Isn't that just grand!

Yesterday I applied for a copy editor position at Vacaville's newspaper The Reporter, one of several newspapers offering the same position for which I am quite qualified. It was a part-time job, paid well, and seemed like a small enough newspaper with which to make my mark and not get lost in all the hubbub that would be normal for, say, the San Francisco Chronicle.

Today I received this e-mail from their news editor Angela Adams:

Dear Mr. Goodman,
Did you apply to the correct ad? You say you can be a valuable asset to the SF weekly. This is The Reporter.
Sincerely Angela Adams,
News Editor
The Reporter

Aside from the fact that she got my last name wrong despite it appearing about two inches below her response, she had exposed the way I apply to internet jobs. I admit that I have several templates for job applications that I use as a result of them being good cover letters that get the point across. This is only the second time I have made such a mistake in two years, and there it is blatantly on the page.

Unfortunate, because (a) I am a great copy editor and (b) it seems they were paying enough attention to my own application that had I not made the error I could have had a chance.

Here was my response:

Dear Ms. Adams,

It seems you have caught me in a pickle that doesn't exactly prove my copy editing skills. I did in fact apply to an SF Weekly ad as well as one to The Reporter within the same day. I shall chalk this blunder up to my preference to edit copy with pen and paper and a lack of nutrition.

--MG

Despite my attempt at humor, I don't think I'll be getting a response back from Ms. Adams.

Shit.