Ugh, tell me about it. I had a project implode so bad once that my editor started calling me "ground control" because I kept reporting back from the wreckage. The funny thing is, that disaster taught me more about local zoning laws than any press release ever did. Now I read the city council minutes like they're a thriller novel, and surprise surprise, the real stories were hiding in the budget line items all along. The flop basically rewired my brain to stop trusting the shiny stuff.

Five hundred shutters is a lot of quiet work. I once realized I'd repainted the same hallway three times over a year, just because the cans were identical and I never threw them out. There's something odd about doing that much of one task without noticing the count, like your hands know the job better than your head does. At least the recycling bin tells the truth, even when you don't.