JUST CHARGE ME ALREADY!!!

Why is it that some businesses take so long to push thru the transactions when you make a credit card purchase at their establishment? This is so effing annoying to me. Why? Well, I like to pay off my entire credit card balance each month and I like to track how much that payment is each month. When businesses take forever to push the purchase thru, the transaction isnt recorded on my account when I want to pay my bill and thus jumps over to the next month. Since Citibank is lame and wont let me pay more than my current balance, even when I know charges are out there waiting to be added, there is nothing I can do.

There are 2 reasons this annoys me:

1.) I have been spending a shitload of money this year. Probably about double what I spent last year on a monthly basis. Sure, Im having way more fun but Im trying to get myself back into saving mode as I have a few things Id like to save for. When charges get carried over to the next month, I dont get to "start fresh" with a chance at keeping my card spending low for that month by starting with a zero balance. Its a mental thing I guess and something thats not easy to explain. Just one of my many quirks.

2.) As a business owner, wouldnt you want your money as fast as you could get it? I just made about $400 in purchases since last Tuesday. NONE of these have shown up on my card yet. One was from an online retailer. The other was a restaurant here in Miami. The online guy has shipped my order and Ive already eaten the food from the restaurant and crapped it out by now.

I guess I could add Citibank being lame and not letting me prepay balances that I know are on the way to the list of why this annoys me. Bank of America let me do that but they dont give me AA miles for my purchases. Instead they have a lame reward program so it was bye bye to BoA. This may be the first case of someone wanting to be charged for goods and services but, unless the transactions have been forgotten or wiped clean, Id like to be charged. Dammit.

I think Ive found the solution to our country's financial crisis!

After watching The Worst President of All Time give his little speech tonite, we were all treated to the amazing magic of David Blaine. This guy is incredible! From card tricks to catching bullets in his mouth, Blaine leaves people questioning reality with minds that have been completely blown away. One of my favorite things about David Blaine is that he brings people together. It doesnt matter what color, sex, religion, or political affiliation a person has - all are treated as equals by Blaine. He performs tricks for the mere amusement of getting someone to smile. It is his gift that he chooses to share with others and that is very admirable.

After seeing him go to New Orleans during the aftermath of Katrina and turn a handful of 5 $1 bills into 5 $100 bills, I got an idea... DAVID BLAINE CAN SAVE OUR ECONOMY!! All he has to do is make our deficit disappear! I mean, if the guy can live inside a block of ice, hang upside down while swinging thru the air for 3 days, and catch a bullet in his mouth then he must be able to make our financial crisis disappear! Im pushing for Congress to pass the David Blaine Financial Rescue Plan. God Bless you and God Bless America.


PS - Im not quite sure what Blaine's final stunt was all about...? After hanging upside down for 3 days, they placed him upright on a pedestal high above the crowd. He then dropped off and some harness wires caught him and nothing really happened. Then he smiled, waved, and the wires took him high up to the sky. A bunch of flashing lights went off and he was gone. Sure, him disappearing was pretty amazing but I didnt see what that had to do with the "Dive of Death". Anyone else have a clue?