Stress Relief Valve

Tonight, my blog entry is going to be a bit of a rant, but it's the pressure valve I need at the moment, so please bear with me.  As many of you know, I wear my heart on my sleeve.  I'm a very open person about how I am feeling and do a terrible job of stuffing things.  When I start to "stuff", that's when things start to get ugly.  So, here we go, this is just me relieving some pressure.

So, last month when I called to see if I could change my flight, I didn't realize that they were actually doing it.  Since I couldn't afford to make the change at the time, I figured they would not be able to change it. Unfortunately, I was wrong.  I was aware of the $275 fee to change my flight, but even though I had the money (but that was ALL I had), I decided to just be on my flight two days after. When I realized they had changed the flight, it was too late to change it back AND I had already "un-registered" with the city of Berlin.  This means that I am still here and not registered.  I can't imagine that is okay with them.... Ugh.

On top of this, I am also now on the line for paying the $275 fee.  I don't have it.  In the meantime, I have also received a message from my insurance company (of 18 years) that they are threatening to cancel my homeowners policy if I don't have $262 to them by Jan. 16 (the day after my flight back).  In the meantime, I have had to pay an extra month's rent, buy a ticket for public transport (another $100), not to mention food and other necessities.  The fact is that I am completely broke.  I don't have money for the ticket change, no money for insurance, I have about $50 to my name and somehow that has to be enough to at least get me back to the U.S....

This is why I have been trying to contact British Airways to see if they have any kind of benevolence that they could extend to my situation.  As of today, I have made 21 phone calls regarding the change of the ticket (including the calls leading up to the actual change).  I have sent in a complaint, then two weeks ago I filled out a survey, and I still haven't heard back from anyone.  I don't have a whole lot of time to get this worked out before it's too late again.  I spent another hour getting the run-around today.  I called British Airways' customer relations like in New York.  It's the 4th time I've called there and even though it was shortly after they opened, no answer and their mail box is always full.  They must have a lot of complaints if anyone else's experience is anything like mine.  I have spent a total of 5 hours on calls/on hold to figure this stuff out and now I have to pay exorbitant fees as a "Thank You" from the airline. Not feeling very appreciated as a customer that put out $1500 for a round trip plane ticket!

The fact is that I am very concerned I might get stuck here and I really don't know what to do.  I'm stressed because for the first time in my life I am unable to pay my bills.  Until recently I had very good credit and in pursuing my dream, I am not so concerned about my credit, but I have been looking for work diligently.  I'm very discouraged at the moment as to what I can even do.  I'm doing okay spiritually, but this is definitely a very heavy weight on my heart.  If I need to return to the states, so be it, but I am not sure how to even plan for that at this point.....
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Now onto more encouraging things. Yesterday I went in person to a company that I applied for a job at last month.  Unfortunately when I sent in the application, I had just missed the cutoff (the job posting was still listed on a major online job board).  So, I sent in a general application and followed up last month, then in person yesterday.  It looks like such a cool company, seriously, I would LOVE to work there.  The people were super friendly and they even thanked me for coming in spontaneously in person.  Not sure if it will produce a job by tomorrow, but I'm holding out hope.

I also went back to a local souvenir shop today and they all recognized me from like 2-3 months ago!!   They are currently doing inventory so nobody is available in the next couple days to make any decisions on hiring. They sounded very interested in possibly hiring me, but no go in the next few days....  We agreed to keep in touch over email if I do have to go back to the states.  That was encouraging!

I'm also encouraged that this week is my birthday, I could really use some encouragement about right now, just being honest.

Anyway, thanks for letting me vent.  I'm very heavily invested (with my heart, time, money, etc.) and I hope this explains why I have been struggling with the airline and other things lately.  I'll update in the next few days the status of things.  Stay tuned.

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9 Jan 2014:  Someone mentioned I should add a Paypal button should you feel inclined to donate.  Please don't feel obligated.  Click here to donate: