And The Hits Keep Coming

You know, I'm seriously thinking about changing the title of this blog to "The Bad News Blog." I don't really mean to be such a downer, though. It's not like I'm a national media source. It's not like I'm sitting here saying, "If it bleeds, it leads!" I will say it once again - I write this blog so that friends who don't get to see me on a regular basis and who care to know what's up with me can find out what's going on in my life. It just so happens that I seem to be having a string of misfortunes right now.

One of my friends (who does see me often) has commented on how disturbed she is to find me engaging in Victim Thinking. I've been talking to her about the whole ABC sting, you see. She thinks I will be much better off accepting my part in the things that are happening to me, that once I own up to exactly how I've screwed up, then I will feel more empowered. Well, okay. She's had therapy more recently than I, so here it goes.

I am sorry to the Great Impartial Universe for further messing up my life tonight.

It is my fault that I decided to go see a movie. I have plenty of DVDs at home I could have watched. I've just gotten Internet access here. I have unpacking to do. It is my fault that I decided to splurge and go see a film. I mean, I could have even gone to a matinee. They're over a dollar cheaper than evening movies. I was just being impulsive and wasn't considering the potential consequences of a night at the multi-plex.

It is my fault that I parked on the side of the theater instead of out front with the other cars. It's allowed me to exit from the back of the actual viewing rooms, walk right to my car, and leave avoiding movie exit traffic of both the human and vehicular kind. I've done that for years, so there's no way I can claim that tonight was just a fluke. Nope. Totally my fault.

It is also my fault that I left my knapsack in my car. Though it is the theater's policy to forbid backpacks in the movie house in a bid to cut down on movie piracy, I can't just blame this on them. I could have put it in the trunk. I could have taken it and asked them to keep it in the office. I could have made them search the bag and could have demanded that they let me take it into the house with me. No. Leaving it in the car was definately the lazy way out.

It is my fault that I left my wallet and cell phone in my backpack. I carry my debit card, my driver's license, even my library card on my person. Surely I could've taken the effort to carry the whole wallet. Many people do. As for the cell phone, I could have simply turned it off and taken it into the movie with me. It didn't have to stay in the car.

It is my fault that I sat through the entire movie. It wasn't particularly good, and I could've left at any time with negligble remorse. Hell, I could've left and rented it later on DVD to catch what I missed.

Due to all these things, it is my fault that person or persons found my car, smashed the driver's side window, took my backpack with my wallet (checkbook and Social Security card) and phone. I made myself such a tempting target by neglecting to take the simplest precautions. It's about vulnerability and protecting yourself.

So, I have car with a smashed window, a police report, no wallet, no phone, and a sense of how I let this all happen but hey ... at least I feel empowered.