My computer's name, incidentally, was My Boyfriend.

[jacktellslies]

I came home from work last night to find that the screen had been pulled away from my front window, the one next to the door. I was distressed to find that someone was most likely planning to rob my house, although as the window was closed and didn't appear to open easily I didn't believe it had happened yet. I know that the lock on my doorknob was locked when I got home; I checked that. The deadbolt, I am uncertain, although I believe it was also locked. I walked inside, not believing anything was amiss. I then noticed that the door to my basement was open. I keep it closed. I turned to that front window, and found the things that had been there on the window sill pushed to the floor. I stood there for a minute, baffled by the idea of it: someone could be in my house. Right then, some fuck could be in my house. I collected myself and turned and left, locking my door behind me. I called my mother, who reminded me that I might do better to call the police. I waited for them outside. When they arrived it was determined that no, no one was in the house. My computer and camera, however, were gone. They hadn't even made a mess. They didn't spend much time there. There were holiday cards with money still in them lying on the table untouched. They stole in and took only the things that mattered.

One of the two police to arrive first insulted my things, and believed that it was impossible for anyone to have broken into the house if the window was now closed. I explained to him what had clearly happened, feeling like Sherlock Holmes talking to a mentally handicapped chipmunk. The other quickly discovered that the window had been shoved off of its track and no longer locks at all. She was in the room with me when I realised that the computer was gone, and then when I realised all that had been lost with it. She immediately became more sympathetic than she had been already. She was kind, and patient, and intelligent, and I thank her for it. Then, because my uncle is a police Sargent and I called him while I waited outside for the first of the police to arrive, two more cars and the Sargent of that district popped in to be sure that I was safe. Ha. The Sargent also agreed that I was correct in my description of what must have happened. The first officer heard it but didn't seem particularly humbled.

Approximately half of the photographs from the trip had not been uploaded to Flickr yet. Pictures of France, Italy, Germany, Iceland, and my favourite picture of my partner are lost to me. My external hard drive had broken, so I'd not been able to back up my files. I lost my personal journals from my travels, records of dreams, things I'd written and not posted yet. And in taking my computer they took letters between my lover and I, all things I would not have given up lightly.

I'm furious and sad. I'm staying at my mother's house until the locks are changed and the window fixed.

Comments

[etzelism.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry. This gives me a pit in my stomach.

If there is anything, anything I can do, let me know. I have a few photos from Venice up on Flickr that you're welcome to.

[jezebellydancer.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry.

What a horrible feeling of violation it is. I know the eerie feeling, to return home and "sense" that something was amiss, that someone had been in the house (my STBX was doing that frequently before I was permitted to change the locks). I pray that the police locate your computer soon and that the culptrits had no time to wipe the drive.

[sissyhips.livejournal.com]

Aw, sweetheart, I am so so sorry. It really worried me when I read your post last night, and I proceeded to have bad dreams that I was in your shoes. Strangely enough, in my dream (which had extensive chapters) ended on a very good note. It was like all that had been taken from me just made room for a whole new experience, twice as expansive.

I've had my apartment broken into three separate times when I lived in the city. It's terrifying. The one and only time I've taken a sedative. In my dream, I totally re-experienced the panic/anger/loss with you. I'm glad you can stay at your mother's for a while. And you and your lover will just have to make more adventures together.

[fasterpussycat.livejournal.com]

That's just awful. Awful awful.

So sorry this happened to you, doll.

You could check all the pawn shops nearby, just in case.

[cargoweasel.livejournal.com]

My god, I can't imagine how violated you must feel. Burglaries are treated dismissively by the police because they're so common, but something about having things stolen from one's very home forever changes how one thinks about their living space - sometimes people even end up moving because of it. Hopefully you can get things back to normal soon.

[paisleycat.livejournal.com]

Poor poor precious pet. I am so sorry. Your boyfriend, your camera, your home and you deserve better than that. *so many hugs*

I'm glad you'd gotten the picture on Flickr that are there, though sadly not all of your wanderings. If there are any gaps in your data that I can fill, please let me know. I'll give you music, stories, pron, whatever I can give that you are currently missing.

For The Future

[popejeremy.livejournal.com]

This may be a lesson learned. Backups, backups, backups. The old saying is, "If your data isn't in at least three places, it's nowhere at all."

If you want an FTP dropbox online where you can store stuff, let me know.

Re: For The Future

[earlofgrey.livejournal.com]

Yes. I'm aware. My external hard drive was broken, and I lacked the money to fix it.

How does the dropbox work? And how much does it cost?

Re: For The Future

[popejeremy.livejournal.com]

I have so much server space that I'll never use. I pay a yearly fee to host my client's Websites, but right now I'm using about 1% of what I pay for. So, got extra if you need it.

You could access it by FTP, SFTP, and SSH if you want. I'm betting that one of those sounds familiar to you.

Re: For The Future

[popejeremy.livejournal.com]

If you're concerned about this being charity and you being on Jeremy Welfare, I understand that, but also understand this: I pay about $100 yearly for this space and it's a lot of space. You'd have to put some serious energy into filling up 1% of it. And it's space that I'd never ever use anyway. So it's really no inconvenience. And if you really don't want to feel like a mooch you can give me a dollar some day to pay for your 1/100 of the space.

[volatileprophet.livejournal.com]

So sorry Katie. Dreadful business, that is. There's almost no instances of robbers coming back to strike the same house unless they saw something larger and more expensive they didn't take. From what you said it seems they were just looking for a quick sell.

losing a computer is so hard. Even when you own a working external drive, you never truly back up everything. *HUGS!*

[toshichan.livejournal.com]

Oh, darling... I'm so sorry. The same happened to me on Christmas day. Someone broke into my storage unit where I'm storing my things while in Japan and made off with my computer, too. I completely understand the sense of loss. So much on there was irreplaceable.

[whatifilied.livejournal.com]

I am so sorry! Something rather similar happened a few months ago, so if you need to commiserate about how awful it is to loose a computer and then have a cop treat you like an idiot, I'm your girl. All of the suggestions about checking pawnshops and craigslist are good. Additionally, some laptops come with LoJack now. Any chance yours is one of them?

Anyway, big hugs.

took only the things that mattered.

[nonsequitania.livejournal.com]

What a bleak crying shame.

I know nothing can replace such things, but I'm glad you and the rest of your possessions are safe.

Wishing you time, good luck, a deep pot of your favourite tea and a large window to stare out of.

[chronographia.livejournal.com]

Oh, my dear. Really, nothing new to add other than well-wishes and sympathy. As others have said, I would happily resend my mixes and anything else of a digital nature to you, once you've got a computer to call your own again.

[http://users.livejournal.com/__uptight/]

i can't imagine how terrified you must have been when you realized someone may have been in your house. i don't even want to think about it. thank god you're unharmed.

i don't know what i would do if i were in your position regarding the loss of the computer, but it would not be pretty.
you've lost all record of your travels, but at least you'll still remember them...?

[lilacfaeryboy.livejournal.com]

I am so sorry, that really really sucks.