Benvenuti! Now hand over your electronics!

We were robbed last Monday night. We're all safe. In fact we didn't even know we were burglarized until I woke up and let the dog out to pee...and didn't see Papabear's car. They stole our laptop, so I wrote everything down...the day it happened on a piece of notebook paper.
=======
Ang's Notes:

Bad Side of the paper: (I split them into two sides. I wrote all the bad stuff on one side and everything good on the other. Thankfully my good side is longer.)

08Feb09
-We were robbed last night between 11pm and 5am. I feel so violated, scared, angry, and frustrated. Basically all the lower range emotions. They came in through our second story kitchen window. I had locked the window, but not lowered the shutter (like security blinds.) They drilled a hole in the wooden frame and popped the lock open. I feel so guilty. I normally lock all doors and lower the blinds. But I, foolishly, thought that someone wouldn't break into a second story window. Even the dog tried to let me know by barking, but I thought he was barking at the cat and I told him to be quiet, go to sleep.

And he did.

They took our brand new laptop, Papabear's car with LB's birth certificate, military paperwork, Base pass, etc) our camera, The laptop bag, Papabear's wallet, they popped my car door and took my car registration, insurance cards.

They took the keys to the house/car.

Good side:
-Thank goodness (TG) we are safe!
-TG I put my wallet into my knitting bag. It was sitting next to my chair. They didn’t touch it.
-The external hardrive was next to the laptop. They must have not known what it was, they didn't take it.
-TG they left Papabear's leather jacket (they took his wallet out of the pockets and threw it down next to the window.)
-TG my thumb drive/camera memory cards were in a different location. They took a camera on its last legs...but not the battery charger or the camera card. Getting a new card is worth more than the camera. *snicker* now I can get a new camera without waiting till my old one literally died. THANKS!
-TG my car was empty. I've been training myself to completely empty it when I park it. From now on I'll even carry the registration/insurance with me. I have no clue why they wanted to steal those.
-TG I have MY car. It's the more expensive/nicer of the two.
-TG we returned the Tom Tom we were borrowing. I just returned that on Sunday.
-TG Littlebear put his PSP away in a drawer. They didn't check the drawers. From now on, it's getting hidden.
-TG the loaner TV wasn't stolen. It's not worth anything, but I'd really hate to replace it.
-TG our landlords were awesome. I called their daughter at 8. They were here by 9. The locksmith was here by 10. He fixed the kitchen hole by 11.
-TG our Landlady is a gem. She reminds me of an Italian version of my Grandma B. Something about her just screams that to me. The first thing she did when they came over was to bear hug me and let me cry. It was the nicest thing anyone's done for me since this happened.
-TG our passports weren't stolen. Papbear's was in his ransacked jacket. They left it on the floor. LB's and mine were in my knitting bag with my wallet. I've been sleeping with my purse/car keys since this happened. You may want to put your wallet/purse in your master bedroom too. We normally left the keys/wallets on our kitchen counter/table. No more!
-TG I am in control of how I feel. I can change this victim mentality.
-TG Pugly did bark. I'm encouraging him to bark from now on. I want him to bark until one of us tells him it's ok. I'd rather piss off the neighbors than lose another laptop.
-I'm glad our white 3ring binder of important documents (stored right above the laptop) wasn't stolen. Or that it wasn't in the laptop bag. I think I'm going to go move that to the back of my closet.
-TG our landlord's son married an American lady. She translated everything to the landlord for us.
-TG the animals are safe.
-TG the universe will replace these things. (Papabear's base pass has already turned up a few towns away. I'm hopeful they'll ditch the car. It's not worth anything to a chop shop/resale. I see us getting a call that they found it and Papa's wallet was inside of it. The credit cards were cancelled, but he has licenses-motorcycle, refrigerant, etc.)
-TG I was not here alone!!!!!! Papabear wasn't TDY or working nights. I told him I want a tazer. He offered a bat. I told him I didn't want to get that close to them.
-TG we have the military to back us up. We're not here just relying on local police.
-TG we still have our loaner furniture. There wasn't anything sentimentally valuable that could have been taken.
-Thank goodness I grabbed the Souvenir base coins and my coin purse out of the Audi last week.
-Thank goodness it's over, and I can move on.

----------------------End of notes---------------

I must be wired differently. Whenever anyone called...I just didn't have the energy to talk about it. It felt like I was the one soothing them.

"What if it happens to me? I don't lock my ________. I couldn't imagine. Etc"

I told Papabear that I'm ready for the next bit of gossip to occupy their time. I feel like a leper.

I'm feeling better...the nightmares aren't so frequent. And I've at least cracked open my rolladens for some sunshine.

I'll feel better when I get some perspective. I just hate the fact that I was starting to feel so comfortable here in Italy. It was starting to feel like home.

Love, Ang