My wife got sick this past weekend, and as a result we had to cancel or at least postpone a trip to Seattle that we had been looking forward to. She's feeling much better now, and I am left with the task of recouping what I can from our reservations — a task much more satisfying and much less stressful than force-feeding her electrolytes and naan.

Whenever I do this, I am reminded of how flexible the world can be in ways that are not necessarily obvious if you just read the H1 tags. We had two hotels, both of which were trivially canceled despite being labeled as non-refundable, by calling the concierge, asking very nicely, and explaining with truth and humility the situation at hand. (The second hotel required a call back: the first concierge said no, so I waited until the night shift started, called back, and got a yes.)

The world is, to a certain extent, filled with barricades and policies designed for the lowest common denominator and concomitantly staffed with field agents whose job it is to open doors for you so long as they can quickly and confidently assess that you are neither a con man nor axe murderer. I do not suggest that all things work this way — nor would I suggest designing your entire worldview around progress through supplication — but asking nicely for something comes with zero marginal cost and outstanding efficacy.