Kickstarter has kicked my ass

For the first time in years, I find myself sitting in an ex-pat bar in a relatively unfamiliar Asian City. I've been working for days now on creating a Kickstarter campaign with the hopes that I'll be able to fund the project in Ho Chi Minh City starting next month. Those hopes were dashed today when I find out that you have to have a credit card to use Kickstarter. It wasn't entirely a surprise but I thought that a checking account alone would allow you to do it, which I have. Unfortunately, that was not the case and without the Visa debit card that had been sent from the United States weeks ago, I'm not able to start the campaign. Furthermore, I reached the end of my stay at the guest house. Did that two days ago. And even though the guy is offering a great rate of $10 a night, I just can't afford it. The unfinished hotel is around the corner where I will be the only resident. The owner has assured me that the room will be finished. He said it will have AC, Wi-Fi, and running water. So, hopefully, that will work out. The guest house owner has told me I'm welcome to come back anytime and get the $10 a night rate. Of course, a lot of worries would go away if I came across some money.

For instance, I'm currently waiting on information about a Vietnamese Visa that I need to get next month. I'd like to get it as soon as possible but since that costs money that also won't be happening. At present, I'm not completely sure that they're going to allow me in. They were advertising for a long time that Vietnam had reopened and was and now welcoming visitors but the truth is coronavirus is still going pretty strong around the world and I know they're going to be cautious about whatever wave is happening, whether it's omicron or omicron the revenge. I'm not even sure honestly.

Other than the lack of certainty about whether I'll be able to enter Vietnam next month, the lack of certainty about whether I'll have a place to stay for the next month, and the fact that it doesn't seem I'm going to be able to use the online 'begging for money' service because I'm not rich enough, I'm doing good. 

I can say that it's been a long time since I've been this uncomfortable in a bar. To be honest, I'm not used to being around this many white people. They're creeping me out. I know it's not necessarily a one-to-one correlation but there is a relationship between the countries in the world that are whitest and the countries that have gotten and spread the most covid. It just does not seem like white people are taking it seriously. So now that I'm here in a bar with them, I'm not comfortable. I'm going to leave as soon as I finish this beer and just walk the riverfront until I hear from the guy who's supposed to be giving me the key to the new room.

Thanks for reading I'll try and make another post next week.