Usually, I'd be writing an entire blog entry about how we snuck in a (last? I hope not) open water swim in the dark and cold Lake Washington this morning...however, the sting of being a victim of wallet theft yesterday was far worse than the October lake water...
So yesterday was the last day of my first month "in business," and I was pretty psyched to have 2 new clients (a wife and husband) at 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. I was about 45 minutes into the first client's 60-minute session when I heard the little ring of the outer office door. Monica is out of town, and I was the only person there, so I excused myself from the client to quickly stick my head out and see who was there. A girl, probably early 20's, was standing there and said her phone was broken and she needed to use ours...my first impulse (yes, I read the book "Blink," but apparently I am one of the people he talks about who discounts a first gut reaction) was to think, "yeah, this is some kind of story..." but I wanted to get her out of there quickly and return to my client, so I said that yes, she could use the phone in the back desk area. (And, sidebar, this is in Wallingford, not exactly a high crime neighborhood for chrissake). As I showed her where the phone was, I impulsively grabbed my iphone off the counter (at least I paid attention to this gut impulse), shoved it into my pocket, and went back into my session. I heard the girl in the office area on the phone for a minute...then as she left, she yelled, "Thanks!" and I said "You're welcome!" Um, well, I didn't mean THAT welcome.
Within the next/last couple minutes of the session, I was already remembering that my wallet had been sitting in my open bag on the desk and had a sinking feeling. Sure enough...as soon as I was finished with the client, I went right to the desk and realized the reason for the enthusiastic "thanks!" she'd yelled upon her exit...bitch stole my wallet. AUGH!!!!!!!!!!! Of course, immediate panic and yelling of the "F" word a few dozen times ensued after which I tried to call Seujan...who was unavailable (and really, what could she have done about it anyway...) and I tried to calm myself down.
I had just enough time (and, fortunately the iphone and, therefore, google) before the 2nd client's appointment to call the police, stop my credit cards, stop my debit cards, and start a list of the other things in my wallet that need replacing (gym card, Starbucks card, AAA card, health insurance card...blah blah)...and simultaneiously re-set the massage table & sheets. As the 2nd client walked in, I was still on the last phone call and over the phone said "Nice to meet you...please fill out the health history...on the phone with Visa for stolen credit card...." Somehow, I managed to chill back down enough to give a decent massage (well, I think/hope so anyway), though I really thought I was losing it there for a little while.
I was supposed to meet my friend, Dave, right after work for a quick happy hour and to see Drew Barrymore's new roller derby movie. I'd gotten free tickets last week and was psyched to take Dave, Mr. Lifetime Roller Derby Fan, to the movie (and stupid thief left the movie passes in my bag when she took the wallet so this was still an option). However, in between all the calls to Visa and the 2 clients, I'd placed a few hysterical texts and messages to Dave letting him know what had happened, and he was already parked at Murphy's bar enjoying his first beer and poised to buy me drinks. He'd already decided when I arrived that we would just have drinks, calm down, catch up....and see the movie next week. He truly is my forever boyfriend! I ranted to the waitress who (thankfully, didn't card me and) recommended a shot (which Dave quickly approved and shared) to chase my beer. I learned that Tullamore Dew is a pretty smooth spirit...note to self. After a couple beers and a couple games of darts, I felt much better...went by to see Seujan for a little extra grounding and still got home in time to get plenty of sleep before the dark cool morning swim.
Today I learned (thanks to Duncan) that you can renew/replace a driver's license online and avoid the DMV...of course this requires a credit card purchase--if you still have a credit card which I do not-- of $15 (thanks, Seujan!).
Nice that good people always seem to show up and help fix things, especially when NOT good ones screw them up!!
