I've waited a long time to write this post as I was hoping to have some closure in the situation before doing so.

The day I was meant to leave to meet Gina in London, Sept 14, 2011, I had a small incident on my way to the airport. We stopped for a 30 minute walk enroute to SFO to kill a little time (I was running early to the airport, imagine that!) and to take a last walk with my Mom, Brother and our little dog, Andy, before saying goodbye for at least a year. While we were parked at Candlestick Point State Recreation area for 30 minutes the car window to my Mom's car was smashed, the car was rummaged through, the trunk was opened and ALL my stuff packed for a year's trip was stolen. Highlights of the stolen items are: passport, credit card, SLR Camera, Lap Top, clothes...literally everything I was planning to take on the trip except what I was wearing.

The saga that followed is one that doesn't really bear repeating except for a few key points, as follows:

The SFPD officer who I dealt with at SFO was incredibly sympathetic, good humored and thorough. He went out of his way to help as best he could. Thank you, Sgt. Diquisto for being so cool.

The woman at British Airways who I dealt with was amazing. She put me on standby and got me on the next possible plane once I was ready to go. Margie, you are a gem; thank you for being a human being and a very sweet one at that.

The people at the SF Passport Agency were phenomenal, they got me a passport the very next day for the low, low cost of $200. Amazing! They even got me another replacement the day after that when I realized that they misspelled my name on the initial replacement and I went back in frantically a few hours before my flight! I take back any ill speak I have ever spewed towards red tape laden beauracratic agencies in my life. You guys rule!

My Mom, Dad and Brother were amazingly helpful and supportive and above all managed to put up with me for the angst ridden time between my getting robbed and my getting on a plane. I assure you I was not a pleasant person to be around, so this is no small feat. I love you guys, thank you.

It was a pretty crappy experience no doubt, but as far as things go...really it could have been a billion times worse...and I am very thankful that only material possessions were taken. It's only stuff after all; I still have my health and am still enjoying the trip of a life time. That being said, I was adamant that whoever stole my things should not also take any further from me and was therefore determined to get on a plane to London as quickly as possible. I managed to get it together and board a flight in 48 hours.

During my 2 day delay, I busied myself with multiple trips to the passport office, an emergency run to REI to get a new backpack and a few other necessities, going through my clothes to put together a plan B wardrobe, (In this task I consider myself very lucky; who better to be robbed then a dude who has spent 6 years working in the outdoor/travel apparel industry?!), and, last, but certainly not least, filing a claim with my travel insurance company.

One of the items that was stolen was my beard trimmer and I decided to stage a non-violent protest, of sorts, against my travel insurance company by not purchasing a replacement trimmer, and thus not shaving, until I received a settlement of some sort from them. Predictably they dragged their heels and the resulting 6 week's growth is at once completly disgusting and totally awesome, as anyone who has followed the blog photos (and particularly Gina) can attest to! (Although G would more agree with the first adjective more.)

After a dozen frustrating phone calls and another dozen unanswered e-mails over the 6 weeks, today I was informed that my claim was categorically DENIED because the theft occurred only 22 miles from my 'home' and the policy only covers us on a 'trip' which is defined as a journey of 100 miles or more from home. I would love to say that I am surprised, but the reality is that I am not.

Here's the thing: I am irritated at this outcome, of course. But the irritation stems more from being jerked around by them for 6 weeks than from getting screwed out of a few dollars by a technicality. Honestly, what I thought of first, well...after wishing the woman I spoke on the phone to an acute case of giardia, was about the people in Australia who lost their lives, livelihoods, homes and loved ones in the terrible flooding that occurred earlier this year in Queensland and who were left out to dry (quite literally) by their insurance companies who hid behind a technical definition of the word "flood" and therefore saved untold amounts of money in claims by stiffing their customers. This same company is voting this week at their quarterly meeting on whether or not to approve massive pay raises to director and other senior level employees. My nausea after hearing the news from my insurer is but a minuscule sliver of what these poor people must have been through.

Bless those people whose misery and loss truly prove how insignificant my loss was. And, I'm not saying EVERY person who works for an insurance company is a scumbag...I'm sure there must be at least a single good person amongst the millions of insurance company employees in the world; but to those who profit from unjust and, to my mind, CRIMINAL practices like the above: may you receive the ill karma you deserve 1,000,000 times over. And, I hope you too are stricken with chronic and severe diarrhea.

One last comment to the person or people who smashed my Mom's car and stole our stuff that day and then I shall step down permanently and graciously from my soapbox and attempt to become zen on the matter:

I feel sorry for you. It's unfortunate that you are so desperate and pathetic that you must resort to stealing from others to get by.

Please take a good look at the 5,000 or so photos on my computer and external hard drive that you now have. You will see photos of places that you will never go with great people you will never meet. Take a real close look...you may have 'got' me that day; but I'm still winning. Those photos are the closest you will ever get to me. I will replace what you took from me quickly once I'm done with my trip in the same way that I came to own them in the first place: through hard work and determination. You'll still be a lowlife loser and a scumbag thief. Like I said, I feel sorry for you.

Lastly, I hope that the Jack in the Box you charged on my credit card was delicious; that the frosty was cold and the fries golden and crispy. Actually, that is a lie, I hope you burned your mouth on your crispy tacos and spilled your grape soda in your lap.

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Onward and upward...

AM

Singapore- October 28, 2011