crap, crap, crap!!

Yesterday was one of those 'shaking fists at the sky' kind of days. About 1.30pm, just before I was due to leave to pick up my new boarder (Cam) from the airport, the phone rang. It was the police, informing me that my car had been found in a clump of trees about two suburbs north of my house. A phone call to Qantas revealed that they have no system in place to get any kind of message to their passengers, and Cam has no cell phone for me to call him on. His English is okay, but not really the level you'd hope for when you suddenly find yourself abandoned at a strange airport with no idea what's happening with the person who's supposed to be picking you up. Rev to the rescue. He raced back from church to pick me up and we scooted down to the airport. Poor Cam was relieved to find us, but worn out and quite green with travel sickness. We actually had to stop twice on the way home so he could be sick. When we got back to my place he slept for about four hours before he was fit to really meet us properly.

As for my car, here are the crappy facts:
~ the ignition lock is damaged and I can't get the key to turn;
~ the driver's seat has been busted so that it won't stay in one position and slides back so much that I can hardly reach the clutch;
~ the passenger door lock has been tampered with (how they got in);
~ the radio/CD player is gone;
~ the steering column feels a bit shaky. Not sure if it's damaged.

The not-so-crappy facts:
~ no damage outside, no broken windows;
~ there was nothing of any great value in the car;
~ the most valuable thing, a bag with about $100 worth of scrapbooking materials, they didn't take;
~ it was already found when I learned it was stolen, so no waiting for days wondering where it is and if it will be found.

Oh wait, I forgot one more crappy fact: MY INSURANCE WILL NOT COVER IT! Yes, that's right. A fact I only discovered today (oh joy!) Whether my fault (not checking the policy properly) or theirs (giving incorrect information) I will never know, but whatever the case, theft is not covered and I will be paying for this one myself.

Kudos: to the lady who let me make a call from her house when my mobile died, the friendly tow-truck guy who helped me get all the stuff out of my car before he took it away, my friend Rev who, as noted, came to my rescue (and Cam's) and the police officer who agreed to do the stolen vehicle report on the phone instead of making me bus it to the police station. Without them, yesterday would have sucked even more than it already did.