When it comes to other people’s noise, I am the Grinch. I’ve never seriously considered living anywhere but in the suburbs, because cities are too noisy. When I was a kid, my parents would fall asleep and I’d go into their room to turn off their television, because the noise was keeping me awake. I couldn’t sleep with the windows open because of the incessant chirping of crickets (I know, they aren’t really chirping, but the sound is close enough) at night and birds in the morning. I sleep with earplugs in my own suburban home, because street noise bothers me even with the windows closed. Most of my jobs have involved a significant amount of travel - don’t even get me started on trying to sl
I’ve already told you why I write (if you haven’t read that post, you can find it here). But the reasons why I proofread and edit are more complicated. My husband feels the need to straighten all the furniture in our house and keep everything in impeccable order: neat, clean, and everything-in-its-place. His workshop is amazing. I can find anything I need because it’s all neatly labeled and filed exactly where it should be. This, sadly, is a strength which I do not share. When it comes to personal space, I create disorder all around me. Most of the time, my office has piles of papers, books, and random stuff all over every available surface, including much of the floor. When I travel, it lo
