Tuesday, October 20, 2009

To the fucker who stole $100 from my wallet

I know you think you deserve a prize for even turning in my purse after I left it on my chair at lunch. You probably think, "At least I didn't steal the whole thing."

But you know what? The $97 in cash in that wallet was MINE. Not yours. Mine.

This is the 2nd time in a year I've left my purse somewhere only to have it returned - but without cash. $45 bucks the first time and $100 the second. What makes people think this shit is ok? Do you think you deserve a fat reward? Sure, I'd feel less enraged if I was missing $20 bucks. That might be ok. But to just help yourself to all the cash because you can, is fucking screwed up.

So how can I deal with this? There is part of me that is trying to imagine that someone who is really down on their luck found my wallet and is using it to buy groceries for their hungry children for a week. There's even a part of me that if someone left a note, saying, "I'm so sorry, but I considered this a sign because I really need this to go to the doctor" or something, I wouldnt' be so upset.

But I feel really pissed and personally violated.

On the one hand, I feel lucky, because I am so a master of my own universe that I cannot remember the last time I felt this enraged by something beyond my control and that I could do nothing about. In fact, the last time was the last time someone stole cash out of my wallet. There is something to be said about being so fortunate that I am generally in control of my destiny and don't have to feel violated on a daily basis.

On the other, I am fucking pissed as hell. What the hell is wrong with this world? I would NEVER EVER EVER do something like that.

ASSHOLE.

9 comments:

Nicky said...

That sucks. Really truly.

But, because I absolutely have to believe in some good in the world... any chance that one person found your purse, stole the money, and quietly walked away, and then a totally different BETTER person saw your purse and turned it in? There's still an asshole out there who stole your money, but I'd feel better about the world if I thought that there ALSO existed a good guy who did purely the right thing.

PhizzleDizzle said...

Yes, I am with you - I am trying to convince myself that it's actually a feelgood story of fate and need, and not that someone consciously decided to be a douchebag and do a bad thing.

I tend to hold it together in almost all situations (the exception being when someone is mean to one of my friends). After I discovered all my money was missing, I thought about marching back into the store and being like I AM MISSING $100 JERKS! But I completely realize that someone easily could have taken the money and someone else turned it in, or as you suggest, just turned it in after someone else took the cash.

I am trying to imagine that whoever did it really needed the money.

But I still think whoever took it is an asshole. Whether they were the ones who turned it in or not, SOMEONE decided it was ok to steal what was not theirs to take.

Fortunately, I am feeling much better and more calm than before. I think if I were still working on my thesis (or still a poor grad student, for that matter) I'd probably still be on a rampage, but fortunately I am just hoping that whyever that person decided to take was worth it.

MomPhDstudent said...

I am so sorry you had to go through this.

Psych Post Doc said...

That really does suck. It's nice to know you don't have to cancel your CC and get a new ID but at the same time, it sucks to be out $100.

Anonymous said...

That sucks Phizz! I don't get it either. The last time I found someone's wallet I returned it with everything in it, and they insisted on *giving* me all the cash that was in it. Not that I expected it, and I tried to refuse it. It was nice to have an extra $50, but so much nicer that I didn't take it.

Anonymous said...

You know, you should probably call your CC and let them know to keep an eye on your account. I had this happen to me. Someone broke into my car (I was at a race so I couldn't exactly carry my wallet with me), took the cash (a whopping $18) left all the CCs and my ID, but the wallet back in my purse, and my purse back under the seat where I had "hidden" it...fuckers must have watched me do that.

I thought I was lucky that they only took the cash but I called the credit card companies just in case. Sure enough, 2 days later VISA calls to ask if I'm in distant metro area trying to make a $289 purchase at Walgreens. Um, no. WTF costs nearly $300 at Walgreens anyway? That's a lot of deodorant.

Apparently, it's very easy to "clone" credit cards if you can put together a false card-swiper. It records all the info on your mag strip, they build a new card and use the same info on their mag strip and presto!

I'm sorry to add to your worries and hopefully this won't be an issue for you but it's worth giving them a heads-up just in case.

Cath@VWXYNot? said...

That does suck, and I'm sorry to hear about it. BUT, having had to replace all my ID somewhat recently (and getting into a vicious cycle of needing card A in order to replace card B, card B to replace card C, and card C to replace card A), it really is better than losing your whole wallet.

:( though.

PhizzleDizzle said...

thanks for the sympathy peeps...and AA, sorry about that story!!! i am going to keep an eye on my accounts over the next few days.

new post imminent.

blank said...

Oh man that is annoying. My wallet was stolen a few months ago so I can really feel your pain.

It is nearly worse to get the wallet back with the money gone isn't it? And you can tell yourself all you like that someone really needed the money, but the back of your head is still just going "thieving bastards!".

I'm still finding cards I'd forgotten I had, that I need, and then have to go and re-order. It's all just hassle. For someone elses greed.