Jacki with favorite Russian author
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Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Clients:
I hope you have had a joyous holiday season and are ready to say hello to 2016, Year of the Monkey. As Rob and I were having a wonderful "staycation", I got to reflect upon the past 12 months and write this 21st annual epistle (Yes, it can now purchase alcohol in the State of California).
I hope this isn't poison ivy
I realize how fortunate I am to have the friendship of so many truly amazing people. I thought about the sage wisdom expressed by Bernard Baruch, presidential advisor to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Baruch said, “Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.”
You are receiving this letter because I know you don’t mind. To me, that matters. Your willingness to share your love, friendship, support, and confidence in my work truly makes me happy. I can’t ever thank you enough.
Now, I will answer one of the most frequently asked questions, “What do you mean, you don’t do Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or KakaoTalk?”
Nope. I don’t. I still use email and handwritten letters and cards as well as sending out my annual holiday wishes and highlights of the past year.
Despite our busy work schedules, Rob and I made sure we had time to enjoy ourselves.
Before it got too cold in Russia, we traveled to St. Petersburg and Moscow for two weeks to celebrate our second anniversary. We had a wonderful time.
Moskva River
Church of the Savior
on Spilled Blood
We visited so many fascinating places in only two weeks. The trip went by way too fast!
Suzdal
My favorite places were Suzdal, Vladimir, The Kremlin, The Grand Palace at Peterhof, The State Hermitage Museum, and The State Tretyakov Museum.
The Grand Palace at Peterhof
Gold! Gold! Everywhere gold!
It's good to be Emperor.
During summer, Rob and I took an 11-day road trip to the beautiful Pacific Northwest visiting friends and enjoying the views in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. We used Airbnb for the first time in Vancouver and on Whidbey Island near Seattle, Washington. It was a very positive experience.
Capilano Suspension Bridge
We hiked near Whistler Mountain,
walked on Capilano Suspension Bridge...
Bald Eagle
Whidby Island, WA
and closely observed the most majestic eagle while gazing at a beautiful sunset in front of the Admiralty Head Lighthouse on Whidbey Island.
I was watching this eagle one moment,
Sunset
Whidby Island, WA
but then I looked away for one nanosecond and s/he flew away. I was so sad for not being able to say good bye, but grateful for having gotten the chance to share a sunset with such an amazing being.
For those interested, here are some statistics with respect to my work in 2015.
Colorado Convention Center Denver, CO
As a conference interpreter, I worked at conferences taking place in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Ohio, Virginia, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Unlike previous years, a good deal of my conference work took place in Northern California, so I did not have to travel long distances as much as usual, but the topics covered during these conferences were equally challenging.
My next car
Some of the topics were: next generation automobiles, cherry tree diseases, credit unions, elections, financial, information technology, innovation, medical devices, museum design, and patents harmonization.
As a California state certified court interpreter, I interpreted for state courts in 13 different counties, as well as in the United States Federal courts. Although a couple of jury trials were unforgettable, most assignments were cases dealing with drugs, driving under the influence and traffic violations, (still a great source of income for many counties in Northern California). I also had plenty of depositions, attorney-client conferences, arbitrations, and neuropsychological evaluations.
RDP Studio
San Rafael, CA
I also did several voice-over jobs. My favorite project was a mindfulness meditation series for a major health care organization, which was both interesting and educational. I got to be the calm, soothing voice you want to hear guiding you towards serenity and bliss. Of course the sound engineer happened to be my husband Rob. He made sure I sounded my best.
Thanks a million, Rob!
(Shameless Plug)
NCTA Annual Summer Picnic
Before the summer departed, Rob and I hosted Northern California Translators Association’s annual summer picnic at our house. Rob made a Korean dish called Japchae with sweet potato noodles, vegetables and beef. It was very delicious.
Another project I enjoyed working on in 2015, was giving a cultural orientation for an American company doing business in Korea. I covered history, culture, etiquette and ended with the dos and don’ts of dealing with Koreans. It was a lot of fun for me and the participants.
Some of the cultural events, concerts and talks I enjoyed this year were:
AC/DC at AT&T Park
The Art of Stillness with Pico Iyer;
Michael Jackson One;
Camille, Charles Ludlam's comedy about an aristocratic Parisian love triangle with my friend Kyle in it at Mid-City Theatre in New Orleans;
David Copperfield;
The Nerd, comedy written by Larry Shue at Chanticleers Theatre in Castro Valley;
and AC/DC (I had to bring a pair of earplugs) at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
Now, as I have done each year, let me share my picks for books and films of the year. Please share yours. Let me start with films that moved me:
Films:
Morten Tyldum’s The Imitation Game;
Pete Docter’s Inside Out;
Hwang Dong-hyuk’s The Crucible (Silenced or Dogani in Korean);
Ridley Scott‘s The Martian;
Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight;
Lenny Abrahamson’s Room;
and Matt Fuller’s Autism in Love, documentary that will be aired on PBS on January 11, 2016.
Books:
How to be Alone, Essays by Jonathan Franzen;
I’m Down by Mishna Wolff (very funny book);
Gong Ji-young’s Sweet Home;
Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies;
Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal;
and John Krakauer’s Into the Wild;
In Gong Ji-young’s Sweet Home, a teenage girl asks a local bookstore owner, a middle-aged man whose wife and daughter were killed in a car accident, “What do you do when you feel sad?” He simply answers, “Feel sad.”
With that I will say...
Let us be true to our feelings and emotions and be happy when we are happy.
"That's it, folks! Thanks for reading. HERE'S WISHING YOU VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!"
With warmest regards,
Jacki Noh
www.transkorean.com
(510) 914-7596 Phone
(415) 295-4123 Fax
550 N. San Pedro Rd.
San Rafael, CA 94903 USA