This year my birthday celebration started off so well. The weekend before the big day (September 21st) Scott surprised me with the new 8gb Nano iPod. I had been coveting Scott’s iPod for a long time and after a very long debate, I decided that I WOULD use an iPod and I really wanted one for my birthday. So as the wonderful guy he is, Scott brought me to Fry’s Electronics under the guise of wanting to look at something else entirely. He stopped off at the iPod display and stood there for like 5 minutes holding an iPod box in his hand. Being my totally aware self, it took Scott saying “I’m holding your birthday gift in my hands” for me to get what he was doing. I was so shocked and extremely excited. Of course after we bought the iPod we HAD to go to the Apple store to get a case and then home to install the software. I absolutely love having my Nano!!!

So this was a wonderful start to my birthday week, right? I thought so. When I left for work on Monday the 18th, I thought that the week was going to be great. I get to work and park my 1997 Nissan Altima in my company parking lot. I work for 10 hours and head out to my car just after 8pm. Security is walking with me and I realize that we walked to far down the aisle as I am not seeing my car. So we walk back and nope, still no car. I check the parking lot three times, as if it will magically appear. The security guard asks if I am sure that I parked the car there. At this point, I am so distraught, that I start to wonder if I even drove to work today. I assure the security guard that “yes, I parked the car in this section of the parking lot” and began to panic but before I make the dreaded call to the police department, I call Scott. Here’s kind of how the conversation went:

me: “Scott, did you happen to move the car?”
Scott: “Noooo. I’m two hours away in Dewey. Why”
me: “It’s not in the parking lot.”
Scott: “You’re going to have to call the police.”

The reason I even thought that Scott might have moved the car is that several years ago, when we both worked at Staples, he played a trick on me by moving the car to another part of the parking lot, causing some panic for me. So I held out hope that he was playing a twisted “Happy Birthday” joke on me. So after getting off the phone and realizing, with a sinking feeling, that my car was most likely gone forever, I still held out hope that it really wasn’t stolen. So I then called my sister, who had moved in with Scott and I in July. Here’s how that conversation went:

me: “Hi Jess. Did you come take my car for any reason?”
Jess: “No. Why?”
me: “It’s not in the parking lot. I think it’s been stolen.”
Jess: “Oh my God.”
me: “Scott is two hours away so I guess I’ll need you to come get me.”
Jess” “Ok. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

So at this point I am near tears. I have never had anything stolen so this is just unbelievable. I walk back to the office and make the call, after telling my co-workers what happened. My sister arrived and sat with me while I waited for police. I am still kind of in shock at this point. Part of me is still thinking, maybe it is in the parking lot and I just didn’t see it. Phoenix police show up rather quickly and I make a formal report, filling out several pieces of paper. The officer gave such optimistic words:

Officer: “You know the chances of finding your car a slim right?”
me: “I know.”
Officer: “It’s probably in Mexico by now.”

So my sister and I head home. It is surreal, seeing where my car SHOULD be parked outside my home but knowing that it’ll never be there again. Happy Birthday to me!!!