The rush to wrap things up before vacation is always crazy. I haven't gotten to either editing project yet and it's after midnight. Instead, I spent the evening cleaning the apartment because I have this "thing" about coming home to a dirty place. And then I wrote holiday cards, which are mostly all done. I just need to track down two people's addresses and I'll be done, done, done.

I don't even want to think about my writing projects -- all of which have various deadlines of December 21, December 31 and January 31.

It's hard work being a writer. It's pretty much a full-time, all-consuming passion. If I'm not writing, I'm editing. I do it at home, I do it at work. Don't get me wrong -- I do enjoy it and occasionally, I can even say I love it. But it's still a job, and it's still a chore. It requires discipline and motivation and with very little reward coming back at you.

At any rate, I didn't mean to get all morose, mostly just contemplative. My goal is to finish the two edits currently in my inbox before I leave on Saturday.