Azure problems, sites down

My Azure sites are down until 6/19.

I have a Microsoft Developers Network subscription that gives me $150 in credits on Azure per month. I use Azure to host various experiments I have in the cloud (including my GA app and Ereignis beta), and pay for resources (web traffic, storage, etc.) from my Azure credits. Typically, my resource use is less than $50 a month.

Earlier this year, I signed up for the Azure Search beta. Search resources were free. Azure Search went live (became a billable product) last month, and there are now two tiers, free and standard. When Azure Search went live, Microsoft switched the users of the free beta, to the standard plan ($8/day), instead of the free plan. So Azure Search used up $8 every day, until it stopped working this morning.

My Azure web sites won't work again, until 6/18, when the monthly cycle rolls over, and they get another $150 again. At that point I'll shut down the Search service, create a new free search service, and re-index all the content for the search service.