Life Of Jason

I came home yesterday from a business trip and had a warm Springfield welcome! (Sarcasm should be inflected into that last line.)

First, I came home to find trash and construction debris in my yard.

I’m all in favor of neighbors improving their homes but I’m really tired of their debris flying into my yard. Why should I have to keep cleaning up my yard when it’s their trash? I plan to go talk to them about doing something to secure their debris and other trash when I see them working on the house and have time to talk to them.

The other warm welcome involved my car. Yesterday my fiancee and I were getting ready to go to the Blogaronis between 5 and 6:15. During that time, someone came into my driveway and stole the hubcaps off my car. I have my suspicions about who it could be…there was a group of youths who were hanging out in the yard of a nearby apartment complex who watched us walk into our house…but it’s still pretty unnerving to have someone come and do that knowing that you’re home at the time. I’m guessing it’s a teenage prank…probably a dare to do it…but it comes on the heels of my fiancee finding our garage hanging wide open during one of the days I was out of town. I knew the door wasn’t open when I left but it wasn’t latched that firmly so it could have been the wind. Now, I don’t know…nothing was stolen from the garage (there wasn’t anything in it of real value) but now I really wonder if it was wind or someone going through our garage.

So I’m beginning to wonder if this neighborhood is really as safe as claimed by the realtor for the person who sold us the home. It’s not like I can do anything to that realtor if they were lying but it’s really making me begin to think that perhaps I need to take other…stronger…measures to protect my home and my property.

I’m really struggling too with the fact I immediately put the suspicion on the group of youths that I saw across the street when we arrived at the house. I know it’s stereotypical to blame youths when something like this happened but they were across the street, they did watch us walk in and they were the only people we saw in the area during the time between our going in the house and walking out 45 minutes later. Sure, I know someone could have walked past the house and just decided to run up the driveway and steal hubcaps but you have to admit that’s less likely than those teens taking the hubcaps on a prank.

I know that I’ll be watching more what’s going on in the neighborhood. I’m going to be looking out my windows at odd times just to see if someone’s in my yard or near my car. If someone’s there trying to do something I’m going to call the cops and have them arrested and take measures to keep them here until the cops arrive at the house. Perhaps a neighborhood watch is in order.