Author Archives: sandra
We Don’t Charge Minimums to Nonprofits. End of Story.
We have been pretty busy lately, which is something that I certainly can’t complain about. Our clients are doing great things for their constituents worldwide and, as a result, they need an increasing amount of translation to make their good deeds go further. A few times in the past weeks, I’ve found myself with all of our usual linguists booked up and have had to look elsewhere for translators. (Sometimes it happens. We’ll be doing some heavy recruiting at the 52nd Annual American Translators Association Annual Conference in Boston at the end of October. If you’re a translator, please come …read more
The Fluidity of Time, Dilbert-Style
Let’s just say that if Wally were a translator, he’d never be working for Alboum & Associates. What’s the point of a deadline if you can’t make it? We charge no rush fees. We charge no minimums. And we don’t take jobs we can’t deliver on time. (When’s the last time you heard a translation vendor tell you that?) It’s so simple … you have to wonder why no other agency can make the same claim.
A Day in the Life of a Cancelled Interpreter
My friend and colleague, Jaime, sent this along, and boy did it hit a nerve. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked why interpreters charge for cancellations. It’s because they are linguistic dynamos and unregistered nurses. (Just watch the video.)
AMA Nonprofit Marketing Conference
Our post-conference wrap up of this year’s AMA Nonprofit Marketing Conference is available here.
Non Verbum e Verbo Sed Sensum Exprimere de Sensu
If you’re a translator, chances are you know what the title of this post means. If not, you probably think it’s something you’d hear at Catholic Mass. What it is, actually, is a quote by the patron saint of translators, St. Jerome, who wisely advised us to look at the deeper meaning of a text instead of just the words that comprise it. I was reminded of this quote the other day when I watched the launch of STS-135, the last trip for NASA’s Space Shuttle Program. (As a side note, I remember watching the first launch back in April …read more
Wisdom From the Past
The other day I was cleaning out the kids’ playroom downstairs — a major undertaking — when I found my Boggle set. I’m pretty sure my husband had hidden it underneath several “Clifford The Big Red Dog” books because I always would beat the pants off of him when we played. When I opened the box, though, it held a treasure I could never imagine: a piece of scratch paper from my grandfather’s construction company. I remember sitting as an adolescent at my grandparents’ kitchen table in Indianapolis, playing Boggle with my grandma Lil while my grandpa Seymour would …read more
Was This Transcribed Message Useful?
That’s the line at the bottom of all the Visual Voicemail messages I get from Vonage. If someone leaves me a voicemail on the office line, I get an email from their system with a transcription of the message. Today I got a call from someone I know who is not a native English speaker. Her English is, admittedly, accented, but it isn’t that hard to understand. Vonage had a really hard time with it. I now present to you the world’s most unintelligible voicemail: “Hi Sandra this is my day and you’re doing what the client just called me …read more
Working on the World While I’m Working on Myself
I don’t have time to go to the gym. With two children under 5, my days start early and end very late. If I were to go before they woke up, it would be at 5am. If I were to go after putting them to sleep and eating dinner with my husband, it would be at 10pm. Add to it the fact that I am a crazy workaholic, and, well … I just don’t have time during the week. The problem is that the pounds wait for no one. I’ve spent way too much time at my desk, munching on …read more
Words of Wisdom from Down Under
I saw this wonderful manifesto on womeninbusiness.com.au and thought to share it with everyone. What’s your favorite saying from it? Mine is definitely … “When you’re doing what you’re passionate about you’re making the world a better place”. Enjoy!
