So now that my stuff has arrived here in Holland I have to put it all somewhere. Before I left SF I sold all my furniture. This means that I have stacks of books with no shelves. So I went to IKEA last night to let Billy solve my problems. A couple of hours and 270 Euros later I walked out with 6 bookcases on a cart and a stomach full of Swedish Meatballs.

When I got to my car I noticed that it was unlocked which I thought was odd. When I sat in the driver’s seat I noticed that the bracket for the GPS unit was gone. Also my IGo Juice was no longer in the glove compartment. Dammit, I was robbed!!! I reported it to IKEA and to the police to ensure that all the proper steps were followed for the insurance company, but I guess I don’t feel too bad. It could have been worse.

I could have left my IPod in there, or the PocketPC that usually goes in the bracket that was taken, or the bluetooth GPS antennae that I often leave in the car. Then again, it could have been MUCH worse. The original plan was to go home at 5:30 that evening to pick up my parents (who are visiting from the US), then drive straight to IKEA. But I got home at 5 so I found a parking space and went into my apartment. If I hadn’t stopped off for that half hour, my briefcase would have also been in the car….yeah, the briefcase that held the Thinkpad, the PocketPC, the Sony PSP, the bluetooth headset, the Nikon digital camera, the assorted USB keys, the olympus digital recorder, and all sorts of other things.

But even though it could have been worse, it was one more case of being violated. Just the other day I went to my bike outside my apartment to find the carefully unlocked chain unattached to any bike. My bike was stolen!!! Only once before in my life have I ever had anything taken from me, and that was when my Hyundai Excel was broken into in Tallahassee, FL…well, that and the sweatshirt that was lifted in 3rd grade. Dammit, this sucks.