Chris, the operator, apologized profusely

In a twisted turn of fate, an ATM swallowed my debit card this afternoon.

I called up the bank, and the operator reported my card as lost and issued me a new one. The trouble is, through some misunderstanding (I'd like to think it's his fault as much as mine), he did it for my other, everyday-use ATM card, and not my debit card. After some questioning and a bit more clarification, we realized what had happened and he rectified things by issuing a new debit card as well. As such, I am now effectively ATM as well as debit card-less at the moment.

As I was put on hold while the operator sorted things out, two thoughts emerged:

1. I'm quite complacent (or chicken) about asking questions when I deal with such situations, I usually acquiesce to whatever explanation offered so I can end the conversation quickly. I should ask more questions when I'm not satisfied.

2. There are the good things, the bad things, and then there are things like these. Here, I have lost my cards in this somewhat clumsy fashion and therefore can't use an ATM, pay with EFTPOS, or make payments requiring a credit card for about a week or so before the new cards arrive. Is it a bad thing? No. Is it troublesome? Yes. And herein lies my ponder: I tend to connect things that happen to me directly to God. If it's a good thing, I am thankful; if it's a bad thing, I think it's punishment, or I think it's a way of telling me something. And so when this other category of things happen, minor but troublesome things, I still find myself mildly surprised. I can't conjure a purpose for this event that, asides from inconveniencing me for bit, in effect doesn't alter anything about my life. Why would God bother with small, completely insignificant events?

Of course, that's just my limited imagination talking. I'm sure any transaction, however small, could cause limitless ripples in its impact, though it may not be obvious to me.

Ceh. Tiba-tiba banyak pulak nak cakap kat sini.