Recent Losses

Left side of face is flaking off like a lizard shedding its old skin.

Car broken into last night and stuff stolen.

My left side is what got all sunburned last weekend in Santa Cruz. Yesterday, the top layer of skin finally began to give up it’s hold. Today, many patches have fallen off. I tried my best, while at work, to stay away from the espresso bar. As funny as I do think it would be, I figure it’s some sort of health concern to have flakes of skin fall in a mocha. Tried my damndest to stay at the register, but kept getting put on bar because others don’t like it. (It was even stated in my review that I spend too much time on bar, but I only do it because no one else wants to, including the assistant manager.) While on bar, I did my best not to scratch my face because I really didn’t want to be the cause of a big problem, not today. But I wonder how many people drank up little flakes of me today? Did I make their drink taste better, or worse, or the same?

Sitting in my car, about to start it, I wanted to check to see if I had everything for my class. I reached for my backpack, but it wasn’t there. I wondered if I had forgotten it inside, but I remembered that the last thing I did before getting out of the car last night was to grab my book and CDs out of the backpack and left it in the car. Backpack was gone and I didn’t move it. Someone took it. Someone was in my car sometime after nine last night and before 7:30 this morning and took my backpack. And they took half a pack of Extra Wintergreen gum.

I realized that there were only two ways that people could have gotten into my car. 1. I left the car unlocked. 2. The person (or persons) reached through the crack in the window and unlocked the door. I’m betting the former is the one that happened. My car has an auto lock, but if I lock it on the inside and close the door without holding the handle up, all the doors unlock. Usually, I’m quite good at checking to make sure the door is locked. I can’t remember if I checked last night. Damn.

I hope the minty-breathed rotten stealers are upset that they got things that they can’t do anything with. I’ll run down what I know was taken:

1) Backpack I’ve had since my Freshman year in high school. Two big rips in leather on bottom and lining wearing out.

2) Two school text books, which I spent about $80 on, for Flash class. I doubt the thieves want to learn Flash.

3) A Five Star: First Gear binder I got before I started fifth or sixth grade. Still in remarkable condition, considering the age. Plus, it had the syllabus for the class and my first story board.

4) One zip disk with projects for class. Fortunately, I have all the projects on the hard drive of the computer I use at school.

5) A $12 sketch book with six or seven pages full of sketches or writing. I bought it as the spring semester ended because I took a drawing class and figured I should keep practicing.

6) Two mechanical pencils stuffed with lead. One was in the pack’s pocket, the other was in the binder.

7) A really good eraser. I liked that eraser a lot.

8) A half a pack of Extra Wintergreen gum. I wish 'Bucks sold wintergreen flavored gum.

That’s all that was taken. I have no money in the car. No CDs. Lots of cassettes, but who’s gonna take those in the year 2004? All my art stuff is still in the car. The sweat shirt in back is exactly where it’s been for the past month. All the trash is still there. And so is the oil.

I suppose they just really wanted the back pack.

I’ve replaced the one book that I really NEED for class, the one with the assignments, but the other had good information in an easy to find way. Want to get a new bag. Something that goes over my shoulder and hangs at hip instead of a backpack. Bought new mechanical pencil. Can’t find my other zip disks that are somewhere in my room. Can’t find my Star Trek Armada game. (Hasn’t been in my car since I moved, but I really wanted to play it yesterday and couldn’t find it.) Can’t just rip the flesh off my face to stop the peeling parts from itching.