I should have been more sarcastic in my cover letter

After reading this, I feel even more strongly that the University of Chicago Press is my rightful home. Their manuscript editors (a position I was not-interviewed-for for several times) staff a Q & A for Chicago Manual of Style Online questions, and sarcasm apparently is not only allowed but applauded:

Q: When I began learning English grammar from the nuns in 1951, I was taught never to use a comma either before or after independent clauses or compound sentences. Did the rules of English grammar and punctuation change while I was in that three week coma in 1965, or in the years it took to regain my basic and intellectual functioning before I returned to teaching?

A: I'm sorry I can't account for your state of mind, but standard punctuation calls for a comma before a conjunction that joins two independent clauses unless the clauses are very short. I would go further and suggest that it's a good idea to examine any rule you were taught that includes the word "never" or "always."

If I could have talked like this at Evil Job (to my coworkers; that was the real problem), I might still be working in publishing.

(Link via GapersBlock.)