It's odd how your day can change in an instant. I was exhausted all day after having my sleep interrupted by an early morning workout from my next door neighbor, of which the highlight was him regularly dropping his weights on the floor which shakes my apartment and bed. Busy day at work that I took at medium speed since that's pretty much all I'm up for, and drag myself home at 7:30 looking forward to a chill night.
I go to unlock my door, and realize it's already unlocked. That's odd, I ALWAYS lock my door on the way out in the morning. So I open the door and flick on the entry light, walk to into my main room and dump my coat and purse on the bed as per normal and then look around. And my fight or flight response kicks into full gear. EVERY drawer on every piece of furniture has been ransacked, jewelry has been spilled out onto my bed, and the window leading to my fire escape is wide open, which I can tell by the chill in the room.
I slam back into the wall, dart forward to grab my keys, and run out of the apartment, regretting not grabbing my purse as well. God forbid the burglar's still there with my purse which holds most portable electronics I own but also just THERE waiting, and I start shaking like a leaf. I knock on my nearest 2 neighbors' doors, but neither is home, so I go to the other side of the hall and listen for some noise. In 2B I hear someone, so I knock and he answers the door in a bathrobe. Whoops, but I am NOT going into my apartment again without someone to be there if something happens when I do the horror movie sweep (looking into anywhere someone could be hiding). This guy is a saint since when I explain, he puts on flip flops and stands outside the door while I check, and thankfully whoever robbed me is gone. First order of business - close and lock the window!
I know from many movies and TV shows to touch as little as possible, so I gingerly check the drawer where I keep emergency money (gone), and one of my earring boxes (also gone), and since they didn't take my laptop, look up the number of the nearest precinct and call. I don't know how to report this to so I hit the detective extension and explain I've been burglarized and I don't know if this is the right number. He says call 911. Really? I've been trained my entire life that 911 is for EMERGENCIES, and if the burglar was still there I would've done that first, but at this point it's a finished crime for me. Ok, I call 911, give the situation and address. They promise they'll send someone right away.
Two and a half hours later the police arrive, since apparently Friday nights are popular for burglaries (which does make sense since most tenants go out), and we do the report of what I know is stolen so far since I haven't touched anything besides closing the window, the earring box, and the emergency cash drawer. They take my statement, I fill out the forms with what I know is gone so far, and actually manage to joke with them about the situation since for about a decade I've said that any thief who robbed me would go "Whoa, wrong apartment, there's almost nothing worth hocking here" since I live with minimal assets. What was stolen (minus the cash and a set of opal earrings) were all gifts.
All told I lost $150 in cash, 3 fairly valuable earrings ($200-$300), and most unfortunately, some of my grandmother's gold jewelry (which was never appraised) without being able to inventory anything else. I surmise that the break-in must have happened after sunset or at dusk since the apartment wasn't that cold despite having a fully open window, and no one wants to be seen from neighboring buildings climbing in someone's window.
I was lucky. I wasn't home, when I did arrive he was gone, and what I lost, while it isn't pleasant, is mostly replaceable. Much worse things can happen in my life, but the panic I felt when I saw every drawer obviously rifled through was the worst in a long time.
Many people feel uneasy, scared, or just nervous in their apartments after something like this I do understand. That period where I was a nervous wreck only happened for about maximum 30 minutes, but it's also because I know that I have locks and that in 4 years this is the first time I've had this happen. Still it was an experience I never want to have again, while acknowledging that as a NYC resident this CAN always happen.
Tomorrow the team comes for dusting for prints, but I know from having my purse stolen, honey, it's gone for good. Does it suck and am I double exhausted but feel compelled to vent? Yes. But it's just the way things are, and most of what I lost was replaceable in many ways. You live; you learn
I go to unlock my door, and realize it's already unlocked. That's odd, I ALWAYS lock my door on the way out in the morning. So I open the door and flick on the entry light, walk to into my main room and dump my coat and purse on the bed as per normal and then look around. And my fight or flight response kicks into full gear. EVERY drawer on every piece of furniture has been ransacked, jewelry has been spilled out onto my bed, and the window leading to my fire escape is wide open, which I can tell by the chill in the room.
I slam back into the wall, dart forward to grab my keys, and run out of the apartment, regretting not grabbing my purse as well. God forbid the burglar's still there with my purse which holds most portable electronics I own but also just THERE waiting, and I start shaking like a leaf. I knock on my nearest 2 neighbors' doors, but neither is home, so I go to the other side of the hall and listen for some noise. In 2B I hear someone, so I knock and he answers the door in a bathrobe. Whoops, but I am NOT going into my apartment again without someone to be there if something happens when I do the horror movie sweep (looking into anywhere someone could be hiding). This guy is a saint since when I explain, he puts on flip flops and stands outside the door while I check, and thankfully whoever robbed me is gone. First order of business - close and lock the window!
I know from many movies and TV shows to touch as little as possible, so I gingerly check the drawer where I keep emergency money (gone), and one of my earring boxes (also gone), and since they didn't take my laptop, look up the number of the nearest precinct and call. I don't know how to report this to so I hit the detective extension and explain I've been burglarized and I don't know if this is the right number. He says call 911. Really? I've been trained my entire life that 911 is for EMERGENCIES, and if the burglar was still there I would've done that first, but at this point it's a finished crime for me. Ok, I call 911, give the situation and address. They promise they'll send someone right away.
Two and a half hours later the police arrive, since apparently Friday nights are popular for burglaries (which does make sense since most tenants go out), and we do the report of what I know is stolen so far since I haven't touched anything besides closing the window, the earring box, and the emergency cash drawer. They take my statement, I fill out the forms with what I know is gone so far, and actually manage to joke with them about the situation since for about a decade I've said that any thief who robbed me would go "Whoa, wrong apartment, there's almost nothing worth hocking here" since I live with minimal assets. What was stolen (minus the cash and a set of opal earrings) were all gifts.
All told I lost $150 in cash, 3 fairly valuable earrings ($200-$300), and most unfortunately, some of my grandmother's gold jewelry (which was never appraised) without being able to inventory anything else. I surmise that the break-in must have happened after sunset or at dusk since the apartment wasn't that cold despite having a fully open window, and no one wants to be seen from neighboring buildings climbing in someone's window.
I was lucky. I wasn't home, when I did arrive he was gone, and what I lost, while it isn't pleasant, is mostly replaceable. Much worse things can happen in my life, but the panic I felt when I saw every drawer obviously rifled through was the worst in a long time.
Many people feel uneasy, scared, or just nervous in their apartments after something like this I do understand. That period where I was a nervous wreck only happened for about maximum 30 minutes, but it's also because I know that I have locks and that in 4 years this is the first time I've had this happen. Still it was an experience I never want to have again, while acknowledging that as a NYC resident this CAN always happen.
Tomorrow the team comes for dusting for prints, but I know from having my purse stolen, honey, it's gone for good. Does it suck and am I double exhausted but feel compelled to vent? Yes. But it's just the way things are, and most of what I lost was replaceable in many ways. You live; you learn
posted by AnonymousX at 12:17 AM
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