something good

a potentially really sad/unfortunate situation the other day has turned into a lovely learning experience. on sunday i left my ATM card in a machine outside our neighborhood grocery store - it was totally my fault, but a few things that may have contributed include:

1. i was going too fast

2. the strange (strange as in i don't know him --- i don't know if he himself is strange) man who had been following me around the grocery store followed me out to the ATM

3. i had left my groceries unattended in the store when i discovered that none of the cashiers were taking debit/credit cards that day, so i wanted to get back to them before they were put away or the cart was wheeled away never to be seen again

4. i was going too fast

so after i got back to the machine after i discovered i didn't have my card, there was no sign of my card on or around the machine. after a transaction on this machine, you have to select "return card" or "new transaction"...i had not pressed either in my haste. so a few things that could have happened:

1. someone else could have pressed "return card" and is out and about trying (good luck) to spend money

2. someone could have pressed "new transaction" and withdrawn money

not knowing which was the case, we went through all the necessary steps when something like this happens, which included calling my parents and waking them up at 1am to have them make a call to our bank that we couldn't make internationally (thanks mom and dad). side note, if you are living far away from anyone you love and you call them in the middle of their night you should always start the conversation with "everyone is alright, no one is hurt" if that is the case. good thinking tim, you saved the day.

so we went through all the steps and the near-end of the story is...if you don't answer that question i mentioned above (new transaction/return card) within 60 seconds, this ATM machine sucks your card in and it can only be retrieved by someone from the bank with the right tools and passwords going to that machine and opening it up. which happened on monday, and there sat my lovely little blue ATM card in its safe place inside the machine. so this afternoon, i am going with a russian friend (thank you lena, for your friendship and help and native russian-language speaking skills!) up north to show my passport and prove that that indeed is my ATM card.

so i'm counting this one as a lovely learning experience. no one was hurt. no money was lost. and i learned a lot. so many things i would do differently in that situation if it happens again, firstly, slowing down. so i'm even more accountable next time in a situation even vaguely resembling this one...

so...a picture having nothing to do with this story, but beautiful beyond belief...

silas and tim reading "who is it?"


silas found the baby bjorn in a shkof (wardrobe-type-closet) i was cleaning out and wanted to put it on...he walked around for the next stretch of time wearing his christmas moose (aka reindeer)...