Vacation Cut Short

[Veronica]

Wednesday night we got a call from the security company. The alarm in the garage had gone off. The b'a'stards had broken in through the side garage door. Apparently the ladder and other things stored agaionst it slowed them down a bit and it doesn't look like they made it into the house.

Nonetheless we knew we would not relax on the rest of the vacation. So we arranged the earliest flight back we could. The worst flight I have ever been on. I'll spare you the details, but it pretty much sucked.

I no longer believe in karma. I can not imagine what awful thing we have done to deserve the recent round of crud in our lives. I will continue to do the right thing because it's the right thing. And I'll try to accept sh'i't happens.

V.

[jobob]

{{{ V }}}} :(

[aka_kim]

So sorry, V. That sucks.

[mimitabby]

V, glad they didn't make it into the house. sorry it ruined your vacation.
what a bummer!

[Brandi]

Mannnnn... I am so sorry too!

[Offthegrid]

That's awful. So glad they didn't get into the house.

[Triskeliongirl]

Wow, twice in one month. So sooory for you guys, and sorry that it ruined your vacation. Maybe you need a dog, and/or house sitters next time you go away.

[Tri Girl]

Oh V, I'm so sorry! Sorry you were broken into (twice now), sorry you had to cut your vacation short, sorry thugs are stealing your sense of security. Let's hope karma doesn't leave them alone, and that the next house they hit has a big, mean, angry pitbull inside...
I wish there was something I could do to make things better! :(

[SadieKate]

Oh, man.

I can't remember the exact phrase but my highschool teacher father designed "coaching" jackets for the English Department staff one year. Created quite the ruckus in the 70's. Anway, keep it in mind.

"illegitimi non carborundum"

[maillotpois]

oh my god v that is just terrible. I am SO sorry!

[Veronica]

Evidence suggests same group for both hits and very local.

Things I've learned...

Don't stay logged in to any place you shop on your laptop.

Make backups regularly and often to things you care about on your computer. I'm more ticked off about all my work and my bike data missing than the stuff.

Locks only keep honest people honest. A pretty sturdy lock with reinforced plate can be pried open in three minutes.

Your door is only as strong as your casing.

Alarms do have some value.

Spend your money on things that can't be stolen. More travel, less stuff.

Don't get too attached to your stuff. I was brought to tears when I realized days after the first burglary that they had taken my Camelbak. I replaced it with the same version, but it doesn't have Oregon and Utah dirt on it. YET! :p

I'll probably think of more. But hey, maybe this will save one of you some grief later.

V.

[chickwhorips]

v sorry it happened to you. living out here i forgit about break-ins like that. big hugs to you.

[cosc]

So sorry! That has to be the bottom of the pit. I hope you can gain some sense of security back, but as you said we need to put less stock in material things. Easier said than done though.

[bikerchick68]

OMG! :mad: You must be beyond angry. I have been burglarized twice and both times I was just absolutely furious. How dare someone break in and take your stuff? How dare they enter your space, invade your privacy and even TOUCH anything you work so hard for!!! AAAAARGH! I hope they catch them. And I hope when they do that these punk-a$$ thugs get more than just a slap on the wrist for it.

Dang, I'm so sorry... I'm mad for you.

[suzieqtwa]

I'm so sorry..........do you wonder if maybe you know these people. They knew when you weren't home the first time ,and now they tried when you were on vacation. Did you have some work done in or around your home in the past year????? ((((((((((((((((((((((((V)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) Im glad they didnt make it in this time.
Suzie

[IFjane]

Veronica - I am so sorry! And to have your vacation cut short, too. What a bummer. I live way out in the country in what has always been a very safe, quiet neighborhood. One of the few where no one locks their doors - except that a week ago a neighbor got broken into & lots of stuff stolen. So now even we are not immune & everyone is locking doors. As you said, locks are only so good so I don't know if there is much point...:(

[Triskeliongirl]

I'm so sorry..........do you wonder if maybe you know these people. They knew when you weren't home the first time ,and now they tried when you were on vacation. Did you have some work done in or around your home in the past year????? ((((((((((((((((((((((((V)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) Im glad they didnt make it in this time.
Suzie

Maybe they found the airline ticket receipts on the computer. I hope you have dealt with the identity theft issues. I think I grieved more over my stolen bike than the death of a pet. That is also when I learned how easy it is to break most locks we regularly secure our bikes with. I still think having a dog is not a bad idea as a deterrent, and I like Vs idea of simplifying our lives in terms of stuff. No one can take away our experiences.

[snapdragen]

Dang V, that does suck. I've heard it's common for them to return at a later date - to steal the stuff you had to buy to replace the first round of stolen stuff. We had a series of break-ins in my neighborhood a few years back; they finally did catch the guys - so here's hoping they get your guys too.

I'm so sorry you had to cut your vacation short. :(

[SadieKate]

When our house was broken into, they broke two doors and the frames to get into the garage. They then drove a vehicle in and closed the door and leisurely went shopping, beer from our fridge in hand. When they left, they closed the garage door.

Without being able to close and lock doors again, we were on 24x7 watch until the repair work could be completed. The following day I received a call from a child. I could barely hear adult voices coaching in the background and he asked for William rather than Bill. Luckily, a light went on in my head. They had our mail and NO ONE calls Bill William except my dad. I wish we had had call back service in those days. I didn't even think to call the phone company because, without call back, I don't think I was aware of what the phone company could do in looking for numbers. They had obviously set up the place to come back and were just checking to see if anyone was home without making a driveby.

A few weeks afer this, someone broke into my car and stole my cell phone (back in the days of built-ins). We discovered this pretty fast and we got the numbers that were called from my phone pretty fast. This was actually rather fun. The police had a suspicion that it was a Russian-speaking gang from a nearby town and our local PD had a Russian-speaker. He called the numbers, got their identity and informed them that they could tell him who that had been speaking to a X am or be charged with accessory. He got their names really, really fast. We lucked out.

Another thing about vacations, the police told us to put external locks on everything when we leave. They said anything that makes it look like it will take an extra few seconds to get in is discouragement. We all have garage door openers now so we forget about the pin and look system that can be used on the doors. And, a housesitter doesn't solve the problem because more and more the break-ins are daytime when everyone is at work.

Veronica, the things that hurt Bill the most (and we lost a lot) were 1) the thought that they might have hit our elderly dog with a shovel (quote: "I don't need no stinking license.") and 2) the loss of his Air Force Academy class ring. It wasn't the loss of the item but all the memories it represented. It was the one thing from the Academy that he kept out.

So, hang tough. Get home. You'll start to feel better once you regain some control. Do your best not to let the thoughts and anger intrude on your subconcious. Those will last a long time. If you need help with anything, call me. I'll come down (inbetween helping MP if the tree squishes her house).

[Bikingmomof3]

((((((((((((((((((((((((((V)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

I am so very sorry! I am just now reading this. Is there anything we can do?

[KnottedYet]

((((V)))) Oh, dear, this so s*cks!

[TrekJeni]

(((((V))))))
That SUCKS, F-ING SUCKS! :eek: :eek: :eek:

Hope everything gets better for you guys. I can't believe how horrible some people can be. Never in a million years when bored as a teenager did I say, "Hey, let's break into so and so's house" and I certainly wouldn't EVER think about it as an adult! What is the world coming to? I'm hoping for some incredibly bad, terrible, awful, debilitating, messy karma for them!

Jeni

[Adventure Girl]

Another thing about vacations, the police told us to put external locks on everything when we leave. They said anything that makes it look like it will take an extra few seconds to get in is discouragement. We all have garage door openers now so we forget about the pin and look system that can be used on the doors. And, a housesitter doesn't solve the problem because more and more the break-ins are daytime when everyone is at work. Another tip is to remove the wheels from your bikes. Also, I lock bikes together. It just might only make it 5% more difficult to steal them. But that 5% might be the difference! Someone broke into my friend's garage and stole 3 bikes. They didn't take the most valuable bikes. They only took the bikes that had both wheels on them.

Man, Veronica. There's nothing else to say. Nothing like kicking someone when they're down! Just when you're starting to get back to a normal frame of mind... WHAM! I feel so badly for you!

But maybe sharing your experience with all of us will make us more aware. I had been getting rather careless and lazy about setting the alarm on my house. But you bet I set it every time now!

[Trekhawk]

Oh V that is terrible news. Sorry to hear you had to cut your holiday short as well.

Sending giant hugs your way.

[Velobambina]

V -- I'm sorry to hear about everything that happened to you. What a rotten streak of luck. Keep your chin up.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Oh, so sorry to hear about this! Some people can be so ROTTEN. :( :( :(
I hope things improve for you very very soon...

[sbctwin]

We have been on vacation this week. The night before we left, our neighbor came over and told us that he had seen someone looking in one of our front windows. It is somewhat secluded with trees. Our neighbor knew we were leaving for a week. We had our home totally ransacked twice before and broken in a third time and now have an alarm system. We notified the alarm company that we were going to be away and the fact of someone looking in one of our windows. We also called the police. The police came out right away to look around. We let them know we were going to be out of town also. We have the "Animal Nanny" coming in twice a day to take care of my diabetic kitty, so I am feeling more secure about being away for a week. I too, have learned to not value so much stuff, but it is so easy to become complacent. Because I have someone coming in everyday, I am more relaxed, but I still worry. I am more worried about Kallie being hurt by an intruder, but I know she will hide if a stranger comes in. She was around on breakin two and three. It is very stressful for our pets....

[ladyfish]

My hubby grew up in some rough neighborhoods. Sometimes I think he goes overboard with security, but I am glad he does it.

He ALWAYS turns off the garage door opener when we leave town (unplugs it from the power source). That makes it just a bit more difficult for someone to get stuff out thru the garage. Of course we have so much junk (and i do mean junk) in the garage that no one could park a car in there (goodness knows I would love to be able to do that). But it's just an extra bit of deterrant. He also has junk blocking the side door to the garage, so there's no way to go in thru that door (I'm not sure if that's planned or just junk overflow! :)

So sorry your vacation was cut short by all the troubles you've had. Keep your chin up and hang in there.

[salsabike]

Veronica, I am so sorry, again.

[ClockworkOrange]

Hi Veronica

That is so bad, it really bugs me when something like this happens, when we all work so hard for things and somebody else just comes along and thinks it's easy pickings. I like many, have gone through times of really scrimping and scraping but never would I have taken from anybody else.

Unfortunately it appears to be a worldwide problem.

I just agree with what Jeni wrote:


I'm hoping for some incredibly bad, terrible, awful, debilitating, messy karma for them!

TrekJeni

Really lousy to have your well earned holiday cut short.

I am a believer in what goes around comes around.............this or these nasty people will get their come-uppance one day!

Hugs

Sally

[Bad JuJu]

Well that just sucks, big-time. It's like adding insult to injury--doing it while you're on vacation so you have to cut your vacation short--the SOBs not only stole your stuff but also your time.

I don't believe in karma either--I think it's all just the luck of the draw. But you're right--we have to keep doing the right thing just because it's the right thing.

Sorry for your trouble and your lost vacation!:(

[LBTC]

Aw {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{V}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} I'm sorry! Some people just got no sense of nuthin. What a shame for you to have to cut vacation time short, and have to go through that all over again!

I know that, of all people, whatever there is to learn from this, you will. It's the best any of us can do, I guess, is to take these bad little experiences and try to get somethin' from nothin'. Good luck!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[kelownagirl]

Add me to the list of "so sorry that had to happen to you AGAIN!" And what crappy timing. (((hugs to you)))

[doc]

I no longer believe in karma. I can not imagine what awful thing we have done to deserve the recent round of crud in our lives. I will continue to do the right thing because it's the right thing. And I'll try to accept sh'i't happens.V.

I always hope for Karma too because things can get unbearably frustrating without that idea.

But, and this is a biggie, your attitude is what makes this world a good place. Specifically "I will continue to do the right thing because it's the right thing." Whether karma exists or not you have to know that your approach is making a big difference in the world.