[QUOTE=Northern Thalia]
When I was in Barcelona, a cab driver dropped me off in the middle of nowhere, and was talking in Spanish on his cell the entire ride. I don’t understand Spanish (I’m Canadian). So, shockingly, about 2 minutes after I get out of the cab, two guys try to mug me. I ended up winning what turned out to be a scary game of tug of war over my purse, and the people around me were treated to a very rousing rendition of me screaming every obscenity I know. So believe me, had I seen the guy take it, there would have been one hell of a fight.
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Minor nitpick – chances are, the cab driver was speaking Catalan, not Spanish.
No, I didn’t come in here just to mention that. I came in here to mention that Barcelona, especially in the touristy areas, seems to be a hotbed of petty theft. I was there with 32 members of the family (My in-laws… yeah…), and it seems like things were getting stolen from us left and right. We lost a DVD player, and some dude even came on to the motorcoach pretending he was lost, and then when he was instructed to leave, sneakily grabbed my Aunt’s purse. Even though one of my older cousins tackled the guy and held him (…yeah), the police refused to really do anything about it because it apparently happens all the time on Las Ramblas. We also had an attempted abduction of one of my little girl cousins. :eek: Anybody going to Barcelona to be a tourist, I recommend you keep your eyes on your stuff! (Well, and your kids, of course, but I have to believe that was some kind of statistical fluke.)
What happened to you really sucks, I’ve never had any personal items stolen like that, but you have ever right to be pissed. When my identity was stolen (three times) I was so overwhelmed with helpless rage. I can’t believe that people think only of themselves to such a point that they take from others without even considering the consequences. It doesn’t matter if it was a $450 purse or a $4 purse… that’s your stuff!
[QUOTE=MoodIndigo1] Northern Thalia, I’m really sorry for your loss of a good purse and the the incredible mess of cancellations and renewals that you’re facing.
In your post, you seem to assume that the nice-seeming lady was not a party to this. I tend to believe they were in this together, that behaving as an ordinary couple is part of the way to let people drop their guard. The only good thing is you would have noticed it right away and cancelled your credit cards etc.
My husband had his wallet stolen recently in Montreal, and only noticed it was gone on Monday (it was likely stolen on Friday). Everything turned out ok, but there were a few stressful days as a result of that, I tell ya.
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I’ve been thinking about it, and what probably happened was she told her boyfriend that she liked it, and it was expensive. She was facing the purse, and he was seated beside where it was. I’m certain that’s the reason it was stolen. People who are in the practice of stealing purses don’t normally go to a restaurant, sit, peruse the menu, and make their move by running out like spastic kids. Most likely she saw something she wanted, and her knight in shining grease made it happen for her.
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim]
Yes, I have a wonderful 53" HDTV. It’s really too big to steal, but if it suddenly died I would be upset. However, while I like it, I don’t love it. What is sad is investing all that emotional weight to a thing – ANY thing.
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Yeah, man, like, we worry about people, man, not things. . . man. *Whoaaaa.
*
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim]
Yes, I have a wonderful 53" HDTV. It’s really too big to steal, but if it suddenly died I would be upset. However, while I like it, I don’t love it. What is sad is investing all that emotional weight to a thing – ANY thing.
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You stupid fuck. Lay off the weed enough to think. One of the most valuable things I have is this little, shiny, metal bear we bought at a jewelry store. I would be crushed if someone broke into our house and stole it. It isn’t worth much money-wise but it is important to me. It contains my baby daughter’s ashes. However, it is technically just a thing. Throughout my life, there have been other things that were more important to me than their supposed monetary value. Anyone without obvious brain damage (like you stupid fuck) has material possessions that are very important to them for one reason or another. It could be a simple photo album or something that they saved up for to buy as a personal present. It could be a knick-nack that is virtually worthless but came from a beloved relative that passed away.
I have heard enough of this type of imbecilic bullshit from people like you. Come down from you high and live and learn motherfucker. If you went to school anywhere, call and ask for your money back. Your emotional maturity level is about the same as a retarded toddler.
[QUOTE=Shagnasty]
You stupid fuck. Lay off the weed enough to think. One of the most valuable things I have is this little, shiny, metal bear we bought at a jewelry store. I would be crushed if someone broke into our house and stole it. It isn’t worth much money-wise but it is important to me. It contains my baby daughter’s ashes. However, it is technically just a thing. Throughout my life, there have been other things that were more important to me than their supposed monetary value. Anyone without obvious brain damage (like you stupid fuck) has material possessions that are very important to them for one reason or another. It could be a simple photo album or something that they saved up for to buy as a personal present. It could be a knick-nack that is virtually worthless but came from a beloved relative that passed away.
I have heard enough of this type of imbecilic bullshit from people like you. Come down from you high and live and learn motherfucker. If you went to school anywhere, call and ask for your money back. Your emotional maturity level is about the same as a retarded toddler.
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Your level of emotional maturity is truly breathtaking. Excuse me for not responding in kind. When monkeys fling feces, I just get out of the way rather than grab my own handful and throw back.
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim]
Your level of emotional maturity is truly breathtaking. Excuse me for not responding in kind. When monkeys fling feces, I just get out of the way rather than grab my own handful and throw back.
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While I can fully understand not responding to the vitriol of the post, there is still a good point being made. Lots of people grow attachments to objects that are, in themselves, just objects. Whether or not you’ll admit to it, surely there is something in your life that you would be heartbroken over if you lost. Sure, maybe it’s not your TV or a designer purse, but maybe it’s great grandma’s wedding picture or grandpa’s pocket watch. Lord knows my roommate has an entire closet full of things that make no sense to me, but they all are very meaningful to her. I know the poorly painted picture her grandmother painted before her death means the world to my roommate, even if it is crudely done and frankly, ugly; if that picture were to suddenly disappear, my roommate would be horribly sad— and reasonably so.
To the OP, maybe that designer purse was symbolic of her first chance in life to buy herself a nice present- a pay off for all of her hard work. Maybe- and this may also be me talking out of my ass here- it wasn’t just the purse, but what the purse was symbolic of for her.
Not to mention, trying to replace the content of a purse would totally be balls. Just today, I thought I had lost my purse for like, 10 minutes. I was spazzing out at the thought of trying to replace my IDs, credit cards, and insurance cards.
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim]
When monkeys fling feces, I just get out of the way rather than grab my own handful and throw back.
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It never thought throwing feces was an option. Why are you stockpiling weapons of mass destruction in your underwear?
(Sorry everyone. I was just looking for a common communication forum with our friend Boyo Jim here. He seems to like brutalizing innocent posters when they share something important to them. )
[QUOTE=Shagnasty]
It never thought throwing feces was an option. Why are you stockpiling weapons of mass destruction in your underwear?
(Sorry everyone. I was just looking for a common communication forum with our friend Boyo Jim here. He seems to like brutalizing innocent posters when they share something important to them. )
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Brutalizing? Compare my two posts with yours and tell me which is more brutal. The most emotional-laden word I used was “sad”.
Actually, don’t tell me because I am finished responding to this thread.
I had mine stolen once in a bar so I feel your pain. I had no money in it and at the time I think only my drivers license needed replaced but the thing that upset me the most were the pictures of my children. They could not be replaced.
I have never carried pictures of my kids with me from that day forward.
While I don’t have expensive purses, I have in fact one cheap Wal-mart purse, I do have things that I put value on. I can understand saving up money and buying something that you want, whatever the cost was.
I don’t think it makes a difference if was a purse, a camera or a car. It was stolen and she has every right to be pissed off about it. The sting is even deeper when it is something that you have wanted for a long time and put the effort into saving up for.
Man, on St. Denis? That’s insane. I’m going to be even more careful from now on.
I’ve been pretty paranoid since my wallet was stolen out of my purse on Crescent. I didn’t even notice it happening - I only found out when the waitress pointed out my bag was open.
[QUOTE=Larry Borgia]
Sorry about your theft, Northern Thalia, and sorry your thread got hijacked by sanctimonious, holier than thou assholes.
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Agreed.
[QUOTE=Larry Borgia]
Sorry about your theft, Northern Thalia, and sorry your thread got hijacked by sanctimonious, holier than thou assholes.
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Thanks, I’ve calmed down a lot about the whole thing. And what can you do?? I’m slowly learning that some people enjoy being inflammatory here. I found it interesting that some people chose to rag on me for buying expensive things, or professing “love” of inanimate objects. Forget about semantics, and that people express themselves differently, and some people happen to be more emphatic than others, no no, just jump down my throat for my choice of words. Feel free to completely disregard the assholes that stole, by the way. Continue to focus on my materialism. :dubious:
My sympathies as well, Northern Thalia. I’ve done what I could to help. You’re now a paid member for 1 year. (It may take some time to show up under your username.)
[QUOTE=Larry Borgia]
Sorry about your theft, Northern Thalia, and sorry your thread got hijacked by sanctimonious, holier than thou assholes.
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Thirded. Jeez, no situation is so tough that some sanctimonious schmuck can’t make it worse by acting like you deserved it.
I have a couple of Coach purses, one if which is new and was a gift from a dear friend. If someone stole it I would be sick over it, not just because of the expense but because of the emotional attachment and the fact that it’s my fucking purse that will be difficult and expensive to replace.
But in light of the lost of your social security card – and as you know you do deserve a smack to the forehead for carrying it with you – you should call the credit reporting services., let them know you have a potential identity theft situation, and and freeze further extensions of credit. Make a similar call to your bank.
[QUOTE=Liberal]
My sympathies as well, Northern Thalia. I’ve done what I could to help. You’re now a paid member for 1 year. (It may take some time to show up under your username.)
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Wow. Thanks so very much! It’s random acts of kindness like this that help reaffirm my belief that most people are inherently good!
[QUOTE=Jodi]
But in light of the lost of your social security card – and as you know you do deserve a smack to the forehead for carrying it with you – you should call the credit reporting services., let them know you have a potential identity theft situation, and and freeze further extensions of credit. Make a similar call to your bank.
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I have contacted one credit bureau already, and the other 2 Canadian ones I have to do in writing for some reason. It was really frustrating, because when I called the automated answer service it wasn’t giving me options that made sense, so I would just hit zero, in hopes of getting an operator. They have the system set up to hang up on you if you hit zero. Believe me, much swearing ensued.
[QUOTE=Jodi]
Thirded. Jeez, no situation is so tough that some sanctimonious schmuck can’t make it worse by acting like you deserved it.
I have a couple of Coach purses, one if which is new and was a gift from a dear friend. If someone stole it I would be sick over it, not just because of the expense but because of the emotional attachment and the fact that it’s my fucking purse that will be difficult and expensive to replace.
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You know, there’s an strange phenomenom on the Dope. A thread about expensive gaming computers, audio equipment, home theatres has Dopers falling all over themselves to offer advice and congratulations. But if the thread is about clothing or purses or shoes, many Dopers feel obligated to point out how silly and wasteful they consider spending money on those types of things and how virtuous they are for caring so little about them. It’s interesting that items that are considered traditionally feminine are thought of frivolous while tradionally "male"interests are lauded…
