NWFlyer 2 #1 November 18, 2007 Before anyone tries to go all SC on me, I'm still not getting a gun. But the glass breakage alarms that I had posted about a while ago certainly did what I had hoped - they were a deterrent. Sitting on the couch, watching TV, listening to my cats run around and wondering what the hell they were getting into. All of a sudden I hear a loud noise (louder than either cat can make) and the alarm goes off. I go downstairs and my heavy wrought-iron patio chair has been moved right next to my door. I guess someone used it to try to force the door or break the window. I look up at my neighbors' kitchen window (which overlooks my house) and see Jay cooking, seemingly unaware. I go knock on their door; Andy comes downstairs ... we ask Jay if he's seen anything and he says that he had seen someone out of the corner of his eye - he'd noticed it because the guy was running off very quickly (most likely right when the alarm went off, which is loud, but not loud enough for a neighbor to hear with all the windows closed). I filed a police report; the officers just stopped by and said they'd had another report of someone going through yards in the neighborhood. Not much they can do at this point, but at least they're aware and keeping an eye out. And I'll be figuring out how we can install more lighting tomorrow. Sigh. I don't like the way this makes me feel right now. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grannyinthesky 0 #2 November 18, 2007 That's reallly scary. Glad you're ok."safety first... and What the hell..... safety second, Too!!! " ~~jmy POPS #10490 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SarahC07 0 #3 November 18, 2007 Holy shit - I'd be so scared. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PRSKY71 0 #4 November 18, 2007 I'm so sorry. There is always some loser out there!!! Keep safe!! Character cannot be made except by a steady, long continued process. -- Phillips Brooks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shell666 0 #5 November 18, 2007 Glad you're okay and that you had the alarm to warn you. Get more lighting as that can be a deterrent for someone looking into back yards, etc. And if you need more of a deterrent, I can send you a lot of large droppings from my puppito to scatter around your back yard. Nothing like dog poop to deter people from entering your yard. Trust me on this one. I HATE going into my back yard with it there. Kidding aside. I'm glad you're safe and that you're looking into keeping yourself safer. Love you girl. 'Shell Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 37 #6 November 18, 2007 Back when I was in college, I lived in an apartment with 3 other girls for a couple of years. We had a sliding glass door with vertical blinds. One of the blinds was missing. One night, I was typing in the living room (yes, typing, we didn't have computers!) and I heard a knock at the glass door. I looked out and saw a man's body. I thought it was one of my friends until I looked up at his face and realized it was someone I didn't know. I have no idea how long he had been standing there. He had propped open our screen door on our porch with a suntan lotion bottle. There was something white left on the glass door. At first, I thought the worst. The police figured out it was paint. Why someone would stop painting to look into a girl's window, I don't know. I don't know why I'm telling you this other than to tell you that I know how you feel and it's totally freaky. To this day, I'm still a little anxious about being alone in the house at night. I'm really glad I have my alarm system too and I make everyone use it, no matter how short they're going to be away from the house. Hugs to you.She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydivermom 0 #7 November 18, 2007 Holy Crap!! What an unpleasant adrenaline rush. Thank God you are all right.God Speed in getting more lights! Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #8 November 18, 2007 Yeah, those sliding glass doors are so easy to break into. In graduate school I shared a townhouse with two other women. It even had an alarm system installed - the first year there we didn't use it because it was "too much trouble." Over the summer, one of my roommates stayed there since she had a local job; I was in another city, as was my third roommate. Sure enough, that was when someone decided to hit as many of those townhouses (there were about 40 in the complex) as possible. He woke her up at 5 a.m... at gunpoint. Took all the money she had on her (not much on her) and forced her to drive to an ATM to withdraw more, then dropped her off and took her car. Fortunately, he didn't do anything else to her but it was obviously a terrifying experience nonetheless.And yes, we used the alarm system after that. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shell666 0 #9 November 18, 2007 QuoteBack when I was in college, I lived in an apartment with 3 other girls for a couple of years. We had a sliding glass door with vertical blinds. One of the blinds was missing. One night, I was typing in the living room (yes, typing, we didn't have computers!) and I heard a knock at the glass door. I looked out and saw a man's body. I thought it was one of my friends until I looked up at his face and realized it was someone I didn't know. I have no idea how long he had been standing there. He had propped open our screen door on our porch with a suntan lotion bottle. There was something white left on the glass door. At first, I thought the worst. The police figured out it was paint. Why someone would stop painting to look into a girl's window, I don't know. I don't know why I'm telling you this other than to tell you that I know how you feel and it's totally freaky. To this day, I'm still a little anxious about being alone in the house at night. I'm really glad I have my alarm system too and I make everyone use it, no matter how short they're going to be away from the house. Hugs to you. Okay, that's really freaky. Glad nothing happened to you. I used to live in a ground floor apartment. A secure building that required a funky key to get in the door to the building. Went out one night to a friends place for a BBQ. Had a few glasses of wine and decided to stay the night there. Came home the next day and my apartment was RANSACKED. They stole everything of value. And trashed my place in the process. They took everything including my mom's costume jewelry. Not valuable to them, but it meant a lot to me. Found out that there was a lock box in the entry that had master keys to the building and all the suites. It was there for the Fire Department to use in case of a fire (used to be required to be there on multi family buildings but wasn't a requirement when I lived there - my landlord just nevered bothered to remove it). These robbers were prying off the lock boxes from the entry and smashing them open to get the keys inside to rob the apartments in the building. Glad I wasn't home when they came in. Took me a while to remove the broomstick from my patio doors (even after I moved 3 flights up). I hate robbers. Glad I have a dog now.'Shell Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RALFFERS 0 #10 November 18, 2007 Holy shit! ........glad you're OK! Outside of getting a gun (I respect your position) I don't know what to tell you since you already have an alarm system. Good call on getting more lighting... Unfortunately, it doesn't matter where you live nowadays, things happen everywhere. I.E. I live in a good part of the city, and had my car (that was in front of my house) vandalized once, and broken into twice, one of which times I was in the car. Good thing the prick didn't have a gun, probably would of killed me during our altercation. In short, I know how you feel. If you're freaked out, and I think anyone would be, I'd stay with a friend...at least for tonight. Stay safe. Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself - "from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gonzalesna 0 #11 November 18, 2007 Watch the "Home Alone" movies and get some cool ideas. Some people refrain from beating a dead horse. Personally, I find a myriad of entertainment value when beating it until it becomes a horse-smoothie. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RALFFERS 0 #12 November 18, 2007 I'd do what Shell did...get a dog. It doesn't have to be a Pitt or anything (although that would be a good choice-they are very loyal & compassionate, contrary to popular belief.) But just get a big dog Don't worry....cats & dogs can get along Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself - "from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #13 November 18, 2007 Quote Holy shit! ........glad you're OK! Outside of getting a gun (I respect your position) I don't know what to tell you since you already have an alarm system. Good call on getting more lighting... I don't have a system - just a couple of glass break alarms on my door and downstairs window. I'm going to look into a monitored system, and I've already emailed all the neighbors and we're going to have an emergency association meeting (4 townhouses but b/c of the way it's laid out it's technically condo) to talk about options. I live in a really good neighborhood, and Seattle isn't a city with a real violent crime problem - our property crime rates are pretty high for a major city, but violent crime is very low."There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mccallj 0 #14 November 18, 2007 Now im paranoid about someone breaking into my apartment and stealing all my stuff. Its definitely time for me to get a short barrel 12ga with flechette rounds. And activate my alarm.“Last week I helped my friend stay put. It's a lot easier than helping someone move. I just went over to his house and made sure that he did not start to load his shit into a truck.” Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JeepDiver 0 #15 November 18, 2007 You should buy a handgun to protect yourself. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gonzalesna 0 #16 November 18, 2007 Quote You should buy a handgun to protect yourself. That's where you extend your index and middle fingers with your ring and pinkie fingers tucked in and your thumb at 90 degrees making it look like a gun like kids do, right?Some people refrain from beating a dead horse. Personally, I find a myriad of entertainment value when beating it until it becomes a horse-smoothie. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #17 November 18, 2007 QuoteYou should buy a handgun to protect yourself. Can we please keep this discussion out of Speakers' Corner. Please, please pretty please? Feel free to start a parallel topic over there but right now I'm just looking for a little support from my friends in Bonfire."There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RALFFERS 0 #18 November 18, 2007 Oh, they're NOT monitored... I'd certainly would look into that. For 1) they're are really cheap, and for 2) you save up to 20% on your homeowners insurance. Technically you're losing no money; besides if it keeps you safe it's worth every penny. Consider yourself lucky that you have good neighbors, that it sounds like you at least have some relationship with and thus you look after each other. Because although I live in a good neighborhood, I could probably be lying in my house, dead for a week or 2 and nobody would notice anything.Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself - "from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shell666 0 #19 November 18, 2007 Quote Quote You should buy a handgun to protect yourself. Can we please keep this discussion out of Speakers' Corner. Please, please pretty please? Feel free to start a parallel topic over there but right now I'm just looking for a little support from my friends in Bongire. Girl, I'm there for you. I know what it's like to have someone break into your place. And since you were home, I'm REALLY glad that the alarm you had in place scared them away before the got into the house. I'm glad you're talking to your neighbours about it. And I hope you look out for each other. There's strength in numbers. But if you need some poop ... well, you know ... 'Shell Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazon 7 #20 November 18, 2007 Quote I'm just looking for a little support from my friends in Bongire. Hmmm uhhhh well then light it up Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Richards 0 #21 November 18, 2007 If your cats are OK with it maybe you could consider a dog. My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #22 November 18, 2007 My neighbo(u)rs rock! I'm very lucky - not that anyone's particularly nosy but we do keep an eye on each other and each others' homes. We're all on top of each other in the city so what affects one affects all of us. When I was in an accident a few years ago it happened on a Friday afternoon and I was in the hospital for several days after. Monday I got a call on my cell from my neighbors saying "Uh... we're kind of wondering where you are and if everything's okay." Granted, I'd mentioned possibly grabbing dinner with them that weekend so they knew I was supposed to be around... but generally we're pretty good at letting each other know when we're not around. It made such a difference when I was traveling all the time for work last year to know someone had my back."There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #23 November 18, 2007 Quote Quote I'm just looking for a little support from my friends in Bongire. Hmmm uhhhh well then light it up Oops - fixed that. But that would certainly relax me right now!"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JeepDiver 0 #24 November 18, 2007 Quote I'm just looking for a little support from my friends in Bonfire. Ok, if the burglar returns later tonight post a new thread in bonfire, we will be here for you. More than likely that crack addict is breaking into another home right now so I'm confident you'll be ok. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Muenkel 0 #25 November 18, 2007 Krisanne, Glad you're safe. Why did you go out to your neighbors after that? What if the person was still around? Couldn't you have just called them? Also, didn't the security company phone you? I'm just saying, I think the safest thing to do in your situation was to stay put, call the police and a neighbor to come over. Not critisizing you at all. I just want you to be safe. _________________________________________ Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
