Bad Luck Comes in Threes?

Strike #2: So, I guess the car theft was just the beginning. The other night I left my battery charger on my motorcycle to perk it up from the long winter. Seeing that the motorcycle is my only transportation with a motor now, it made good sense to get the spring tune-up taken care of. That night, someone stole the battery charger from the front gate!

Strike #3: Dave Kammer, a classmate in medical school, was going on a trip to see his girlfriend in Washington D.C. for a couple days and offered to lend me his car while he was away. We worked out a trade where I would drop him off and pick him up from the airport and I got some wheels for the weekend. The VERY FIRST NIGHT I had his car I parked it under a streetlight to make sure it was not an easy target for anything. His car is newer and has an alarm. Although I did not hear a thing, I woke and found his driver's side mirror had been KNOCKED OFF!

Request Seattle Police Patrols!
What is happening in this neighborhood? I called the police again to complain about this sudden rise in crime and vandalism in my neighborhood. It turns out that you can REQUEST extra police surveillance of an area if you think something is up! I requested extra patrols of my block every night between 11pm and 5am for the next month! I doubt it will do much, but was glad that I could at least direct some of the expenditures of my tax dollars. So, if you ever feel there is suspicious activity in your neighborhood you can call the non-emergency number for Seattle Police (206.625.5011), press option 2 and then option 8 to get an operator or report a crime. Tell them you think something suspicious is going on in your neighborhood and you care concerned enough to request increased patrols! Easy as that!

In Washington State, a Car is Stolen Every 11 Minutes!

Thanks to my Subaru, your car is safe for another 11 minutes... (update on auto theft stats here!)

Last night, before I went to sleep, I noticed my new AAA auto club magazine had arrived. This fine piece of literature usually makes a short trip to the recycle bin, but there were some fun pictures of airplanes on front and I decided to flip through it before going to sleep. In there was an article on auto theft in Seattle. (Learn a little more here) They talked about ways to avoid becoming another statistic and they provided stats on the most stolen cars in the area.

1. 1991 Honda Accord
2. 1995 Honda Civic
3. 1989 Toyota Camry
4. 1990 Acura Integra
5. 1986 Toyota Pickup
6. 1994 Nissan Sentra
7. 1994 Saturn SL
8. 1993 Dodge Caravan (weird)
9. 1988 Honda Prelude
10. 1993 Jeep Cherokee

Did you notice there was not a single Subaru on the list. (All my vehicles that have been stolen were Subarus). The article talked about how effective the Club and car alarms are, even though most people view them as being an annoyance and that most people ignore car alarms. (Yeah, whose damn alarm is waking me up NOW?) I thought, "Huh, interesting article, time to get to sleep" and promptly recycled my AAA newsletter and went to sleep!

Well, I woke this morning at 7am about to head to the VA Hospital. It was my turn to carpool the group of med students that are assigned the VA this quarter, although this morning all I found was a nice empty spot in front of my apartment where my 1996 Subaru Legacy Wagon used to sit! I love irony, don't you? Well, in memory of my little blue Subaru, here is a photo. I am sure it will turn up in a few weeks, trashed inside and out, broken out locks and smelling of alcohol and vomit, like my last one. Perhaps it won't. It is a good thing they did not steal my bicycle, because then I would really be inconvenienced...