Rick Steves, the guy who has been writing guidebooks to Europe for more than thirty years–such opinionated, niche guides, incidentally, that he doesn’t even bother covering Geneva in his guide to Switzerland–has just written a little essay about what his daily research life is like: “Confessions of a guidebook writer” on cnn.com.

Except he doesn’t confess very much. Where is the whining, the complaining, the bitter aggravation of a day’s tightly packed schedule gone awry? Ho hum.

Oh, and he says he rewards himself with dinner at his favorite place (instead of actually eating at the places he’s ‘reviewing’). Man.

Maybe that’s his secret, come to think–why he, after three decades, sounds a whole lot less cranky than me after just a few years. I’ll have to consider this.