Angie & Jim

Mixed Emotionsby Jim

Last night was a difficult night for me.  Most of it was very enjoyable.  For our anniversary in December, I got two tickets to go see Wicked at the Orpheum theater in San Francisco.  As an additional surprise, I arranged to meet with some good friends at a restaurant near the theater.  Everything was wonderful.  We had a great dinner and the show was amazing.

When we went to see Phantom of the Opera in December with Dallyn, we parked across the street from the theater so we wouldn’t have to walk far.  We decided to park there again last night because of the convenience.  When we returned to our car, I was absolutely shocked to see that our car had been broken into.  The passenger side window had been completely smashed and our GPS and my cell phone were gone.  I had my cell phone out while driving and left it in the cup holder instead of putting it on my belt.  I forgot about it until we were already crossing the street to the theater and thought to myself, “it should be alright, the parking lot is well lit and attended.”  Looking back on the situation, I realize that was a very stupid thing to assume.  There is absolutely nothing the parking attendant is obligated to do if he were to witness a break-in.  There is a sign that says they aren’t responsible for valuables left in vehicles.  I was also parked at the far end of the lot, furthest from the booth and by a clear get-away path for a would-be criminal.

I was quite frustrated last night; I felt stupid and violated.  I felt bad for Angie and Jon who had to ride in a freezing cold car because the windows had been smashed in (especially Angie, who had to ride all the way back to Livermore with me).  Fortunately, they didn’t take our garage door opener, which was also in the car (along with a GPS that has “take me home” button — not to mention our address in my cell phone).

Things could certainly have been worse.  I could have been mugged, more damage could have been done to the car, I could have had sensitive identifying information on my cell phone, among other things.  I just hate making mistakes like this that make you feel so helpless and stupid.  What a way to ruin an otherwise wonderful evening.