GRE Issue Task 4

As adults, we prefer to define ourselves more by our occupation than by our affiliation with social groups.

The speaker claims that grown-ups have a bigger inclination to identify themselves to their occupations compared to which social groups they belong to. In my point of view, it is a reckless statement for its generalizing every adult and every single occupation to have the same attitude toward his job. Such behavior, I am certain of it, differs based on some factors explained below.

First of all, let us see how the speaker could make such assertion. I admit that there are those who are happier to be associated by their professions than to be highlighted as a part of any social groups. It is mostly seen, as far as I am concerned, in the eyes of people love their jobs by heart. They pick up their job for their passion to it despite of what others say about this job. For a painter, for instance, drawing his pieces is in his heart and soul, and he can only recognize himself as a painter since he does not mind of being a part of any larger community. Other individuals with a strong proclivity to their employment are those with conventionally-successful profession such as doctors, business directors, and lawyers.

However, we must not forget that there are those who are not fortunate enough to grab the job of their dreams. What about an agriculture faculty graduate whose only choice is working in a bank? Could he identify himself as a banker? Moreover, if his family members are farmers and he used to live between them, there is a big possibility that he would relate himself more to his family background than to his livelihood. Another factor is the society’s negative assumption to certain professions. Low-income occupation, namely factory labors and drivers, might not be something people want to define themselves by. In addition, we should not forget that rich people tend to associate themselves with their wealth, no matter what they do for their living.

Now it is viable that someone’s occupation may not always be his first choice to identify himself. How he loves the job, how people think about it, and how he used to live would affect this inclination. Therefore, the speaker’s statement is only accessible to some adults, not all.

Two New Books Soon!

These are books I've translated waiting to be published anytime soon by Ufuk Press.

Branded Outlaw by L. Ron Hubbard
This one was fun! I found myself missing the old western movies!
Read its synopsis here.

The Collapse of Lehman Brothers
Lawrence G. McDonald & Patrick Robinson
It was the toughest book I've translated so far.
However, it taught me a lot about investment banking.
Read its synopsis here.

The Little White Horse and The Prophecy of the Gems

I'm still reading this book. It has an enchanting language.

Well, I couldn't force myself to finish this book. It's boring.

Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude by Napoleon Hill

This is not my favorite project. There were many problems along the way, but I'm grateful that I've handled it. It's a learning process, however, and I'm new in this business.

This is young Napoleon Hill.

Cash in a Flash by Mark Victor Hansen and Robert G. Allen

This is my first project in Ufuk Press. I thought it was difficult, but recently I realized that it's nothing compared to my current project.

Overall, it is a really nice book about encouraging yourself to be a winner and gain much money with a fascinating fiction about its application. It challenged me to look for appropriate translations of some terms made-up by the writers. I loved it. Even though a reader complained about my editing, that's fine. I'm going to be better in the future.

The most wonderful thing is I received to free copies of this book yesterday. It is expensive, and I wouldn't buy it on my own. Moreover, I love having new books, more books, especially with good package, regardless of its genres, hahaha.

The Next Evolution of Marketing by Bob Gilbreath

This is a cool book about marketing with meaning. It's definitely not my field of interest, but I enjoyed translating it. Yesterday during a meeting in my office, I applied what I've learned from this book to promote City of Bones (read my previous post). I'm glad that my boss appreciated my ideas, and we are actually running them.

That's why I love my job. It obliged me (forced me, sometimes) to read various stuffs that I wouldn't have glanced. However, I strongly believe that I have to learn something from anything I do, and that's what I did with this book. That's why, despite of many difficulties I'm facing due to my current project, I'm still trying to learn something from it.

Cheers :)

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

I've finished translating this book a few months ago, and it will be published next month. I'm so proud of this project, since I tackled the whole 485 pages down in only 5 weeks.

Yesterday, we've discussed the pre-promotion and post-promotion strategies. I gave them many new tactics, having learned it from The Next Evolution of Marketing (read my subsequent post). Hopefully, this book will be the next big hit.

My review about this novel is available here. Unfortunately, it's only in Indonesian.

Let's Go to the Office!

Actually, I wrote it 8 hours ago.

I rarely go to my office, let alone going there for a meeting. But today is the day. They invited me to attend a meeting in which we will discuss the package and promotional strategies of a novel I translated, City of Bones.

I am so excited because I've been thinking about how to promote this novel. I think there's a big possibility that this novel would be the next hit after Stepehenie Meyer's Twilight Saga. Moreover, Meyer's subsequent saga is written for the young adults, not teenager, and hence we have a large audience waiting for something new for them!

The fact that my current project is out of my interest has also driven my eagerness toward this meeting. I wish my boss would give me popular novels more oftern, but I don't have the right to choose, I can only tell him about it. However, receiving any project is much better than not having any. So I just have to do my best.

Cheers!

Help

I wrote it last night on around 23.30 GMT+7

I know precisely that I have to finish my translation as soon as possible. But it’s very difficult. I’ve never imagined myself dealing with investment banking terms. I had no idea about CDO, CLO, MBS, SIV, and God knows what else. I knew nothing about Lehman Brothers, JPMorganChase, Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, and others. Now I see their names running before my eyes.

It really exhausts me day by day. Fortunately, I’m using it as an escapist act from doing my written works for my gradute application. Therefore, I can go on.

In the end of the day, I’m so tired and hungry, please help me :’(

Priority

It’s been a long time since my last real post. The last three posts are just my old files. This is a new one. I want to write about so MANY things but I’ve been quiet “busy” with my job—translating a book. But sometimes I wasted my time doing something else like… sleeping duh -_- or watching television. Oh my dear priority…

Talking about priority, in the last 3 weeks I encountered some challenges about priority. I’d been in an internship for about 3 months when my boss (coordinator, actually, but yes she is my boss) asked me to choose—to continue my internship (and maybe start teaching on the next semester) or to focus on my future graduate study.

I wanted to stay there until my graduate study begin (which is more likely in Sep 2010), but she insisted that I had to choose. Okay then, it’s about priority. So I gave up on my internship. My deepest desire is to be able to study and learn constantly. Yeah, until I die. Somehow giving up on my internship means I can spend more time enriching myself with knowledges—yes, I can study (and play) more often. Ultimately, I don’t regret it at all.

Actually a week before the insident happened, I’d signed a contract to translate a book. The book is thicker than those I’ve had before. It’s a challenging work and the fee is worth the same. Moreover, by translating it, I can improve my english skill—especially vocabulary and reading (yes, my weakness in the last TOEFL test). Thus this job really fits me. Working and studying in the same time, I love it.

The problem is there were other jobs (another translation, internship, teaching). I sighed to my mother that I had too many things to do. Just the next day I found out that I had to give up on my internship. Wow! It was a direct answer from Allah (and I love You so much!). I could not give up on my other translation. I’d promised to my client to finish it, so I had to do it. This is also what it means by PRIORITY.

Don't forget that I’ve signed a contract to have classes twice a week during last month. I had to go to my students’ office which is very far from my lodging room—kind of wasting my time. However, I said I’ve signed a contract. I couldn’t just say goodbye. I had to wait until the contract is over. A few days ago I got offered to carry on 4 sessions more with higher price. But I said NO. I’d already decided which one is my priority—my translation job. I don’t want to disappoint this nice publisher.

It’s not even over yet. There was another translation selection from a prominent publisher (prominent yes—but not as nice as the publisher I’m currently working for). No, it’s not my priority. So I handed it over to two of my friends. I hope one of them will get it. This week I also received a call from my former student. She asked me whether I can teach her (or her friend, I’m not sure) again. No, it’s not my priority either. So I told her that I’ve already had a job. Then I handed it to my friend. In the very same week, my undergraduate lecture sent me a message. He said that his friend need his novel to be edited. Hmm… is it my priority? No, it’s not.

Of course I wanted to be greedy and took them all. But I know my capacity. I understand my priority. If I insisted to work on all of them, I would get nothing but chaos—disappointing many people. I believe that I’ve done the right things and have made the proper decisions. I hope I will be able to do even better in the future.

That’s what I’ve learned lately =D

A New Book Project

One of my projects got cancelled until August and I didn’t know how to feed myself until then. So the book project dropped by when I needed it badly...

Yesterday was wonderful. First thing in the morning is my friend Y had her thesis defense successfully. She got her defense early in the morning that when I got there in the campus, she’s all alone, even her supervisor was still on his way. Even though I was jus an insignificant help, I’m glad that I came. She got so many things in her hands to be shared at that time.

Then I got my Fulbright reference letter from my lecturer, Mr. U. I can’t wait to get my TOEFL test result on Friday so I can finish my master degree scholarship application. I still have to ask for one more reference letter from Mr. F though.

I went to a publisher for a translator test. It took longer than I had expected but the result was great. They trusted me both to be a translator and an editor. In the same day, they directly give me a book to work on. The book is not easy but the payment is way finer than my previous projects in other publishers. The best thing about this publisher is they forgave my late response. One month ago, they had sent me an email responding my application, but I just had figured it out a few days ago. Such a big fish I’ve almost missed!

The next thing was I had to go to Tanah Abang directly. I had a class there on 04.30. Two times I had to take ojek (motorcycle cab) to minimize the time but thanks God I didn’t come late. One of my students refused to keep studying in the last ten minutes but it wasn’t a big deal. My way home was average. I just got confused a little in Pasar Minggu and had to pay the last minibus with coins since I got no more small cash with me.

One of my projects got cancelled until August and I didn’t know how to feed myself until then. So the book project dropped by when I needed it badly. When I told my friend, she said, “God never sleeps.” I guess it’s true. If He sees us fighting for our good, He will help us somehow. But I said to my other friend that, “If we do something good, good thing will come to us.”

Last week I also joined a selection for translating a young adults fiction in a different publisher. I've just received an email about the result. I failed the selection but this time I'm relieved since I've already got a bigger project in my hand.

From now on, I got so busy that I won’t be able to write many. But working hard is fun when we’re expecting some money from it ;)