Oh the humiliation

Today I replied to an email sent to me by a a guy I work with. I admit, I was nitpicking what someone he had said. I wrote: I hate to be anal, but.. blah blah blah. Well, apparently I forgot the word “be” in the above sentence because he responded:
You hate to anal? That’s interesting info!

I’m still trying to come up with a witty retort, but words escape me.