High Anxiety

Since I discovered that someone had managed to get into my apartment and stole my beautiful Canon Rebel (film!) camera and a brand spanking new pair of Uggs (the non-Uggly type) I am guilty of being paranoid. Every time I come home I look around for something slightly out of place, or something missing. I turn the doorknob before I unlock the deadbolt, making sure that my apartment is still locked, check that my jewelry is undisturbed and ascertain that my replacement boots are still in my closet.

Over the past week I've been getting slowly better about remembering how I've lived here for over a year, without anything amiss, and had practically managed to calm down a bit. Then today, I realized my pink tool kit is missing. Of course, this is such a ridiculous thing for someone to steal that I continue to search for it, thinking that it will turn up. Nevertheless, it reinforces the feeling of violation, that someone was shopping through my belongings as if at Macy's, trying on my shoes, pawing through my dresser and taking what pleases her (I've decided it has to be a female).

I keep musing on ways that I could make myself more secure: an alarm system, large dog (not likely), more locks, security web cam, safe to hid my valuables. Any of these options would provide more security, but still something could be taken. I'm not going to lock up my laptop each day, nor bolt my tv to the wall.

Maybe I could coat my apartment with some sort of dye so that I could tell who was lurking... For now, it's an alarm system and some pepper spray as defense. And maybe a safe. And some booby traps.