Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Burgled

Yesterday I got home around 2:45pm and found the side door (which we all use as the primary door) open, but the screen closed. Darlene's car wasn't there, but I figured Dan might have gotten home early and parked in the garage. I'm usually the first one home, but it's not unheard of for someone else to beat me there. I went in and didn't hear anyone, and saw that the recycling had been dumped onto the floor. That was weird, but explainable. Maybe Darlene or Dan came home and needed the bin for something. Maybe the cat was trying to climb on it and tipped everything onto the floor. I was thinking back to if the kids had come with us in the morning or left after us with their grandma, since the kids frequently raid the recycling bin and leave a big mess.

I put my hat on the kitchen table and turned around, and saw that the living room television was askew. That was all kinds of not right. Everything felt very wrong so I went back outside to check for family vehicles, getting David on the phone in the meantime in case he knew something I didn't. The garage door had been kicked or pried open and the tool bench had clearly been searched.

The cat was sitting at the screen door meowing at me rather than off hiding somewhere, so I was pretty sure that there was no one in the house. I wasn't sure enough to actually go in again, just in case. David sent me across the street to the convenience store so I'd be in a safe public place but still able to watch the house and he headed home. Police were called, house searched, statements made, forensics requested, inventories made, insurance company called, etc. A forensic officer made it to the house around 7:15 and dusted a couple likely places for fingerprints, but she didn't get anything usable. Everything was too smudgy.

The thieves had dumped the recycling to use the bin for their upstairs loot, and the laundry from the hamper downstairs for the stuff there. We lost the two Playstation 3 consoles we just got at Christmas (and the rental DVDs that were inside them), the Playstation Portable and three games that were in its case, my Xbox video game console (with all of my saved games on the hard drive and my favorite game disc still in it!), two digital cameras, David's very expensive tricked out Dell laptop, and my iBook. We have receipts and paperwork for nearly everything and insurance should cover it. Most concerning is that they stole a firearm lockbox that had a (legal and registered) handgun in it. The police have all of the information and it's now reported as stolen. What's weird is what wasn't taken. There was stuff a lot smaller that was cumulatively worth a lot more than what they did take.

What's most frightening for me is how easily it could have started as a B&E/theft and then become a home invasion. There are some days when I'm home unusually early depending on how things are at the office. I'm sure it was a crime of opportunity rather than something planned; for the last month and a half, David has been at home during the day and working evenings. Yesterday was his first day on a day shift. Anyone watching the house would have known that we all typically come and go a lot with erratic schedules.

Very scary. I didn't sleep well at all last night.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Lost and Found, Break and Enter

Found my keys today. They were in a place I'd already looked twice. This, of course, two hours after I'd given up and had new keys cut.

It was also after our house was broken into and robbed. Mostly electronics missing. My laptop with all of my backed up photos, gone. The Xbox with my saved games and disc of my current favorite game, gone. Both PS3s and the PSP also gone. Peace of mind in my own home, gone. Statements have been given and inventory lists made, prints have been dusted for to no avail.

I'm really relieved that it was just a B&E/theft and not a home invasion, and also that my missing keys had nothing to do with it.

Happy Mother's Day...

...to me? I was surprised yesterday with breakfast in bed, presents, and a homemade card. It was very sweet. Just between you and me, I got a little choked up when I read what David wrote in the card. I won't repeat it here because it's bad for his image, but it was very sweet.

The morning didn't go quite as planned since the kids ended up not going to their mom's in the morning. Instead I went along while David's dad took him to various stores instructing him on the finer points of car stereos (I could be wrong, but I think the lesson was expensive = better). At the second store I waited in the car and read my book.

After all that, I went shopping...with a girlfriend! I usually shop alone and go to the same stores where the staff members act as personal shoppers and give me stuff to try on. Yesterday, Steph and I hit the stores at City Centre mall and it was a really good time. Spent a bunch of money, got some cute tops and a new pleather jacket, and best of all I got a cute hat that actually fits me!

Still dum

At some point on Saturday late afternoon or evening, I lost my keys. All of them. Every key I own. I can get copies of the regular keys made from David's, but I was worried about my office key. It's a secure key that's protected by federal law from unauthorized copying. That meant if the the library didn't have a spare copy I could have, I'd probably have to pay a fee for them to have a new copy issued.

Turns out it was no trouble at all to get a new one. I went to the appropriate office, explained, and she went to the cupboard for a new key and made a note of it. Fortunately, there is nothing identifying about the keys so there are no worries about office security. Each key is numbered to the client (the library in this case) with the phone number of the locksmith on them. If my keys are found and a good samaritan calls in, the locksmith will be able to find out who the key belongs to and get it back to the library.

I really have no idea where I might have lost my keys. I can't find them at home or in the car, I called all of the places I might have left them and visited two of them in person, and I'm even positive that they're not in the abyss of random junk that I call a purse. Sigh.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

An inane post for Joey

I bought two new trench coats today. I've wanted one of these for a long time and I found some on sale at Smart Set. One is a cream double-breasted trench that falls to mid-thigh and has a yellow floral lining. The other is a belted black/grey/white plaid-esque print that's just a bit shorter than the other. They'll be nice for rainy season.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Jenn vs. Kevin

Germoid: 4530
J3nny B3nny: 3970

It may not seem like I'm catching up, but I was nearly 800 points down yesterday afternoon. We had Joey and Sheri over to play Monopoly last night and I got a 200 point boost.

Bad Start

I got up and was ready in time to catch the 7:10 bus to Belvedere station, except that a pedestrian had the nerve to get the light to change just in time for the bus, which meant that the bus was exactly on time rather than giving me the usual thirty second window while it waited for the light to change. I ended up on the 7:23 bus.

I got to Belvedere and had just missed the southbound train (train #1). I know from experience that the very next southbound train (train #2) is always ridiculously crowded, which means I usually wait for the one after that (train #3). Instead of waiting at the platform for train #3 to go to Clareview and then head south, I got on train #3 while it was still northbound to Clareview with plenty of seats available. Had I waited at the platform I would have been standing for the entire trip.

The ride was uneventful until just after pulling out of Coliseum station. The train stopped, half in and half out of the platform area. The operator came on the PA system and let us know that the train in front of us (train #2, which I could have taken but didn't) was stopped for a medical emergency and awaiting emergency response teams, so we would be stuck there until that could be taken care of and train #2 could proceed. We were stuck there for ten minutes. Ten minutes isn't usually a very long time, but when trapped on an immobile train with a crowd of people who are annoyed and anxious, I find that ten minutes lasts approximately an hour and a half. I was very happy that I was able to read my book while sitting during all of this.

The train was even more crowded after Stadium since the trains were all running ten minutes late now. However, in my cleverness over getting a seat, I also had the foresight to pick a seat right next to the door so I could exit relatively easily at Churchill. Phew. Finally made it to work.

I went through the pedways to the building's basement elevator, which has to be used when coming in before 9:00. The security guard told me I had to take the freight elevator because the main elevators were down. Stairs aren't an option because the stairwells only exit on the main and basement levels (so you can take the stairs down to main from any floor, but you can't take them up). The freight elevator is slow, and pretty small for a freight elevator, so people had to wait for the car to come back several times.

The universe thinks I should have stayed home. I wish I'd listened.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

D-U-M

I got on the wrong train home. I don't know why. I was thinking about other stuff and listening to music, and while on autopilot I got on the southbound train. I could have gotten off at the next stop and waited for the northbound train, but I was already going to miss the 2:52 bus so I figured I might as well ride to the end and see the new stations instead of waiting at the transit centre for the next bus.

I sure wish that McKernan-Belgravia station had been there when I lived in Queen Alex.

Shoes, glorious shoes

I had to kill some time yesterday while waiting for David. My intention was go to to the library and read my book, but I decided to pop into a shoe store along the way. I fell in love with a pair of heels. They're cream faux leather, and the tip of the toe and heel shaft are shiny black faux patent leather. There's also a little shiny black bow, which I'd really love to be able to hate but instead there's just love.

I swear, when I tried them on in the store, despite what size they were labeled, they felt like just the right size. I walked around for five minutes and they were fine. I didn't try a half size down just in case like I normally would because they didn't have a half size down. But they were comfortable and fit just right. They didn't pinch, slide, or rub badly. I wore them around the house a little last night and they were still just fine.

Somehow, overnight, my feet either shrunk half a size or the shoes grew half a size, because now the shoes are too big. I discovered this on the way to work, when my heels kept slipping out of the shoes. I don't know if I can exchange them now that they've been worn outside (I have backup shoes at work, so I can avoid any further signs of wear), and I don't know if I'll be able to find the right size anyhow. I typically have the opposite problem, with shoes being about a quarter size too small, so I'm not sure what, if anything, can be done.

I already have some Dr Scholl's comfort insoles for high heels in them. Would a thicker insole help? Is there something comfortable I can stuff the toe with? Should I just scrub the soles clean and return them?

Friday, May 1, 2009

LoveHate

Finally, for the first time in my life, I tried a corndog. I don't know why. I was at 7-11 and I was hungry and depressed, so I was going to get a hot dog, and on a whim I went with a corndog. I had a bite. Then I put some mustard on it and had another two bites. Then I offered the rest to Brody.

Sometimes, there is a razor-thin line between delicious and disgusting. Corndogs are balanced precariously right on that line and I don't know on which side they'll fall for me.