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[Guest guest]

Hi folks,

Here is a little update, not really R related, as I found many new friends on

this list who may be wondering why I don't respond to emails.

On Thursday, I returned home from work, noting that there had to be a decent

downpour in the afternoon. I opened the door to my my house and my heart almost

stopped (it definitely felt worse than just missing a beat). There were NO DOGS

behind front door. No happy dance, no helicopter tails. No dogs in the living

room either and no pitter patter on the stairs from upstairs. I rushed to the

back door and saw all three dogs standing there, resembling drowned rats. My

first thought was that - as unlikely as it seemed - I forgot to let them back in

after their last potty call before I left for work. I let them in, dried them

with a towel, apologizing profusely.

Then I started to prepare their dinner - wait, where did all this water on the

counter come from?? And the glass? I looked at the window behind the kitchen

sink and knew then that the house had been broken into while I was at work. The

screen was cut out, the glass was smashed. I realized that the stuff that I

picked up on the living room floor and put back onto the cabinet had not been

knocked down by the dogs - I put it back on the cabinet not realizing (yet) that

previously it had been on top of the DVD player, but the DVD player was gone. I

ran upstairs - mess everywhere, and my computer was gone, the monitor was gone,

and my digicam was gone, too. (they left me the speakers, keyboard and mouse). I

stood there trying to grasp the situation when it occurred to me that the CD

with about a hundred of the best, carefully selected pictures of my dogs was in

the CD ROM drive, and it also contained some pics I was collecting for my mom as

I wanted to send her a little album about how things changed since her last

visit in Canada.

I called the police and waited for their arrival. I was to find out later that

the mitre saw is gone as well as some other tools from the basement. And my Visa

card, and Minka's comforter. And that the faucet and the ceran stovetop are

damaged. I called my mom on the weekend to tell her what happened, and of

course, she was shocked at first, but I assured her that it could have been a

lot worse. I am grateful that nothing happened to the dogs (though Piper must

have really hated being outside in the rain) and that at least the thieves let

the dogs out into the yard as opposed to the street (I don't even want to think

about that). I was telling my mom that the dogs must have been quite amused

seeing somebody coming through the window - " Look, a visitor! Can you play with

us? " and we laughed about it. My mom even said 'they could have let the dogs

back in when they were done'.

Aside from feeling violated, the thing I am upset most about are the digital

pictures. Everything else is replaceable, the pictures aren't. Oh well. What

really matters is that my dogs weren't hurt.

I happened to have last Friday off, so this morning I downloaded over a 1,000

emails. So, I am alive, though a little frustrated. (The last thing I remember

reading on this list was Adam's post about his troubles some 37 days after his

photoderm. Adam, I hope you are doing better by now). Sorry this is such a long

post.

Alena