I love pharmacies. Let me into a nice pharmacy where painkillers and skin care products are neatly shelved and categorized and you'll get a metaphor better yet than that kid in a candy store. So today I went into a pharmacy with my friend Sarah, who shares my love for pharmacies, and as we were waiting in the line at the cash register, one of the workers at the pharmacies who was a girl probably in her twenties approached us. She asked us if wanted any help and we said that we were already done and waiting to pay. Then she started telling Sarah that they have a very good product for blackheads and make up removal. She took us to the lane were that product was and told us it was medical, not cosmetic. Sarah took it and went to the cash as I stayed there checking out other products. The pharmacist then came to me again and told me that they have a very good product for facial care and those black circles around the eyes, and she said it in a way that made me feel like I have oil fields around my eyes. I said I wasn't sleeping enough but then I thought to myself that I was actually sleeping relatively well which is kind of freaked me out a little bit because I was wondering what could be causing those black circles! Anyway I told it her it was nice to know about it but I didn't want to buy it just now. So, after that we went to some clothes store and I was still thinking about those black circles so I went up to a mirror expecting to see something horrible, but to my relief there was nothing of the sort, I thought I was perfectly normal, el hamdu lellah! So I went to Sarah and told her that I was checking my face in the mirror because that lady freaked me out and she was like: DO I HAVE VERY VISIBLE BLACK HEADS? I took a good look at her face where blackheads usually appears, and I noticed that even though she was wearing some make up her face looked really clean of black heads! Nonetheless, I'm still thinking of buying that black circles products, why? Because obviously the people who use these marketing strategies know what they're doing and with whom they are dealing… it's pathetic really
As it
turned out, traffic lights seem to be my new venue of inspiration
As I was
leaving work today, as usual, I had to stop at a traffic light, and since it
was Sunday and the traffic was heavy I had to wait a bit longer. So, I started
to get bored and I had that feeling or urge or whatever that I can't be just
sitting around waiting and listening to the radio, I had to do something, so I
fished out the scratch card I'd bought earlier to recharge my balance, and a
piaster to scratch it with, you know how they keep giving you piasters with
change especially those big super makrkets, someone should put an end to that! Nothing
must be sold for a price that's not a multiple of 5! Anyway, fidgety concerns
aside, I scratched the card, picked up my mobile and started to recharge the
balance, all the while sneaking a peek every other moment at the traffic light
to see if it's time to move, and before I knew it I found myself racing to type
those numbers and hit the button, and that's when I stopped and asked myself:
What am I doing?
I started
wondering, was it really about wanting a pastime while I waited or was it about
the thrill and exhilaration of meeting a deadline? Or perhaps I feel
that I need to actually do something all the time. Whatever happened to
relaxation and contemplation? And if it was about doing something, anything,
then what about those non-work-related things I've been meaning to catch up on
or even start with but never got around to doing them? And I'm not saying that
there wasn't time, there's always time, it's just that I use it to do other
things.
Recently
I've been favoring work with much of my time. The other day I was too
preoccupied with it that I actually dreamed about the file I was working on and
I hadn't finished yet. That's another sign I guess. And, you know recently when
I had the occasional toothache that crippled me for like 20 minutes if not more
and I couldn't do anything until the pain subsided, do you know what I once
thought? "How much work time have I missed during that painful
spell?"
So, if you
have any similar symptoms you are strongly advised to kick back before you kick
off. Other signs may include admiring career obsessed TV characters, working
late on weekends; underestimating the importance of sleep and feeling like your
eyes are filled with sawdust.
Bottom line,
work is great and everything, but when it starts to turn into an obsession and
starts to take the place of other things in your life that are no less
important than it, then you better nip it in the bud
Get well
soon
As translators, much more subtitlers, we come across many weird/funny translations all the time. It’s not only because doing quality checking is a part of our work, but also because the nature of our work doomed us to focus on the subtitles while watching any movie or TV programme. Believe me sometimes it’s so annoying that you can’t enjoy the movie unless you switch them off. So, if you’re at the cinema and suddenly hear people shouting: NOOO! Don’t jump to conclusions about someone being harassed, it might as well be a group of translators who spotted a wrong line. It has to be said that by writing this I’m not excluding myself or anyone from making these mistakes. We all might have made stupid mistakes whether or not we were aware of them. It happens all the time, I write something then I realize it’s utterly ridiculous and I wonder how I could’ve possibly written such a thing. So, being exposed to all kinds of translation and translation mistakes, I tried to remember some of the funniest mistranslations that I came across, whether those I or another translators spotted before being shown on TV or those that were actually seen on the screen. Enjoy these… Flea market: سوق البراغيث 4 wheel drive: سيارة بأربع عجلات Brand new: جديد خرنج Which of these ties sucks less?: أي هاتين الربطتين تمتص أقل I made you a cow: جعلتك بقرة Do you have pot (Marijuana)? هل لديك مبولة It’s a school night: إنها مدرسة ليلية Dumbass: مؤخرة غبية I’m on board! (count me in): أنا على متن القارب Spelling bee: نحلة التهجئة Soap opera: إعلانات الصابون Now we’re talking!: إننا نتحدث الآن The sensible way: الطريقة الحساسة First aid: المساعد الأول Tell me about it!: أخبرني عن الأمر Zipper: الزمام المنزلق TGIF: تي جي آي إف ربيع الأول: Spring I قبل أن يسلم الروح: Before he gave up the ghost تغييرات: Changements Those are the ones I have for now, and mind you; I’m not making anything up… هذه هي الوحدات التي لدي الآن، واعقلوا أنتم، إنني لا أصنعها إلى أعلى... Ok, that last sentence was obviously a joke :D
It’s a new day! Rise, shine and behold: it’s the last day of the week. Having a Wednesday as the last workday is an unspeakable joy for any employee. That day being the last day in the whole month, double so. It’s around 8:20 AM, I’m approaching the company and as I take a load of the gigantic glass windows I think of the work waiting for me behind those walls, and to tell you the truth, it didn’t make me exactly cheerful. But still, something in the back of my mind reminded me that it’s the 30th of April, and in order for today’s work to be counted as a bonus, it had to be done before May strikes. I arrive at the office, and honestly I’m having a hard time remembering whether I’d chatted with anybody before I unloaded my stuff and switched my computer on. However, I can clearly remember that the clock on the screen read 8:23, at which time I started working keen not be disturbed. I tried not to open any conversation with anyone and shunned those as politely and quickly as I could. Naturally, I wasn’t the only one swamped. The whole office seemed to be on a rush. After all it was the 30th of April, and we were finishing up the month. Even when I went to pray, I could still hear the sound of phone ringing and people walking in the hallway. Not to mention the endless talk about salaries, bonus, overtime, deductions, etc. By around 4:20, I’m done. My head feels like one of those African Zulu drums. But, still, it’s the 30th of April, and I could feel that I earned the day off. I was having raptures of joy, the month is over and it was officially announced that whoever finished his work could go home anytime. Have a nice weekend! At home, a nice healthy meal, a walk and a sniff of fresh air could turn your world around. To top all, a blog post just before bedtime for all the workers in the world, whether you were the CEO of a multi-national company or just selling newspapers at the traffic lights, for each and everyone of you making this world unstoppingly viable: It’s labour day, and you’ve earned it. 
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