Breakdown Brink

Here's the set-up:

I am in DC - without car, running around - and without a way back to NYC.

I stop in a Kinko's and log onto the internet - hoping to secure a last-minute Amtrak ticket back to NYC tomorrow.

When Amtrak asks me to pay - I open my wallet and see that my ATM/Debit Card is gone.

I start flipping through my purse - freak-out forming at the thought of my lost credit card - floating around out there... anywhere. My thought turns to the last time I used it. I can't remember. FFFRREEEAAAAAAKKKKKKKK OOOUUUUUUTTTTTT MMMMOOOUUUUNNNNTTTTSSSS...

I think about how long it will take for me to get a new ATM/Debit card back - NEARLY A WEEK in most cases! I think about the pain of using checks to get cash. I think about how I'm going to manage a bulk cash payment now - to get me through the week of waiting for a new card. FFREEEEEAAAAAAKKKKKKK OOOOOUUUUUTTTTTTT BBBUUUIIIILLLLDDDDDSS.

I log out of the Kinko's computer, and I start thinking about what I need to do next. I come up with Plan A, Plan B, and even Plan C. Then... as I log out... my ATM/Credit Card pops out of the self-service machine. Yeah, I forgot that I used it to get on a computer in the first place.

I need a vacation.