Thankfulness

Every Thanksgiving, my family goes around the table, and each person has an opportunity to state what he or she is thankful for.  Although my husband and I did not spend Thanksgiving Day with my family, this time of year encourages reflection and introspection as we consider the year behind us and the year ahead of us.

First and foremost, I am thankful for my husband, Josh, and our wonderful families.  I am also thankful for our beagle, Sadie- and the fact that we were able to eat our Thanksgiving dinner before she did.

Secondly, I am thankful that Josh and I both have jobs that we love.  While I cannot speak for Josh, I feel fortunate in these uncertain times to remain gainfully employed and be able to make a living doing something that I love.  My profession has its ups and downs- and I don't think I will ever appreciate the commuting- but I am truly thankful to be able to work as a sign language interpreter in the D.C. area and work with wonderful, supportive colleagues.

Furthermore, I am thankful for the opportunities and experiences of this past year, including serving on the VRID board and attending the RID National Conference.  At the beginning of the month, I had the opportunity to interpret a cruise, which has been on my "bucket list" since my ITP days.  In the past two months, I have taken steps forward to accomplishing other tasks on my bucket list, including presenting at the VRID conference and completing my MA degree.  I am currently working on both workshop proposals for the VRID conference as well as a proposal to attend George Mason University and complete a MA in Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS) with an emphasis in ethics and interpreting.

I am thankful for all the blessings that I received in 2011 and am looking forward to another exciting year in 2012!

Remember that time...

All interpreters have stories- the good, the bad, the memorable.  We can talk about our mis-adventures en route- from massive gridlock to unforeseen metro delays, but often times, our most memorable moments must remain shrouded in confidentiality between us, our team interpreter, and our consumers.

Today was one of those days that tops my list.  While I cannot share the specifics, it truly takes the cake, beating the day it took me seven hours to drive the seven miles home from the metro station (among my other mis-adventures in the Washington, D.C. area.)

By now, we have lived it, seen the news, and maybe a T-shirt or Facebook page- "I survived the earthquake."

It's not everyday that Washington, D.C. is rocked by a 5.9 earthquake.  And it's not everyday that you are interpreting while the room around you shakes!

At the end of the day, I am thankful that we are all safe.  And I will remain thankful to my co-interpreter who graciously offered me a ride home from D.C. (especially since it's not everyday that I work in D.C. with a fellow NoVa interpreter).

Years from now, we'll look back and say....

Remember that time we were teaming together....

Sigh of relief...for now

I went to bed Friday night, not knowing if I would have a job this week.  During the last month and a half, the newspapers and media have shifted their focus from Charlie Sheen to the looming government shutdown.  Every two weeks, a shutdown was looming as we waited for Congress to pass a budget or a continuing resolution.

During the first shutdown threat, I received a email from the agency that I have guaranteed hours with, announcing that if the government closes, they would be closing- 98% of their contracts are with the federal government.  In the coming weeks, I received emails from other interpreting agencies, detailing their plans during the government shutdown- essentially the message was "if the government closes and cancels assignments, they won't pay our contracts and we can't pay you."  With no indication of how long a shutdown would last, I was obviously concerned about the long-term.

While interpreters have more flexibility and options than other government employees and contractors, we would be hurting as well.  There is always medical, community, and college work, but now the market would be saturated with interpreters, and only so much work to go around.  I made the decision that I would not accept any assignments that I normally would not consider or consider myself qualified for (i.e. medical, mental health, legal).  I was already interpreting a class at the community college and when requests were sent out for the second eight-week session, in the midst of shutdown threats, I immediately accepted a second class, bringing my weekly total to eight hours.  Last Friday, I received a request for an all day Saturday assignment (14 hours!), and I accepted that assignment as well (I was qualified for the assignment, but working all day is necessarily my first choice on a Saturday), as Congress had yet to reach a decision.  Fortunately, just before midnight, Congress approved another continuing resolution.

This entire experience has made me more thankful for my job and what I have, but also served as a reminder that no one has true job security.  If the government did shut down, we were going to be better off than most- my husband would still have his county job,  but my hours dropping from 30 hours/ week to 8 hours/ week was certainly going to be difficult.  The future is uncertain and we will continue to save for that "raining day."  In the meantime, I will be counting my blessings.