What’s with the carrots?
things that happened
🥕 There are two weeks left of the internship, after which I go home.
🥕 I attended a book club where we discussed The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham.
🥕 I’ve been able to walk outside in the evenings because it’s nicer out.
🥕 I’ve been working with a crew of great interpreters and getting lots of experiences during which I interpret. Feedback has been good, and that is encouraging. Interpreting in medical situations is my favorite, anything where there is no back and forth is my least favorite, and while I like watching performance interpreting I don’t want to do it.
🥕 Uncle Ralph and Biscuit have been watching Tigers baseball games since her return from vacation, and I’m told he likes to call the games.
🥕 I learned people in St. Louis, Missouri eat fried ravioli and something called Gooey Butter Cake. I have not tried either yet.
photos
There are some non-🥕 elements to this post, which I guess are 💩, though everything is better.
The 90 mph straight-line winds that took our two trees, our electricity, and our internet:
🥕 We got someone to help!
💩 Nick had no power for two days and no internet for ten days (because Xfinity kept canceling our appointment, insisting that we did have Wi-Fi despite the cable laying the ground).
🥕 The cat that lives in the bookstore next to my Crash Pad in St. Louis finally acknowledged my existence.
🥕 I saw the kitty the next day staring at the birds in the trees outside the bookstore.
memes
Grab the Lapels 
Gooey Butter Cake – you build us up and then you let us down. You are going to try a slice, right?
I posted on The Midwich Cuckoos a couple of years ago. Too late to tell you now, of course.
I think many of us saw interpreters working for the first time during Covid, translating for our premiers/your governors. I hope, given your comment, that your career takes you in other directions.
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Ask for the cake, I just have to convince myself to get up in the morning and go to the bakery. I really hate moving my car because it’s so hard to park here. There aren’t even lines on the street to park, so everybody crams themselves in as closely as they can. I haven’t been trapped yet, but pretty darn close. Maybe I’ll go get a slice this morning just for you, Bill!
I’ve been following you for years, so I must have seen your Midwich Cuckoos post. Anyway, my review is coming up soon. I’ll go back and check yours out and compare.
I think Americans are in the same boat as Australians. As far as seeing interpreters for the first time during covid. Our current president got rid of interpreters, so there’s that. To interpret in medical in the long-term, but because I was hired by that company called Purple, and they’re associated with phone calls, it won’t be medical for at least a year. That’s okay! Working with phones/cameras means that I get connected to people all across the country, which increases my skills because you never know what you’re going to get or how they’re going to sign it.
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Only two weeks to go! Woo hoo, eh. But that tree. I’m glad Nick and your house were both safe. I love that you have been able to walk out more – I will join you vicariously given we are moving into cooler weather.
And, I was hoping you’d tell us about your book group discussion of The Midwich Cuckoos.
Love the memes, particularly the weird noises in the night one, because we have a resident here who “does things” at night, though I suspect our making noises wouldn’t achieve much!
Enjoy your last two weeks.
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I’m very excited about the last two weeks, although now my brain wants me to start packing. While my heart knows that I need to be here and continue learning. I’m having a good time, but I’m very torn. It’s hard.
I will definitely tell you more about The Midwich Cuckoos! I actually have a book review scheduled for not too far in the future.
Okay, don’t leave me hanging. What is your resident doing in the middle of the night? Is it something spooky?
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Re last question … no, it’s unkind or illegal or unneighbourly stuff. You don’t want to know. I actually wouldn’t take that meme advice because the best thing is to lay low. We love our new place but he is the thorn in the side. We are driving to Melbourne right now, and look forward to the respite.
I think being that sort of torn is pretty lucky really, isn’t it. Torn between two great options! Will you do a sort of overview post at the end?
I look forward to The MW post.
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I’m not sure if I’ll do an overview post because it’s very hard to maintain confidentiality and tell you all anything.
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Fair enough … it would be interesting, but if you can’t do it I understand.
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Well, let me ask this, Sue. What is it you would be interested in knowing about? Maybe if I knew, I could sort through and hit on some of what people are curious about! If I just guess, I’m thinking of the work I did specifically, which is confidential.
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Good question … I’m interested in anything but let’s say
– your overall feelings about what was great about the internship, what you learnt from it (professional and/or personal) – you don’t have to give examples. – were there things you would like to have learnt/achieved that you didn’t?
– did it change any of your thinking about what you want to do next? About your preferred direction in your interpreting career?
– what was a highlight (again you don’t have to identify people or events) or was there something really surprising or unexpected that you learnt?
– what advice would you give the organisers for a future internship
– are there any funny experiences or moving ones (if you can do that without identifying people)
These are the SORTS of things I’d be interested in. I’m not asking you to answer all of these of course but your feelings or thoughts on any of these or similar would interest me. I love hearing about different experiences, different jobs, different ways of living.
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Thanks, Sue, this gives me lots to think about if I do a summary post regarding the internship. I wouldn’t have thought of some of these.
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Don’t worry if you don’t have the time or interest … of course!
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Gooey butter cake is delicious; you should definitely try it!
Love the photo of the bookstore cat! And seeing that fried egg with caption made me laugh out loud.
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I think I’m going to have to get the gooey butter cake as soon as possible before it’s too late. I was told that I have to go specifically to the Missouri baking company, which is less than 3 mi away from me. However, I really don’t want to move my dang car! My block is one of the very few that has free parking because it’s residential, but it gets packed because I’m right next to a whole bunch of bars and restaurants. I guess now that we’re on Sunday would be safe to move my car because all the entertaining people are gone.
The cat totally made my day because he just looks so curious about the birds in the tree outside. And the picture of the cat jumping up on the table was interesting because usually this thing just flees. However, on that particular day he jumped up on the table and walked over to me. I didn’t pet him. I’ve never petted him, but I try to remember that cats are an animal that make you wait for consent.
The egg picture also made me laugh out loud, and I’m glad it made you laugh, too. I know that you’ve experienced a lot of distressing feelings lately, so I believe that my Uncle Ralph’s carrots post did its job. 💜
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It did! Thank you!
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You’re very welcome.
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Holy eff those are crazy winds!!! Glad Nick is safe, but I can’t imagine going ten days without internet!!!! One or two days sure, I can read books of course. Ten days? My my.
Glad the cat finally acknowledged you. I love a bookstore cat, that makes me feel so warm and fuzzy inside.
The last meme is terrifying!!!
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Yeah, Nick was particularly struggling, and I was too, with not being able to see each other on video and have dinner together. A few nights, he just stayed after work and used that computer. That’s a little odd, though, because it would be 4:00 p.m. here. Neither one of us ate dinner, but it was dinner time for the videos, LOL.
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Oh no, your tree! Dealing with cable/internet companies is a pain. I always like when a broadcast shows a performance interpretation because they are usually so dynamic and you can see that they are really interpreting the whole experience, not just the words.
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Three trees, sadly. Xfinity doesn’t do much in the way of customer service because it’s expensive, and they don’t have any competition here, so what do they really need to improve upon? Sigh.
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Oh no! Sorry about the trees, power and internet! That stinks! But at least the trees didn’t fall on the house and Nick is safe.
Only two weeks left for you to try fried ravioli and gooey butter cake!
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I can’t believe the trees threaded the needle like they did. Two trees, two houses.
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10 days without internet is rough!
I hope you get to try gooey butter cake! It sounds amazing!
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