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Poll: Have you ever fallen asleep while translating?
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Apr 1, 2012

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you ever fallen asleep while translating?".

This poll was originally submitted by Kasia E Slobodzian-Taylor. View the poll results »



 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Duitsland
Local time: 21:19
Lid 2009
Engels naar Duits
+ ...
Other Apr 1, 2012

Well, I didn't actually fall asleep, but was just a blink away from doing it during a 19 K translation with a very tight delivery date. So I took a 2-hours' nap and...delivered on time.

 
Isabelle F. BRUCHER (X)
Isabelle F. BRUCHER (X)  Identity Verified
België
Local time: 21:19
Engels naar Frans
+ ...
Other Apr 1, 2012

Thayenga wrote:

Well, I didn't actually fall asleep, but was just a blink away from doing it (...). So I took a 2-hours' nap (...)


Same for me, many times.

I suppose most translators work at home, thus a few steps away from their beds. So I can't imagine them not feeling sleep coming, and actually falling asleep (& falling) over their keyboards... At least that's the image that comes to my mind when I read "FALLEN asleep WHILE translating"...


 
Julian Holmes
Julian Holmes  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 04:19
Lid 2011
Japans naar Engels
Not during... Apr 1, 2012

...but while I was taking a quick early morning nap.

I was working on an old Mac Plus. If you remember these keyboards they didn't have all the bells and whistles (e.g. function keys, Alt, Ctrl, etc.) on them like keyboards for 9800 PCs and other Windows machines used to have. All the letters were close to the outer edge of the keyboard.
I woke up to the familiar pinging noise you used to get on the old Plus's to find about 30 pages worth of zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's en
... See more
...but while I was taking a quick early morning nap.

I was working on an old Mac Plus. If you remember these keyboards they didn't have all the bells and whistles (e.g. function keys, Alt, Ctrl, etc.) on them like keyboards for 9800 PCs and other Windows machines used to have. All the letters were close to the outer edge of the keyboard.
I woke up to the familiar pinging noise you used to get on the old Plus's to find about 30 pages worth of zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's entered in the file I was working on.

I'd slumped over my desk and fallen asleep with my nose on the Z key which was right at the botton lefthand corner.

True story

Happy napping!
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Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Duitsland
Local time: 21:19
Lid 2009
Engels naar Duits
+ ...
Thank you Apr 1, 2012

Julian Holmes wrote:

...but while I was taking a quick early morning nap.

I was working on an old Mac Plus. If you remember these keyboards they didn't have all the bells and whistles (e.g. function keys, Alt, Ctrl, etc.) on them like keyboards for 9800 PCs and other Windows machines used to have. All the letters were close to the outer edge of the keyboard.
I woke up to the familiar pinging noise you used to get on the old Plus's to find about 30 pages worth of zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's entered in the file I was working on.

I'd slumped over my desk and fallen asleep with my nose on the Z key which was right at the botton lefthand corner.

True story

Happy napping!


Thanks, Julian, for this believable and funny "zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz" story.
And... happy snoring.


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 20:19
Lid 2007
Engels naar Portugees
+ ...
Never Apr 1, 2012

I've never ever fallen asleep on the job! A good cup of espresso coffee keeps me wide awake and... I try to avoid biting off more than I can chew. What a funny story, Julian!

 
neilmac
neilmac
Spanje
Local time: 21:19
Spaans naar Engels
+ ...
No Apr 1, 2012

I can't imagine it ever happening unless I were ill or something. In a worst case scenario I would consider using stimulants such as extra strong coffee, energy drinks, antihistamines or similar, although I find this type of artificial "energising" uncomfortable and it would be a last resort.

I rarely find translation boring, no matter what the content is, because I enjoy the process. My main problem is with people and their hurries.


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 20:19
Lid 2007
Engels naar Portugees
+ ...
Antihistamines? Apr 1, 2012

neilmac wrote:

In a worst case scenario I would consider using stimulants such as extra strong coffee, energy drinks, antihistamines or similar, although I find this type of artificial "energising" uncomfortable and it would be a last resort.


Antihistamines have actually the exact opposite effect on me! They make me feel sleepy and lethargic...


 
Marlene Blanshay
Marlene Blanshay  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 15:19
Lid 2009
Frans naar Engels
+ ...
never Apr 1, 2012

although once, when I had a cold. I had a small job I'd been finishing when I got sick and I was working on it, when i just couldn't keep my head upright anymore! I conked out for a while and finished the job later. I decided to take the next couple of days off. I usually do that if I have a bad cold because it's hard to concentrate. Hey, I work on my own, I can take a couple of days off and just tell clients I'm not available!

 
Umang Dholabhai
Umang Dholabhai  Identity Verified
India
Local time: 00:49
Engels naar Gujarati
+ ...
Truly... Apr 1, 2012

Thayenga wrote:

Julian Holmes wrote:

...but while I was taking a quick early morning nap.

I was working on an old Mac Plus. If you remember these keyboards they didn't have all the bells and whistles (e.g. function keys, Alt, Ctrl, etc.) on them like keyboards for 9800 PCs and other Windows machines used to have. All the letters were close to the outer edge of the keyboard.
I woke up to the familiar pinging noise you used to get on the old Plus's to find about 30 pages worth of zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's entered in the file I was working on.

I'd slumped over my desk and fallen asleep with my nose on the Z key which was right at the botton lefthand corner.

True story

Happy napping!


Thanks, Julian, for this believable and funny "zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz" story.
And... happy snoring.


Proz is just like home. These forums are such a delight!


 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
Frankrijk
Local time: 21:19
Frans naar Engels
the other way round Apr 1, 2012

I've never fallen asleep translating, because I make a point of listening closely to the signals my body sends me about being tired or hungry. On the other hand, I've often woken in the middle of the night excited at finding the right word !

I always try very hard to get minimum 24 hrs for my deadlines, even when "just" a few lines. It's amazing how words have come closer to the surface during the night and are just there waiting to be plucked from my memory to turn my dodgy draft i
... See more
I've never fallen asleep translating, because I make a point of listening closely to the signals my body sends me about being tired or hungry. On the other hand, I've often woken in the middle of the night excited at finding the right word !

I always try very hard to get minimum 24 hrs for my deadlines, even when "just" a few lines. It's amazing how words have come closer to the surface during the night and are just there waiting to be plucked from my memory to turn my dodgy draft into a text that reads smoothly and puts the author's message across neatly.
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Phil Hand
Phil Hand  Identity Verified
China
Local time: 03:19
Chinees naar Engels
When I was starting out Apr 1, 2012

I got lower rates than I get now, and I often did 80 hour weeks, plus spending time with my boy. When the deadlines were tight, I would work round the clock two or three days in a row, just taking the odd couple of hour naps. I'd start hallucinating with tiredness, and often just drift off. It's funny, but when I'm really tired, coffee puts me to sleep rather than keeps me going. It only works as a stimulant when I'm rested.

I manage things a bit better now, but I still work long lo
... See more
I got lower rates than I get now, and I often did 80 hour weeks, plus spending time with my boy. When the deadlines were tight, I would work round the clock two or three days in a row, just taking the odd couple of hour naps. I'd start hallucinating with tiredness, and often just drift off. It's funny, but when I'm really tired, coffee puts me to sleep rather than keeps me going. It only works as a stimulant when I'm rested.

I manage things a bit better now, but I still work long long hours :/
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Vesna Maširević
Vesna Maširević  Identity Verified
Servië
Local time: 21:19
Lid 2011
Engels naar Servisch
+ ...
No Apr 1, 2012

but I am about to!

 
Julian Holmes
Julian Holmes  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 04:19
Lid 2011
Japans naar Engels
O-yasumi-nasai! Apr 1, 2012

Vesna Maširević wrote:
but I am about to!


If you slump over the keyboard, try not to hit the Z key with your nose.

Sweet dreamzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz


 
Henry Hinds
Henry Hinds  Identity Verified
Verenigde Staten
Local time: 13:19
Engels naar Spaans
+ ...
In memoriam
Often Apr 1, 2012

If I feel a bit sleepy, I'll just lay back and let it happen, then awaken a while later and continue working. I don't have any boss to chastise me for sleeping on the job.

 
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Poll: Have you ever fallen asleep while translating?






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