K is for Kicking (and Screaming)

My field research may be over before it starts. Apparently, the relative I’m staying with thinks I’m leaving five days sooner than I am.

Thanks to a credit card company called Worldpay, who took money unauthorized out of my account, I have NO money to book alternative accommodation through 4 May, which is a bank holiday weekend in Britain. Every hostel I look at has ZOMG ONE BED LEFT. By the time I get the money back, or get paid this Friday, everything is going to be taken.

Seriously?

Image: Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If Relative and her returning housemate is okay with putting up with me for those days, then fine. But if she turfs me out, I’m pretty much screwed, and/or will have to pay a change fee to come back sooner. Which sucks even more, because I lose five whole days of research time.

So I am kicking and screaming tonight. Not literally; just figuratively, until I can call her and see what’s up.

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What do you do when this happens? You have to suck it up, obviously. If you were doing research in a tropical area and a cyclone decided to come through, then you would have to adapt, right? Same here.

Of course, it’s a bit more difficult when a payment vendor can’t be arsed to clear a pre-authorization from last year and then dings you for the money anyway. And then takes five to seven business days to put money back that it took two seconds to remove.

Oh, longing for a lovely one of these that I cannot get.

Image: phanlop88 / freedigitalphotos.net

Maybe I’ll get lucky. I do get paid the actual day I leave, so if I don’t have to pay in full up front for lodging, I can fudge things. Meanwhile, I will assume I cannot do what I need to do so I will make the most of the first few days.

What had I planned on doing? Well, several things.