I'm only a sometimes user of the sewing machine, and needed more thread for it, so while at the mall yesterday, I went into Fabricland to get some. I got four spools of thread, and three little packages of elastic, to replace the dying elastic in my favorite snuggies. I obviously hadn't been there for a while, because I got a shock when the gal on the cash said in her Korean accent, " Twenty dollars, seventy-five cents". Hell, I just wanted some thread, I hadn't planned on renting the place for the afternoon.
Then today, I went to the supermarket, like I do almost every day or two, and bought $20.00 worth of stuff, and handed the girl my debit card - the one that's been working fine for months, since its last renewal. She scans it and it comes up saying "account not activated". We tried that again, two more times. Then when it still refused to work, I paid her with cash, and got out of there. I went directly to the Credit Union which issued the card, and said, "Something's wrong today - this isn't working."
The gal on the cash there said, "Yes, we're sorry about that - our system is down today for ATMs and Membercards for certain members, while they make some changes. We expect it will be fixed by tomorrow." I said, "That's a relief - for a while there, I was wondering if some hacker had figured out how to get into the system and grab our money and then de-activate our cards, or something." She said, "Don't even think about anything like that!" I answered, "Just because I'm paranoid, it doesn't mean the world isn't out to get me, Darling." She said, "Well, not this time, anyway... have a nice day."
Then, on the way home, I stopped at the supermarket again, to tell the little gal at the service desk the whole story about our cards, in case more Credit Union members found out at the check-out that their cards aren't working today, and asked her about it. Some days, I get the feeling the whole thing is just hanging by a thread and the thread is slowly coming unravelled.... ever get that feeling?
Update:
ReplyDeleteI went back to the Credit Union just before they closed for the day, to get more cash so I could put a deposit on an order for a new monitor that I'm getting to replace the one that died recently on me.
When I walked in, most of the staff were standing around, watching the clock. I said, "You guys look like you can't wait to escape from our happy little home here." The manager smiled and said,
"Well, not for a few minutes yet, but soon." I said, "Good, because I need a hundred bucks for a deposit on a new wide-screen monitor I've convinced myself I need."
While the girl attended to the details, we got talking about our computers, and I asked about the
problems with the cards not working
today. The manager said that those should be OK tomorrow, but he couldn't guarantee that, because they were in the midst of switching between two companies that service their ATMs for them. Apparently, we're going to get a better deal from the new guys, and have more services available later.
Then, we got talking about Windows 7 and it coming out in retail versions on Thursday. The manager said he hasn't tried it yet. I said
that I've been testing it for months, and I just love it, because it's everything Vista should have been but wasn't, and is much more user-friendly. I think I have him convinced to try it.
And our system still works, even without the plastic, because cash is still accepted everywhere. Why am I so surprised?
Same feelings here, yes, but no comfort seems to come without bugs.
ReplyDeleteAs some wit once said, "There's no use worrying, because nothing's going to turn out like you thought it would anyway."
ReplyDeleteLooking back, I'd have to say that's fairly true.