Farewell Pink Wallet

My wallet was stolen last week. I was at an industry happy hour at 111 Minna. Some of us had made a pile of jackets and bags in the corner behind a bench. I didn't think anything of setting my bag down with the others. We always do it and it seems like I should be able to trust my colleagues, right? I should know by now that publishing salaries are way too low for trust.

I had put all of my cash in my pockets, along with my pretty pink sparkle phone, so in a way I managed to minimize the losses. Still, the villains made off with my cards (debit, AmEX, VISA, and corporate card), my check book, drivers license, student ID, and other assorted items. It's the little stuff that has pissed me off the most. They got my lucky two-dollar bill from Nicaragua (I always carry it with me), a book of the new 39-cent stamps that I had just bought, Jeff's fishing license, and a gift card to J Crew that I had left over from Christmas. I'm also totally upset about the loss of the wallet itself. It was pink leather and, in my opinion, the best designed wallet in existence. Perfectly functional, if a little worn.

Dealing with the bank and credit card companies is like massaging a lemon juice and sea salt scrub into a paper cut. Banks make you pay to stop payment on any stolen checks. They also won't credit your account for any fraudulent charges for up to five business days. This can create real problems if it's a significant amount of money that has been withdrawn. The other frustrating thing is that the charges take days to clear. It's been a full week and I'm only partially certain that I've seen the last of the charges. Some of the credit card companies even have you go through the process of reporting a stolen card entirely through an automated recording. You don't ever talk to a real person.