Photos are Back; Next Steps

I am slowly working my way through my list for insurance -- every day I remember another treasured piece of jewelry that I will never see again. Even some of the smallest, least expensive pairs of earrings I had will be sorely missed. As I expand my list, I realize that most of my jewelry pieces were gifts. With fond memories attached. Of visiting friends in Japan. Of farewell parties and small packages opened at the airport.



I have decided, as VegetableJ so wisely suggested, to focus on going home first, finding a job later. I'm going to book a flight to Ohio and stay at the old homestead until I can get my bearings again and/or find a job. This has all upset me much more than I thought it would. Though I am dealing with the theft and the resulting sense insecurity, all the fallout from it (losing my computer, harddrives and all their data; trying to fill out insurance forms; trying to sell much of our stuff prior to the move which has now been brought forward by about two months and is imminent; etc.) has added stress to my plate that I'm honestly not handling all that well. I can't say I've ever felt this ungrounded in my life.

On the good news front, I am plunging forward with organizing some of my trip photos -- so here's the first one from Cape Town -- the lovely Villa Belmonte where we stayed on night prior to the rest of our tour group's arrival. It was gorgeous and I wish I could transport myself right back to their open-air veranda for breakfast!

Would you believe....

Thank you dear readers who have sent your sympathies! You've put smiles on my face -- no easy task these days!

Well, things just go from bad to worse.

For example, the local police had put a note in our mailbox while we were on vacation, stating (in Hebrew, of course) that they stopped by and we weren't home, but we could call them with any questions. My Hebrew teacher encouraged me to do so, and so that is what I did yesterday. Well, "Roni" of the local police said that if there was anything they could do, to let them know. And I wasn't quite sure what the police would be willing to do -- for example, would they increase patrols on my street? Or keep an eye out for my car? Or maybe add some lights to the alley behind our house? I didn't know, so I asked. And do you know what he said? He said that if I needed to BUY some INSURANCE, that he could help me.

Yeah.

Can you say "Corruption"?

Absolutely appalling.

Israelis out there -- you need to start speaking out about this if you care about the future of your country. Not only are the police horribly corrupt, but theft is incredibly rampant. Pretty soon, people are going to have to put up electrified and/or barbed wire fences.

AND, yesterday (just before calling the helpful policeman), I spotted a man standing on a dumpster in the alley behind our house. He had a camera pointed toward our basement patio doors. Hmmmm... When he saw that I spotted him (he was literally only 7 feet away from me even though I was in the middle of our kitchen and he was outside our yard wall), he brushed me off with a hand motion, but I raced out the back and confronted him. He claimed to be taking pics of "the roof next door." Ahyuh. And that's why he was standing on a dumpster with his camera pointed at our patio doors? I raced back into the house and got my camera, but he had split by the time I got outside.

Needless to say, I am now completely terrified that they are coming back for what they didn't get the first time.

Anyway friends, sorry for the dearth of pictures lately. I've taken my camera equipment to a "safehouse." Sad:-( But, I am feverishly applying for jobs in small, quiet towns back in the US, so wish me luck that I can move to a kinder, gentler place very soon!

Open Letter to the Nasty Person Who Took Our Stuff

This is to the person who broke into our house while we were on vacation and took "all the important stuff" (as a former fellow burglary victim put it).

What exactly are you going to do with my 4-year-old Japanese hard drive that requires a transformer (which I noticed you took) and plug adaptor? It's only 100GB -- completely obsolete by today's standards. Why bother? You've managed to take all my photos, my iTunes, and other things too large to back up on discs. I hope you're happy.

And how much money are you going to get for my 2-year-old laptop? A hundred dollars maybe? Is that really worth the time it will take to clean the drive and the gazillion programs I had installed?

You can have my brand new 250GB hard drive, but could you at least transfer the vacation photos on it to a DVD and drop it in the mailbox?

I'd like you to know that the ribbon was out in my fax machine. Good luck finding a new one.

As for my jewelry, including the custom-designed necklace with diamonds from my parents' wedding rings, I hope karma comes back to haunt you. Those can't be replaced. I also can't replace the jewelry Sweetie gave me because the series is discontinued. So, instead, I'll be treasuring the memory of my joyful reaction when I opened the boxes of the diamond necklace and later, earrings, that he gave me.

Regarding the other diamond jewelry you stole, you can have it. It was from an ex-boyfriend, so enjoy.

As for the car, in case you care (which I know you don't), it was NOT insured for theft (unbeknownst to me), so we just lost that money, and contrary to what you might think, money does not grow on trees for us. I will be walking to the grocery store for the hot summer months to come. And when I move back to the US, I'll be riding a bicycle. Thanks for keeping me fit.

As for Sweetie's cufflinks, tie tacks, and watches: low blow. As for ALL my costume jewlery (except for one pair of earrings and some tarnished silver bracelets), another low blow. As for all the change Sweetie had in his car and desk drawer, LAME. And that half-empty bottle of Chanel perfume, who do you think is going to buy that???

[Side note to the Israeli government: I am completely appalled that you are now going to charge us HALF the value of our stolen car in taxes simply because it was stolen and is no longer in our possession!!!!!!!! So, a citizen of YOUR nation steals MY car, and I have to PAY YOU for it???????!!!!!!!!! How is that acceptable in any version of reality?]

Still Around -- sort of

Hello to my wonderful blog readers.  Just a quick note to let you know that I have not been sucked into a black hole. I hope to resume my blog asap, but unfortunately, someone decided to come into my house last week and take all my valuable stuff, including my laptop.  It's very sad, but at least Sweetie and I are okay and we still have each other.  

Please do subscribe to the RSS of my blog.  That way, you'll be notified when I'm back up and running.