Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Transcribing

I've been spending the afternoons after work transcribing interviews that I've undertaken in the past eighteen months. This week it's one of the most substantial ones, the mastering engineer Mandy Parnell who worked on Bjork's last album. It's slow work; it has taken about five hours to transcribe 5000 words and there's still more to go.
It's motivating though: the interviewees are fascinating and have amazing life stories. I become completely absorbed in what they have to say and it rivals kitchen recording for losing track of time.
It's a knackering time of year. This morning on the way to work I realised that I do three quarters of my year's work between now and Christmas!
I leave debris around; I left my hat on the stairs in the new building today and had to leave a meeting in order to retrieve it, being accosted by some students on the way. The students are full of energy at this time of year (those who have not succumbed to Fresher's 'flu) and you get carried along on a sea of their enthusiasm while trying to out-dodge their dodges (some of them).
I'm so tired that I can't even be bothered to watch Poirot. What is the world coming to?

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