People Suck

OK, so this post isn't exactly about Will, but he was there, and I want to write about it, so here goes. On Friday afternoon, while at lunch at Panera with four friends and Will, someone managed to take two credit cards out of my wallet. Now, I will admit that I was distracted with the baby. I will admit that I should have zipped up my purse. But that still doesn't give them the right to take my credit cards and then charge $2000 at Walgreens (yes, Walgreens--they bought AMEX gift cards), $750 at Gus Mayer, and then head to Cracker Barrel for a relaxing dinner!

To answer the questions everyone (including the police) has been asking me:
1. Yes, I'm sure it happened at Panera. I gave my credit card to Sarah to buy my lunch and put it back in my wallet (which I guess the thieves saw me do). Immediately after lunch, in the car, I noticed that my wallet was open and the cards were missing.
2. No, I don't know how this could have happened while all of us were sitting there, my purse right next to us.
3. No, I didn't see anyone suspicious. Particularly not the enormous man in the video the police showed me. If he had gotten near us, I feel sure someone would have noticed.
4. Yes, of course I have canceled the cards. But it's still a pain. We are waiting on Wachovia to refund our money to our checking account (one of the cards was my check card) which is a real drag. I filed a police report with the Vestavia police, and they have good video from Walgreens and hope to get more from Gus Mayer. My case might even be on Crime Stoppers!

I learned three lessons (if not more) from this, so I guess it wasn't completely worthless:
1. Don't carry your debit/check card with you if you don't use it often. It has been much more of a hassle to get money back from Wachovia than it was to deal with American Express. Plus, it's actual money instead of credit!
2. Always zip up your purse and keep your eye on it.
3. Try not to be so distracted when you're out and about that you don't notice what's going on around you. Of course, I feel better that no one at my table noticed anything...I guess we are all oblivious!