Brace yourself, this is a long one...
It is becoming increasingly evident that I may very well have some of the worst luck on the planet. It seems that this bad luck streak conveniently began in conjunction with my move to Chicago over a year and a half ago. I mean, it's bad, you can ask anyone who knows me. I'm sharing this with you, loyal (or complete lack there of) readers, because it's just too ridiculous to believe. I'm beginning to find humor in the pain and inconvenience and I feel this may be a problem. It started small. I remember the first incident rather well. I was looking for my own apartment and after viewing many places not fit for a rat infestation, I walked into the glory that was on Sunnyside. I mean, this place was gorgeous. Huge kitchen, completely re-done, 20 ft ceilings, windows spanning entire walls, dark wood flooring. Oh my god it was breathtaking. And I'd finally have my first official apartment all to myself and could move on from living with my boyfriend and his parents. hooray, big step for ms. independent. So, I sign documents right away, write checks that I can barely cover, just to have my own personal heaven. I got a call the following day informing me that some other agent in the leasing office had already given the apartment away a few hours before I signed and "forgot" to tell anyone. I placed a hit on him. My initial devastation was cajoled by the fact that this apartment was a bit away from the main, more happening areas of chi town, and "far" from my friends. Looking back, it was a blessing in disguise. But, there was more hell, less blessings to come.
I had a relatively good and uneventful early spring 2004...merely lost my cell phone in a cab after a sangria-soaked evening, juggled a horribly painful breakup along with a complete emotional breakdown all the while sitting next to the world's most heinous boss who was basically a waste of human flesh with a british accent. Just thinking about her makes my skin crawl. Then the fun really began. Mid-May, my car was broken into. In the middle of the day. In front of a church. In the pouring rain. I came home from work that day to a priest standing at my front door. Oh god (no pun intended), He has sent one of his messengers to personally hand me my one way ticket to the hot place. I'd been waiting for this moment. Not this time, my child. The priest was from the church that my car was parked in front of. He saw that my window was busted out and sitting in a torrential downpour, and quickly fashioned a temporary window out of a cardboard box. While doing so, he noticed a piece of mail in the center console and came to my place and sat and waited for me to come home. For 2 hours. God bless his already God-blessed soul. So I had my window repaired, and didn't have to replace anything because the little hoodlums didn't take anything. Just smashed the window in with a rock, rummaged around, tried to pop out my stereo, and left. Pussies.
Fast forward about a month. 3 days before I have to fly to Toronto for a conference for work. Minding my own business, I'm crammed into a train car on the way home from work, people around me literally laying on me, all up in my business, closer than my gyno gets. And it's 85 degrees outside with 150% humidity (seemingly impossible, but that day, it happened). It was gross. Even more gross was the man directly to my back left who obviously had not showered or used deodorant or changed his clothes in at least a year. Sick. So I'm packed in, sweating my ass off, and only breathing in through my mouth. Smelly dude quickly becomes Shady dude as I feel him kinda moving around (which reminds me of another horrible train ride that I shall post about at another time). I'm thinking he's trying to feel me up so I'm trying to shift away and sending him death stares. I swear the train ride took 10 hours instead of 10 minutes. Smelly/Shady dude gets off the stop before mine. Thank the lord, Jesus H. Christ. I finally extracate myself from the train at my stop and go to transfer to the bus (ah, the glory of mass transit). I reach to get my wallet out of my ZIPPED purse, and it's not there. Mother F! Shady/Smelly wasn't trying to feel my ass, he was TAKING MY WALLET OUT OF MY PURSE. So there I am, walking the 2 miles home because I don't have the money to get on the bus, and it starts raining. And it's humid. And I'm frantically calling and cancelling my cards (which he had already used. In the span of 10 minutes). Then it dawns on me that I am leaving on an international flight in 3 days, with no bank cards, credit cards, cash or an ID. And my social security card was in that wallet (there is a good reason for that) so I couldn't go get an IL license. The next day, I found myself driving like a bat out of hell to Louisville to get a duplicate license, so I could get on the frickin plane. I mean, driving 90mph the whole way just to burst into the license place at 4:29. One minute to spare. I had to fight them to give it to me. Then I got back in the trusty 'rolla and drove straight back to Chicago. Smelly/Shady dude, I hope to God that you are enjoying whatever you bought at that Marathon gas station for $18.63.
And the hits just keep on comin'...
Not one month later, I'm at a party at my friend's condo. It's an intimate gathering, maybe 30 people or so. Our host graciously offers to put our purses in his bedroom. Seemingly safe, no? As we are all headed out to the bars, he hands us all our purses. Mine feels eerily light. Open purse. Wallet there? Yes. Cell phone there? No. Open wallet, ID and credit cards gone along with my cash. Was anyone else's purse, that was sitting right next to mine, in a closed bedroom, all equal in size, shape, and color, touched??? No. Of course not. After I lose any and all buzz that I had by calling and cancelling cards (again), I end up finding the cards wrapped up in some receipts stuck in the bottom of my purse. And my cell phone? Shoved behind the mirror in the bathroom. Oh, and they had taken all the lip gloss out of my purse and put it in the guys' medicine cabinet. Wtf?!?!!? I couldn't make this shit up if I tried.
Onto the next event. Out to dinner a couple months ago drinking sangria and enjoying quesadillas on an unseasonably warm evening in April. We are all sitting around, having a grand time when I go to get my cell phone out of my purse. Here I shall point out that this one was partially my fault, as I, as well as all of the other girls at the table, had my purse hanging on the back of my chair (cringe). Can you guess what happens next?? If you guessed that my wallet was gone, you are correct!! You are thinking, "no f-ing way," and I'm saying, "yes, f-ing way." This one I seriously laughed about. I felt that I could not blame the culprit because honestly, at that point, there was a much greater power governing the fate of my personal belongings. The devil himself led them to MY zipped purse, instead of any other zipped purse hanging on the back of anyone else's chair in the upscale bar/restaurant on a casual Wednesday evening. I do not blame them, the worthless, inconsiderate piece of shit who apparently tried to use my card the very next morning at a Bed, Bath and Beyond in PENNSYLVANIA.
And here we (finally) arrive at the most recent incident. One of my bestest friends in this universe is getting married July 9th, and of course, I am a bridesmaid. The bride-to-be is in Columbus, so she shipped me my dress. Fine. I had her send it to me at work because most times delivery people won't leave stuff at my apartment and I have to go fetch it, even worse, some of my neighbor's stuff that she had delivered was stolen from the front hall of the apartment building. Didn't want to take my chances with that. So, the dress arrives in all of it's pink satin glory. Because I am in the middle of a move and my tailor is right by work, I decided it was best to leave it there in my desk. Would you believe that I came to work last Monday, opened my drawer to get the dress out, and it was GONE. GONE. STOLEN. Someone stole a bubble gum pink (Love you, Ter!) satin bridesmaids dress. That was wrapped in a plastic bag and stuffed in a fedex envelope. Honest to god, I almost very seriously had a heart attack right then and there. Called the company in a panic, sure that they could get me another dress, if I paid major bucks to rush it, in 7 long weeks. No. Not till the end of July. What?!?! Is the damn thing hand-stitched in a remote Russian village?!?! I hate Bari Jay Bridesmaids. More so, I hate the person who stole my dress...I'm sure she'll look like crap in it and people will point and laugh.
Due to time constraints, I have left out many other sundry, less dramatic bad things that happen to me on an almost daily basis. For instance, yesterday, when draining my tuna can into the sink at work, the tuna revolted against me and exploded. Spewing chunks of tuna and tuna juice all over my white fancy doctor/lab coat thing. It still reeks. Ah, a day in the life...