My Car Got Broken Into, Part II

Read Part I here.

I got home at around 3am this past Friday from a night in the city (Jeff drove) to find both the driver's-side door window and 3/4 panel window on my car smashed via two rocks. The car was parked in my carport, where I park it every night. Questions I asked myself upon seeing the damage:

1. Did the factory BMW alarm even go off?
1a. If it did, why didn't my neighbors do anything?
1b. Why did I pay $400 for a worthless BMW factory alarm system?

2. Why did they leave my radar detector, Bluetooth device, camera and wad of cash? (perhaps the worthless alarm forced them to be careless)

3. Why the frick did they smash both the door and 3/4 panel windows? It's a coupe, homie; you could have gotten into the car by just smashing the big door window.

4. Where was the imaginary security guard that the management office of my apartment complex swears exists?

5. I live in a safe neighborhood, where nothing ever happens. Who are these people and where are they coming from?

6. Uh, where's my navigation system?

Per a neighbor across the way who managed to stumble out onto his balcony as I got home, it was a bunch of teenage kids he saw walking around. I'll admit, I was suspicious of this dude (like Chris Rock in his stand-up on neighbors robbing you: "You ain't hearin' sh!t 'cause you was doin' sh!t!"). But given that another car got hit the same night, I think his story holds some crediblity.

Interestingly, the following night, I saw my next door neighbor (who parks right next to me) and told him about the incident. The conversation went something like this:

Me: "Hey, just letting you know that my car got broken into on Friday night, so just keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Did you happen to be around at at around 10pm?"

Him: "Oh, sorry. So sorry to hear. Yah I was around then." (he's a fob)

Me: "Did you hear my alarm go off?"

Him: "Mm, does it sound like (insert the sound of my alarm)?"

Me: "Yes, it sounds like that."

Him: "Oh, yah. I heard that sound and some smashing glass, but I just thought it was something else, you know? So I just close window."

Something else?! No, I don't know. What else could the sound of smashing glass accompanied by a car alarm possibly be? I can't even begin to comprehend how a reasonably intelligent human being with even a partially functioning brain wouldn't be able to put two and two together. Maybe after his unit burns down and he asks me what happened, I'll tell him "Oh, so sorry. I could feel the heat, see the smoke and smell the burning, but well, I thought it was something else, so I just closed my windows and continued watching Sports Center."

The good news is that the car is pretty much fixed and insurance paid for most of it. To the little children who violated my car and stole my possessions, I forgive you. May God have mercy on your poor souls. But if He for whatever reason destines each one of you to get run over by a large pick-up truck carrying lawn and gardening equipment driven by some dude named Hector with no auto insurance, then we can come to terms with the fact that God allows everything to happen for a reason, much like how He allowed your thieving asses to throw rocks through my car windows. It's called karma, bitches, and a lot of the angry kind is coming your way. No, but really, I still forgive you.

Off to Korea on Thursday. I'll be reachable on my Blackberry via phone and email (the latter being preferred), but if you do call, best to do it during waking hours in Seoul. Hopefully, I'll return with some good stories and interesting pictures. Until next time...

The "I'm still alive" post

Whew, long time no blog. I don't really have a good reason as to why I've been MIA on this thing. Actually, I can think of a few: I'm lazy, work 'pwns' me, I'm lazy, etc. Anyhow, I'll attemp to make this post somewhat historically cumulative.

My last post was about two plants I picked up at Home Depot. Unlike this blog, they are still alive and well. In retrospect, my life must have been incredibly boring if I was writing posts about plants. Then again, assessing life in my current state, not much has changed. I'll start making up for lost time by posting some pictures, adding some entertaining captions and throwing in a few rational thoughts from time to time for good measure (no promises, though).

Early Aug: I was in Boston for the SigGraph Graphics/HCI conference and was able to mix business with a bit of pleasure while there. I was in the city for the first week and spent the second week at home with family. Good seeing all of my Boston friends, albeit over a nice dinner with a bunch of lesbians (no, they weren't hot) crowding our table (if you're curious, ask, and ye shall hear the story):

2006 SigGraph Conference, Boston, MA.

SigGraph Exhibitors (Google was one).

Dinner @Laurels, Boston, MA.

Parents on York Beach, MA.

Mid Aug: Our annual (or bi-annual?) BC/BU reunion was in Vegas this year, of all places. For once in my life, I didn't lose hundreds of dollars in a matter of minutes. I was able to hang at the Blackjack table for hours and come out even. Could my gambling curse be over? *knocking on wood* (not many pictures taken there):

Paris, Las Vegas, NV.

Dinner @The Wynn (Oak, Linda, Kelly, Amanda).

I've been trying to bike consistently every weekend, but I need to find some more good verts and trails. I've been biking the hills around Shoreline, but that's getting old. Let me know if you know of any good trails around South Bay:

Down the beaten path: my trusty Specialized Enduro Comp 130

In two weeks, it's off to Seoul on business. I may manage to update before then, but if not, I should have some good stories and pictures when I return.

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Appendix:
1. My father's impulse buy fun-car, reviewed on the TEK AR.
2. Adriana's new black shoes reviewed on the TEK AR.
3. Picasa Web Albums: If you don't have one yet, go get one.