CSI: Octavia Street

We had quite a surprise waiting for us when we returned home from work last Thursday... our apartment had been broken into. I arrived home first and thought Keith was home with the door open, alas, he was not taking out the trash. Entering the apartment I noticed a random router lying on the living room floor, then realized my jewelry box was strewn across the bed. I don't think it sunk in until I ran back into the living room and realized my laptop was gone. Very frightening. Keith arrived home minutes after me and we did a quick inventory of missing items... two laptops, two digital cameras, high-def video camera, palm pilot, lots of my costume jewelry (picky little burglar left a few pieces behind) and my "favorite" item of missing possessions, a pillowcase with which to take it all away. So... SFPD was called, arrived much later and took the report. The policeman was incredibly nice. They sent the crime lab back on Friday to dust for prints. Unfortunately, no useable prints were found. The landlord changed our locks on Friday and the downstairs main gate code. All parties involved were very responsive, which was comforting. It's highly unlikely that we'll recover anything, but I see a shopping spree in our very near future (and already am tapping away on a replacement laptop). Which actually isn't so bad... I lost a 6 year old machine, which has "ta-da" turned into a nice, new, light laptop.

The whole situation was challening and frustrating, to say the least, but we are both safe and have gotten to know our neighbors better! It's also been a good lesson for us. Not to lecture, but here are some tips from Crime Central on Octavia: Always lock the deadbolt. Always save your serial numbers. Always backup your computer. Update your insurance!