It happened to me. I never remember saying it wouldn't, but it did. Last Friday night / Saturday morning, some thief found our van unlocked with a couple of cell phones in it. To make it worse, they took a sweatshirt from the van and used that to muffle the sound of them breaking the back window of my truck and stealing my laptop bag. I've carried a laptop to and from work for years now and probably could count the number of times I've left that bag in my car overnight on my two hands.
We were visiting my mother-in-laws house and helping to fix it up to get ready for selling it. I decided it would be "better-off" in a spur of the moment decision when I pulled up, left it and locked my truck. After all it was in the drive, in a safe neighborhood.
So in the end, what would have been a couple extra minutes (if not seconds) and a bad choice, is costing me dearly. The time to report, clean up, repair, the damage to my truck. Oh did I mention my checkbook and passport was in that bag, ouch! The time to get a new laptop, and recover some of the data and get my work life back in order. I mean who really backs up their laptop every week, month? Not me. Will I now? Maybe...I'm still thinking about it. Time spent checking my bank account, filing for a new passport (reporting the lost one). I've spent a lot of hours "cleaning up".
Then there is the emotional side of this... I'm just plain pissed off.
I'm mad at the crack head that stole my stuff and now is still stealing my time. I'm mad at myself for not taking my own advice and following my own routine (to bring my stuff in the house and lock my truck and my wife's van) each night.
If you think it can't happen to you... your wrong and hopefully you'll realize it before you have to experience what I am now. I don't wish this on anyone, except for maybe the crack head that did it to me... I'm human, wanting a little revenge is normal.
-Will
