Off topic: The one that got away Thread poster: Claudia Alvis
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I want to share a little story about something that happened to me over a year ago. I guess it's not a big deal, but the reason I waited so long is that it doesn't have a happy ending and it's still very upsetting for me. I apologize beforehand for the rant but I’m using this post as my free therapy session.
For many years, I've been a huge fan of a particular "Company". This Company produces a series of wonderful "Products". Even when I was in school, I used to save money to buy ... See more I want to share a little story about something that happened to me over a year ago. I guess it's not a big deal, but the reason I waited so long is that it doesn't have a happy ending and it's still very upsetting for me. I apologize beforehand for the rant but I’m using this post as my free therapy session.
For many years, I've been a huge fan of a particular "Company". This Company produces a series of wonderful "Products". Even when I was in school, I used to save money to buy those Products whenever I could. I even shared them with friends and gave them away as gifts to people I thought were special. When I moved across countries, those items were one of the few things I had to carry with me—leaving them behind was never an option. Over the years, I never stopped buying from the Company, so now I have a very nice collection of those Products and I cherish them very much. This Company also works closely with people I deeply admire and has introduced me to other people that I now admire. Additionally, each Product has its own theme, and part of the sales of each Product helps a particular cause related to that theme. When I was a teenager and thinking about becoming a translator, this Company was my dream client.
Last year, I received an email from someone in that Company. They needed a translator to work with them on an on-going basis to translate those Products that I knew and loved so much. They also needed someone to translate their newsletters, press releases, etc. on a short notice. It was literally a dream come true. They even asked me for a discount (they're a semi non-profit organization) but I didn't care, just working with them was enough, I would have done it for free.
They sent me a very brief text to translate and gave me a two-day deadline. I had been working on a very long and exhausting project due the next day, so I decided to wait one more day (still within the deadline) and focus entirely on the sample. I don't want to sound pretentious but I did a great job, I knew the subject and I spent about four hours to translate 100 words because I wanted it to be absolutely perfect. Besides, nobody wanted this more than I did.
A week later my contact in the Company told me that they had decided to go with the other translator, he had delivered the translation before I did. They had liked my translation better, she said, but they needed someone on a very short notice. I explained to her the situation, but I knew it wasn’t going to change anything. Now, when I read their press releases or when I find a mistake in their newsletters, I know I could've done a much better job. A few weeks ago I contacted the Company again to let them know I was available and still very interested. But that’s all I could do, I don’t even want to judge the other translator because I know I’m too emotionally-involved to be fair. That doesn’t mean I’m not tempted.
Last month I went shopping and I saw an entire stand filled with the Company’s Products, I felt like crying. I still enjoy and buy these Products, I also read the magazines and newsletters (in their original language, never the translations), but it’s not the same. A bittersweet sensation is left in the air after using those Products, and that Company that used to be my dream client is now the one that got away.
Do you have a similar story? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Juliana Brown 
Israel
Local time: 06:31
Member (2007)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Once upon a time | Oct 28, 2009 |
there was a publishing house which any English speaking academic in the social sciences would recognize; let's pretend the name begins with R- because it does...
During my doctoral studies their books were more than standard fare; they were considered both serious and just quirky enough in their subject matter to make Ph.D. candidates think "well, if they've published on THIS subject, they'll be thrilled with my upcoming dissertation"!
When I had stopped lecturing and gone fre... See more there was a publishing house which any English speaking academic in the social sciences would recognize; let's pretend the name begins with R- because it does...
During my doctoral studies their books were more than standard fare; they were considered both serious and just quirky enough in their subject matter to make Ph.D. candidates think "well, if they've published on THIS subject, they'll be thrilled with my upcoming dissertation"!
When I had stopped lecturing and gone freelance, I received an email from someone at the editorial, asking if I would be interested in translating a university text book for them....on a subject I had researched and lectured on extensively. I of course told them that I was very familiar with this series, had used it myself, etc. and would be pleased to work with them. I was VERY pleased, for reasons that only ex-academics who still read the end-notes in books to see their sources will comprehend. The PM said she'd finalize details and get back to me with a starting date.
And so...she disappeared. Just like that. I suspect the project to translate it just fell through, but I waited for YEARS (still waiting in fact...). ▲ Collapse
| | | | Patricia Rosas
United States
Local time: 03:31
Spanish to English
+ ...
In memoriam | the PM was an intern ... | Oct 28, 2009 |
Juliana Starkman wrote:
The PM said she'd finalize details and get back to me with a starting date.
And so...she disappeared. Just like that. I suspect the project to translate it just fell through, but I waited for YEARS (still waiting in fact...).
Claudia's story is so sad, but one person's poor decision in a company perhaps isn't reason to give up on the company and it's products. All the same, what a raw spot it must leave to see them issue subpar translations!
Well, of course, my version is a little different. I stopped my education after getting an MA, but I love to read serious work in the social sciences. Last year, someone at another publishing house, also with a strong track record in the social sciences, contacted me about translating parts of a textbook on Latin American history. Yippee!
And, then...
Nothing! My e-mail bounced; a phone call to the press, and I found that no one could identify the person who'd written me. Had someone played a cruel joke?
This year, at about the same time, here came an almost identical e-mail from a different person, and boy, was I suspicious. In the end, I learned that the publication of the book had been delayed (what else?), and that the original person who contacted me was an intern who had left the company!
Patricia
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