| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5] > | Being freelance and being isolated Thread poster: savaria (X)
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| it is kind of isolated, but... | Nov 21, 2008 |
i really like freelancing. I admit there is some isolation and it can be sort of monk-ish. But the freedom and flexibility outweigh all that. I don't mind working weird hours and being up late for rush jobs, since I'm a night owl anyways. I can go to the gym when I'm done, or for a bike ride (in the summer). There's no horrible commute. I admit there are times when it would be fun to have work colleagues to talk to during the day, I've still never been happier and I wouldn't trade it for anythin... See more i really like freelancing. I admit there is some isolation and it can be sort of monk-ish. But the freedom and flexibility outweigh all that. I don't mind working weird hours and being up late for rush jobs, since I'm a night owl anyways. I can go to the gym when I'm done, or for a bike ride (in the summer). There's no horrible commute. I admit there are times when it would be fun to have work colleagues to talk to during the day, I've still never been happier and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
I rule! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Zoe Green 
Italy
Local time: 17:34
Spanish to English
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| I love the isolation! | Dec 18, 2008 |
I live alone (other than my dogs) and work alone most of the time (I have someone who comes in and does my admin twice a week). I really love the peace and quiet. It very much depends on your personality, doesn't it? Whilst I don't lack social skills, I'm perfectly happy with my own company during the day. And I go out a lot in the evenings
| | | | Jenny Duthie
France
Local time: 17:34
Member (2006)
French to English
Ligia, you have a maid, I am soooooo jealous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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He Jiming
Local time: 00:34
English to Chinese
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| advantage of freelancer | Jan 12, 2009 |
I had worked as a proofreader for several years in a translation agency, and in my opinion, freelance translators have more advantages to render quality services, perhaps they have relatively quiet working condition which allows them to concentrate on their jobs.
Regards
He Jiming
| | | | conejo
United States
Local time: 10:34
Japanese to English
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| It is an isolated job. | Jun 4, 2009 |
Yes, I totally feel you, xxxsavaria. I live alone with my cat, and I work alone at home, so I definitely can understand the solitude thing.
You have to make sure you get out of the house, and you have to make sure you put social activities with friends, activity partners, significant other, etc. in your schedule so that you won't go stir-crazy.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:34
Member (2008)
Italian to English
bramasole wrote:
There is an element in solitude when someone works as a freelance translator which makes this job not suitable for everyone. But then again I do believe there are way more advantages to this job than a disadvantage of some solitude while working.
I for example had an in-house job for some time and there are several things I definitely do not miss about it: nobody is bossing me around, nobody is disturbing me when Im working and nobody is telling me what to do and when to do it. Of course, this job has its cons just like any other but thats because there is no job with only pros about it.;)
There's an excellent book by Anthony Storr, "Solitude", an intelligent, scholarly study on the joys of being alone. Certainly, being a freelance translator means being alone, so you have to enjoy it !
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Zoe Green wrote:
I really love the peace and quiet.
Me too. Peace and deep silence.
Only interrupted by some cat scratching at the door, cock-crows or the alarm call of the falcons.
But when I was younger I stopped my studies "Literary translations" because of the isolation thing. I did social work jobs and I was even happy in the Kindergarten. Been there, done that.
Now I enjoy my own company.
*********************
"He never is alone that is accompanied with noble thoughts."
Beaumont and Fletcher (1647)
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| Henry David is right (as always) | Jun 5, 2009 |
"I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers. A man thinking or working is always alone, let him be where he will. Solitude is not measured by the miles of space that intervene between a man and his fellows. The really dili... See more "I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers. A man thinking or working is always alone, let him be where he will. Solitude is not measured by the miles of space that intervene between a man and his fellows. The really diligent student in one of the crowded hives of Cambridge College is as solitary as a dervish in the desert. The farmer can work alone in the field or the woods all day, hoeing or chopping, and not feel lonesome, because he is employed; but when he comes home at night he cannot sit down in a room alone, at the mercy of his thoughts, but must be where he can "see the folks," and recreate, and, as he thinks, remunerate himself for his day's solitude; and hence he wonders how the student can sit alone in the house all night and most of the day without ennui and "the blues"; but he does not realize that the student, though in the house, is still at work in his field, and chopping in his woods, as the farmer in his, and in turn seeks the same recreation and society that the latter does, though it may be a more condensed form of it."
Henry David Thoreau ▲ Collapse
| | | | Martin Stranak
Czech Republic
Local time: 17:34
English to Czech
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Being solitary is not a handicap, especially when living here in London, from which I can reach any place in Europe within a relatively short time to meet my friends.
| | | | Eva Stoppa
Germany
Local time: 17:34
English to German
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| glad to hear that you can still find the time for a "private" live | Jun 5, 2009 |
Hi everybody,
I`m so glad to read that you still can find the time to do things other than translating.
I have just started some months ago and am not packed with work yet, but I have a bad conscience when I take time out to do my favourite sport, go swimming. Therefore I haven`t been there for a month or so now.
But there is also another reason why I`m so glad to read that as a freelance translator, you can still find the time to enjoy other activities.... See more Hi everybody,
I`m so glad to read that you still can find the time to do things other than translating.
I have just started some months ago and am not packed with work yet, but I have a bad conscience when I take time out to do my favourite sport, go swimming. Therefore I haven`t been there for a month or so now.
But there is also another reason why I`m so glad to read that as a freelance translator, you can still find the time to enjoy other activities.
A friend of mine who is also a freelance translator has been telling me that she is working throough nights quite often. That really scared me a bit and made me hesitate for a while wether or not to become a freelancer.
But you`ve given me courage to go on. Thanks! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Monks and translation | Jun 6, 2009 |
Ever wondered why monks made some of the best translators?
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LaSelva
Puerto Rico
Local time: 12:34
English to Spanish
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| On isolation | Dec 29, 2009 |
I am planning on becoming a full time independent translator because I want to work free of all interference and because I want to have more energy and time to socialize with my friends! Right now my job steals me 11 hours daily (7.5 in the office, 2 preparing and commuting in the morning, and 2 commuting and "sanitizing" my mind in the evening), and I am in no mood to go out with friends. So... maybe this isolated job will be perfect for me because I will meet lots of people in internet and s... See more I am planning on becoming a full time independent translator because I want to work free of all interference and because I want to have more energy and time to socialize with my friends! Right now my job steals me 11 hours daily (7.5 in the office, 2 preparing and commuting in the morning, and 2 commuting and "sanitizing" my mind in the evening), and I am in no mood to go out with friends. So... maybe this isolated job will be perfect for me because I will meet lots of people in internet and still have the energy and time to socialize with my earthy friends (who do not work with me, I might add).
So, isolation can be positive or negative, and one can feel isolated with or without people.
It has been my first time reading the forum and it has been very interesting, in particular money matters.
Thank you all so much for being here!
Selva ▲ Collapse
| | | | | What a great thread! | Dec 30, 2009 |
This is the best reminder I've seen for a long time that people on this site are living, breathing human beings like me. Thank you all for being so candid.
I love solitude most of the time, but when the walls start inching towards me I take my laptop to one of several cafés near here, buy a double espresso, make it last as long as I can without being thrown out on my ear, and breathe a sigh of relief that I have a job which allows me to do this.
There's just one thing ... See more This is the best reminder I've seen for a long time that people on this site are living, breathing human beings like me. Thank you all for being so candid.
I love solitude most of the time, but when the walls start inching towards me I take my laptop to one of several cafés near here, buy a double espresso, make it last as long as I can without being thrown out on my ear, and breathe a sigh of relief that I have a job which allows me to do this.
There's just one thing I miss about my last nine-to-five job: that moment at about 4.30 on a Friday evening when someone looks at their watch, switches off their computer and says: "I'm off to the pub. Anyone coming with me?"
This site helps too. I'd rather have 20 minutes on Proz than 20 milligrams of Prozac.
[Edited at 2009-12-31 00:04 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Solitude is Freedom | Dec 31, 2009 |
The last 30 years I lived mostly alone in Berlin, Germany, and as soon as I got established as a freelancer I wondered why I should not move to a place with year-round springtime climate and low costs of living. So I checked the globe for places near the equator with an altitude of 1500 to 2500 m and found Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Guadalajara in Mexico. Since Ethiopia was closer, I went to Addis Ababa first and stayed for 9 months, but it was nearly impossible to get an affordable and functio... See more The last 30 years I lived mostly alone in Berlin, Germany, and as soon as I got established as a freelancer I wondered why I should not move to a place with year-round springtime climate and low costs of living. So I checked the globe for places near the equator with an altitude of 1500 to 2500 m and found Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Guadalajara in Mexico. Since Ethiopia was closer, I went to Addis Ababa first and stayed for 9 months, but it was nearly impossible to get an affordable and functional internet connection. So I went to Guadalajara six weeks ago, and like many other expats here I only ask myself why I did not come earlier. ▲ Collapse
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