It is only a few days before Christmas and we have just received word from Acción Texas that our loan has been approved for the full requested amount. We are making progress on the lease and permits and despite the fact that I had sincerely planned on being open for the 2009 Holiday Season, I am happy with the current state of affairs. We have the space, we have the funds – we’re good to go in 2010! As one of those people who jumps full on into the Christmas spirit with remarkable fervor, I couldn’t have been happier when I received the approval.
The following day, December 23rd, I receive a phone call from Acción to finalize closing arrangements. I am at my family home in rural New Mexico preparing the house for Christmas Eve celebrations and get little to no reception on my mobile there (thank you, AT&T). It is hard to determine the result of the conversation since it is cutting in and out but it appears that our loan officer, a woman I had not spoken to before, was asking me when I could come in during the next few days to close on the loan. When I explained to her that I was already out of state, traveling for the Holiday as most people do, she grew angry that I had not notified the organization of my travel plans. She explained that the application had been on file for too long and that I had to close before the end of the year or the application would be thrown out. I would have to start the process all over again with increased competition and no guarantees of success. Never mind the fact that the application had been on the books for a few months due to the organization’s over-extension and no fault of my own. Never mind the fact that no one had notified my of a year end closing dead line. Somehow, I should have notified them of my plans to travel at Christmas time through a magical telepathic sense that the loan would have to close immediately after receiving approval. Interesting.
As the conversation continued to cut out, the loan officer grew frustrated with the poor reception and hung up the line to send an email. The email requested that I make flight arrangements for myself and my partner and to let them know when I would be expected to sign the documents within the week. They actually requested that I book two flights out of a rural airport during the busiest flight time of the year with only a few days advance notice. At this point I resigned myself to the fact that I could easier sell a kidney for the same amount of funding. To add insult to injury, the email also stated that they had ‘invested a lot into my application’ and were ‘disappointed I had not call the office to tell them I was leaving town.’ I sent a reply stating that this was highly unexpected, that I would return to Houston on January 3rd and hoped for the best that we could work something out given the amount of work both parties had put into the application.
Then, silence. Maybe they too, along with over 64 million other Americans, were traveling for the Holidays. I thought about sending another email to express my disappointment at not being notified of their Christmas and New Year plans well in advance, but even my unfaltering sarcasm felt uninspired. I tried to enjoy my favorite time of the year as best as possible, with all the wonderful food and presents and family, but the loan problem hung over my head. I woke up on Christmas morning with an unstoppable migraine. My family was left baffled as to why I lacked my usual Christmas energy. I was disappointed and angry but most of all, I felt defeated. And because of this, I could not tell anyone. I have never been capable of admitting defeat.
On December 29th I received word from Acción at last. They said that my loan officer was on vacation (first irony) but my loan would be held for approval until January 15th (second irony) at which point it would be canceled and I could start the process again (third irony). My head hurt from trying to comprehend how starting the process all over again wouldn’t tie up their organization’s already over-extended resources. My head hurt from trying to comprehend the entire email. So I just sucked it up and Pricelined a terribly inconvenient and overpriced flight for my partner for January 15th. Lo and behold, she would have to fly through, yep, you guessed it: Dallas (fourth irony).

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