No, that is not just to draw people in, I actually had my house burgled. It makes me want to barf. But here is the story and my rant.
On Friday, I left my house like normal. But because it was such a lovely day and I love to have airflow through my house, I left my kitchen window and my bedroom window that faces my backyard open. I co-led a field trip that went over, and I had a strong draw to go home for lunch, but when a coworker suggested I go to lunch with her, I agreed and didn't go home. Well the draw to go home got stronger and stronger, and the pain in my back got more and more intense (probably feeding the draw of my house). So at 2:35, I left work and headed home.
I called my dad on my way home, to check in. So I was still talking to him when I got home, I noticed that my gate wasn't latched, but that is happened before, so I just got upset at myself and made a mental note to be more diligent in checking that before I leave in the morning. (I have to go through my gate every day, because my person door in my garage is broken.) I also, had to call Nova a couple times before she came out from under the porch, but I figured she had just been sleeping. Then my backdoor was weird to unlock, but whatever, no biggie. Next I noticed the vest that had been thrown on my "Do Not Sit. Broken" chair was on the floor, so I figured that was PotPie. Then I noticed my storage closet was open, and I honestly thought to myself, "How did Pie get that open?" I then proceeded to my bedroom, saw Pie chilling on the bed and then saw that my drawers had been emptied onto my floor and my closet had been trashed as well (though they did leave most of my sweaters on the shelves). At that point, I told my dad I needed to call the cops since my house had been broken into. As I was dialing dispatch I ended up sinking to my kitchen floor crying. Dispatch didn't answer, (which made me cry more), so I called 911. They asked me for my address, but before I could tell them that, I had to explain it wasn't really an emergency, but I couldn't get dispatch the other way. The operator didn't really care...So then he transferred me to dispatch and I got the same message as before, which I heard the first time as we aren't here, but really it was like "stay on the line and we will answer", whoops. Dispatch was also very insistent if my house hadn't been checked I should go outside, but I told her I would just check then, which I did. And it was empty. Then she told me I needed to start making a list of things that were gone, without touching anything....um okay? How do I get a pen if I can't touch anything????
When the cop showed up, he checked my house again with his gun drawn, which freaked me out more. I believe the whole time I was explaining to him, while bawling, that I had already checked and that if someone was there, I would have known instantly. He then took my statement while we waited for CSI. Now, CSI is kind of like TV, except it was just one person in a van. She was very nice and took pictures and prints. Though she did say that she got a latex glove print, so the miscreants were wearing gloves, awesome.
My statement involved a LOT of tears, like every time I realized another thing was gone. My biggest breakdown came when I saw that my giant red piggy bank from Mexico was gone. Luckily, I realized that while the cop was outside. But he was SO concerned with my electronics, which I guess are the easiest to track due to serial numbers. I, however, could get a flying flip about my electronics. Though I really want my freaking data I had on my laptop. I had every school paper on there, which I will miss. I had photos that had not been backed up or printed. Most of all, I had the spreadsheet I used to track my gas mileage on there. I had been keeping track since February 2005 of my miles driven, gallons bought, price, location and mileage for my car. I had a TON of data!!!! It made me cry yesterday when I saw the receipts that I had not entered into my spreadsheet, because it makes me so sad I lost that information. And I want to kick myself, that when I thought about backing up my laptop last weekend, I put it off until this weekend :( My laptop also had a TON of personal data, like tax returns (which I can get from Turbo tax again), my mortgage applications, saved passwords, basically stuff you have on a personal laptop. Oh, also, on my DSi, I only had 4 Sudoku left to finish!!! BASTARDS!!!!!
But the stuff I will miss the most is the stuff that can't be replaced. My necklace made with diamonds from Grandma, the bracelets that had been made for me by Bonnie and Zoe, my piggy banks (I am missing 4), my one of a kind earrings, and then all my data. Overall, I think I lost about $4000 worth of items, but that is just a guess. I am still working on my list. It makes me sick to work on it, so I think it is going to be a long process... But not too long since I will have to give it to the detective assigned to my case and my insurance company. And an added layer of fun is that I have to do it on my work computer, because I no longer have a computer at home. Awesome.
If the thieves are reading this, I want the stuff you are just going to throw away back!! Just put it on my porch. You obviously know my schedule, you know when you can do this without getting caught!!
And for my friends. If you have any pictures of me wearing jewelry/watches, please send them to me. I need proof for my insurance company. Even if it is from YEARS ago, I need pictures.
So much for "Come What May, September"!! That backfired BIG TIME!! So here is to "Screw You, October" - Okay not really, I am not that negative of a person. Though I have yelled extra at people today that only deserved a little bit of yelling....
