Winter Shed: Week Six

Another week has passed, time for another Winter Shed post! The full back story of this blog hop hosted by Kathy at Bereaved and Blessed can be found here. 

Overall this week was very busy but a lot better than last week. Everyone was healthy again (except for hubby taking over M. Gourmand's pink eye, but he got over it relatively quickly). The translation job finally started (see under #5) and I finished the first document on time (with help from hubby who did some final proofreading and improved quite some stuff). Our neighbor, whose son is the same age as M. Sensible and is going to the same preschool (different class though), was willing to take in M. Sensible all day on Tuesday so I could work even during the teachers' strike, which was great. Then on Wednesday I could bring M. Gourmand to the sitter but had M. Sensible home, but he was very sweet, watched cartoons all morning and took a 2-hour afternoon nap, so I still had a pretty productive day. Hubby is off for business for the coming two days, but my dad and his girlfriend are coming over from Holland to help out so I can keep working as much as possible on this crazy project.

On a completely different note, I was very saddened to read that Bio Girl's sister Missy had died of brain cancer, and it brought back many memories of my mother's final days and death. If you haven't already done so, please go over to her blog to read about her wonderful sister and let her know you're thinking about her in this difficult time.

Now to report on how I did during week six:

1. Read more novels.

I finished the 500-page Dutch novel on Wednesday (well, actually it was very early Thursday morning)! The story is set during WWI, first in London and then at the West Front. Heavy stuff, but a story very well written, so a definite page-turner! The next day I already picked out a new book. I first wanted to take a German novel, but with my current translation job, which is French to English, the thought of adding another language in the mix didn't seem such a good idea. Since I'll have a crazy workload for another week I chose a thin book and it seems like a pretty easy read, so hopefully I can pick it up a few times in the coming week when I desperately need a break from work, kids etc... (I still haven't opened it though).

2. Follow the news more.

I did read and watched some in-depth stories about the  equal marriage rights bill here in France, which was accepted last Tuesday after long and heated debates (it also includes adoption rights, but ART still no covered for gay couples (and might still be labeled 'illegal', which is scandalous). The French Minister of Justice is an amazing woman, I have never seen someone expressing her convictions so passionately and slamming down the opposition with poetry and quotes from philosophers.

3. Pick up regular blogging again and start a series/hop on Cultural Differences.

Luckily I committed to this weekly blog hop, otherwise there might not have been a post from me this week! Just too busy with the work project (see under #5)

4. Get my professional website up and running.

I finally could get started on the translation job, so no, no time to work on the website.

5. Find more clients / pursue more paid projects.

It felt really good to finally be able to start on the translation job on Monday! I must say that the first two days were still complete and utter chaos - I would be told to start on one document, then two hours later I got a call that the final client still had corrections for that doc, so I'd better start on the other doc, only to receive an email the next morning that the client hadn't proofread that one yet, so no-go for the translation. Finally on Tuesday afternoon things were clearer and I could really get going and I haven't stopped since (well, that's not true - I do still keep the household running too, although at a bare minimum this week - and M. Sensible has been watching a lot of videos...). I handed in the translation of the first doc yesterday afternoon. 

The final version of the other document should be ready for translation by Monday and needs to go to the printer on Friday. When I saw that I laughed out loud, what else can you do..? And if it goes like the first doc the client will keep making changes until the very end....

The good thing is that my contact (at the design studio, which is my client) is a very nice woman and we understand each other very well, so that keeps the work atmosphere healthy, even with a crazy client and an unrealistic deadline.

I also replied to a request from someone who's setting up a new company in the area with ties to the Netherlands and was looking for independent translators. Haven't heard back yet though.

6. Start playing the cello again.

Just no time right now.