So, last night, a homeless guy came into the house and tried to steal some items. Luckily they weren't of extreme monetary value: a bag of bananas, cereals, slippers, a broken phone and a kettle. This happened on the main floor and in the basement so I had no idea what was going on....
Till I heard a loud yell from my housemate M screaming my name.
"Holy !@#$! Some homeless guy came in and he took a bunch of my stuff!!!"
I look downstairs and I see some homeless guy leaving with her stuff(already out the door)... so I run down the stairs and I yell at him and asks what he thinks he's doing! He turns around, and starts walking towards me. Okay at this point I'm pretty scared (my knee was shaking). M is slightly behind me and beside me, so I tell her to have her phone handy in case. I tell the man to return the stuff that isn't his. M adds in he can keep the food, just give back the kettle. He gives me part of the kettle, but he doesn't give it to me (there's some resistance). So, we're both holding on to the kettle, and I'm telling him to return the stuff that isn't his. I tell him that we are going to call the cops if he doesn't, etc etc.
THEN HE WANTED TO COME BACK INTO THE HOUSE! Of course I'm in the front blocking him and then I yell at M in chinese to 'dai deen wai bei chai lo' (aka call the damn cops). So she's talking to the cops and I'm stalling time, hoping that he'll give me back the kettle and just leave. Then he takes the power cord and tries to haul the kettle away like a bag of goodies. Michelle and I finally grab the kettle from him and we lock the damn door; M is still on the phone with the cops. I ran my ass to my bedroom and I call my parents. My pulse is racing, I'm out of breath, and I'm explaining to my parents what happened. I go back downstairs and I see that he took the dust pan from outside and he had opened the shutter door. HOLY CRAP IS HE TRYING TO BREAK THE DOOR AND COME BACK IN???!!
2 minutes later, the cops arrived and apprehended him (and that was when Em came down as well) An hr and 15 minutes later, statements have been taken, pictures have been taken, and we can finally study in peace.... if all that excess adrenaline in my body would wear off.
The weirdest part about this was that I think he was inside for a long time. He went through the trash in the basement, brought the garbage can from the main floor into the basement... and he even had a blanket and his beer bottles in the laundry room; I hope he wasn't trying to spend the night.
Why this is a blessing:
1) It was an old homeless man who meant no intentional harm - I mean if he wanted to hurt me he coud've
2) We got back all the stuff, minus one pochacco slipper.
3) NO ONE GOT HURT!!
If there had been more than one person, if the guy was carrying a knife or gun, who knows what the ending to this story might have been. I sure as hell don't think I'd be screaming at the guy to return to the stuff. Better to take my stuff than my life.
What's to be learnt from this:
1) When you get a new lock for your door, you make sure it's damn secure!!!
2) When you leave the house/go to bed at night, CHECK ALL YOUR DOORS!
3) Never show them that you're scared. Try to look/act calm.
4) DON'T FREAK OUT!
Moral of the story: Lock your damn doors properly, and make sure people living with you know how to do that as well. Try to act calm and remember different situations warrant different actions. I.e. if the man had a gun, I wouldn't be yelling at him to give me my stuff back.
I think I have another thing to add to my 'to do list' for the summer: Self Defense Class
7 comments:
yes, thank goodness he wasn't drunk, violent or a sexual predator... *knock on wood*
I'm glad to hear you guys are alright. Scary situation...
I can't believe that you tried to get the kettle back!!! Next time, just let him take it and leave! I'm glad to hear that you and the other girls were fine. :-)
It was kind of like a "OMG HOLY CRAP WHAT DO WE DO!" and everything is paralyzed.
You really can't judge anyone's actions if you weren't there. I called the police, but I don't remember a thing I said to them. I just remember shaking...then the reassuring arrival of the lovely buff cops.
WOW..that's some crazy experience. Good thing you girls were okay. What are you gonna do with that one slipper??
Sounds like quite the interesting experience! You all may want to invest in a large dog or puppy in the meantime.
They make great alarms if no one is allergic :)
What craziness! Good to hear that everything turned out ok and that no one got hurt. Considering this neighborhood, I'm surprised that this is the first time that I've heard of something like this happening.
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