i have been fussing over the figures in my paper for the better part of a week now - and this is after spending simply ages just getting everything in alignment and making sure the fonts aren't wonky and cursing microsoft powerpoint for being so bloody awful when it comes to rendering straight lines. i know that there comes a point where you just have to say that enough is enough and throw yourself at the mercy of the peer review process, but there is no doubt now that i'm trying to delay the inevitable moment. editing is a form of escapism - as long as you're still judging it yourself, other people have no right to judge you, because, well, i just hadn't caught that mistake yet. but time is running short, and this simply has to go out within the next week -- so i will work on it today, and maybe through the weekend, and then call it quits. and then someone will have to pick up my bullet-riddled body after people with phds and tenure have looked it through and informed me of what an absolutely stupid twit i am and how could i have even thought.