What a difference a day makes
September 07, 2004
So, today I hate my job. This week actually, and I�m blaming it on the fact that I worked on Saturday. It�s true though. Even though I don�t mind working on Saturday, that extra day�and the lack of a proper weekend�makes me especially tired and nasty for the rest of the week. I came in today and�Ok, let me back up. Last time I explained that we have the three �modes� of news. One is our weekly update, one the daily, and then the last is the �hourly� news reel we have going on. Around here we just refer to it as �the news.� So we got this woman to translate the news from 9am-3pm so that Monde and I don�t have to come in early and to lessen the workload on us. Monde interviewed said translator and had her translate some pieces before hiring her. Unfortunately, Monde let the translator (listen, I can�t think up a more creative name for her than �shit face� right now, so I will just continue to refer to her as �the translator� mmkay?) take these items home to translate them (which is what she did with me too, come to think of it). It has since become obvious that the translator had some help because Monde was pleased with the samples she brought back to her, but neither of us are very pleased with the work she now does in-office. Suffice it to say, it would actually be less work for us to just translate the news items ourselves, than to let the translator translate them and then check over HER translations. It�s actually turned out to be more work that way, but Monde doesn�t have the heart to fire her, and honestly, neither one of us wants to volunteer to come it at 9 a.m. She is showing marked improvement, and it�s obvious that she reads carefully over the corrections we make to her translations. But this morning I came in and I just didn�t want to deal, and there was so much more than usual to deal with. I want to make a list for the translator with the following suggestions on things she seems to constantly overlook:
- It�s not Ariel Sharon Israel Prime Minster but rather Israeli Prime Minster Ariel Sharon. Follow this example in all such cases (President Yasser Arafat, not Yasser Arafat Palestine Sovereignty President)
- By the way, it�s Palestinian Authority
- This morning, Bashar al-Assad was not being accused of wanting to reopen negotiations with Israel, but rather he was interested in doing so (though, here it�s a matter of switching letters around - �muhtam� as opposed to �mutahim� so I can see where the confusion might be. Oh, no wait, I can�t. Because you supposedly worked on the editorial staff of the Ahram Weekly, Egypt�s number one English publication, for 11 years).
- Articles are your friends. Especially when the article is �the� and it comes before a proper noun. For example, �THE IDF raided a Hamas training camp in Gaza.� Not �IDF raided Hamas training camp in Gaza.� Or, �THE disintegration plan will be implemented soon.� Not, �Disintegration plan will be implemented soon.�
- By the way, it�s the disengagement plan. They are planning to move settlers out of the territories, not vaporize them. Though there is merit to that idea. Um�Just kidding! Settlers are my friends. BFF! crazy, gun-toting, land-stealing, trouble-making, feverish, Zionist settlers! B-effing-F!
Ok, y�all get the idea. These are all little things but she just keeps doing them. And she�s picked up on other mistakes she was making before. Why not these essential things which would save me a lot of cutting and pasting and rearranging?
Another gripe�
Later on in the morning, before Monde got in, our favorite (and by favorite, I mean not) IT guy called up asking about the weekly update. So I asked him, did he mean the one we did last week (see, this week�s September 9th update was done last week, right?), or the one for next week? The Arabic word �faat� can be used to mean �last� as well as �passed�, �past� etc. There is a cute, rhyming, little saying in Arabic, �illi faat maat�- what has passed is dead. So what did favorite IT guy say to me when I asked him are you talking about last week�s update (al usbua illi faat) ? He said �illi faat maat,� and then proceeded to laugh at his own wit. I, on the other hand, not really lacking reasons to dislike him, and not really in the mood to deal with him, did not think it was funny. I pointed out to IT guy that the weekly update is where it always is, every week, and that ended our little chat. I had a fun time retelling that story to Monde when she came in. It�s probably not as funny to people who don�t work here.
Ok, I�m gonna go, but I realize that every few weeks there are a few stories that really get to me, and I�m always meaning to share those stories but never get around to it. The past two weeks my favorite story was that of the hunger strike of Palestinian security prisoners (read: terrorists) in Israeli prisons. Over 3,000 Palestinian prisoners, both male and female, went on a hunger strike in protest of poor treatment in prison facilities. The strike ended three days ago with over a 1,000 prisoners still going strong (others had ended their strike due to fatigue etc.) when the Israeli prison commissioner granted them their demands. Yay! As a big fan of non-violent resistance this story made me really happy. I just hope that the promises are carried out.
This week�s story of interest to me is actually something that has been going on for a while, but only recently pulled me in. It�s the story of the left-wing Israeli activist, Tali Fahima, who is being held without trial under suspicions of aiding Palestinian terrorist organizations, specifically the Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. It is rumored that Fahima is/was having an affair with Zakariya al-Zubeidi, one of the leaders of the Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. This, as much as anything else about the case interests me. It must be the twisted romantic in me, but I am fascinated by the idea of the conservatively-raised Israeli girls falling for the supposedly conservative leader of a Palestinian militant organization. Fahima talks about how she was raised to hate the Palestinians but never knew why, and how meeting Zubeidi and hearing his side of things changed her life. Of course, it is in the interest of the Israeli media to make this a story of romance as opposed to conscience, but either version works well for me. Meanwhile, the fact that she is being held without trial is creating a ruckus in the Knesset and throughout Israel as it is undemocratic, and we all know that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. Anyway, check out the story. You can find daily references to it at the Haaretz website.
Alrighty, back to the grind. For tips on how to bullshit your way through any class, check out notoriousrrz�s most recent entry. I am proud to say that I have used more than one of the bullshitting methods he offers, with positive results. I have especially proud moments from a freshman seminar I took my first semester at Penn. Moments which only prove to me that I have become dumber with age and experience.