I HATE Thieves

So, something horrible happened this week. Someone broke into my locker at the gym and stole my wedding rings, credit cards, and driver's license. I go to the gym to lift weights for 30 minutes every day at lunch. As usual, I changed into my workout clothes, stowed my rings in the inside zipper pocket of my purse, locked my locker, and went about my workout. When I got back upstairs to change back into my work clothes, I noticed first that my rings were missing. I thought maybe they had fallen into the bottom of my purse, so I searched there...nothing. My heart was starting to beat a little quickly at this point.

For some reason the next thing I did, without even thinking, was to open my wallet. It was becoming clear to me at that point what had happened. All the slots where I keep my credit cards and driver's license were empty. I just kind of stood there for a minute, not understanding what was going on. I mean, my locker was freaking LOCKED this entire time. I even had to unlock it when I came back to get dressed, so they locked it back when they were done. They didn't cut the lock or break it in any way, which means they either must have picked it or watched me for days and memorized my combination. But I think I would have noticed someone hovering behind me staring at my hand as I put in the combination! Apparently combination locks are easy to pick, though, so that's probably what happened. But I definitely think I was targeted. I mean, a ton of women do not put locks on their lockers at ALL. They just close the doors to the locker...I often open 3 or more lockers each day before finding an empty one I can use. Yet nobody else was robbed that day...only me. Also, since they didn't take my entire purse, but only the things they wanted out of it (they ignored my camera and iPod), I think they have had their eye on me for a while.


I have tried to look on the bright side of this situation, because things could have been a lot worse. The thief who has been watching me could have ambushed me in the parking garage and shot me to get what they wanted. (Maybe a bit dramatic, but this kind of thing does happen every day in Dallas). So now, with my second anniversary a few weeks away, Jeff and I have to design my rings all over again and wait for them to be made. Luckily the insurance company is not dragging its feet and is already in the process of completing our claim, so it shouldn't take too long.

What really pisses me off about this situation is the complete disregard for people's belongings. How does a person come to the conclusion that it is OK to take something that does not belong to them?! I can cancel credit cards and replace my driver's license, but my rings were one of a kind. Jeff picked out the stones and designed my ring himself, and it was on my hand the day we got married. That can't be replaced. I typically have a lot of patience with and faith in people, but this is something I just can't understand or tolerate. It makes me SO angry to think about it. I don't hold out much hope that the police will find whoever did this, but it sure would be nice if they did. The detective is going to check the videos from the gym entrance and the gas station where they used my credit card 10 minutes before I discovered the theft. He is also going to check pawn shops for my rings...but again, it's a needle in a haystack! UGH...it has been a crappy week.