Lost and unfound.

this weekend absolutely sucked. SUCKED.

it happened to be dkf and my 2 year anniversary. i went shopping at Qi Pu Lu with jingjing, milan and her bf, hoping to get a new coat, socks, scarves, shoes, whatever made me want to empty my wallet. this shopping area is notorious for pickpockets. since it's approaching chinese new year, thieves are out collecting money for their trips home. milan warned me in the morning about the pickpockets on this road. i paid heed but not enough heed.

pineapple sticks. jingjing wanted a second one but ran out of small bills. so i whipped out my wallet, got 3 rmb from the coin pocket and put the wallet back in my purse. we were busy enjoying our pineapple sticks, and daydreaming of ethan hawke in Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. i am the most unobservant and non paranoid person in the world. it wasn't until we were paying for dinner hours later (after gabbing about ethan hawke still) that i reached in my purse and could not find my wallet. i knew i had been robbed and it was when we were by the pineapple stand. i was mega-pissed because i had my social security card in there (don't ask me why), my CA driver's license (again, don't ask me why), 2 credit cards, SH library card (which is worth ALOT), my student ID (which i still use for student discounts), good luck pendants and cards my grandma and mom gave me, my Enjoy card, and tons of cash (i was out shopping, after all). i really just wanted my SS card back the most. i wanted to both cry and choke the living daylights out of the thief. i mostly wanted to choke myself. how could i not be more paranoid, not be more observant, not make sure my purse was in front of me, not notice the pickpocket? i was warned for god sake! it was Qi Pu Lu!! we tried to call the police dept who was sorta useless then went home where i proceeded to call buy.com to cancel and reissue another card, bank of china, and did research on what to do if your SS card is stolen and how to replace it. apparently there's nothing u can do. you can open up a credit line with the SSN and my name. it's out there, circulating in this godforsaken city. i am just grateful there was no account activity on either credit cards. jingjing and i decided to post up reward ads. she wrote it in chinese for me, offering 1000rmb (alot for a poor thief), and asking for help in finding a wallet I had lost (not stolen) with important cards in it. she went back the next morning, and since she could not post posters anywhere, talked to the pineapple vendor, illegally posted up one poster, and alerted the street sweepers who would announce it. it's been 2 days. no word. people tell me it is likely the thief just wanted cash, and probably threw it away after taking that. and even if they found my SS card, they would not be sophisticated enough to know what it is and apply for a new credit line. i am hoping the thief was greedy enough to keep the fairly nice wallet, look thru the cards to see what else he/she could use or sell, but still keep it and then see the ad the next morning and think, hey, i could get more money! but they may be scared of repercussions, like me calling the cops. likely, they just threw the thing away.

it happens to all of us. we all get robbed one way or another. i am so freakin bummed. not to mention the hassle of...everything.

it can only get better.