Less Driving, More Biking.

Yesterday morning, as I rode back from my bike ride, I received a call from my dorm's security. I found out that all four of the car's wheels had been stolen. You can imagine my reaction. I rode back as hard as I could to see it for myself. This is what met me at the student parking lot:

Yup... supported only by 4 milk crates... They could have at least used soy milk crates. geez.

 

 

 

Upon closer examination, I found out that the thieves had also broken in to steal my GPS.

Here are the facts:

I last parked my car the previous midnight. Campus security noticed my car's condition at 10:20 am. They noticed the same thing happened to another Honda civic in the same lot (supported by the same milk crates).  Later, they found out yet another car whose main computer had been stolen. This all happened in the same parking lot on the same night.

When the police came over to file my report, they told me they were receiving calls all day about carjacking and car theft. Hmm. I also later found out that there were two other cars across the street at CSU Fullerton without wheels and supported by the same damn milk crates. This was definitely the work of a highly skilled crime syndicate, probably trying to fill a  container van to be shipped off to another country.

The police officer told me he would send in CSI to collect any evidence on the car. Later that day, the CSI did arrive and I tell you it was pretty cool (CSI is one of my favorite shows). The Crime Scene Investigator was nice middle-aged woman named Cindy. We had an interesting conversation, one I would never expect to have with someone who deals with dead bodies and crime scenes on a daily basis. I found out that she had been a Music major herself at Fullerton college! She later became a vocalist for a group called "The American Singers" Eventually she trained to be a forensics specialist. Crazy huh? We briefly talked  about practice room experiences and other music major lexicon. It goes to show that it is never too late to choose where your life will go. Who knows, maybe I will be taking fingerprints off of evidence in the future? =)

These kinds of things happen, and I have accepted that. However, I will not tolerate a lack of action on my dorm's part. i have a meeting with the housing director and the school's VP on Monday and I will not let this go without proper action. The bare minimum would be to install security cameras! My god, that's a standard security measure in the Philippines (a third world country)!!! Anyway, I am in the process of writing a security audit of my dorm. Honestly, I no longer feel safe here. If this 3 cars and 8 wheels can be stolen right under the nose of our security guards, then what is stopping these criminals from committing worse crimes. This really is a imminent threat and compromise to our safety. Unacceptable. Unacceptable.

If there anything positive I can get from this experience, it is now I am forced to bike everyday to school! It's a great thing. Now I have no excuse not to get on my bike. I will enjoy this temporary period without a car. It will be refreshing, just like the days of my first semester in Fullerton college. Time to become fully immersed in bike culture!