Get Your Own Stuff!

I wonder what it was like for the victims of hurricane Katrina to lose everything material in a matter of minutes. Suddenly your furniture, your books, your beauty products, your clothing, EVERYTHING is taken away from you. I can only imagine how lost they must feel, how deserted, how sadly alone it must feel to have nothing.

Yesterday morning, I got my car broken into. An hour before I was supposed to leave for my interview in Hoffman Estates, IL I noticed everything I needed for that morning was gone: my makeup, my straightening iron, my contacts and glasses, even my interview suit that I had just paid $200 for. I had no time to really think about it's effect on me. I only had an hour now to shower, and get to Mayfair to buy ANOTHER interview outfit, then book it the 2 hours to Illinois for a job I probably had no chance of getting now because of how flustered I was.

I drove to Mayfair pissed off at humanity, as I usually get when people take advantage of an easy out in life. I hated that there was someone out there laughing about how they just scored this awesome expensive suit that I'm sure they'll be taking back to Express (since I left the tags on) and getting something free and of worth to them, without having to pay a dime! Nevermind the fact that I actually WORKED to pay for it!! And while they're returning that they're probably dumping everything else in my bag in the trash because it contained nothing of worth to them. After all, what are they going to do with months old makeup, and some beauty products. No money? Trash it!

I stormed into Express and re-purchased the exact same outfit, silently cursing Express (as it was somehow their fault I was giving them MORE money), and changed in my tiny two door Cabrio. I wanted to cry but I was already pasty because I had no makeup to wear. I didn't want to add red and puffy to the mix as well.

With my new suit, I drove to Hoffman Estates, arriving at my interview surprisingly only 5 minutes late. I couldn't believe after that hellish morning I still managed to make it slightly on time.

The interview went well. I spoke with two different people, got a tour of the facility, and was given a package explaining all of the benefits to take home and look over. (WAY excited about the benefits by the way. Tuition reimbursement, 401K, life, medical, and dental insurance, stock options, bonuses...workout facilities!!! HELLO) I was happy that it all went well. I figured my morning was a sign of things to come, but I surprisingly was able to surpress everything that had just happened, and focus on the task at hand...scoring the job!

I should know how that went in a few weeks.

When I got home however, I realized how much simply not having my red bag of "stuff" was affecting everyday things I take for granted. I couldn't take out my contacts because I didn't have my contact container or solution, and even if I could take them out I wouldn't be able to function because I didn't have my glasses. My nightly moisturizer routine was disrupted as I realized even THAT was in my stolen bag, and come the morning I had to once again come to work, make-up free with my hair in a pony tail.

I never realized how much of a routine certain things are in my life, and how lost I felt last night when I couldn't do any of the things I normally do at night. I compared my measly situation to what was happening in New Orleans and my heart truly went out to them, as their loss was much more extreme than my own.

But then this morning, I went to Walgreens and realized, it could all be replaced. Sure I had grown accustomed to my cute little makeup bag, and those glasses were my favorite pair yet, but there will be others. The bag, the hair straightener, the clothes...it can all be replaced. It's at that point you realize what truly matters. It's the things you CAN'T replace. Your family, your friends, your boyfriend or girlfriend, the love you have inside. The rest just doesn't matter.

But it still doesn't make me want to give those theives a hug ;)