Shortly after meeting someone for the first time, we almost always ask, “And what do you do?” wondering, of course, what that person does for a living. In my case, my reply is usually met with a polite smile, and the conversation quickly moves on to some other topic. I understand. After all, “proofreader” does not elicit the kind of interest that “industrial scuba diver” or “whitewater river guide” or even “parole officer” could be expected to. For me, though, my job is endlessly entertaining, and I can honestly say that I learn something new (usually, a lot of new things) every day. My range of clients provides me with reading material that ranges from South Sea cruises to Renaissance art to the spiritual roots of yoga. So while I am diligently scanning for proper spelling, punctuation, grammar, format and accuracy (I recently “saved” a travel client from the embarrassment of anointing Florence as the capital of Italy, for example), I am also absorbing all kinds of interesting bits of information (and stoking my dreams for future travel adventures). I really should make a stab at landing on Jeopardy some day! Another advantage to proofreading as a profession is that it allows me a great deal of flexibility in where and when I work. While I do have deadlines to meet, I can usually choose during what hours of the day I proof. If the weather is beautiful and the garden is calling, I can spend the daylight hours outside and earn my living once the sun goes down or the rain starts falling. When my daughters were younger, I was free to volunteer in their schools or run them to activities and appointments without first getting permission from a supervisor. And as long as I’ve got my laptop with me, wireless and delivery service, I can work virtually anywhere. Of course, there are a few occupational hazards, eye strain being the most obvious. The one which my loved ones would probably mention first and foremost is that it is very hard to turn off that eye for the flaw in the written word (and my tendency to point out the error). It’s nearly impossible for me to scan past the misspellings on a menu, misused commas (everywhere!!) in the local paper and (like fingernails on a blackboard to me) misplaced apostrophes on signs and ads around town (“New Crop Apple’s,” “Shoe’s repaired here”). It may seem to some that what I do just focuses on nit-picky little details that don’t matter much, but when we’re talking about cruise fares, a misplaced comma can wreak havoc. Then, too, don’t you find that your perception of a company is altered just a bit when you find spelling or grammatical errors in its printed materials? My favorite example of something which slipped past a vigilant eye appeared on the COVER of Time magazine, no less, a few years ago. It was, undoubtedly, a last-minute addition in response to the late-breaking story of Martha Stewart’s conviction. There, in the upper right corner are the words, “JUST DESERTS FOR MARTHA?”.  Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader