when I am proofreading.
And a few non-work related questions to get more personal 🙂
Your babies or pets, incl. names and ages: My Westie Lily is 9 and my cat Bailey is around 4 (Lily found her in the backyard when she was a starving 3 month old kitten, so we don’t know her exact age).
Next city/country you want to visit: Venice, Italy is at the top of my list.
Favorite vacation place: Depends on what I want from the vacation – Seabrooke Island in South Carolina for relaxation and Prague and other European locations for enjoyment.
Favorite book: I love reading mysteries and murder mysteries.
Favorite song: That’s like asking me to name my favorite pet. Maybe Claire de Lune by Claude Debussy. To rock out to probably Crazy by Seal.
What are you currently reading? The Labyrinth of Osiris by Paul Sussman
Author bio
Jill R. Sommer is a full-time freelance German>English translator. She received her MA in German translation from Kent State University in 1995, after which she lived and worked as a freelance translator in Bonn, Germany for six years. She also lived in Salzburg, Austria for a year in 1989-1990 and is proud of her involvement helping take the Berlin Wall apart with pick axes and sledge hammers. She taught in the graduate translation program at Kent State University part-time for four years and was once a contract linguist for the FBI. Her blog, Musings from an Overworked Translator, features reflections on her life as a translator and the translation industry. She has attended and presented regularly at the ATA’s Annual Conference since 2002.
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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Hi Jill,
I love your blog (yours was the first translation blog I read!) and I’m happy to read your contribution 🙂
I love point & click games and will make sure to give “Secret Files: Tunguska” a go!
Louise
Jill’s blog was the first one I discovered too, before Twitter and everything else. I felt so happy knowing there was at least one more person in the world going through the same stuff professionally as I was! 🙂
I feel bad that I just saw these comments now. Thanks so much for the fan feedback. You two are making me blush. I have been going through some tough emotional and physical times, so I have really been letting things slide. I know that isn’t an excuse, but I feel like I am finally starting to emerge from the emotional abyss I have been in for the last year or so. It turns out I tore the meniscus in my knee, so now that I am finally out of the wheelchair and walking I am trying to get my life back. Maybe it will also mean finding the motivation/spark to blog regularly again.