Things you enjoy that others typically dislike doing.

[Hadarian]

I like translating, but find that it doesn't pay - it's not well paid and I work too slowly, carefully and methodically to ever make it pay or really be worth my while.r

Me too, I noticed that it seems to take me longer than most other translators, and I used to get really hung up on details, where I would write emails to my employer and ask details about the content and meaning so I could know which was the right preposition to use in English. They used to get annoyed at me. I've tried to adapt now and to not care, as nobody else seems to--combined with the fact that the texts I get now are better quality than when I began, plus I think my Finnish has improved a lot.

And when I began translating exactly 2 decades ago, it was better-paid. Now, like you, I agree it's not even worth it. However, my former employer in Finland refuses to sink their prices to the level of dirt/word, so that means that they get very little work for me, but now and then I still get something, but as a freelance translator, whereas I used to be a full-time translator for them.

I still hate proofreading. Even if it' well-written, but I almost never get those jobs. Finnish people are all in all quite bad at writing in English (to a professional standard, and often even to a comprehensible one, depending upon the level of difficulty of what they are trying to express).

Something I often found frustrating with both proofreading and translating, is that I found myself time and time again wanting to write the whole thing by myself. Having to be restricted to the poor articulatory skills of the author and being forced to write a worse text than what I could produce was deeply unsatisfying. Sometimes I'd get complaints when I would improve upon it and make it more fluent, appealing and natural in English.

I hope you don't mean this literally?

Well, it was something I experienced when I would get longer translations. Like anything longer than 10 pages and I would begin to feel trapped in the translation, or tied into it, unable to escape. I'd get restless and start to get desperate to get out of it. I felt like I wanted to hang myself to get out of it, but not quite literally--if I knew it would never end, then it would have been more literally intended. I like short translations. Anything long, and I start to feel claustrophobic and trapped.

 

[Progster]

Something I often found frustrating with both proofreading and translating, is that I found myself time and time again wanting to write the whole thing by myself. Having to be restricted to the poor articulatory skills of the author and being forced to write a worse text than what I could produce was deeply unsatisfying. Sometimes I'd get complaints when I would improve upon it and make it more fluent, appealing and natural in English.

I agree, it's difficult to strike a balance between the author's style and mode of expression, and the need for it to sound good in English. I always used to send the author a sample before committing to the whole translation, a page from a book for example, and told them, this is the translation, this is my work, this is how I shall translate and present it in order for it to appeal and sound natural to an English-speaking audience. Sometimes they questioned or asked the translation of specific words to be changed, but they accepted, because at the end of the day, they want their work to sell, so it is in their best interest for it to sound good in English, or they won't find a publisher or it won't sell. I also had to send frequent emails to ask for clarification of a word or point, or have found factual errors or inconsistencies, and each time, I contacted the author to suggest a change.

Well, it was something I experienced when I would get longer translations. Like anything longer than 10 pages and I would begin to feel trapped in the translation, or tied into it, unable to escape. I'd get restless and start to get desperate to get out of it. I felt like I wanted to hang myself to get out of it, but not quite literally--if I knew it would never end, then it would have been more literally intended. I like short translations. Anything long, and I start to feel claustrophobic and trapped.

I do know what you mean here and experienced it for the more difficult and longer translations, but I found ways round this: Firstly, I gave myself plenty of time to complete it so I wouldn't be under pressure. I divided it into sections: I set myself a daily target of about 10 pages or so, and if I did more, then great! If the manuscript had lots of pictures or illustrations, I could easily finish the target and then I had 2 choices: do extra or take time off and do something that I wanted to do. The feeling of finishing the target and having done extra, or being able to do what I wanted afterwards, was really good! In this way, taking one day at a time, I managed to cope with the work and finish them. But I was also lucky in that that the authors I was translating for told me to take my time and didn't put me under pressure to finish quickly.

 

[Robin Winter]

I like being out in super cold winter. Snow shoeing or walking across frozen lakes. In -10 or -20 Degrees F. below zero weather too! I actually go out woods walking when the weatherman says not to go outside!

I have snow shoed in -60 F. below weather too, but I burned my lungs that way, and it was painful to breathe for two days! Even with all my gear on and not cold, I had to experience that kind of cold.

It’s so peaceful, quiet, and sunny on those days. I love it.

I'm quite the opposite. The further the air gets from my body temperature in either direction, the harder it is for me to handle. I dislike Summer and Winter, I'm most comfortable in mid Autumn and Spring.

 

[Nihil]

I love those things, (well social media is more of a need than a love), but in the words of the late John Lennon, Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.

My personal philosophy is that having fun is productive. Life is already hard enough. I don't see a reason not to have fun, or why I should feel guilty about having fun! Loosen up, people.

 

[DCA]

I really like spreadsheets! Like, I really, really like spreadsheets! If I have to organize data in any way, shape or form I break out a spreadsheet program & go to town. I also love organizing, collating, & analyzing data. Really pushes a lot of the right buttons for me...

 

[Tom]

I used to like cleaning. Until I switched to the Housedad role.

I also like doing very tedious tasks sometimes. Like counting hundreds and hundreds of something. Or sorting things. I used to love sorting my kids Legos. Its not that I can't do more complicated things, and I like/need more complicated things. At work I used to troubleshoot and repair missile guidence systems among many other things. But I felt like I needed the one to balance my brain for the other.

 

[tducey]

Speaking in public which is somewhat odd given my diagnosis.

 

[Nellie]

I edit and proofread EVERYTHING. I also have over 70 colouring books... some people say I might have too much but I think i need more!! I also LOVE sorting my lego. I have TONS of lego sets that I have repeatedly taken about, sorted in every possible way, and put them back together. I love sorting everything else too though!

 

[Nervous Rex]

I really like spreadsheets! Like, I really, really like spreadsheets! If I have to organize data in any way, shape or form I break out a spreadsheet program & go to town. I also love organizing, collating, & analyzing data. Really pushes a lot of the right buttons for me...

Me, too! So much so, that I often use a spreadsheet to solve a math problem that I should have just written a program for.

 

[Nervous Rex]

Math.

The ugly, redheaded stepchild of the education system. The one topic that everyone else has agreed to hate.

I love it.

 

[the_tortoise]

I enjoy untangling, knotted, tangled fishing line....it's like a puzzle.

 

[FreeDiver]

Math.

The ugly, redheaded stepchild of the education system. The one topic that everyone else has agreed to hate.

I love it.

I love math too. It's the education system that's the ugly, redheaded stepchild. hope it burns in hell and collapses to the heel of online learning, just like the retail industry is collapsing to the heel of online shopping.

 

[OlLiE]

anything that allows me to get into a rhythm
including ironing, moving the lawn, raking leaves, cooking, ...

 

[Progster]

I love assembling flatpack furniture! IKEA, here I come...

 

[Mr Allen]

I enjoy doing voluntary work, OK it literally doesn't pay anything, and does not stop me from being accused of being workshy because it's not a "proper" job, but those people need to shut the **** up anyway, all those idiot Daily Fail readers.

 

[Mary Terry]

I like to cook meals and make bread from scratch. Bread making is labor intensive but delicious. I also like to iron laundry, especially the cotton kitchen towels. I usually set up the ironing board in the living room in front of the TV and sip on a glass of wine while I iron.

 

[Anonym]

I love sorting activities, like unloading the dishwasher. I had a job at a mail forwarding facility once and my favorite duty was organizing the thousands of daily letters into tidy rows by their box numbers. I also enjoy weeding the flower beds and have to restrain myself when Im in a public space and I see a bed that needs weeding!

 

[OlLiE]

being alone and not talking

 

[George Newman]

Dishes and laundry! Love em’!

 

[GrownupGirl]

Hmmm. that's a tough one for me. But I could go on forever about things I hate that other people typically enjoy doing.