The Downside to Living in a City
| September 9, 2011 | Posted by Lauren under LifeontheRun |
This morning, I woke up bright and early with the best of intentions. The plan was to finally finish the last part of my Hood to Coast recap and put an end to this long, drawn out series.
But when I was surprised by a knock at my door shortly after 6:00 am, all my plans went out the window.
Literally.
Last night, someone had a little bit of fun at the expense of my car window, iPod and GPS.
I suppose we sort of made it easy for them. A bunch of cars in a lot, all lined up in a row, ready for someone to punch through the driver’s side windows and take whatever he could find. Or at least, that’s what the cop who took our police report implied.
3 broken windows in a row. My car was the second one in – they got the girl to the left of me too.
After waiting a couple hours for the policeman to show up, lecture us for 20 minutes about the perils of leaving anything in our cars and then finally take down our information, he left us with a helpful ominous warning – “they” know we’re going to replace the things they stole, so they’ll be back! He did all this from the comfort of his police cruiser. That’s some fine police work right there.
At the end of the day, I know it could have been a lot worse. The damage to my car was limited to the driver’s side window, and the stuff they took was old, so couldn’t have been worth too much. At least that’s what I tell myself to make myself feel better. And there’s a pretty good chance we caught the perp on camera, since the lot is monitored by video surveillance. ….though if the way he took the police report was any indication, I can’t imagine Officer Friendly being all that excited to follow up on it. Where’s McNulty when you need him? (before you correct me, yes, I realize he’s a homicide detective but I’ve been watching a lot of The Wire lately and every time I think of the police, I just think McNulty).
Moving on…
I know a broken car window isn’t the end of the world. It’s already been to the shop and I’m now sporting a shiny new driver’s side window. But the feeling of violation and the loss of my sense of security are the parts about this that are harder to swallow. I suppose after almost 4 years of parking in city lots, it was bound to happen at some point. It’s just hard to feel completely safe about parking my car right now.
On the bright side, it’s Friday, the rain has stopped and I have a whole weekend ahead of me. It can only get better from here, right??
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Yes I know, this post has nothing to do with running or public health. I promise those regular rambles will resume soon.
I’m so sorry this happened
Back in college I had my car broken in to (while I watched from my dorm room window…) and was involved in a hit and run. Car troubles suck!! Definitely worthy of a cranky mood. But as you said – it’s finally sunny! And it’s Friday – you have 48 hours to turn the weekend around! Maybe a good stress-busting run would help?
Megan (The Runner’s Kitchen)´s last post ..The workout that almost wasn’t
That SUCKS! I hope the weekend takes your mind off of it.
My FIRST TWO DAYS in NYC I got my car broken into. They stole my new AC unit (In my trunk) and a duffle bag (visible = stupid) from my back seat…containing my WORK OUT CLOTHES ONLY. NOOOOOO. I’ve to replace many favorites. And my friend just got hers broken into the other night…we waited 3 hours for the cops, got heckled, harassed, and chased by crazy guys then saved by random late night mechanics. It’s all a day in urban living.
Oh man, sorry about your window, that sucks!! I’m glad you were safe though and nothing too expensive was taken!
Christina´s last post ..And the weekend is here…
Hello – I just found your blog yesterday. Excited to read more!
I’m sorry about your car and electronics, that stinks! I hope they stay away from your lot in the future.
My husband and I just went through the whole series of the Wire in the past 6 weeks. Great show!
Aw, that totally sucks. It’s happened to me a couple of times before – once when I was moving and they took the bag filled with ALL my work clothes! Another time they stole my uni bag (along with my textbooks, research for an assignment, and my general notes from each class).
Anyway, enjoy the weekend – yes, it can only get better from here
Gahhhhhhhh! What a bummer.
Your weekend is bound to be much better.
That? Sucks. I am so protective of my car (it’s a Corolla, and I love it), and the thought of it getting smashed makes me hyperventilate. Talk about violating! That, more that the stuff getting stolen/smashed is what gets me. Fortunately, you’re fine, it’s not winter so there isn’t snow coming in the window and you don’t have to sport one of those snazzy duct tape and cardboard windows. Lousy criminals.
I am so sorry this happened to you, Lauren. Ugh, sometimes living in a city does suck. My car has never experienced any damage from Boston life, but many people I know have had stuff stolen, mirrors side-swiped, etc. It really is a bummer to lose your stuff, and as you said, disturbing to know that people go around doing this.
And that cop sounds…awful. The last thing you need or deserve in that situation is a lecture from a cop, who should have been spending his time trying to help you.
Anyway, I’m glad you got it fixed and the weekend is bound to get better from here…especially since you’re running with me and Ali tomorrow
Also, HTC recap part 1 was awesome — loved hearing all about your first, very speedy, leg!
Corey @ the runner’s cookie´s last post ..Slowly Learning
Boo.
I’m so sorry your car got broken into! My brothers car got broken into in our driveway at night a year or two ago. I can definitely see how you’d be wary about parking your car certain places. Hope it doesn’t happen again or EVER.
Hope you have a great weekend
Meggie´s last post ..All Notebooks Should Have Pink Spirals
That really blows. I hate it when that happens. And Officer Friendly is a bonehead… they will break into cars even if you have NOTHING of remote value in there. But he is right about not leaving anything in… that way all you have to replace is the window… and those are not exactly cheap. I can totally validate that feeling of violation. I hope this doesn’t ever happen to you again. Really. Ever.
XLMIC´s last post ..All the things this blog’s been missing…
I am very sorry that happened. It will only get better over the weekend!
OMG! That sucks! Also, I thought police officers were suppose to be nice and “calming”….hold the lecture for another time!
I’m sorry to hear that. It does feel violating to have your car broken into. I had mine broken into before and it definitely took a few days to get back to feeling non violated. What helped was filing the police report and feeling as though I was being proactive in catching the creep. Now that it’s fixed, have a great weekend!
oh no! that’s terrible. I hear you on the loss of your sense of security – stuff like that is such a shock. My sister’s laptop was stolen from her bedroom a few years ago (when she lived in Brighton) and I think she slept with the lights on for a good couple of weeks.
Bright side – I am so jealous of your running buddies this morning! Hope you guys had a good run!
Kelly´s last post ..Rainy Repeats, Food and Energy
That happened to me once but they didn’t even take anything, just smashed the window. That cop sounds like a jerk!
Lee´s last post ..On the Horizon
UGH! I cannot believe this happened to you. And worse- I cannot believe what a jerk the cop was! Like it was your fault that stupid people do illegal things? Umm no. It’s very scary and a huge violation of privacy. I so hope you’re doing ok!
Jen´s last post ..Rock & Read 5k Race Recap
I’m sorry this happened to you. The loss is so much more than a broken window. I had things stolen out of my suitcase the last time we flew and for a week or so I went from feeling violated to being so freakin’ angry.
Hope you’re doing ok.
jill conyers´s last post ..Commitment to Health and Fitness [On the Menu]
Agh, sorry to hear about the car troubles! Especially since the cops seemed to imply it was your fault because it’s parked in a public area and contained valuables. It’s not like you were leaving the doors open, welcoming thieves to take stuff…it’s your car and that doesn’t give someone the right to break in and steal stuff, valuables or not. The lack of sense of security is eye-opening, especially when living in a city. I never feel unsafe in NYC, but definitely feel like my guard should be up a bit more than it is, since you never know what can happen. Hope you had a good weekend and things have turned around a bit now.
Lindsay´s last post ..Dinner Party Adventures in Brooklyn
Living in Italy, this is a constant problem. My car was broken into & I didn’t have anything in there to take. I guess it just happens sometimes. And it took over a month to fix, because the window had to be shipped from the US. Hatehatehate theft like this, especially when the cops think it’s your fault or throw their hands up & say “there’s not much we can do about it.”
Hope your day got better & you got a shiny new iPod.
Bonnie´s last post ..Breakdown: Week 14 & the Creepy Dark
Car broken into = boo! The Wire = amazing!
But seriously, that really sucks. If you recall, our building was broken into the first weekend we moved (sweet!) and I was SO pissed/upset, even though we were pretty lucky. It’s not a good feeling, especially when officers make you feel even worse. I hope things are better for you now!
And if you need to take a trip to Wildflour to cheer up, I am so there
Ahh that’s horrible! About a month after I bought my new car (which has since been sold…tear tear), I’m pretty sure a kid rode his bike into the back of it and scratched it…my car’s first scratch! While the officer has a point about not leaving stuff in your car, I think it’s silly that we have to worry about such things…I’m way too trusting and think things are safe, but I guess not. Glad you got your car fixed quickly and have an excuse for updated electronics?
Susan´s last post ..it’s always funner with a runner