I just got turned down again for a much-needed infusion of capital. And this time my bank courted me!

I was schmoozing with my local bank manager recently, and he said, "Let's talk. Maybe we can do something for you." I told him I wanted $150,000 to finance my fast-growing company -- which has seen sales quadruple in a little over a year. I was hopeful, I admit, but skeptical. Like most small-business owners, I had been down this road before. I've been financing my business with credit cards and withdrawals from my IRA. Still, I whipped out my business plan and filled out the papers. Then I waited. Last week, the shoe dropped: "Thanks, but no thanks," the bank said. I didn't really get why I wasn't worth the risk. The bank just told me it had other proposals it liked better.

Honestly, I don't know what these bean counters want. I even got sucked into calling American Express Small Business Services once after seeing a slick TV ad on how it loves to finance young companies. What the ads don't tell you is that the credit line is based on your personal credit standing and assets. In fact, the person who took my information over the phone didn't want to know anything about my business finances. It's a bizarre Catch-22: "We'll only lend you money if you can afford to lay it out yourself." I didn't get that loan either.

Last week, I saw two TV stories -- one on a couple of scam artists who secured millions of dollars from banks based on a phony business. The other story reported on welfare recipients who were driving Jaguars because California apparently takes it on faith that you need welfare if you merely ask for it. I don't get it. With so many people pulling off deals, why can't I borrow a measly couple of hundred thousand dollars? It makes you want to escape to a faraway saloon, open a bottle of ouzo, dress in a white tuxedo, and smoke foreign cigarettes way past bedtime.

I think I know what's going on here. I'm too nice. Heck, I've been nice all my life. And honest. Too honest. I even count my groceries in the express line. I need to become tougher. I'll become the kind of guy who parks where he's not supposed to and lies about how many Munchkins he's taken from the office coffee corner.

I was turned down for a loan. So what! I've been here before. A rejection makes me more resilient, more determined to show those scoundrels and live for the day when they'll come running to me.

So here I sit with my 20 credit cards and just as many invitations for more, wanting to go straight and do it the right way. But nooooooooooooo, I can't do that because my business plan is too risky. I guess some 20-something who lives out of a box of pizza and writes Java script has more je ne sais quoi than a mature, seasoned man of the world who makes his own pizza, huh? And you know what? I don't think venture capitalists care about half the stuff they throw money at. They just like being part of something that no one understands yet.

Now that I have alienated bankers, venture capitalists, and one of the largest credit-card operations in the world, it's time to take a sip of that hard stuff in front of me and plan how to get even.

Here's lookin' at you, kid.

George Giokas is the president and CEO of StaffWriters Plus, a specialty agency that places writers in temporary and permanent positions with corporate and other employers. It also provides editorial consulting work. His database includes 2,500 writers and editors specializing in more than 60 categories. His Web site is located at www.staffwriters.com, and you can E-mail him at george@staffwriters.com.