Man you really need to use layers, there is little to learn. Sometimes though if I have several objects on the same layer and want to select something at the rear I just select the foreground object and push it to the back - select, move or edit the object you are after and pull the original object back to the front. Or just select the foreground object and hit CTRL+X (cut) then do the backgound object edits and after hit CTRL+V (paste). Unlike SU - Layout pastes object back in the original position. I actually do exactly this for moving stuff from layer to layer - cut > select destination layer > paste - bloody simple!
