On Being Robbed ...

"Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you." -- Oscar Wilde

My purse was stolen Saturday night.

Well, ironically, they didn't take the purse. Or my gum. Or my lip gloss.

But they took my phone and my camera, my ATM card, my license and about $50 in cash.

If you've never been robbed before, I wouldn't recommend it. It really sucks.

But, I'm going to be smart enough to glean some lessons from a shitty situation.

Lesson #1: Don't trust boys who use the girls' bathroom.

My friends and I were out at a bar in Federal Hill and I went to use the bathroom. I put my purse and my drink down to do so, but when I left I took my drink, but not my purse off the hook. For the first time ever there was a line for the guys' restroom and not the girls', so in the grand tradition of bar bathroom culture, a guy went into the girls' room after me. And in the 30 seconds it took me to realize I didn't have my purse, he had made off with my stuff. And of course I didn't pay attention to him and by the time I got back to the bathroom he was gone.

Lesson #2: Listen to your gut.

So my friends and I had been talking about going out in Federal Hill on Saturday night all week, but by the time Friday rolled around, I had pretty much decided I wasn't going to go. I was exhausted from working, plus I had busted my ass at the gym all week and I didn't really feel like drinking away all my progress. Also, if I was going to drink I was going to spend the night downtown at my friend Rebecca's, which meant that I wouldn't get home until early afternoon Sunday and I had a ton of stuff to do around my apartment.

But, then I decided that I deserved to have some fun, I wanted to see my friends and I would make a compromise -- I would go but not drink too much and drive my own car down so I could leave earlier on Sunday.

I should have just stayed home.

Also, ironically I had gone shopping earlier in the day and I saw these little clutch wallet/purses in New York and Company that I was this close to buying because I was like, "Hmm ... that might be good to take out so I don't have to carry a purse and I can just take a couple things." Right, should have bought that.

Here's a word of advice: when someone's trying to tell you something, listen.

Lesson #3: Good friends are worth more than gold (or cell phones, cameras and ATM cards).

Thank God for Matt, Kristin, Kyle, Jason and Rebecca. They were so awesome to me Saturday night. Matt, Kristin and Kyle talked to every bouncer, bartender and manager at the place and made sure they wouldn't accept my card. Kristin even dug through the trash looking for my stuff. Matt called Baltimore City police and had them come to Rebecca's so I could file a report. Rebecca stayed with me and wiped my tears and Jason rubbed my back and let me cry all over his shirt. And Kyle leant me his phone so I could call my parents and convinced me to stop beating myself up over the whole thing and made me laugh when all I wanted to do was cry.

Yeah, it sucks that what supposed to be a fun night out ended up costing me $350, but it could have been a lot worse. And it would have if not for all those awesome people.

And my mom, who was very understanding when I called her at midnight to have her cancel my credit card and my cell phone. And who acted like it wasn't a big deal, which made me feel better.

So, it's annoying that I don't have an ATM card for 5 to 10 business days and I have to deal with the DMV to get a new license. It sucks that the camera I just got for Christmas is gone (especially because there were really cute pictures of all of us on it). But material things can always be replaced. And things can always be worse.

Bottom line --

New license: $30
New cell phone: $50
New camera: $200
Knowing that when the shit hits the fan, your friends will be there? PRICELESS.