March 01, 2021

Theft


I was going to just write some bullets, but once I started this first one, I kept typing until it was pretty much a whole post! So I'll just leave it at that.

Someone stole my sunglasses out of my car and I'm SUPER bummed. I have literally nothing of value in my car--I keep it super tidy and the only things in there besides the owner's manual in the glovebox are a couple of face masks and my sunglasses in a red case. I only ever wear sunglasses when I drive, so I never take them out of my car.

The sunglasses were prescription ones, which means they are valuable to me--but why would anyone else want them?!

When I was taking Eli to driver's training yesterday, I opened the glovebox to grab my sunglasses and they were gone. I noticed that the masks were underneath the owner's manual, too, which was odd. I searched the whole car and my purse (just in case they were in there). I searched at home, even though I knew they weren't in the house. I was sure that someone had stolen them, but I just kept hoping I was wrong.

I'm pretty sure I know when it happened. I woke up a few nights ago because Joey was barking. Joey NEVER barks other than if people drive slowly past or are walking past our house. It was super early in the morning--maybe 4:00?--and when Joey was still letting out a bark every five seconds or so, I went to see what was going on. I looked out the blinds and I saw two people (I think they were women) walking down the street, so I figured that's why he was barking. I didn't think anything of it.

In retrospect, because he was letting out a bark here and there for about a full minute, that was more than enough time for the people to walk past my house. They must have stopped for 30-45 seconds and then kept walking. I live on a VERY quiet street (I can count on one hand the number of cars that go by every day) so it's noticeable when people walk by.

My car wasn't locked, unfortunately. I grew up in a neighborhood where nobody locked their houses or their cars and everybody knew everybody. Nobody stole from each other. Times have changed, obviously, and we definitely lock our house. I don't keep any possessions in my car (other than my sunglasses) so I wasn't worried about theft.

I've learned my lesson and will keep my car locked from now on... although now I literally have NOTHING in my car to steal except for a couple of handmade face masks. Oh, and chapstick.

Jerry wants to get a couple of security cameras outside, and I finally agreed. I feel like it's tacky, but so many people have them now that it's not unusual. Several years ago, some teenagers broke into our garage and stole a bunch of random items. They'd broken into several other garages, too, and they threw all of the stolen stuff into a fire pit at one of their houses while they drank around the fire. They actually got caught, and some of them did jail time for burglary because it's a felony to break into the garages that are attached to houses--it's considered a dwelling. We were paid restitution for the things they stole.

After that incident with the garage and now someone stealing my sunglasses out of my car, I've lost faith that I can trust people in my own neighborhood. I despise thieves. SO MUCH. Not just because of the item that is stolen--but the feeling of being violated.

I posted on our "nextdoor" app (like a neighborhood bulletin) about the sunglasses and offered a $50 reward for anyone who may "find" them. But no luck. I don't expect I'll get them back.

I had been planning to get new frames this year for my "regular" glasses, but I'm going to just replace the sunglasses. My insurance covers one pair of frames and basic lenses each year, so I chose to get sunglasses last year and figured I would alternate each year.

Anyways, I didn't intend to turn this whole post into the story of my sunglasses--I'm not THAT desperate for something to write about!--but it is what it is :)  I'm going to just try to forget about the whole thing and I'll make an eye appointment to get new glasses. I'm also going to keep my car locked at all times!

15 comments:

  1. I completely understand that feeling of violation and breach of trust that accompanies a theft of any kind -- even of small stuff. I've had things stolen a few times during the course of my life (and several times from my classroom) and it really shakes my faith in my fellow humans, especially when it's something that can't be replaced.

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  2. I despise thieves too! We have huge heavy concrete urns outside of our antique store and noticed they were in a different spot like someone was trying to pick them up to steal them. They were too heavy. And last fall we had a bunch of pumpkins outside for decorations and they were all stolen. People steal items in the store too. Makes me so pissed.

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  3. Omg that makes me so mad too! I hate thieves. Like what makes someone think they're so important they're entitled to other peoples things?? I'll never get it.

    Also, side note, I just realized it was Tuesday! I was going to send you a transformation Tuesday post and totally forgot! I'll send it to you this week!

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  4. I wonder if they just pitched them in a ditch near by once they realized they were prescription? Might be worth having a look around. Sorry that happened, people can be rotten!

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  5. That really sucks, sorry.
    For the glasses, you might check out Zenni or another online glasses retailer. You can get a full set of frames with prescription lenses for under $10 (though more complicated prescriptions cost a bit more). It is a great option for people without insurance or who want more glasses than their insurance will cover.

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  6. Oh that totally bites! I'm sorry that happened to you! As far as replacing your sunglasses, have you ever tried getting your prescription glasses and sunglasses through Zenni? It's super cheap, and they have a ton of styles. I order from them quite a bit.
    We have cameras on our house too. I always fear watching a playback and actually seeing a person show up though. Just knowing that a person was on my property freaks me out! But it's a good deterrent for those creeps.

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  7. I'm so sorry this happened and completely understand that sense of violation. What is up with people anyway? Hope you get some spiffy new sunglasses that make you happy.

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  8. Why are security cameras considered tacky? I had my professionally installed and you can't hardly see them. They work well with the alarm system. I never understand why people have a big garage and don't put their cars in them....

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  9. The wonderful thing about having a garage is you can keep whatever you want in it and don't owe anyone an explanation. Katie and her family clearly enjoy their garage. Katie, there are lots of cameras on the market now that are pretty small and easy to install (they'd be a cinch for a pro like you). We have several Arlo cameras and installed them ourselves. We chose the color we wanted and installed them where they really weren't noticeable. Just sorry for the reason you are considering cameras but understand. (P.S. I love your blog!)

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  10. I can relate so much, Katie! I went to the local park on Sunday to run on the paved trail there. I was gone from my car for about an hour. When I got back in the car, I realized that someone had smashed the front passenger window and taken my purse (which was hidden out of sight). I didn't have anything sentimental in my purse nor much cash, but they wanted the credit cards. I called my husband right away and he began canceling the cards. The thief tried to make a $2100 purchase at a local department store, which the credit card company declined and texted us about. So we didn't lose any money in that way. But replacing the car window costs about as much as our insurance deductible and it's such an incredible hassle dealing with replacing the credit cards and other cards. I had to put in a police report for our insurance, and actually the detective assigned to the case was very gung-ho about getting the thief (or thieves) - apparently this is quite a racket going on with stealing credit cards and trying to buy stuff at that department store (presumably they will then sell the merchandise so that they end up with money). I hope for your situation that someone does "find" your sunglasses. Maybe once they realize they are prescription!

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  11. Not to distress you further, but make sure they did not take your car registration or insurance card - both can give them information for identity theft, and I have even heard of cases here where they get that info and then go down and apply for a title on your car! Keep an eye on your credit reports! Sorry this happened, I HATE THIEVES!!

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  12. We have security cameras. One is a doorbell and the others are floodlights. They don't look any different than what was there before!

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  13. Someone broke into my car about a year ago when it was parked at the train station (I was at work). They were ballsy too, because my car was right next to a busy street, and they have police going around to ticket people who don't pay for parking.

    I got in my car after work that night and everything had been dumped out of the glove compartment and center console and I realized I must not have locked my car (very odd, since I'm so careful...I hit the lock on the door AND the key fob to be sure) and someone decided to see if I had anything. I don't. Just napkins and flossers and lots of pop tabs. I was really concerned that they took the car seats (because those are worth *hundreds* of dollars) but when I whipped around they were still there. How odd would they have looked taking those? Haha.

    It was an eye opener for me though, because I used to put money I needed to deposit in a small hidden compartment (that hadn't been opened) and I immediately stopped doing that. I felt so violated though - someone had been in my car going through my stuff. Even if it was just junk. It's so sad that people do that.

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  14. So where I grew up we don't lock car doors because it costs more to replace the windows that said when we moved to our current house my husband left his climbing gym bag in the car and some thieves grabbed it. We found it and it's contents strewn around on our neighbor's lawn two houses down. Look around the area they may have tossed them when they realized they are prescription pair.

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  15. I could have written this post. I rarely lock my car, and often don't lock my house (though I got an automatic lock and lock it all the time now), but a few months ago I went to grab my prescription sunglasses and noticed they were gone. I noticed a few other things out of place, and put two and two together to figure out someone had stolen the only valuable thing in my car -- my sunglasses! They weren't even that great. I decided to get new sunglasses, but ended up just getting regular glasses instead because I got some cheap sunglasses at Target that I'm comfortable wearing even though I'm supposed to drive with glasses (shhh...don't tell).

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