I am applying for various fellowships this week, all of which are too tony for me to actually get; but I seem to be otherwise unemployable and the fellowships aren't costing me anything but nerves. I do hate to pay submissions fees.

I have also received various rejection letters this week, although they have been those borderline rejections that are accompanied by friendly notes asking me to "please submit again in the future." Things could be worse. I at least have not received any rejection letters that castigate my vision of the world, or tell me that I am too self-involved, or obnoxiously encourage me to continue submitting to "reputable journals such as ourself" because my work "shows every sign of being publishable." Those are the kinds of rejections that make me want to dig out the bowie knife and go on a rampage, were I the bowie-knife type.