maybe a culture of fear is appropriate

over the last couple of days i started talking with a person on second life that was into the xian music scene and had been to cornerstone a few times. after throwing around names of people we might both know, we eventually hit on a guy i hadn’t talked to in probably at least 5 or more years. the person in sl still had contact with him, so they gave him my aim account and we talked some last night over aim. that was a pretty cool happening.
in much less cool news, i began to realize last night that most likely when the person stole my license plate they also went into the house and stole some other stuff. most of the windows in the house don’t latch, and it would be really easy for someone to go behind the house and climb in through a window. for at least a month or more, i’ve looked for a thing or two and figured i’d just moved or misplaced them since i have been continually in the process or unpacking, rearranging, moving stuff, etc. i can’t describe how unnerving it is to be wondering what in the world someone might have stolen. the same thing happened at 9023, and over months to follow i would realize something else they stole. so who knows what they might have taken this time that i won’t know about until i go looking for it. the most disturbing thing is what i do know they took though — my walther ppk/s. now, it is possible i have misplaced it. but last night i started realizing a few other things i am missing that i think should be in certain places, so i’m pretty sure someone came in through the window and stole stuff out of my bedroom and bedroom closet. at least it evidently hasn’t been found and traced to a crime yet, or i would have probably already been visited by the police.
and the reason i started looking for the ppk/s seriously — instead of just assuming i’d moved it somewhere out of sight and couldn’t remember where — is because i was planning on taking the concealed handgun class this weekend, so i wanted to go a night or two this week and make sure i felt comfortable enough to take the class. it looks like i won’t be doing that.
i don’t recall ever having to deal with people breaking into a house or apartment i’ve lived in, but it’s happened twice now within the last two years. it pisses me off that people do that kind of stuff. i’ve never been a big fan of houston overall, but these two recent incidents really aren’t helping me want to stay in the city. not that it couldn’t happen elsewhere, and of course it does — but it had nevered happened to me or in a place i was living. usually i think the media creates a culture of fear that makes people way more paranoid about the world around them, but i’ve now had the place i was living broken into twice, with at least one failed attempt. it makes it hard to have a good opinion of the surrounding area or town, or to think maybe too much has changed for it to be a decent place anymore. as with last time, i’m fortunate they were most likely on foot and were just looking do a quick grab and run. of course, i also don’t know what else might come up missing as time goes on.