far too much writing, far too many photos

runswithscissors


Monday, January 13, 2003

You know, someone really needs to save me from myself.

In class today we're given an assignment in which we have to write a composition. En Español, por supuesto. A composition utilizing certain usages they've been inflicting on us – the subjunctive verb form, conditional sentences. Like that. I spend far too much time writing as it is, and we'd already been given other homework, reasonably painful all by itself. So the idea that I have to take a bunch of time to cobble together a composition over and above everything else got me grumbling just the teeniest bit. And I figured, well, fine -- why not save myself time and heartbreak? I'll just translate a few paragraphs of something I've already written, and what came to mind was a chapter of a recently completed novel. "A brainstorm!" thought my teeny little brain. "Woo-hoo! I've had a bona fide brainstorm!"

So that's what I do. I find the text, I begin translating. I'm working away, it's actually feeling kind of exciting. I enjoy this particular piece to begin with – watching it take form in another language is a brand new experience, and I'm liking it. My translation is probably rife with errors, but for a while that doesn't tarnish the experience. What does begin to put a the tiniest of crimps in it is the amount of time it winds up taking. The passage I choose grows longer and longer and longer as it unreels in Spanish, until it's twice the length I need for the assignment, twice the work I needed to be doing. I can't cut the bugger down – it's only four paragraphs in length to begin with. It won't even make sense if it loses any text. Grumble, grumble.

The minutes are slipping by, I'm still sweating away at this thing, and when I finally round the last corner and wrap the bugger – 90 minutes later – I am cracking myself up. I've taken WAY more time doing this work than the original assignment would have taken and, as I realize when it's all over, it doesn't incorporate the usages our profesora flogged us with today, which was (please imagine the following being said loudly by Jack Nicholson:) the POINT of the WHOLE GODDAMN THING TO BEGIN WITH.

Life. So much entertainment, in so many unlikely forms.

So. I now have a version of that chapter's first few paragraphs which I will undoubtedly inflict on this webpage at some point, after I've made sure it doesn't feature too many glaring errors in translation.

rws 5:11 PM [+]

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BLATHERINGS

August 2001
September 2001
October 2001
November 2001
December 2001
January 2002
February 2002
March 2002
April 2002
May 2002
June 2002
July 2002
August 2002
September 2002
October 2002
November 2002
December 2002
January 2003
February 2003
March 2003
April 2003
May 2003
June 2003
July 2003
August 2003
September 2003
October 2003
November 2003
December 2003
January 2004
February 2004
March 2004
April 2004
May 2004
June 2004
July 2004
August 2004
September 2004
October 2004
November 2004
December 2004
January 2005
February 2005
March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
June 2009
July 2009

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .


MORE FOCUSED BLATHERINGS


Travels:
London '01
Pamplona
Italy '03
U.K. '03
Sevilla
Casablanca
Stoke-on-Trent
Barcelona
Québec/Ottawa
Boston/Lisbon/Madrid
Italy '04
Montréal
La Sierra

Events:
Madrid -- arrival
9/11
Emergency Room I
Holidays 2001
Holidays 2002
Holidays 2003
Holidays 2004
Holidays 2005
A neighbor's passing
Madrid -- March 11 bombings
  and aftermath
Emergency Room II
Israeli friend/Madrid Marathon
Madrid -- Royal Wedding
The DELE exam

GONE, a novel:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10

THE BASTARD CHILDREN OF
JOE ROCCO, a novella:
-- Part 1
-- Part 2
-- Part 3

BURBANK SHRUGGED,
a screenplay:
-- Part 1
-- Part 2
-- Part 3
-- Part 4

Short stories:
Murphy's Wife
Another Autumn
La Queja de Una
  Hermanastra Muy Conocida

Autobiography
-- Personal History
-- Hormones On Parade
-- Accidents, Random Mishaps,
    Personal Problems

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .


OTHER SOURCES OF WHOLESOME ENTERTAINMENT

People/Weblogs:
dooce
foxvox
fudge it
fear not
rebekka
bookslut
802online
idle words
madhaiku
wockerjabby
grow-a-brain
rebel market
letting me be
out and about
kung fu grippe
fanatical apathy
baghdad burning
wfuv's music blog
kexp's music blog
mimi smartypants
between the miles
just a hippie gypsy
the impossible cool
tomato can brushes
vermont homestead
sugar mountain farm

Good Clean Fun:
gizmodo
futurismic
postsecret
dave barry
human clock
mcsweeney's
spaceweather
book-a-minute
internet archive
self-portrait day
my cat hates you
out of context quotes
surrealist compliment
  generator
strindberg and helium

Makin' Musical Whoopee:
last fm
stereo8
pandora
soma fm

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .


ABOUT RWS/CONTACT





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runswithscissors would like to thank everyone who's ever lived for everything they've ever done.



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