I had heard of the problem oldies
have with memory loss but I never thought I would suffer a memory breakdown.
But now I have. It was embarrassing for me and for my step-daughter. Oh, if
only I could go back and put things right.
We were out for lunch, something
we do when she comes to see me. This time I had insisted on paying and
attempted to pay with my card. It was fine until the guy at the till asked for
my pin number.
What pin number?
I don’t have a pin number!
The more they explained the worse
it got. I racked what’s left of my brains but could not come up with a number.
It is about three or four months since I last used the card so there was
nothing useful coming into my head. I couldn’t remember actually having a
number.
I cringed at the sight of several
pairs of eyes on me but fortunately my step-daughter had her card and so saved
the day.
But not me. Nothing was likely to
save my embarrassment.
If this is my fate for the future,
I do NOT relish it one little bit.
However, after consultation with
the bank I have been reminded, by post, of the number … one that has been
lurking in my mind for the past few days. It pleases me to say that I hadn’t
forgotten it, just mislaid it somewhere in the old memory box.
I have a feeling that number is
going to stick in my mind forever more, along with the memory loss.
You have my sympathy. It is awful when these things happen, I know.
ReplyDeleteA few months ago I went to pay for my groceries and there was a hole in my brain where my pin number should have been, it just wouldn't come to me at all. Blushing (still one of the banes of my life) furiously, I managed to rake together the cash. As I walked away, the number came popping back into my head - I swear that an evil little filing clerk in my brain was chortling in the background. We must hope that these are blips, rather than portents.
Hello Elaine and welcome. My number is so familiar I keep repeating it to myself. It pops into my sad brain when I'm doing things I don't need a card for. I am glad I blogged the experience because now I know I am not alone.
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DeleteIt's scary when we do things like that but with so many numbers and passwords to remember it's inevitable it's going to happen. I use my credit card so much and on a daily basis but I still have to remind myself every so often. Then there's the number code to get into the nursing home to see my mother ...
ReplyDeleteIt is a huge relief to know it happens to others and not just me. I have been busy devising a foolproof plan on how to avoid the situation again, that is if I can remember it.
DeleteI rarely use a pin because it's so common to tap so I have been declined too!
ReplyDeleteI use the card rather than carry a lot of cash around. And writing cheques is so time consuming.
DeleteHappens to me all the time - so don't worry about it. Have mine written down (somewhere) so have to dig them up when needed.
ReplyDeleteI suppose the first time is the worst.... embarrassment is what got me down more than anything.
DeleteThere are so many pin numbers and passwords in this world today that if you do not use them everyday it is understandable to not remember. I have trouble with words and names, they come to me, but they come in slo-motion.
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DeleteI reckon my number would have come on its own if I hadn't been surrounded by people. I felt under such pressure.
This is a regular credit card? Like Master Card, or etc.?
ReplyDeleteI have a Master Card and the PIN number is right on the back of it.
From what I looked up.... In Europe, you still need to know your PIN number. But not here. Thankfully!!!! :-)
Because, my memory is like a sieve. :-)))))
And being stared at, only makes everyone's memory abilities, worse!!!! No doubt about it!!!!
So do not feel awful!!! When we are older, we have the Right to be unsure at times!!! All those people, who "stare" now, will eventually have the same issues. IF they are lucky enough, to live long enough.
So there!!!!!! :-)
Hugs...
Valerie, I know EXACTLY how you feel because not only with cards, but many of the online services we offer here in the US, require you to create a PIN to access your account. I've forgotten MANY times, so now I write all the various PIN's I use for all the various accounts I have, in a book.
ReplyDeleteI very rarely pay with cash when I purchase things, but rather use my DEBIT card using a PIN. Now that PIN I remember because I used my debt card several times a day.
And I know this is wrong, but I have a tendency to use the same PIN (with just a slight alteration) for most of my accounts, just so that it's easier. And yet, I STILL forget.
Have a faaaaaabulous Sunday, my friend!
Ron, don't you wish the old days were back when pin numbers were unheard of? Actually, I use a number I always remember... did I say always? So what happened to my brain, I wonder!
DeleteI agree about the pressure. You would have known it if no one had asked you! I forgot mine while using the gas pump the other day. I know it when I go shopping b/c that's where I use it the most. It took me 5 tries to get it right!
ReplyDeleteOh it is such a relief to know that I am not alone in this. I think I would have been okay if not surrounded by lots of people.
DeleteI have a theory about memory, which is that our brains just get filled up. If you don't need something, you don't remember it. I was reading through my old diaries from 20 years ago and I couldn't even remember who some of the people were that I was clearly spending a lot of time with. To my relief my youngest daughter has also had this experience so it is not just old age!
ReplyDeleteWhat a relief to know it happens to others. Your daughter probably had her mind filled with lots of important things. I wish I could say the same!!
DeleteSorry to read this. I think you will not be alone in years to come. The current generation (including mine) use "swipe" the whole time. I make sure I still key in my pin number as I don't want to forget it and I know I probably would. :-)
ReplyDeleteGreetings from London.
Forewarned is forearmed, they say. I say, 'for how many years'! I have made so many promises to myself always to know where the number is - and failed.
DeleteI can so relate to this Valerie. Moments like these are embarrassing to us but if others are impatient then that's their problem. They will be where we are in a few years from now :)
ReplyDeleteDenise, I hadn't thought of it that way. Normally it wouldn't bother me but this time there were just too many standing around watching my performance. In my right mind I might have charged them for the entertainment.
DeleteNow that last sentence made me smile, I will keep that one for myself for next time if you don't mind :)
DeleteValerie, I do know how you must have felt over not remembering a pin no. It's easy to be confused with security experts advising that people use a different pin number or password for multiple accounts. I do that, but in the case of a password try to select something relevant to the site. As for a pin, which is often only 4 digits I try to think of a former house, phone or other number and then alter slightly. ay not be the best method, but it works and so does writing them down!
ReplyDeleteHi Beatrice. I use birthdays to create my pin numbers. I am down to one now, though, which should be easier to remember, but wasn't. I never used my own birth date, though.
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