rejection with a smirk

i received another rejection slip today. along with the normal typed note was a small handwritten note that said, "thanks Steven." my reaction was totally laid back and cool. i didn't even blink for five minutes.

but hey, a HANDWRITTEN NOTE! that takes serious time. first you have to select a pen, or pencil, or fashion a quill out of a paperclip; second, shake it, sharpen it, or stick the improvised stylus in your arm for backup ink; third, COMPOSE the thing; and then actually write it.

in order to not look like morons, they probably rewrote it 5-10 times, increasing their investment exponentially. let's tally our total so far:

writing utensil selection: 5 min.
priming the chosen instrument: 2-10 min., depending on stubbornness of the utensil
composition: 20 min., bare minimum
actual writing time: 30 sec.
revision: 15 min.

total time wasted at office while getting paid: 42 min. and 30 sec. - 50 min and 30 sec.

which amount of time pales to how i waste the hours here at the hotel. but still, they don't work at a hotel, which can only mean that A) they love me, B) they hate me or C) they are indifferent. which pretty much covers the bases.

finally, i conclude that they are laughing at me for something, or else they genuinely almost liked my story. i can't decide which. the agony of mind reading is multiplied a million times when a handwritten note is involved. i think they sent it to me on purpose.