Friday, September 1, 2017

Holidays at the ATM

I'd never thought to analyze society through the lens of an ATM drive-through line before but as we head into this holiday weekend, I'm reminded of an experience of just a few months ago on Memorial Day. I had left my cell phone at home as I was just going 1/2 mile up the street to the ATM and back home again thinking I'd just be gone minutes. I had just finished making my Vegetable Ranch Tortellini Salad for the long weekend's cookout so I knew this would be a good time to take a cooking break before starting the next recipe.


Vegetable Ranch Tortellini Salad, tortellini and mixed vegetables in a cool ranch dressing. Perfect side dish at any picnic. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #pasta #dinner
Vegetable Ranch Tortellini Salad


But I pulled up and found myself 6th in line. My first thought was how stupid I was to have gone there on a holiday in the first place. If I were going to write a blog post on going to the bank on a national holiday, it would be pretty short. One word, in fact: Don't. Well, I might add "bring your cell phone."

I am the epitome of impatience. It's just how I am. But when you're in that line you can stay or you can go, those are your choices. I had nothing else I had to do right then so I chose to stay. And watch.

The first car in the line was Mr. Considerate. He pulled up to the machine, took care of business and pulled ahead immediately, stopping at the end of the parking lot to put his money away and his seat belt back on. Thank you, Mr. Considerate. We need more people like you in the drive-through. In the world, too.

The second person in line was a woman, Ms. Easily Distracted. She pulled up, started her transaction, turned around to talk to her kids in the back seat, pressed a few buttons on the machine, looked at her cell phone, completed her transaction, put her seat belt back on, pulled out her wallet, turned back to her kids, and then remembered to pull away. Focus woman, this ATM thing is not that hard.

Next up came a real sharer. Mr. Share The Wealth was not sharing his money. Although truth be told I probably wouldn't have taken it from him anyway. He drove up, stuck his head out the window and sneezed on the machine. He then stuck his card in the slot, wiped his nose with his hand and proceeded to press the buttons. Note to self: going to the ATM on a holiday requires preparation. Pack hand sanitizer, lysol wipes and a surgical mask. Unprepared, when my turn came I had to MacGyver it. I held my breath and used a wad of tissues to touch the machine.

Holidays at the ATM, a look at a microcosm of society while waiting at the ATM on a holiday | www.BakingInATornado.com | #humor #funny #laugh
  Fourth in line was one of those people. There's one in every crowd and there was one in this group too. You know, Mr. Its All About Me. He was in line for a good 5 minutes or so, had plenty of time to prepare. Don't know what he had been doing in his car, but when it was his turn he pulled up to the machine and sat. And sat. And sat. And sat. And sat. And sat. He finally decided that maybe while he's sitting there he might as well go ahead and do some banking. Which he did. And then he sat. And sat. And sat. And sat. And sat. Did I mention that I tend to be a scad on the impatient side? My horn honking hand was itching. Maybe if I gave him a loud enough blast it would startle him out of there. But then there was the chance that the fifth in line, the guy ahead of me, might aim his apparent favorite pastime at me. And Hubs did just wash my car.

The aforementioned fifth car in line can only be described as Mr. Disgusting. And lucky me, I got the place of honor behind him. He would turn his head and spit out his window with unfortunate regularity. I was nauseated. With unfortunate regularity. Second note to self: remember when you took a barf bag from the airline kept it in your car back when you were pregnant? You may want to grab another one if you ever decide to visit the bank on a holiday again.

Then there was me. When it was my turn I took a lesson from Mr. Considerate. Pulled up, wad of tissues and my card already in hand, swiftly accomplished my transaction (very swiftly since I was also holding my breath) and moved along. 

But before it was ever my turn, there I was, studying the ATM line societal microcosm, bopping to the car radio, turned up a little too loud and with the windows open despite the heat. To the car stuck behind my while I was singing and dancing in my seat . . . sorry. Just call me Ms. So You Think You Can Dance.

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Vegetable Ranch Tortellini Salad
                                                                          ©www.BakingInATornado.com
 
Printable Recipe
 
Ingredients:
7 oz cheese filled tortellini
1/2 cup ranch dressing
2 TBSP balsamic vinaigrette dressing
1 TBSP fresh parsley
2 tsp honey
1 tsp chives 
2 slices bacon cooked, cooled and chopped
1/2 small cucumber, peeled and chopped
8 grape tomatoes, halved
1 medium carrot, very thinly sliced (I use a peeler)
1/2 cup cooked, cooled broccoli florets

Directions:
*Cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain and rinse a few times with cold water. Drain well and set aside in the refrigerator.
*Whisk together the ranch dressing, balsamic vinaigrette, honey, fresh parsley, chives and bacon bits.
*When the tortellini has cooled, add the vegetables to the bowl, drizzle the dressing over the top and gently fold together.
*Keep covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve, gently mixing now and then.



12 comments:

  1. Humanity in microcosm. Brilliant.
    And I'm with you. Let's get this over with and get on to the next.
    Signed: Ms. Impatience.

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    Replies
    1. Gotta say, sitting in that line composing a blog post in my head did help with my impatience issues.

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  2. Great minds; hubby makes something very similar without the ranch or honey. It makes a wonderful salad. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

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  3. OMG..the visuals I got while reading this..I snorted so hard, thought I was going to pee myself! lol
    I don't think I'll ever look at an ATM the same way again...(**Mental note to self**...ALWAYS HAVE DISPOSABLE GLOVES IN POSSESSION WHEN VISITING THE ATM)

    I'm still LOL..Thank you!
    Recipe looks amazing too!
    Have a great holiday weekend!

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    Replies
    1. So glad you enjoyed my torture, LOL. Hope you have a great weekend as well!

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  4. I hate dealing with the ATM and banks in general. Our bank really sucks, because if you have to do a transaction inside, it never fails--they only have ONE teller, on a Friday at 5:00pm. It's a least 30-40 minute wait to get up front. Which is why I persuade Hubs to go while I stay home, sipping my coffee...... :) :) :)

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  5. I was enticed to read your blog post after seeing the tortellini salad which looks so delicious. In my country we don't have drive through ATMs , they look like fun. I get impatient in long lines too. My friend once told me that her mother was always positive in a queue, every time they moved up in the queue, she would say, "Yay, soon it will be our turn!" or "Almost our turn" so as a result, my friend never minds queues and has that same cheery attitude.

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    Replies
    1. I think it's great that your friend's mom gave her the gift of making the most out of the situation. And I hope you try this recipe.

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  6. I'm Miss Considerate mixed with a bit of you. I jam to my music, and have my sanitizer ready. This recipe is yum to the my!!!!

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    Replies
    1. I think that's a great combination. Oh, and try the recipe, bet Gigi likes it!

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