Of conferences and other joyful events

Another conference is on the agenda: The City of Rishon LeZion holds an annual conference on the Hebrew Language. Don't know how long this has been going on. I've lived in Rishon for the past 21 years and have only been aware of it for the past two years. But this year, I'm really going to attend. The names of presenters and lecturers are familiar and promising: Dr. Zvia Walden, Avirama Golan, Avshalom Kor, Ruvik Rosenthal, and many more.

Hope to enjoy it and report back to you. That is, if I get in.

Most of the sessions are free. I thought I had plenty of time to call and reserve a seat. Was I ever surprised when I called this morning, a whole week before the event opens, only to be told point-blank that no seats are available. I had no idea there was such a demand in my city for linguistic chatter and banter. How lovely! Mind you, there are always some no-shows, so I do expect I'll be able to get in, at least to some of the sessions.

One specific session, by Dr. Zvia Walden (with whom I worked for a while back in the eighties) I have a solid booking for. To my surprise, I was actually contacted by the Culture department and offered a seat. Probably because I'm on their listing, being a regular at the city's jazz concerts (the fabulous Lenoid Ptashka series).

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A P.S. to my ITA conference lecture and handout:

For weeks after the event, I kept getting requests for my Helpful Glossary and promptly emailed the document to all requesters. Very gratifying, this.

Some people ask me how come I don't mind giving out my carefully-compiled glossary.

- Well, first of all, I'm only giving out a fraction of my personal glossary. Only about 10% of it, if that much. I have plenty more "trade secrets" up my sleeve, or tucked away on my computer.
- Second, my motivation is selfish: I get so irritated by poor translations or silly mistakes in colleagues' work. I'd be much happier if they found my solutions helpful and applied them.
- Third – what have I got to lose? I believe my colleagues stand on their own merit. My glossary is but one helpful tool; I don't see anyone using it in order to steal my customers… And if anyone does, well then, I sure won't give them the next installment of my glossary :-)