The Purse Incident

Somewhere, in a purse-snatcher chop shop, a few men are highly under-estimating how nice my makeup and purse are, are looking at pictures of me in my bikini from a recent vacation, and are kicking themselves because I only had $2 on me in cash.

On Friday night I was robbed. In Hollywood.

Two men came up behind me and my girlfriend and took my purse literally off my arm.

Now I am 1)devoid of any semblance of peace of mind 2)busy engaging in the Purse Incident Recovery Process (PIRP).

For any of you who have been robbed, you know that PIRP is not a pleasant process. Thus far, it has involved changing the locks to my home, cancelling cards, getting a new phone and camera, getting a new insurance card and attempting to contact the police with additional details that may help them. Still on the list? Getting new car keys, a new license, and attempting to regain my sense of safety.

That being said, aside from engaging in the PIRP, I have been thinking a lot about things I could have done differently.

A few insights I would like to share (No Man Land Safety Rules if you will):

1) Never take a big bag out to a nightclub. I usually consolidate to a small bag (in fact, my small bag was in the big bag, ready to be used) but we were running "too late" and I was "too lazy" to do it.

2) Never park on the street in Hollywood when you are just two girls who will have to walk back to the car at 1:30 am.

3) This is related to number 2. Always have cash with you. We parked on the street because between the two of us we only had $3 dollars. Also, I was ready to take a cab home earlier in the night, but didn't have any money.

4) If you have no choice but to park on the street, pay attention. My girlfriend and I were fighting, so we overshot the car by over two blocks. It was on the way back to the car that I got robbed.

5) Big purse or small, make sure what you have with you is absolutely necessary. Don't have every credit card, tons of cash, your check book etc. on you. All you need is one card, your ID, and some gloss.

6) Upload your pictures right away. I lost some wonderful ones on my camera that are irreplaceable.

7) Trust your instincts. I had a bad feeling all night, and I should have trusted it and gone home earlier.

I hope this never happens again, to me or anyone else. It is a miserable experience.

SJ.