If “awesome” means that when you are walking down the street a Roma/gypsy will ever-so-slowly unzip your bag pocket and carefully and quietly take your wallet full of cash (ok, only the equivalent of about $40, but still!), credit cards, and boarding passes for airline miles out of your bag and you won’t realize it until like 15 minutes later when you realize that your bag is suddenly lighter.  If that is truly what “awesome” is, then YEAH! my life is pretty much awesome. ‘Cause that’s what happened today.

Yes, folks!  I experienced the ultimate cliche today.  I was pickpocketed by a gypsy.  I mean, how much more stereotypical can it get?  I went shopping in an area of town that is cheap, but known for this exact problem.  I foolishly forgot my wallet was in the first pocket of my bag, and not carefully tucked deep inside the fortress.  So, yes, I take some responsibility for not being the sharpest traveler today–and I DO know better!!  But still, PEOPLE SHOULD NOT STEAL!!!

It took about an hour and a half to cancel everything out, and all the customer service representatives I talked to got a good laugh out of the whole story–but they still felt sorry for me.  It was like something they have only heard of in movies. Now I have to try to get the airlines to credit me my miles without my original boarding passes.  Wish me luck on that one.

But….everything is okay now, and, really, being pickpocketed is not so bad.  I mean, I only lost $40.  They could have really damaged me.  They could have stolen my iPod.  And then I would have been crushed.  CRUSHED!!!