gah!

look, i'm someone who lives on the edge, financially speaking. i am fully electronic (paper WHAT?), and i play fast and loose with credit cards until i need to use them for a specific purchase. then, i will often make a large payment to ensure that i can cover said large purchase. then i make said large purchase, realize that it put me within like $20 of my limit and make another payment, not quite as large, to ensure that i can still use the card for other stuff if i have to. in spite of the fact that my bank account contains ample cash, and that the money has actually come out of my bank account, it's still not showing up as available credit five days later. freaking out a little, i think, "man, maybe i went over and they're not gonna let me use the card or something." now, i know i didn't go over that much, but still. credit card paranoia has me in its grips. so i make another payment yesterday. neither payment is showing up on my available balance yet.

i called today to be like "what the fuck?" and the chick told me that when there's a lot of activity on a card, they like to wait OVER A WEEK to make sure that the payments are going to clear the bank account. now, i appreciate being protected, and i did recently (like, over a month ago) add an authorized user. but: 1. the bank account that i use to make the payments is the same bank account i have used to make payments since i moved here in may of 2004. 2. said bank account is in the name of me and my authorized user. 3. in three years of having this card, i have never, ever bounced a check to them or had a payment dishonored by my bank. 4. i am ON THE PHONE with the woman, verifying ALL THE ANSWERS (full social? check. mother's maiden name? check. street i grew up on? check. favorite pet's name? check.). 5. i am LOOKING AT MY BANK STATEMENT and the first payment is on there, having already cleared.

now, here's the thing. w and i decided that this is what we're doing for my break. and he knows that if he can get me to not only buy tickets to the festival (which can and have been e-bayed before when our situation has changed and made it impossible for us to go--see the last phish festival ever. and i know, bad ticket karma, but whatever. incidentally, the shows conflicted with my orientation for school, and not going was one of the first "adult" decisions i ever made to put something quasi professional over a once-in-a-lifetime live music experience. our friends who went said it was miserable; half the people with tickets could't make it cause the traffic was so bad, there was supposed to be camping which was totally rained out, it was a grody mud fest and they slept in their car. totally confirmed that i had made the right choice. plus we ended up just going to the hampton show a few days earlier instead, and it was awesome), but also plane ticktes/rental cars through non-refundable websites, then i can't back out no matter how broke we are when the actual event comes around. (wow, that ended up being a much longer parenthetical than i was thinking. i forgot where i was in the sentence proper). so he convinced me to make a big payment to the card and buy everything in one fell swoop. and i did.

but now i need to go shopping (this weekend, so i have time to order the online backup dress and have it delivered before the 18th if i can't find anything at the mall) for my law school prom dress and i want to use my credit card and i can't! not until my last (stupid) payment clears! GAHHH!