Life after ...

It’s been two weeks since my purse was stolen out of my brother’s rental car. What a pain. I still haven’t replaced everything that was stolen. My glasses, my car and house keys, my phone, my wallet with all the stuff that’s unusually in a wallet (i.e. driver’s license, credit cards, annual passes to the water park, zoo, Polynesian Cultural Center etc.), my military I.D. (yes, complete with birth date and social security number), my writer’s notebock with all my notes and a spa gift certificate I won at Christmas.

Most of these things are/were fairly easy to replace. I had to argue with the management at the Polynesian Cultural Center, because they refused to give me new annual passes (and we’re talking passes for the entire family here!), but they eventually came around and caved in.

I just had my replacement phone activated today. I wasn’t eligible for any upgrades, of course, so I’m stuck using my old, old phone for the time being. Truth be told, I like/liked the old one better anyway.

I just found a new messenger bag I liked yesterday, but I still don’t have a wallet (not that I have any money to put in to it anyway).

Unfortunately, I also lost my new glasses. Not only were they expensive, but they were bought with my PROTECTOR advance. I loved those glasses. Luckily, I hadn’t donated my old pair. I argued with the insurance about them, too. I don’t see why I cannot claim them (pun not intended). They were not a frivolous item left in the car (like the snorkel gear that’s gone); I am legally required to wear them to drive the car, so they should be insured.

Oh, well.

Did I mention my brother and his girlfriend lost everything? Cash, passports, state I.D.s, driver’s licenses, credit cards and the engagement ring my brother had hidden away in his backpack. Carmen, his girlfriend, had had no idea!

Dealing with the German consulate in San Francisco was a pain. My brother and his now-fiancée must have been the first German tourists ever to lose their passports in a foreign country. Luckily, their replacement papers arrived just in time. And unlike predicted by the unfriendly clerk on the phone, they had no problem at the airport. Well, they did leave on the first leg of their journey back to Germany. I found out later that they got stranded in L.A. when their plane broke down and couldn’t be fixed. So with only $20 in cash and an emergency credit card that didn’t work (another long story), they spent an extra day in California. Some vacation!

And what have you been up to?