I still don't feel safe and I can't sleep

[VelmaD]

For those who missed it last night, my apartment was broken into while I was at my parents' house for Thanksgiving. I didn't hardly sleep last night and I'm having trouble convincing myself to even try to sleep tonight. My front door is still only half-assed fixed. They pawed through my underwear drawer for pete's sake. My apartment just doesn't feel like a safe space again yet.

I think I'm going to skip work tomorrow. I have to deal with the police. And deal with the apartment people and getting the door really fixed. And deal with replacing some of the things they took. I have to really clean up the mess they left...I think I'm going to just scrub the entire apartment from top to bottom to try to make it feel "clean" again.

I hate not feeling comfortable in my own home. :(

[WindRavenX]

1. jesus, that must suck

:hug: to you, Velma.

Yeah, cleaning sometimes helps-- just don't go all OCD about it, a'right?

[VelmaD]

I don't like cleaning at all

so I'm figuring OCD is not an option. *snort*

I'm just hoping that cleaning everything and maybe doing some sort of cleansing ritual and then maybe putting up the xmas decorations will change the feeling of the place...make if feel better.

[WindRavenX]

7. this may be dumb suggestion...

...but do you have a stuffed animal you can sleep with to make you feel better? I'm 21 and I still snuggle with my stuffed lion Roary when I'm scared.

[VelmaD]

8. I do

There's a little stuffed wolf pup tangled in the covers of my bed. I've slept with him since my most recent boyfriend moved to Florida a couple of months ago (he has the twin pup with him). If things get really bad, I'll get the stuffed puppy that I've had since the day I was born. :)

[Redstone]

2. A perfectly normal reaction.

Redstone

[tigereye]

3. hugs to you

call a friend, that can help.

[crim son]

4. I feel for you.

You have to remember that they won't return to the same place twice. You have hugs and reassurance from me. I wish there were not such people in the world who make us feel afraid to sleep at night. :hug:

[VelmaD]

6. I hope you're right...

but I keep reading stats that once you've been broken into you're more likely to have it happen again. Mostly I just want them to fix my door and add security features to make damn sure no one can kick it in ever again.

[crim son]

16. When I lived on Mass. Ave. in Boston, I got broken in to.

Woke to find the man climbing out my bedroom window. We had the window barred and never again had a problem, but it gave me nightmares for years. I do understand.

[RevolutionaryActs]

5. Oh how awful, I'm so sorry.

:hug:

[Maddy McCall]

9. I'm sorry that this happened to you.

I've been through it. It feels terrible when someone "rapes" your home.

When you say that the door isn't fixed, what do you mean? Is it fixed well enough for you to be safe staying there?

Very sorry you're going through this. :hug:

[VelmaD]

12. It's is fixed enough...

for me to be technically safe. Maintenance made an emergency repair yesterday. But I won't feel right until they do the full repair...hopefully tomorrow, otherwise I'm gonna have to yell at people.

I've been loathe to think of it in terms of someone violating my home..like a rape. But honestly, I've been a freaked out that way since I realized they had pawed through my underwear. *shudder*

[Maddy McCall]

17. That's how it felt to me when my home was broken into.

When my son was an infant, I took him to a street festival near my house. A crackhead broke in and went through all my stuff--and my baby's stuff. He even broke into MMjr's baby bank and stole all of the dimes out of it. He stole my gold baby bracelet, necklace, and cross.

His fingerprints were everywhere. Fortunate for me--my first cousin is an investigator in my county. He worked overtime trying to find prints, and he found them. As I said, turned out to be a local crackhead.

Do you know what the best medicine for me was? Giving a victim's impact statement at the guy's sentencing. He got SEVEN YEARS for what he did to my son and me.

I slept with my shotgun for weeks after that break-in. It took me a couple of months to feel safe again.

Well, so much for my story--I really hope you can feel safe again soon. I am glad that you weren't there when it happened and that you are safe.

[amitten]

10. Prop some furniture up against that door. And see if a friend can

stay the night with you.

Keep a phone by your bed...I doubt you have anything to worry about, but those things will make you feel better.

What area of Austin are you in...?

[VelmaD]

13. I'm doing the phone thing

and the furniture in front of the door idea is a good one. Thanks. :)

I'm up in North Austin. Not the greatest neighborhood but I've lived up here for about 9 years and this is the first time something like this has happened to me.

[VespertineIconoclast]

11. Do whatever you need to that allows you to feel comfortable in your home again.

I'm so sorry that such a horrible thing happened to you and I know it must feel like a terrible violation --! Do you have anyone that lives close by that could stay with you a few nights so you can feel safe again in your home? I wish you all the best! I know that this occurrence is still fresh in your mind, but just remember that nothing very, very good or very, very bad lasts very, very long. So, these bad times shall past and become a faded memory. :hug:

[VelmaD]

14. I have friends nearby...

but I'm a bit too self-sufficient to ask someone to stay. I am prickly independent. Plus my apartment isn't really set up for overnight guests. I have the world's least comfortable couch.

[VespertineIconoclast]

23. I understand self-sufficiency....

because I have a very strong independent streak within myself too.... However, a burglary in your home is something I see as a special situation that may call for handling things a bit differently from how you "normally" would.... But, then again you know what is best for your own life. :) I wish you the best.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

15. Honestly, if someone ever broke into where I lived, I'd buy a handgun.

Take gun-safety and practice regularly, but I'd definitely buy a gun.

I know that's not popular with some people here, but that's how I feel about it. A gun is just a tool, and it's a damn good tool, in some situations.

[VelmaD]

18. I got that exact piece of advice last night...

from a close friend. I was raised out in the country and learned to safely and accurately operate a firearm at a young age. That said, I'm not comfortable with the idea of having one in my home. I've seen the statistics about how I'd be the one most likely to be shot with it. Plus I'd rather have the satisfaction of beating them with a baseball bat if they're stupid enough to come back. :evilgrin: I got a nap in today and put myself to sleep with the mental image of them coming back, me spraying them with the stuff in the fire extinguisher, kicking them in the nuts while they couldn't see, and then bashing them over the head with said fire extinguisher.

[Maddy McCall]

22. Buy some law-enforcement-grade pepper spray.

You can get it for less than $20. Put it on your keychain, so that it's nearby at all times. ETA: You can get the good pepper spray at any gun store...ask one of the police officers working with you on this what the best kind is. The officer will be more than happy to recommend a good brand to you.

I carry it on my university campus. There have been lots of rapes on campus, and one of my students threatened my life. Can't carry a gun, so I take the next best thing.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

39. If you're not comfortable having one, then I definitely wouldn't suggest owning one.

I don't own any firearms, although my family does.

Personally, I'm pretty much armed to the teeth with knives, swords, bos, kamas (sickle-type weapons), brass knuckles, billy club, etc. A combination of studying martial arts for most of my life and having grown up with a crazy-ass dad (I inherited the billy club and a lot of my knives from him).

The current dog is pretty useless, but we always had good protective watch dogs in the past.

[bicentennial_baby]

25. Which is why I adore you, you sensible grrrlll!!!

:loveya:

[SeattleGirl]

19. Being robbed is such a violation.

I think your idea of a good cleaning may be helpful, VelmaD. Do whatever you need to do to make things better. :hug:

[VelmaD]

24. Thanks

I just hope my boss doesn't give me any grief tomorrow about taking the day off to deal with it.

[SeattleGirl]

27. BTW, how's the kitty doing?

Still a little scared too?

[VelmaD]

33. She's better today...

than she was last night. Neither of us got much sleep last night. :( We cuddled on the couch a lot today and I think that helped her.

[texas1928]

20. Use your Sith powers and make them suffer grave tragedies.

That will make you feel better. Should I send R2 in to keep watch?

[VelmaD]

29. Hey Tex

If I knew who did it they'd be in for some serious mind-whammying.

[texas1928]

31. Well bust every one in Austin just for good measure.

That will learn them.

[VelmaD]

35. Even GOPisEvil?

Though I'm just bitter enough about the Aggies beating UT that he just might deserve it. ;)

[texas1928]

38. HEY!!!!!

Don't make me come down there.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

21. Take some actions that will help you feel safe.

Years ago my house was broken into, and my TV, stereo and other things were stolen. It freaked me out, and for weeks I slept with the lights on. But I also got deadbolt locks on the doors, put up motion-sensitive lights on the front and back porches, and bought a shotgun. These things helped my peace of mind considerably. But it took awhile to feel safe again, and I still like having some lights on.

[VelmaD]

28. The first thing I'm gonna do...

is insist that the apartment people add some security features when they fix the door. The second thing I'm gonna do is buy one of those things that turns your lights on and off on a timer so that when I go home for xmas people can't tell that I'm not here.

[XemaSab]

26. That *sucks*

I got burglarized last thanksgiving, and it's really a creepy thing to have happen.

I'm sorry. :(

[VelmaD]

30. People really suck

To bust into someone's place over the freakin' holidays.

[Skittles]

32. Velma my sweet

first I've heard of it - I've always wondered how I'd feel if this happened to me and I'm betting it would be the same as you are feeling right now. Can you get out of the lease because of this? I think for peace of mind you should move. If you can't move, get things fixed up as fast as you can, then call the police department see if you can arrange for some kind of security check on your home - I mean, advice on how secure things are. And please do skip work and tell them the reason - people will be very sympathetic which you really need right now.

[VelmaD]

34. Actually, I'm supposed to turn in the paperwork...

to renew my lease some time before December 1. I'm not sure what to do about it now. I don't want to move. I love my apartment. I just want them to fix the door and add some security to it.

[Skittles]

40. well then you go that route

take off work and get your stuff fixed pronto because your peace of mind is your number one priorty right now. AND GET THAT SECURITY CHECK TOO. Yes INDEED.

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

36. Definitely skip work

You need to get your house in order. That's worth taking a day off.

[VelmaD]

37. you have...

a freakin' awesome username :)

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

41. Thanks

and I came up with it BEFORE Cheney shot an 80 year old man in the face!

[VelmaD]

42. I still maintain...

that there's just no way you can combine the words Vice-president, shot, Texas, lawyer, and face and have it NOT be funny.