As senior science writer and technical editor at a place where a pool of eight editors is on hand at all times, when a proposal heats up and YOU are the project manager, or "proposal boss," as you're called then and there, YOU are on it, sometimes until two in the morning, to help reach everyone's goal of an award winning proposal, published and "out the door," on time and within budget. That could mean three or more large volumes, compiled and/or written by subject-matter experts, co-written, edited and published by you and your team of science writers, editors, word processors, graphic artists, photographers, and printers. It's highly stimulating, hard work getting the work done at work then and there -- written, typed, edited, printed, bound, and delivered by a courier to the docks, onto the plane, and into the customer's hand almost anywhere in the world on time.
Somedays there isn't so much drama. Sometimes, with your latest proposal shipped and less challenging projects under control, you can sit and read...the dictionary among other things.
I still have a Webster's from that time, with new-to-me or intriguing words circled in red. Some of them still make me smile when I stumble across them, remembering the moment when I found or carefully reexamined them.
Check out the word of the day at Wordsmith.
http://wordsmith.org/words/sedulous.html
