Even God rested – freelancers and vacation days

 

[sternbergia*]

I begin with a confession. I wrote this post in a “tzimmer” (a BNB room) in Katzrin, a small town in the Golan Heights. In other words, I was on vacation. While that remark may sound trite if you receive a salary, it may cause many freelancers to start to ask questions. How can he afford it? Isn’t he worried about losing work or, even worse, losing customers? My answer to those concerns is that vacation days are not only possible but also financially beneficial in the long term. I can say that I feel greatly recharged and refocused upon my return.

To be clear, everybody gets holidays, whether they schedule them or not. The timing and lengths of these religious and civil events depend on the culture and religion. For example, in Israel, Jews have nine days of holidays and their eves within three weeks in September and/or October, not including some 6 days of optional off days and some minor fasts. Likewise, people living in Christian countries basically close all non-essential businesses from mid-December to the first days of January. Of course, these times may be called holy days but they are not holidays for many people, especially those involved in preparing meals and hosting guests. Thus, while holidays may not involve professional work, they are generally far from vacations regardless of the positive elements.

Therefore, when freelancers wish to have a real vacation, they must actively seize it. However, as compared to the salary position holders, such a decision would seem to pose risks in terms of income and customers. Not only do they have to account for the expenses involved in the vacation itself, they have to account for the income they will not earn during that period. Granted, the latter cost is potential to one degree or another. However, clearly the lack of cash flow will be felt in the near future. More seriously, being on vacation means, ideally, not working and thus being unavailable to your customers. There is a natural fear that the customers will find someone else “in the meantime”. As they say in Hebrew, there is nothing more permanent than the temporary.

While these concerns are legitimate, they are generally less serious in reality. In terms of the costs of vacation, freelancers have full control of many aspects, including the length of time and actual cost. For example, one of the great advantages of being one’s own boss is the ability to pick vacation dates and choose  non-peak times, assuming that one does not have school-age children to take into account. More importantly, the vast majority of customers actually understand that service providers are entitled to go on vacation. If they appreciated the quality and reliability of service provider before, they will return to the same service provider afterwards. Freelancers should inform important customers of the coming vacation in advance and may suggest an available colleague to cover any urgent situations. In any case, being on vacation is not among the main reasons for losing customers.

Regarding lost income, vacations actually increase income over the medium and long term. One of the most subtle effects of burnout is reduced productivity. As freelancers become emotionally tired, they tend to have less energy, slow down and exhibit less patience. Ideally, a true day off or weekend at home restores some of that energy but unfortunately there are always tasks to be done at home. As a result, home rest is of limited value (unless you keep the Sabbath, of course). By contrast, getting away, even for one night, involves leaving all home and work duties behind. Tourists generally focus on the immediate experience, e.g. the amazing flowers we enjoyed as seen in this post, forgetting their obligations and problems for the moment. This break from the routine refreshes the spirit, recharging the batteries for the challenges to be faced after returning home. Consequently, vacations can increase income.

Thus, I would strongly advise freelancers, both new and established, to take periodical vacations without fear of losing money and customers. Whatever short-term cost is involved, they provide the energy required to grow and sustain a business. By the way, after writing this post, I happily returned to my crossword puzzles without a care in the world knowing that I would return to work in a few days empowered to take on the world, or at least part of it. As it is implied in Genesis, everybody, which includes freelancers, deserves a vacation.

[Feinbrun's Autumn Crocus]

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Home away from home

Part of the adventure of traveling is the sleeping in a strange room. Despite all the picture and reviews available online, a person never knows what is awaiting behind door number 1, 2 or 3. Unless people stay a hotel chain, which tends to have a series of uniform designs and mattresses worldwide, the surprise can be pleasant or unpleasant. Linguistically, what complicates the choice for an evening’s stay is the sheer number of words describing a stop for a weary traveler.

There are some fairly standard terms.  A hotel is a generally a multistory building with a reception and lobby leading to the elevators that take guests to the room. Based on the star rating of the hotel for that country, it is possible to predict the number of amenities and size of towels.  It is always worth knowing in advance whether parking and WIFI are free.  For some reasons, additional fees for those annoy me somehow. By contrast, motels are generally no more than three floors and spread out. The reception desk is at the entrance to the complex such that a person does not have to actually walk through it to get to the room, an advantage in certain cases.  In fact, “notel motels” date from the time when hotels asked whether the registering couple was married. In cities, there are often inns, which are often made of brick and are located in ideal locations but have small rooms, unless they are country inns. In some tourist places, there are boarding rooms, ideal for the budget conscious traveler that only needs a room for the night. At best, the furniture isn’t fancy, even often a bit old-fashioned with quaint pictures on the wall, but what difference does it make when your eyes are closed? With these types, travelers have some idea what they are getting.

Some travel lodging is more specialized. A motor court is for travelers on the road and generally is characterized by low prices, simple rooms and plenty of parking.  When traveling away from the city, similar family-owned lodgings are called road houses and almost always have a full bar to help wind down from the driving and help you ignore the lack of maneuvering space in the room. In some places, more spacious and luxurious lodges are an option, evoking memories of English or Russian hunting parties.  Generally made out of wood and spread out, they offer a more luxurious night of sleep. By contrast, a youth hostel is for the budget conscious. The actual conditions vary from place to place but weary travelers receive a bed to lay their weary heads on, albeit often not in a private room. On the other hand, it is a nice place to meet fellow travelers of the tourist kind. For a family or couple, a private guest house is often a unique way to experience local architecture and furnishing. Generally, they are clean and less expensive than hotels and clearly not generic. Today’s hit is the bread and breakfast (B&B), even if breakfast is not always included in the price as I just discovered. The variation in conditions is no less than that of the price. Still, you can truly mix with the locals this way but, on the other hand, having sex is less practical. Nothing is perfect.

For those who have the money and desire, luxury options abound. All hotels offer suites of various sizes. For the (much) higher price of a suite, the visitor gets a separate living adjacent to the one or better bedrooms. It feels just like home, except that there is no need to do laundry or clean. For a higher level of privacy as hotel walls can be a bit thin, vacation flats, either as part of a hotel or actual flats themselves, are an ideal alternative as they offer all the comfort of home without the cleaning or maintenance and allow people to prepare meals or eat without going out. Depending on the price and location, their price can be quite competitive as compared to hotels of similar standards. Of course, some people consider the words cooking and vacation oxymorons. Chacun à son gout. For larger families that don’t want to share either the inside or outside space with strangers, vacation villas are available. It is unclear how many square meters turn a house into a villa but, still, there is something to be said for the privilege of making as much noise or wearing as little clothes as you want because, after all, you are on vacation. None of these options are cheap but, nonetheless, if you got it, you might as well as enjoy it.

Each person has a different perspective on travel lodgings. I have stayed at most of the above and reached the conclusion that I only care about three matters. First, the mattress must be comfortable. Unfortunately, I have found no correlation between price and back comfort. Secondly, I don’t sleep well hearing sirens all night, referring to the emergency vehicles, not those tempting women on the rocks. Alas, in some cities, all rooms seem to face a busy street. Finally, the room must be non-claustrophic.  To quote my mother, if you have to leave the room to change your mind, there is a problem. To clarify, sleeping in an oversized room does not improve the quality of the sleep but still there is an acceptable range to the number of steps from the bed to the bathroom. So, whatever a person’s style, budget and location, there is a comfortable home away from home whatever it is called.

With Friends Like This, Who Needs Enemies.

French and English look devilishly similar.  Many words like identical.  The meaning is obvious, right.  Like all booby traps, the first word booby meaning idiot, many has wise translator has fallen into the trap of the false friend, the word you thought knew what it meant and did not confirm its meaning.

I recently completed a translation of a service contract involving software, rather standard material.   As I carefully translated each sentence, one at a time, I often double checked certain words in my various resources to see if there was not some other meaning, unknown to me.  Here is a short list of the false friends I avoided:

L’object du contrat is the subject of the contract.

Le jour de signature du marché is the day of signature of the agreement.

Determiner la vacation is the set the hourly pay rate.

Le prix forfataire is the fixed price.

Article 25 est sans object means that is invalid.

Les delais de renumeration is the periods for payment.

Accuser reception is to confirm receipt.

Preparer un calandrier is to prepare a schedule.

Une copie du contract qui est retirée is a copy of a contract that is taken by the party.

I strongly believe that I missed all the traps, but it is often extremely hard to know who your real friends are in translation.  So, if you took French in High School and spent a summer in Paris, it does not mean you can translate a French contract into English.