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Author Archives: aspyinthehouseofwords
Bailout? What bailout?
I don’t often stray beyond my own little world on this blog, but that doesn’t mean I don’t notice what’s going on around me. At least when I’m brave enough to take my head out of the sand for long … Continue reading
Translating vs. running a restaurant
Having been a freelance translator for 30 odd years and reluctant sidekick in my husband’s restaurant business for nearly 16, I’ve often reflected on the respective advantages and disadvantages of these two ways of earning a living. So if you’re … Continue reading
Posted in Restaurant life, Translating
Tagged restaurant business, translating, working from home
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Clicking ‘Send’
I love the wonderful feeling of finishing a job, the liberation of clicking Send. When it’s too late to nit-pick any more, and I can stop doing my head in looking for precisely the right word for ‘desarrollo’ when ‘development’ … Continue reading
Becoming a real translator
I’d already been working as a translator for more than ten years when I decided it would be a good idea to become an intérprete jurada. I didn’t really need this qualification to translate the typical contracts, annual accounts and … Continue reading
Only three weeks to go
Yes, just three weeks to go before Dave retires and we close the restaurant. The end of an era. It’s very gratifying when customers say “You can’t close! What are we going to do without you?” but I keep thinking … Continue reading
Working from home
I work from home. Home’s a great place to work, you can stumble out of your bed and work in pyjamas if you want to, you can stop for a sandwich whenever you feel like it, and if you start … Continue reading
Time and Motion Study
I’m keeping a record of how much time I actually spend working. This is because I’m doing a revision, and I charge by the hour instead of by the word. So I need to know how long I actually spend … Continue reading
Perplexed
There was a nice juxtaposition of headlines the other day in “El Pais” on-line. Translated, they read: “Rajoy, perplexed by the markets’ lack of support” Underneath is a photo of Rajoy pensively stoking his beard, with his sidekick Soraya Sáenz … Continue reading
Why am I writing this blog?
I haven’t really got into writing a blog yet. I spend too much time thinking about what to write and then rejecting it. So I’ve decided to try a different tack, I’m going to try writing the way I go … Continue reading
Brits
There was an English guy in front of me in the chemist’s the other day, struggling to make himself understood. “What’s this say?” he asked the chemist, pointing at his prescription. The chemist looked blank. “Quiere saber que dice,” I … Continue reading
A Spy in the House of Words 