My friend bought me a little tomato pal in celebration of my green thumb that can only grow tomatoes, and now my glasses-holding axolotl has a new bestie and my desk is a happier place.

Definitely did a double take on this panel.

“I use it for brainstorming.” is quickly becoming my most hated pro-AI statement. YOU TOOK YOUR BRAIN OUT OF THE EQUATION. THAT IS NOT BRAINSTORMING.

Working on a project that's very how the sausage is made, a peek into an industry I generally only see through the finished product, and it's fascinating. Translation really is all learning all the time.

The jackhammer has returned, and it is accompanied by a choir of leafblowers. This is my villain origin story.

This translation is both very bad and absolutely perfect, and now I want to go to Kamakura to warmly watch over some swallow children.

意味飽和! Semantic satiation! That thing where a word loses all meaning in repetition has a name. #TranslationIsLearning

Spending yet another work day thinking about how Eguchi Hisashi must be stopped. #AmTranslating

Beautiful books in translation delivered right to my door! I love these busy, bright covers!

Wild to come across this and realize a) I know this clerk at this particular bookstore and b) I took part in the stamp rally they mention in this panel (which ended up actually being a scavenger hunt type deal) and won a signed dojinshi. Suddenly, I am part of the manga! #AmReading

With my dying breath, I will wheeze, “Interpreting’s the talking one. Translating’s the writing one”, knowing full well that, just as in my life, no one who is not a translator and/or interpreter will take heed of these words after my death.

To anyone who needs it today: credit your translator. A good translator's skills are at least as important as those of the original creator. Imagine if someone were to build a life sized replica of the Eiffel Tower out of matchsticks, you wouldn't just credit Gustave Eiffel - would you?

Brain vs Explosion!

My unsettling slow creep of a translation baby is here just in time for the scary season!

Brain vs Explosion!

Tokyo friends! I can bring the book of your choice to Japan with me next month. You can have an English volume four if you want one.

Support local artists, support independent artists. With pocketbooks that are being hurt by a tariff war that absolutely nobody asked for, your support could help make a difference in a down year

Use your library, pals! There's so much available!!!

I always get a little frisson of satisfaction when I finish a novel in Japanese, even though I’ve read hundreds of them at this point. It’s this moment of like, holy smokes! I read a whole book in this language! #AmReading

Beautiful books in translation delivered right to my door! I love these busy, bright covers!

After a blissful week of no jackhammer, the monster machine has returned, and I am this close to going out there to stand next to jackhammer guy and scream at the top of my lungs, stopping only to take a breath until I eventually pass out and free myself from the unending torment of the Noise.

French-reading pals! A new Battan for you!! You get all the good manga in French, and this one is especially good! Go read it right now!!

When I first moved to Japan, my students told me my face was so small, and I was like, no, *your* face is small bc their faces were literally smaller than mine. But other people told me my face was wide, and I was so confused, like which is it?? And then I learned Japanese, and it all made sense.

Toronto peeps! For some reason, I have a lot of Vol. 4s of my translations, and I don't need them! Maybe you do??? Or maybe some other books I have too many of for some reason?? DM/email (jocelyne dot allen at gmail) me and we can arrange pickup.

Got some extremely cursèd junk email straight from a demon dimension today.

Toronto peeps! For some reason, I have a lot of Vol. 4s of my translations, and I don't need them! Maybe you do??? Or maybe some other books I have too many of for some reason?? DM/email (jocelyne dot allen at gmail) me and we can arrange pickup.

Received yet another email in which my name is misspelled and was about to grumble to myself when I noticed that the sender misspelled their own name, too. This is the only situation in which it is acceptable to misspell a person’s name.

📣 Applications are OPEN for BCLT Translators-in-Residence 2026! ✨ We're offering two BCLT translation residencies for UK-based literary translators. Find out more: www.uea.ac.uk/groups-and-c... #LiteraryTranslation #Translation #CallForTranslators

So much of my rewriting is taking out all the extra “and” and "just" and flipping sentences to put the last half first. #AmTranslating

🚀 VIZ Media is hiring a Marketing Manager. Full time, hybrid in San Francisco, $80k-90k. #jobalert #marketingjobs www.viz.com/company-jobs...

The great linguistic satisfaction of encountering a new kanji compound and guessing its reading correctly on first attempt. #AmTranslating

TORONTO: this is tonight! www.eventbrite.ca/e/triple-hea...

When I first moved to Japan, my students told me my face was so small, and I was like, no, *your* face is small bc their faces were literally smaller than mine. But other people told me my face was wide, and I was so confused, like which is it?? And then I learned Japanese, and it all made sense.

Brain vs Toy!

Devoting the rest of my life to solving the problem of time travel solely so I can go back into the past and rip the pen out of Eguchi Hisashi's hand to prevent him from ever torturing me with this page.

As a reader, I’m fine with starting in media res or having random chatter in the background of the main characters' conversation. As a translator, I’m ripping my hair out trying to figure out who specifically is talking to whom about what exactly. #AmTranslating

Reason I could never be in film (or a real mover and shaker of any kind) No. 204: I would simply say no if someone told me to get on a flight at 6:30 a.m. mere hours after my screening at a film festival.

This cracks me up so hard because Junji Ito would absolutely say this in exactly this way. I can hear his admiring voice in my head. #AmReading

Brain vs Toy!

It remains true that the interpreter does not get to eat at the dinners she attends. The one time I decided to try and put a food in my mouth tonight, three people started talking at once, all needing me to say their words in another language.

ATTN FELLOW CANADIANS: An actual MP has created a petition to stop financial discrimination against adult creators by payment processors. You have to confirm your email but thats because its something that can actually be shown to parliament.

It's hilarious to me that my love of watching people do things they love (Best in Miniature in this case) is actually proving handy in my current interpreting prep. Love picking up useless information and having it suddenly become useful!

::slowly stands while clapping::

We need to bring back the GAY World Anal Championship for the belt alone. #AmTranslating

Dang. Junk World is a whole lot of movie.

The opening is tonight. Please come! オープニングは今夜です。お近くの方は是非お越しください。 80wse.org/exhibitions/...

Found this extremely ominous message in my photos. Are the thieves in this neighbourhood known for burgling your house and stealing your heart? seducing you into a secret cult??

Someone in the elevator just told me they liked my glasses, and I said, "Thanks. They're very good for seeing." And that's how I know my brain in completely fried from too much interpreting.

The most ego-boosting part of interpreting is when people come up to me after an event and tell me how talented I am and what a great job I did. Please do this if you see me interpret. I need the praise to get through the long, solitary days of translation which are my regular life.

In today's TIFF interpreting adventure, I was the only one on stage who could hear the audience questions from the back of the theatre. Me, the person who is partially deaf. My interpreter focus is apparently powerful enough to bring my lost hearing back.