Random moosages as I see fit.

Recently, I stopped by my local bank to make a deposit.  I went on a Sunday afternoon, which meant the branch was actually closed, but they are so kind and generous that they allow access to the ATMs twenty-four hours a day.  Thus, I was at one of the ATMs trying to make a deposit.

These ATMs were of the “new and improved” sort, in that they no longer require envelopes to make deposits because the ATM will count your cash or checks right as you make your deposit.  This was my first experience using the ATM to make a cash deposit.  I rarely have so much cash on me that I would need to deposit it into the bank.  In fact, I rarely have any cash on me at all.  It makes one’s wallet large and fat and bulky.  That’s annoying.

Anyway, I was making my deposit and the check portion of the deposit was summarily rejected.  I have never had a check deposit rejected before.  The ATM just told me that it was unable to take check deposits at this time.  Um…why not?  I put the check away and I was going to try it in the neighboring ATM.  I didn’t get a chance to though, because a whole family of people came in to use that ATM.  Using the ATM apparently is a family affair for some.

Then I tried depositing all the cash. It was a bunch of loose and annoying low denomination bills. That was partly why I was depositing the cash. Who wants a wad of ones clogging up your wallet?  Well, after I stuck the wad of cash in the collection window (after dutifully unwadding it first), the ATM started making clicking noises happily to itself counting up said unwad, but then it suddenly started dinging at me in a most alarming manner.

Ok, so it wasn’t alarming at all.  It was vaguely annoying and somewhat confusing at first because the ATM failed to give me the corresponding error message that went all that dinging.  Finally it told me that it didn’t like some of the bills.  I don’t know why.  All the bills were carefully unwadded and even all facing in the same direction.  I figured it might have been a few of the more raggedly bills I put in, or maybe one of the higher denomination bills looked suspicious to the ATM.  But when it finally spit out the offending currency, it was a fairly crisp one dollar bill.  And only one.  And it never told me why it was unacceptable.

This was one of the less successful deposits I’ve ever attempted.