Things have a way of happening. As my acupuncturist has said, "It seems to me, you are always having an adventure!" That could be partially my fault. I do have the tendency to approach life in a haphazard sort of way. Sometimes, however, it really just is that these things just have a way of stalking me. Fortunately, while my stories tend to entail extremes, so far, they have also always included survival, and they usually include a dash of irony.
Monday night, for example, the street light under which I had parked my car went out. This was only a small occurrence, until an opportunistic person happened by my car sitting in the dark corner of a parking lot, in a secluded area. This person broke into my car by smashing my rear, driver's side window.
Let me explain something: I drive a 1997 Ford escort. I believe it was a company car before I had it, because it has the bare minimum appliances. It has an FM radio... and you cannot even remove the FM radio to upgrade it to something with a CD player (or a cassette player, please?). If the manual says "item optional" we can safely assume that my car does not have it. My car also has a dent in the rear of the trunk, and a scuff on the side. The fabric ceiling is slowly sagging towards the seats. It is filthy. No one in their right mind would look at my car and think: Wow, I could really make bank by breaking into that!
Guess what this opportunistic person stole. He left the DC Talk, Chris Rice, KJ-52, Chris Tomlin CDs on the floor. He left to gym towel and the Apples-to-Apples. He even left the blue-tooth ear piece, and the emergency $20. Yes, that was really everything that was of any value in my car. This panicked person rummaged my glove box, stole the change from my ash tray, and my unfinished sewing project. Let me just say this, I'm a little ticked about the sewing project. It was a project I had created without a pattern, and it had taken me about 7 hours to get where I was with it. It was about 2 hours from being finished, and it was going to be featured on this blog, eventually. As sad as I am about having to start from scratch with that project, I have to laugh when I think about the person making a mad dash away from my car, finally stopping to inspect the pile of fabric which I can only assume he expected to be a purse, and realizing that not only is there nothing in it, it doesn't even have finished seams or a zipper yet.
So, my friends and I went to In N Out, where I had my favorite In N Out meal, with a root beer float. Merida graciously allowed me to sleep on her floor that evening (I was not in town), and Rachel took me to buy a temporary window repair kit (AKA a plastic bag and duct tape). I had to retape it 5 minutes into my drive home, because the plastic ripped out and it started to rain, which resulted in me using the entire roll of duct tape to repair the plastic. After the plastic was repaired, it stopped raining. The 107 mile drive home was really long this time! Did you know that the English word for "window" came from the contraction of the words "wind hole." As it turns out, without the glass, a window really does become a wind hole.
I am glad to say that the window is now repaired, just before the storm clouds began creeping into Bakersfield. Hurrah for not being rained on! Hurrah for not having to listen to the raging plastic as I drive! Hurrah for quick repairs and new windows.
So, this could have been far worse. I am thankful that nothing of great value was taken, and that they did not slash my seats after realizing there was nothing of value in it. I am thankful that I am in a position to fix the window without calculating which meals to miss next month. Sometimes things happen. I am glad they happened in a way that didn't hurt too badly.
Dear opportunistic, over-zealous craft thief:
I hope you enjoy the $1.50 you found in the ash tray. Please know that it cost me $135 to replace the window... next time, please just ask, and I'll take you to lunch at a nearby food place, which will cost way more than $1.50. I do think, however, that it was a little spiteful to keep the unfinished project rather than throwing it in the nearby bushes where I could have recovered it. If you need help finishing it, make sure you sew the zipper in between the shell and the lining, sewing all 3 layers at once, so it will be pretty inside and out, and choose a durable strap material so that purse snatchers will have a more difficult time taking it from you. Also, I forgot to sew the outer pocket closed...have fun with that, you'll need to hand stitch it.
Happy Easter, craft snatcher. I hope you can find a more legal and beneficial way to solve your financial problems. Jesus loves you.
Sincerely,
The girl with a new window, and a trip to the fabric store on the to-do list again.
Monday night, for example, the street light under which I had parked my car went out. This was only a small occurrence, until an opportunistic person happened by my car sitting in the dark corner of a parking lot, in a secluded area. This person broke into my car by smashing my rear, driver's side window.
Let me explain something: I drive a 1997 Ford escort. I believe it was a company car before I had it, because it has the bare minimum appliances. It has an FM radio... and you cannot even remove the FM radio to upgrade it to something with a CD player (or a cassette player, please?). If the manual says "item optional" we can safely assume that my car does not have it. My car also has a dent in the rear of the trunk, and a scuff on the side. The fabric ceiling is slowly sagging towards the seats. It is filthy. No one in their right mind would look at my car and think: Wow, I could really make bank by breaking into that!
Guess what this opportunistic person stole. He left the DC Talk, Chris Rice, KJ-52, Chris Tomlin CDs on the floor. He left to gym towel and the Apples-to-Apples. He even left the blue-tooth ear piece, and the emergency $20. Yes, that was really everything that was of any value in my car. This panicked person rummaged my glove box, stole the change from my ash tray, and my unfinished sewing project. Let me just say this, I'm a little ticked about the sewing project. It was a project I had created without a pattern, and it had taken me about 7 hours to get where I was with it. It was about 2 hours from being finished, and it was going to be featured on this blog, eventually. As sad as I am about having to start from scratch with that project, I have to laugh when I think about the person making a mad dash away from my car, finally stopping to inspect the pile of fabric which I can only assume he expected to be a purse, and realizing that not only is there nothing in it, it doesn't even have finished seams or a zipper yet.
So, my friends and I went to In N Out, where I had my favorite In N Out meal, with a root beer float. Merida graciously allowed me to sleep on her floor that evening (I was not in town), and Rachel took me to buy a temporary window repair kit (AKA a plastic bag and duct tape). I had to retape it 5 minutes into my drive home, because the plastic ripped out and it started to rain, which resulted in me using the entire roll of duct tape to repair the plastic. After the plastic was repaired, it stopped raining. The 107 mile drive home was really long this time! Did you know that the English word for "window" came from the contraction of the words "wind hole." As it turns out, without the glass, a window really does become a wind hole.
I am glad to say that the window is now repaired, just before the storm clouds began creeping into Bakersfield. Hurrah for not being rained on! Hurrah for not having to listen to the raging plastic as I drive! Hurrah for quick repairs and new windows.
So, this could have been far worse. I am thankful that nothing of great value was taken, and that they did not slash my seats after realizing there was nothing of value in it. I am thankful that I am in a position to fix the window without calculating which meals to miss next month. Sometimes things happen. I am glad they happened in a way that didn't hurt too badly.
Dear opportunistic, over-zealous craft thief:
I hope you enjoy the $1.50 you found in the ash tray. Please know that it cost me $135 to replace the window... next time, please just ask, and I'll take you to lunch at a nearby food place, which will cost way more than $1.50. I do think, however, that it was a little spiteful to keep the unfinished project rather than throwing it in the nearby bushes where I could have recovered it. If you need help finishing it, make sure you sew the zipper in between the shell and the lining, sewing all 3 layers at once, so it will be pretty inside and out, and choose a durable strap material so that purse snatchers will have a more difficult time taking it from you. Also, I forgot to sew the outer pocket closed...have fun with that, you'll need to hand stitch it.
Happy Easter, craft snatcher. I hope you can find a more legal and beneficial way to solve your financial problems. Jesus loves you.
Sincerely,
The girl with a new window, and a trip to the fabric store on the to-do list again.
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