Just When You Needed It Most…

I discovered an interesting phenomenon last night. After classes ended, Tom, Young and I went out. First to dinner. Then to karaoke. Oh, the joys. I don’t understand why people say, “Oh, you sing so well. That was great.” No, it wasn’t. I’m tone deaf. I accepted this invitation knowing I would suck. You knew that, too, when you invited me. So don’t try to pretend that I’m suddenly a decent, even good, singer. I’m not. I’ve accepted it. We don’t need to play games.

Anyway. Having gotten so pumped up by singing we decided to continue downtown to go dancing. It was, oh, 1 ish. Before we caught a cab, Tom announced, “I have to stop into C-Space (convenience store).” Me: Getting cigarettes? Him: No, using the ATM. Me: Really? Can I watch? Him: (quizzical look) Me: I’m scared the machine will eat my card; everything’s in Korean – I want to watch. Him: (laughing) C’mon.

We entered the store. Young stayed outside to smoke. Tom inserted his ATM card. Pushed the buttons. Looked easy enough. The card came back out. The receipt came out, but no money. That’s weird. “I know I have money in my account. Try your card.” So I performed the same actions. And got the same results. Card returned. Receipt output. But no money. “Go get Young so he can read the message on the screen.”

I ran outside and drug Young into the convenience store. “What’s it say?” Hmmm. No time. “Huh? No money?” No. No time. You can’t withdraw money after midnight. “What? You’ve got to be kidding.” No. No time. From midnight until 10 am. No time, no money.

Am I missing something here? The point of ATMs is all money, all the time. I think the only time I’ve ever used an ATM is after midnight. Live and learn…