email etiquette: what not to do.

Despite applying for work visa's and accommodation, my inbox has been quite empty lately.
It's quite sad- I was so used to checking it every day but now?
I don't think it matters all too much if I don't.

Anyway, I just received an email from my manager in Japanese, detailing my monthly income and the accommodation. Maybe it's the lack of practice, or something, but I've never felt more embarrassed to use the internet in my life than I do now.

The following is an accurate (and unfortunate) translated series of emails:

His email:

Hi April,
Global Property will be paying your monthly rent! Not to worry.
Your income will be X amount.
What apartment would you like? Close to Ginza? Or somewhere a bit closer to where I stay?

And my reply went down like this:

Hi,
Will I be paying my own rent?
I think I'd like to stay somewhere close to where I work. Ginza sounds fine.
But if its too expensive, I don't think I'll be able to afford it. 

And I "accidentally" press send.

So I send another email (making even more of a dick of myself) going:

Hi,
Sorry about that. The email just sent by itself! 

I was about to ask in my previous email about the electricity and internet bills.
Are they included in the rent package? 

April 

I proceed to exit my browser.

A minute later, I open up my email again thinking that I'd get a reply.
Because we all know that any any email sent via Gmail will command a reply straight away.

I read his email again.
This time, carefully and slowly.
And then it dawns on me. I am such a dick.

I know I have to send another email to apologise for being temporarily illiterate. But do Japanese people even allow for such petty mistakes?
If I didn't own up however, I'd make even more of a dick of myself (if that's even remotely possible given my inability to make good life decisions thus far) and risk losing any ounce of respect my manager has for me.

So instead of writing up an essay about the law of omissions for my Criminal law revision study, I replay all the infinite combinations of email replies. And now I take my first world problems to the blog.
Let this blog be a reminder to those who send emails to future employers. Do not follow in my footsteps.

Hopefully my third time's a charm.
I'm going to stop sending emails for a while now.

Will probably come up with an appropriate apology email by tomorrow morning.

Lesson for today? Please, please PLEASE read the email you're replying to carefully, slowly, and with excruciating detail. When you think you've understood everything, read it again.
And again.

Because once you hit send, you can never take that email back.

Well, unless you install that Gmail email application that allows you to retrieve emails back even after you've hit send.

Gmail. Helping us all save face, one email at a time.

All my love always,

April