Trashy translation and a narrow escape

Having survived Christmas (thank you, Santa dearest, for all the lovely gifts), it was soon business as usual. I stupidly forgot to remind my regular clients that I wouldn't be working over the holiday period and, sure enough, an urgent request arrived yesterday morning. Just 8 pages for a quick edit - no problem, I thought, it's only an hour's worth of work. How wrong can one be? The copy was a very bad translation from Dutch, so bad I had to rewrite almost all of it from scratch. Fortunately, the client had attached the original Dutch to the email so I was able to work through it (yes, I speak Dutch, albeit badly, but I can read it fairly fluently). That took almost three hours instead of the expected one.

I also went out yesterday morning to meet a local businessman with a view to pitching a feature around him. The meeting went well - now I just need to write the pitch.

Today was less good. Having decided to get a head start on my New Year resolution to exercise more instead of slobbing it in front of my PC, I went to the gym. First, I had to endure the shame and embarrassment of discovering that the gym computer no longer recognised me - it's been so long since I last went (just don't ask how long, please). I had to find the trainer to get keyed into the system manually and do a low-level workout.

Worse was to come - I took a cab home. Normally I walk but my sister was with me and it was raining. We arrived home, I paid the cabbie and opened the door without looking. And someone drove right into the open door. A split second's lapse of concentration and I'd written off two cars and deprived the cabbie of his NYE fares. I still feel really angry with myself.

It could have been worse. I hadn't actually started to get out of the taxi. If I had, I'd be facing a double amputation above the knee after having had my lower limbs crushed.

Not a good end to 2006.

Things can only get better...