I watch too much T.V. I thought I’d get that confession out of the way right up front. Inspiration, however, comes to us in unexpected ways. Sometimes the bits of your daily life intersect and an amazing idea pops out of your subconscious.

As I get older I have this nagging suspicion that I should be doing something more valuable with my time than watching T.V. That’s part of what motivated me to start this project. While organizing my home office, I found my Great-Aunt’s notebook hidden away in a stack of file folders and took a notion to find out just how much it might actually cost to translate the cookbook. I’m internet savvy. I was sure I could locate some basic information about the cost of translation online, but I had no idea how easy it would be.

I started with Craig’s List and then Ancestry.com. Both were dead ends. Craig’s List seemed to be more about selling goods than offering services and Ancestry.com’s Hire An Expert tab offered genealogy research, but not translation services. When in doubt, consult Google, right?

I did a basic Google search for “german translator”. The first page of results offered lots of “free” translations services, but those turned out to be online word translators. You know the kind—English to German, German to English. I needed an expert. A native speaker with some familiarity with old German script. Hopefully someone reasonably priced.

At the top of the 2nd page I found a paid listing for a site that looked promising: oDesk.com. oDesk.com turned out to be a digital workplace, connecting freelancers from around the world with businesses and individuals who need their services. A perfect place to find a translator with specialized skills. oDesk seemed very professional, with checks and balances to protect both parties. The process was clear and the site was easy to use, so I decided to take a leap. I posted this job:

I had started my half–hearted search at 2:26 pm, by 2:30 pm I had found my translation service, by 3:00 pm I had created an account and posted my job offer online.  Maybe there was something I could do with this journal after all.