> And the reason I hate calling is that I imagine I'm one of a string of no-chance hopefuls just being a nuisance. And the staff are on the other end thinking "Doesn't this guy know who we are?! You're two months late, bozo."

Speaking from personal experience, once you get past barriers in yourself like that, life opens up to you. Using the internet as a crutch to avoid social interaction with a possibility of embarrassment is unhealthy.