When Will I Ever Learn?

When will I ever learn not to take on editing two books at the same time, especially when one of them is already a monster project to begin with?

When will I ever learn that an 11th edition, with a manuscript that's 95% unaltered tearsheets, still doesn't guarantee a fast and easy edit?

When will I ever learn that getting trounced repeatedly at "Go Fish!" by a friend's six-year-old daughter is one of the greatest stress releases imaginable? (Actually, I learned that one the other night...)

When will I ever learn that all my really good ideas for political satire always come when I have absolutely no time to write them?

When will I ever learn that pumping myself up with caffeine in the early evening to meet a deadline also means staying up until 3 or 4 AM, bleary-eyed, and watching Internet downloads of foreign television shows that often really are "a clattering bag of madness"?

When will I ever learn?

Probably never. Because this is my life, and all things considered, it's actually pretty damn good.