A Little Less Anal Retentive

"I look before I leap
I love margins and discipline
I make lists in my sleep, baby
What's my sin?"

One of the other things about being a copy editor is that it requires an incredible level of anal retentiveness. (This article on what it's like to be a copy editor is pretty  accurate.)

Now, this worked out just fine for me; I'm anal retentive to a fault (as many of my friends would attest). I like to have things scheduled weeks in advance. I have more to-do lists than seem possibly useful. I started packing weeks before moving 2.5 blocks. I boycott restaurants with puns for names or too many typos in their menus (though in order to be able to ever eat out, I have had to get a little lax on this). I meticulously organize my bookshelves by topic—research methods, writing, literary nonfiction, schmaltzy nonfiction, newspapers, newspaper editor memoirs, style books and grammar (I have an exciting book collection). I routinely leave myself at least 15 minutes as a buffer so as not to be late (when flying, this is more like an hour).

For a confluence of reasons, my bridesmaid's dress for an incredibly important wedding is not quite done yet. The wedding is on Sunday. I leave for the better coast tomorrow morning. At 8. When I saw my dress earlier today, it was a sleeveless bodice, a roll of lace, and a skirt that is not sewed in back (which was a vast improvement over the last time I saw it).

But am I worried? Nooooo. Well, I am worried about whether it will be hideous (through no fault of the bride, I should note, who didn't impose anything like this on me), but I am not hyperventilating or looking into whether any dressmakers in New York will make me a dress in a day. Which is to say, I am being much less anal retentive than I am normally. Which, I think, is an accomplishment.

It's going to be OK. And if it isn't, my sister suggested holding my flowers strategically. I am hoping my bouquet is huge—like 5 feet tall...