Having a pretty shitty day.

[Xander]

Woke up to find my jeep cherokee was stolen from the parking lot of my apartment. Insurance company called, police report filed ... let's hope that the atlanta crackheads were too dumb to realize that I was almost out of gas.

 

So I suppose I'm only available for in-calls until I figure this out. SIGH

[tyro]

Oh NO!

People will steal Jeeps from anywhere. A colleague of mine had hers stolen from the school parking lot during the school day.

T

[Xander]

Yeah, its a really shitty weekend for me. I had about a thousand bucks worth of camping equipment in there ... I'm supposed to be heading out to go camping in a rainforest for 5 days tomorrow morning. Not sure if I want to cancel the trip or not.

[maxwellissmart]

Yeah, its a really shitty weekend for me. I had about a thousand bucks worth of camping equipment in there ... I'm supposed to be heading out to go camping in a rainforest for 5 days tomorrow morning. Not sure if I want to cancel the trip or not.

 

If you have renters'/homeowners, it may cover part of your loss.

[Guest MajorTomp]

Yeah, its a really shitty weekend for me. I had about a thousand bucks worth of camping equipment in there ... I'm supposed to be heading out to go camping in a rainforest for 5 days tomorrow morning. Not sure if I want to cancel the trip or not.

 

Too bad you are not still in Florida. I've got a mess of camping equipment that I would have swapped you in a trade! LOL (That is if you are not backpacking it - I've converted to all ultra light gear so my old "car" camping stuff is just gathering dust!

 

Sorry to hear about your car and I know how you feel about your trip. When you plan for one of those things you really don't want to cancel. BTW, what rainforest???? Not many near ATL!

[Xander]

Deerfields, NC its a sub-temperate rainforest

 

 

Was one of the few times of the year I get to get away from society for Transformus ( http://www.transformus.com/ )

[Guest MajorTomp]

Oh wow, cool. Never heard of this before. Sounds kind of like Burning Man's little brother. Well I hope you don't have to cancel. I also hike and camp in the NC mountains. I call it green therapy! Being emersed in the color of natural green is restorative! Good luck to you!

[Xander]

Oh wow, cool. Never heard of this before. Sounds kind of like Burning Man's little brother. Well I hope you don't have to cancel. I also hike and camp in the NC mountains. I call it green therapy! Being emersed in the color of natural green is restorative! Good luck to you!

 

It is actually an east-coast burning-man sanctioned event

[+ deej]

It is actually an east-coast burning-man sanctioned event

 

Yeah, but anyone who misses that detail could be excused because their website doesn't actually say it.

[seeker630]

Yeah, but anyone who misses that detail could be excused because their website doesn't actually say it.

 

Well...it is on page 15 of the Survival Guide (under the 'About' tab. but I'm surprised it's not on a higher-level page.

[bigvalboy]

Sorry to hear about the loss, but why would you keep anything in your car of that value unattended? especially a Jeep, they are one of the easiest cars to break into. Even when I am traveling, and stop to eat, I always sit somewhere in the restaurant where I can see my car. If it is parked anywhere, the first rule of thumb is not to leave anything in the car of value that is visible. All is secured in the trunk.

 

I also have an alarm system that is linked to my key chain. If the alarm goes off, I can be up to 1000 yards away and I will be alerted, the alarm also comes with a ignition kill switch which automatically activates when I set the alarm and I have a separate toggle switch which I can flip on that is hidden and that kills the fuel system.

 

Another alarm my friend has on his Porsche is, if they should breach the initial system, the car will start and run for 1/2 mile, at which point the ignition and fuel system shut down. It has been stolen twice, and both times they found the car abandoned a few blocks away. I had a car stolen 30 years ago and swore that it would never happen again.... Well, it is a good lesson to learn Xander and perhaps going forward you will take some precautions. Good Luck.

[Lookin]

I also have an alarm system that is linked to my key chain. If the alarm goes off, I can be up to 1000 yards away and I will be alerted, the alarm also comes with a ignition kill switch which automatically activates when I set the alarm and I have a separate toggle switch which I can flip on that is hidden and that kills the fuel system.

 

Another alarm my friend has on his Porsche is, if they should breach the initial system, the car will start and run for 1/2 mile, at which point the ignition and fuel system shut down.

 

Perhaps you or your friend could give Xander a lift. http://www.maleescortreview.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif

[bigvalboy]

Perhaps you or your friend could give Xander a lift. http://www.maleescortreview.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif

 

Uuuuhhhh....that would be a "No" ......I'm not a taxi service.

[Xander]

Sorry to hear about the loss, but why would you keep anything in your car of that value unattended? especially a Jeep, they are one of the easiest cars to break into. Even when I am traveling, and stop to eat, I always sit somewhere in the restaurant where I can see my car. If it is parked anywhere, the first rule of thumb is not to leave anything in the car of value that is visible. All is secured in the trunk.

 

I also have an alarm system that is linked to my key chain. If the alarm goes off, I can be up to 1000 yards away and I will be alerted, the alarm also comes with a ignition kill switch which automatically activates when I set the alarm and I have a separate toggle switch which I can flip on that is hidden and that kills the fuel system.

 

Another alarm my friend has on his Porsche is, if they should breach the initial system, the car will start and run for 1/2 mile, at which point the ignition and fuel system shut down. It has been stolen twice, and both times they found the car abandoned a few blocks away. I had a car stolen 30 years ago and swore that it would never happen again.... Well, it is a good lesson to learn Xander and perhaps going forward you will take some precautions. Good Luck.

 

 

Left valuables in the car because I was wanting to be packed up before I left early Wednesday morning.

 

Since I have a high credit score, I'll be getting another SUV, renting a uhaul trailer and moving out west to phoenix where my parents live. I'll be unenrolling from school, getting my bearings in Phoenix, and then headed to San Francisco to finish up undergrad.

[Boner]

but why would you keep anything in your car of that value unattended? especially a Jeep, they are one of the easiest cars to break into. Even when I am traveling, and stop to eat, I always sit somewhere in the restaurant where I can see my car. If it is parked anywhere, the first rule of thumb is not to leave anything in the car of value that is visible. All is secured in the trunk.

 

I also have an alarm system that is linked to my key chain. If the alarm goes off, I can be up to 1000 yards away and I will be alerted, the alarm also comes with a ignition kill switch which automatically activates when I set the alarm and I have a separate toggle switch which I can flip on that is hidden and that kills the fuel system.

 

Another alarm my friend has on his Porsche is, if they should breach the initial system, the car will start and run for 1/2 mile, at which point the ignition and fuel system shut down. It has been stolen twice, and both times they found the car abandoned a few blocks away. I had a car stolen 30 years ago and swore that it would never happen again....Well, it is a good lesson to learn Xander andperhaps goingforward you will take some precautions. Good Luck.

 

Jeez, bigvalguy, nothing like lifting up the spirits of a guy while in the middle of a shitty situation. Have you ever considered writing for Hallmark Cards under their grief and bereavement category?

[jawjateck]

That's quite a life-change there, Xander. I wish you well in your new direction.

[Boner]

OUR Deepest sympathies are with you during your time of grief and loss.

 

It's times like these where family and friends are so very important and our heart-felt wishes are with you and that you will somehow find some comfort within our expressed love and concern for you.

 

And perhaps this will also serve to be a life lesson for you the next time you foolishly go falling in love with someone other than yourself and expecting them to live and to be around forever - Was you first mistake.

 

 

Good Luck! Your friends at Hallmark Cards.

[bigvalboy]

Jeez, bigvalguy, nothing like lifting up the spirits of a guy while in the middle of a shitty situation. Have you ever considered writing for Hallmark Cards under their grief and bereavement category?

 

Well I could have been like you and offered up nothing....except giggling at the chance to say something nasty to me....I at least provided valuable advice for the future so that this would not happen again. Xander is a big boy, he will get over the loss, getting a car stolen is hardly in the category of bereavement. what he needs is advice on what not to do in the future....not a Hallmark card. Have a nice day...

[Boner]

Left valuables in the car because I was wanting to be packed up before I left early Wednesday morning.

 

I've never known anyone in my life to have done anything differently. People pack that car (jeep) the night before a road-trip so they can just hit the road in the morning. Sorry for the loss of your personal belongings. Being personally violated like that is not an easy thing to rebound from.

 

Best of luck to you!

[bigvalboy]

Left valuables in the car because I was wanting to be packed up before I left early Wednesday morning.

 

Well I certainly understand your thinking, however unless you can pack and then secure the car in a locked garage, you are taking a very BIG risk at theft, as you certainly experienced. Getting up an hour or so earlier in the morning to pack the car, would have saved you a lot of trouble. I routinely pack the car and boat for an early morning exit from the city, but everything is then backed into the rear yard and secured behind a gate with the dog free to patrol also. I even keep all exterior lights on, just to be extra safe. At any rate, insurance should cover most of what was stolen, including the contents. Best of luck with your future plans....

[Boner]

Xander is a big boy, he will get over the loss, getting a car stolen is hardly in the category of bereavement.

 

All things are relative to where you are in your point and place in life. What might be a small loss and concern to you, now that you are much older and wiser - is perhaps a whole lot different to someone in their 20's.

 

Advice is meaningless to most people, if they see or feel no compassion, or understanding of their situation, connected to it.

 

Often times, older men forget the differences of where our youth are in their lives, in relation to their own. And the importance of what youth place on certain things and consider to be of value to them.

 

I had my dog stolen from me when I was 23. In many ways, I still grieve over that. I didn't need advice and life-correction back then. I just needed a friend.

[bigvalboy]

All things are relative to where you are in your point and place in life. What might be a small loss and concern to you, now that you are much older and wiser - is perhaps a whole lot different to someone in their 20's.

 

Advice is meaningless to most people, if they see or feel no compassion, or understanding of their situation, connected to it.

 

Often times, older men forget the differences of where our youth are in their lives, in relation to their own. And the importance of what youth place on certain things and consider to be of value to them.

 

I had my dog stolen from me when I was 23. In many ways, I still grieve over that. I didn't need advice and life-correction back then. I just needed a friend.

 

 

If you have been reading Xanders posts or seen is website or blog, you would understand that he is no ordinary young man...extremely bright in fact. He needs advice, not a bunch of crying queens to wipe his tears away. When I got my first car stolen, yes at twenty three, the first thing the police said to me after taking the report was, a long list of things that did not work in trying to protect a car from being stolen, and then some excellent advice on alarms and kill switches, which to this day have protected me.

 

Hopefully, with the plans for the new SUV that he has already planned for the future, he will install a system with alternating codes to help deter theft, and perhaps as I do, every time he stops to grab a soda or gas, he will lock the car, flip the kill switch and hit the alarm...or maybe he won't and just go inside with the car unlocked thinking about your Hallmark card, and then come out to an empty parking space. Moving on?

[Boner]

Xander is a big boy, he will get over the loss, getting a car stolen is hardly in the category of bereavement.

 

I'm honestly curious here - as to how you, BVB, would have responded here, if Xander had been, on or in, your "to do bucket-list" or already a go-to-guy.

 

I suspect that there would have been much less schooling here and much more cuddling, compassion and caring going on here.

 

But that's just me.

[Diverdan]

Xander,

We have never met, but I am truly sorry for your loss. However, I must admit that I thought that BVB was giving some good advise. When I got my first car in college, many years ago, my father told me that if my car was stolen, not to expect any help to replace it. He had a long list of things to do to safeguard the car, and considering that I was a pretty naive kid from the farm at 18, it was excellent advise.

 

I also want to wish you well in your move to Phoenix and California. You are obviously a bright young man, in spite of this lapse of judgement and being the trusting soul you are, someone clearly took advantage of you. But, I have to admit I have done some very dumb things in my life, that in retrospect were incredibly naive. But those are lessons that if learned the hard way stay with you a long time. So chalk it up to experience and move on. All those things that you lost can be replaced, and at least they didn't try to hijack you when you were in the Jeep or getting into the Jeep.

 

So best of luck on your hiking trip and your move. Be sure to keep in touch via this Forum. We'll be watching for your ad in Phoenix and California.

 

DD

[+ FreshFluff]

I assumed that cars today are pretty difficult to hot-wire. I know a few people who've had stuff stolen FROM their cars, but no one who has actually had a car stolen. That includes the Lexus and Honda SUVs that would be attractive to steal. Unless I had a super-expensive car (Tesla, say), I assumed that the built-in alarm is fine.

 

And, sure, I'd pack stuff up the day before to be ready to go in the morning. The only things I'd avoid leaving in there overnight are electronics.