Good to see some life out there, seemed to have been "Lost in Translation" these past eight years. Too busy to communicate with fellow translators. But I'm here to give it a try. 

Welcome to the Forums, Paul. I find this to be an excellent idea. I know that TC members do meet in real world, but usually not until they have interacted a bit in cyberspace. (I wouldn't count on the US "strong horse" perhaps because they must be scared to death these days...)

Anyway, let's keep your Translator house swaps open.

Jacek

Some very sound advice particularly no. 7.

Although if you are an inexperienced translator all texts are difficult to begin with you just need to dedicate a lot of time to them.

I would say that being a good reasearcher is a particularly useful skill to have as a translator and can get you out of some tight spots when you have taken on something a little outside your expertise!

Paul