How a Theft Incident Changed My Working Habits

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I have to commute to work everyday.

I used to ride 3 jeepneys before reaching my office. Imagine the traffic in Metro Manila every morning. It was horrendous! Upon arriving at work, I used to look like hell.

So when my brother decided to move out after graduating, I was really happy because I could move closer to work. I could save up the money instead of paying for the jeepney fare. Besides, I couldn't afford to rent the room alone; thus, I just consumed my rent security deposit for the month before leaving. We lived there for six years and I vacated the room in just 1 week.

That was three months ago.

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So I moved!

I found an apartment in Mandaluyong (the Tiger City). I inspected the apartment and the neighborhood before moving in. Cooking and doing the laundry is allowed. Check! There are CCTV cameras at the building and a keyed gate. Check! Walking distance to work. Big check! The neighborhood's quiet, mostly residential with a few sari-sari stores and carinderias. In short, it seemed safe and okay, so I moved in happily. I got two room mates, a couple. The guy was a co-worker from my previous company. He's always away for work so technically, it's just me and the sweet lady.

But here's what happened one month ago that changed my life forever.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

I went grocery shopping. I was so tired when I got home that I immediately fell asleep at around 6 in the evening. I woke up later at 11 to the murmurs of drunk people outside. They seemed done with their party next door. One window was open that I didn't bother to close because the night was hot and I've been doing it for two months already. I was assured by my room mates who lived there for a long time that it's safe there. They were two of the first tenants to occupy the building. I played some mobile games before going back to sleep. That's when my nightmare happened.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

I woke up at around 5:30 in the morning. I was surprised to see that the door was ajar. I also noticed that the windows were unlatched. Everything seemed off. I panicked when I saw my bag missing. I looked for my phone and it's gone, too. I woke up my room mate with my voice breaking. She sprang up, asked me what's the matter and went to the landlord's apartment. I was shaking. My Jansport bag was my get-go bag. It contained my life. And it was gone!

I went down to check if there was any trace of the thief. Maybe, my bag was left behind the garage or somewhere near. Alas, there was no sign of my bag anywhere and the gate was wide open. On my way back to our unit, I noticed a suspicious bag at the back of one of the vehicles parked at the garage. I couldn't help but to look at it. When I saw what was inside, I brought it back with me. My roommate and I turned the bag inside out in the quest of looking for our own personal identifications but unluckily it contained only the receipts, IDs and ATM cards of some woman we don't know. I tried calling my mobile numbers but my phones have been turned off.

We talked to the landlord if we can review the CCTV camera but it was turned off. The cameras were on but it didn't record. Nice! The landlord then, called the cell number on the receipts and found out that the unknown woman lives in the barangay nearby. She was also robbed and was already at the barangay hall reviewing their CCTV cameras. We filed a blotter at our barangay first which by the way is so unfortunate not to have CCTV cameras on the streets. Just my luck!

We saw the thief through their barangay's CCTV cameras. He doesn't look like one, though. We had to request for a copy of the CCTV footage before we could acquire the photo of the man responsible for the theft and it would take a lifetime before it's processed, according to the staff. So we just returned the grateful woman's bag to her while we went home hungry, still devastated and hopeless.

My room mate lost her watch and wallet while I lost a lot! I lost my company laptop, 2 cellphone units, my power bank, 1 flash drive, 3 bottles of my medicine, 2 hygiene kits, 1 earphones, ATM cards, lots of IDs, beep card, house and gate keys, work security pass, notebooks and other stuff I don't remember. I approximately lost 50,000 Php. Lucky me!

Monday, July 29, 2019

I reported that my company laptop was stolen. The company followed due process and I was required to submit a police blotter so I filed one after work. We went to the barangay to get the signed photocopy of my barangay blotter and went to the police station. We were directed to the Police Community Precinct where we were assisted as soon as possible.

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Looking on the brighter side, nothing happened to us.

It's a great thing that the thief decided not to take me or my room mate. We weren't injured and thank goodness I didn't woke up during the incident because God knows what I could've done! The thought of a stranger looking at me while I was sleeping was the creepiest. And my android phone charger wasn't in my bag! Yay!

I'm still paying for my cellphone and now I'm paying for the lost laptop as well thru salary deduction. I don't make much so it's a blow. I can't save enough. Actually, I can't save at all. My room mate lent me her phone which is what I used until a friend lent me her extra android phone that I'm currently using while I was issued a new laptop to be used at work. I'm still hoping that by some miracle that my things will be returned. (In my dreams!)

That was the first theft incident in that building, my new home and I was very lucky to be the first one to get robbed. (Haha!) The landlord changed the locks, issued new keys, installed double locks in all the units, centralized the deliveries made in the building and made sure their CCTV cameras recorded the footage everyday.

I brought my laptop to work from home and I was robbed.

That theft incident made me a better employee. I believe I'm more hardworking now than ever. I can finish my load assignment now, way, way early and even work in advance. I'm scared to bring my laptop home again and because of that, I can manage my working time well. I wake up really early as well. Maybe some of it was because of the slight trauma but being paranoid helped. I'm cautious where to put the important things as well. I make sure they're secured before I go to bed or before I walk from office to home and vice versa.

One thing that I learned from this incident is that one can never be too careful. We should always beware. Be vigilant! I just hope that whatever that guy took from me helped him in his desperate needs.