January 16, 2004 – 11:52 am
I am a big believer in what you might call Karma – or at least the principle of what goes around comes around. You do good things, good things happen to you. You piss off the universe, and the universe gets its own back.
A couple of times recently, I’ve had the opportunity to make deliberate deposits into the good karma account. Twice in the last week, I have ended up with wallets stuffed with money that didn’t belong to me, and I have handed them in, cash intact.
So you’d think that if anything, I was due for a bit of positive happenings. Maybe a friendly gesture, an unexpected favour, or maybe – you know – a windfall of some kind.
What do I get? Burgled.
Not the “oh my god the place is trashed and everything of value has been stolen” kind of burgled. The less severe, but nonetheless infuriating “hang on… where’s the flash new laptop I borrowed from work?”.
Now, this is especially infuriating because it’s the second work laptop that has been stolen from my home. I even joked about it when I borrowed this one: “I promise to try not to let this one get taken” – and I really did. After use, I took it off the tabletop, and put it on a chair, and slid the chair under the table – just so if somebody did happen to climb the fence into our back yard, walk down the hill to the one accessible window and peer in, they would see the expensive stereo, the several thousand CDs and the camera – but not the laptop.
Nonetheless, that window was jemmied, and the laptop was all that was taken. Of course, there was some work on it that took a significant amount of time and thought, and will be difficult to recreate effectively. However, at least there were no large chunks of my thesis lost (not this time).
The real pisser is that last time this happened, they came back. The laptop was easy, the home alarm system wasn’t set, and they saw some other stuff they’ll need bags for next time. So a bit of prep and back they come. This time, the alarm will be set, and they’ll be scared off for another year or so – but not caught.
At least this time, being the third time we’ve been burgled, they didn’t choose to come during the night while we were asleep in bed. This time was broad daylight.
And the worst thing is not that there were strangers in our home taking stuff, or that we were the victims of a crime, or that the item lost was valuable and the work irreplaceable – well, yes all that as well, but the very worst thing is that now I have to have the following conversation:
“Hi – look I’m really sorry, but the laptop was stolen.
The laptop. Stolen.
Yes – again.
No – nothing else.
Seriously.
No – it was honestly stolen. We were broken into.
Yes – just the laptop. Nothing else.
Yes – I realise it’s the second one.
Yes – I know it was brand new.
Mmm… two days old.
Yes… that is a lot of money.
No – I don’t expect I will ever get to use another one.
Through a window – the house was locked.
No – I hadn’t set the alarm. I normally do, but I didn’t.
It was hidden on a chair under the table.
No – really. Just the laptop – nothing else.
Yes they will have difficulty with that one at the insurance company.
No – I promise – that really is what happened.
Yes – again.
Sorry…”
- and so on.
So I think I’m due for a tremendous whack of good karma in the very near future. Otherwise – next time, I’m pocketing the wallet with the wad of cash.