(the misadventures of an expatriate corporate dropout)

Friday, December 19, 2008

welcome back. here's your hat, what's your hurry?

this morning I awoke, looking forward to a lunch with some former colleagues and friends in San Francisco. I took my time getting ready, it is always a treat to venture into a city with some style, which San Francisco definitely is.

I made my toilette and went to my car. I'm staying with my daughter in Oakland and have been doing street parking. I can see my car from her flat.

I got in the car and noticed some papers on the floor in front of the passenger seat. I groused to myself a bit about which kid that had borrowed the car had left stuff on the floor. Suddenly I felt a bit of a draft. "Don't tell me they left the window down too?!", I thought and absent-mindedly pushed the automatic button to close it. I heard some gritty grindy noise and looked over my shoulder to see that no ... no kid of mine had done anything to my car. Instead, some lovely citizen had vandalized my car and there was a pile of shattered glass on the seat, the floor, etc.

So much for lunch. my day. etcetera. Flurry of calls to and from insurance agents. auditors. glass repairers. walked to buy something to seal up the window.

Sat here fuming for the afternoon.

Fucking hell. get me outta here.

12 comments:

Stacey said...

Lovely. was it "just" vandals, or did they take stuff too?

Non Je Ne Regrette Rien said...

fortunately for me, I had left nothing of value in the car. so just ransacked the glove box and console...guess I should be 'thankful' (eyeroll) that they didn't cut the seats or something after they realized there was nothing there.

They used some sort of device to bend 2 window frames as well. rat bastards.

M said...

Bastards!

I'm glad there was nothing of value left in the car. I expect this just highlights your need to return home to France asap.

Anonymous said...

Hear, hear Michelle. Mofo bastards! What was the point? Not that there generally ever needs to be one.

Non Je Ne Regrette Rien said...

thanks guys.

okay which one of you 'mericans were mad at me?! lol ...

Utah Savage said...

We are turning into a nation of savages. No slur to myself or anyone of native american descent. But it's true. Even in Salt Lake City I park off street behind a locked gate. And it's a nice neighborhood. Sad but true.

Anonymous said...

fucking hell is right. I feel so much safer here in France, I'm sure that things happen in larger cities, but where I am and where you are it doesn't. We actually leave the keys in our car (not on purpose) just forget.

Maybe it was the last post - bagging on the loud americans!

Home is waiting...

Non Je Ne Regrette Rien said...

Utah-sad but true is right.

OJL-lol, that's what I thought (karma) but give me a break. oh wait ... they DID!

Kathleen said...

D and I were just wondering how you are this morning and then i read this... just one more clue that you're not in OZ anymore Dorothy and that Kansas ain't what it used to be. Based on the weather we're having in Oregon (snowed and iced in for the 4th day) I'm thinking So. France is lookin pretty damned good right now!

JChevais said...

We once had a car that we got stolen and it was never found. I was more upset by the car seats there were in the back seat than the actual car.... which, we speculate is somewhere in Africa by now...

Randal Graves said...

If there was such a thing as karma, then the fuckers who did this would have their cars smashed by the falling debris from a building scheduled for implosion.

Non Je Ne Regrette Rien said...

kathleen-je sais, je sais!

mrs c- I've been warned about car theft rings, even in the countryside but in highly touristic areas. I've also been told the gendarmes cracked down on them during the past few years (and that the cars taken were destined for Africa ...)

RG- a POX on them, for sure!