Translation a la Carry Bradshaw

When I started my masters course in translation bright-eyed and ready to take on the world I had visions of spending my days as a freelancer working from my favourite cafe on the corner sipping soy chai lattes while I typed away to meet my deadlines. As the course progressed I decided that I didn't want to be a translator, than I wanted to do a PhD instead. In the end I decided that I did want to be a translator but figured out how difficult it is to get started out.

Today I decided that I'm going to apply for membership to the ATA (American Translator's Association) so that I can test in hopes of becoming certified. When we return to Australia I'll apply to NAATI (National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters) and do the same. Apparently only 20% pass the exam in both countries, so I'm going to send for a practice test and I get high marks I will plan to take the exam in November in New Orleans.

I have a new mission! I downloaded the latest version of Wordfast, which is a the only translation memory program out there for Macs, and am teaching myself how to use it. I had the program on my laptop all throughout my masters course but couldn't be bothered learning how to use it when it could have actually been really useful. I unintentionally seem to make life complicated. I like to live on the edge.