Posts by Susan Evans3

OP - Look, you need some serious backbone and a real reason to break this cycle you're stuck in, because honestly? This routine is just a one-way ticket to misery. This whole sleep deprivation thing triggers a massive domino effect. You skip sleep, you end up dragging your feet or flat-out missing work or class; then you try to make up for it by staying up all night, which basically nukes any chance of having a social life or even a functioning existence outside of your bedroom. It’s a downward spiral toward a pretty bleak future. Just thinking about how bad it gets should be enough to scare the hell out of you and force a change.

Sandra Williams70 said:The real issue is that you simply can't get your card back. It’s one of those things you just don't encounter unless you live in a disorganized mess.
Is there actually an oversight body—maybe the Federal Reserve or some federal regulatory agency—where you can file a complaint because an ATM swallowed your card and the bank refuses to replace it?

Dealing with the bank is an absolute slog—you spend half the day calling various offices just to get information that is either wrong or half-baked. According to the bank, it will take about a week to get the card issued, which is frankly absurd.

Sandra Williams70 said:That teller should have resolved it herself—that's how things work in a semi-functional country—rather than forcing me to spend half the day calling some random clerk.

Exactly. 😘

JPMorgan Chase would've had that sorted for us by the end of the day.

George Lewis9 said:It’s just bad form to tell a cashier she doesn't need to worry about it—especially when she went to check with her manager and then used a private channel to track down a number from Goldman Sachs. She could have easily flagged you, since Walmart (and everywhere else that hosts ATMs) has absolutely nothing to do with them 😉

I'm not talking about Walmart as a whole center, but rather the Bank of America branch located inside the Mall of America. Basically, the inquiry was made right there at the bank, and it was handled by the lady working the counter at Bank of America.

Charles Ramos7 said:I don't see what being an international card has to do with anything; any 😕
would have been swallowed up. And let's be real, that ATM isn't owned by Walmart, so they aren't responsible for this.

The whole "international" thing matters because the recovery process is a total nightmare—you won't get your money back anytime soon, and you need it right now. Plus, if the screen explicitly says it accepts VISA and yours was a VISA, there’s no excuse for it to just eat the card two seconds in without even asking for a PIN. Even their own manager is acting shocked, which is hilarious.

How many times has this happened to tourists? If they can't handle basic English, they're basically stranded without a card, especially when the staff barely speaks it either.

[Sorry if this topic has already been brought up]

Do you guys find that American ATMs actually accept foreign bank cards? Has an ATM ever swallowed one of your international cards, and how did you get it back? And just for the record, has anyone dealt with this happening to a Canadian card specifically?

***

So, there I was today, enjoying a beautiful sunny day, deciding to grab some cash from a Bank of America ATM in San Diego. I slide my Canadian VISA debit card in, and instead of asking for my PIN, the machine just stares at me and says, "Please insert your card." Long story short: the card was swallowedi>.
I kept hitting the "cancel" button, but nothing. Zero luck.

I head into the Walmart store where the ATM is located, and the clerk there gives me this total "not my problem" look. She tells me they aren't responsible for outside ATMs and there’s absolutely nothing she can do. I was honestly stunned by the attitude. I told her:
- "But I need my card. Who is actually in charge of opening these machines?"
- "There's a specific department that handles that once a week. Your best bet is to go to the Federal Reserve and tell them what happened; they'll get it back to you."
- "Which day? Because I'm heading back to San Bernardino soon."
- "Usually Friday, but sometimes other days. They should be coming tomorrow."
- "And why can't I just pick it up here once the service crew opens the machine?"
She goes to talk to her manager, who basically just waves me off, and comes back with:
- "We aren't responsible for those cards."
- "Fine, can you please just give me the number for the Fed so I can call them? I don't have any data on my phone to look it up."
- "I can't. I don't have time to go looking up numbers for you."
I just stood there giving her a massive "Are you kidding me?" look. Finally, she sighs, grabs a notepad, calls some friend, and gets the name of a guy at the Fed.
- "There, that's the guy. He'll definitely get it back to you."

Not really buying her answer, I head home, find the actual number in the directory, and explain the situation. The guy on the line sounds genuinely confused:
- "The Federal Reserve doesn't handle ATMs located next to retail branches, nor would bank cards ever be sent to us. Sorry."

I call that "not my problem" clerk back at the San Bernardino branch and tell her what he said, but she just repeats the same nonsense.

After about 15 calls to various different numbers, we finally get an answer: apparently, a security firm from San Diego handles it. They supposedly leave swallowed cards at the bank, then send them back to St. Louis to be processed and voided. And the kicker? They won't even be doing that until Wednesday, not tomorrow.

***

I've run into this so many times—how American service workers love passing the buck to some other agency or department. It’s like they just woke up on the wrong side of the bed or decided to take their bad mood out on the customers. Why didn't they teach us in school that the customer comes first? That regardless of how crappy your day is, you're supposed to be polite in a professional setting?

I'm closing my Bank of America account after this. Paying a $3.25 monthly fee for an account I only use a couple of times a year isn't worth the headache.

Instead of enjoying my trip, I spent two hours playing "Who and when opens the ATM so I can get my card?" Honestly, I used to find these kinds of puzzles fun when I was a kid, but now that I actually want to spend my precious vacation time with my family, I'm officially over it.

Been spinning Radiohead and their old classics like Hopes and Fears and Under the Iron Sea, so I was pretty stoked to finally dive into the new album, Perfect Symmetry 🙂 And honestly? It’s killer. They’ve still got that magic they've always had. I'm genuinely obsessed 🙂 For me, the absolute standouts are Spiralling (hands down #1 on the tracklist, there's just this vibe to it that I can't even put into words, so I've just been looping it constantly 🙂, then Lovers, Better Than this, you haven't told me anything, Perfect Symmetry, and Pretend that you're alone. They’re definitely shaking things up with this one—it feels more upbeat, less bogged down by those heavy ballads from the older records, and the whole sound is a bit different. Listening to it makes me wish they'd just tour the US and play a massive show somewhere; who knows, maybe one day... if they do, I am 100% snagging a spot in the front row, right against the stage, haha 😁
Perfect Symmetry is a total win 🙂 Go give it a listen!

I just caught Zohan, and man, I don't think I've ever laughed that hard in a movie theater. I was losing it during basically every single scene in the first hour and fifteen minutes, then it slowed down to maybe a couple of scenes toward the end... 🙂 Personally, I dug it. I mean, what else are you actually expecting from Adam Sandler? Just a ton of ridiculous jokes. 😉 The way he pulled off that accent 😁, the body language and everything... It felt like a total parody to me—like that bit with the glasses Terminator used to wear, the terrorists, the whole gag where twenty people pile out of a taxi, all that stuff. There’s some crude humor too, but hey, that's the vibe. Also, regarding Sandler's look, I read somewhere that he spent months grinding at the gym just to get fit enough to pull off those insane stunts, haha 😉
Just thinking about Zohan's version of "okey-dokey"—ofi tofi—has me cracking up again 😁

That Lenny Kravitz show was absolutely killer 🙂 I was like, five feet from the stage, and man, it was pure magic. Total sensory overload in the best way possible, haha 🙂 I sang my lungs out, danced like a maniac, and definitely did some jumping around too, hehe 😉 I honestly couldn't believe it when Lenny actually hopped down into the front rows to hang with us, and then later moved up into the stands to be closer to the crowd 🙂 The Setlist was also top-tier! Too bad he didn't play (my absolute favorite) I belong to you, but honestly, by that point, I didn't even care—those 16 songs totally blew me away 🙂 I’ve been counting down the days for this concert, and it lived up to every bit of the hype! 🙂 Gotta give credit where it's due: besides Lenny, obviously, the drummer and guitarist were incredible. Seriously, those solos they pulled off? Next level 🙂
The Sugar Concert last year, and now this Lenny's show, are definitely going down in my books! 🙂

The absolute MVP of any song? For me, it’s gotta be the lyrics first, then the melody. When those two actually vibe together perfectly, you’ve basically hit songwriting gold. 🙂 Lately, I’ve been obsessing over the actual writing. Honestly, the second a track hits my ears, I’m already judging whether the lyrics are deep enough to warrant a repeat listen or if it’s just filler. 😉
Hands down, my all-time favorite track is Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run. Check out these lyrics: 🙂 http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/hu...r_of_love.html 🙂 🙂

Lenny Kravitz is supposed to hit up San Diego on June 8th, 2008—it’s even listed right there on his official site http://www.lennykravitz.com/ ;-). Apparently, tickets are going for $40 (or at least that's what they were saying on TV). Man, I really hope he actually shows up. Last year when Prince played, it was absolutely legendary! :-) I am definitely going; you just don't pass up a chance like this! :-)
Btw, his new single I'll Be Waiting from the "It is time for a Love Revolution" album is killer! :-)