Freaked.

Holy stormy weather Batman! It's rough out there!

Well, not too much to report on this home front but storms. Yesterday I was laid up for all the day with some back problems, so I called in sick. I felt immediately guilty for doing so, which made my back hurt even more, and I've narrowed the problem down to my having been slumped over the computer at the kitchen table. So I finally got off my keester yesterday and straightened up the office enough so that I can work in here now, which will be important for Friday and for Monday because I have drafts of papers coming in on both of those days. My better chair is in here with a bigger screen for the computer; it's higher up. It's just a more sound working environment all together.

But here's some craziness that's been going on in my neck of the woods: there have been a string of escalating home invasions in the last week! Three in one week is a whole helluva lot around here. People are freaked out. Apparently it started way far north, like an hour from here, and seems to be moving progressively south. What seems to have been the first was just a break in in broad daylight, the friend of a friend, sort of in my neck of the woods, while the person was at work at least. Then it moved south about 5 miles to a break-in and rape. Then it escalated another mile south to break-in and murder! I am completely freaked the fuck out, especially since the husband is gone for this two week AT ( annual training) and then he has a school that he's going to after that. I wasn't even this scared when I lived in Fancy Town!

Here's the only comfort I have--the places that have been robbed appear to be homes that are not in neighborhoods. It gets rural pretty quick around here, so I think these places have been places that have lots of tree cover and are off the street a little bit. And they're not tweekers, because they are taking the valuables not just things for quick cash (like some other break-ins in an older neighborhood last year--but those guys were caught). And the robberies seem to be moving south because there is more development on this side of the highway.

The other two people who were robbed lived alone, no pets, off the beaten path somewhat. The murdered woman was 63 and not in good health. And the police do believe it was murder, not that she died and then someone robbed her.

I'm hoping that since our dogs sound much bigger than they are (you can hear them in the street when they are barking inside), and by keeping the blinds somewhat closed, you can't tell how big or small they actually are, I'm hoping the dogs and exterior lights will be enough of a deterrent. Also I'm hoping that I'm in a neighborhood with occasion police patrol helps, too. To be safe though, at night, I have all the doors barricaded with chairs: the front door with a heavy armchair, the side door has a kitchen table chair wedged underneath it, and fortunately, the back porch has so much crap on it that it's like an obstacle course back there anyway, so if someone tried that door, there'd be a ruckus (and that light is off for that reason--so no one can see the crap on the porch), but there's also a chair in front of that door, too. If the robberies and other horrible things move back up north and start taking place in neighborhoods, I'm going to talk to the landlord about putting in a security system. I'm hoping, too, that the robbers are assuming that a neighborhood filled with college students isn't going to offer a lot of bounty either. Not if they're stealing jewelry and valuables. It seems like they are moderate risk takers looking to make more of a score than a debit card and a playstation or so. Or that's my assessment based on my t.v. watching that I'm telling myself in order to be able to get some sleep and not live in a state of panic.

I keep my bedroom door locked and the land line charged and by my bed. At this point, I'm not sure what else I can do to be safe.

So yeah. Nice, huh? I guess I'll have the husband show me how to use the shotgun when he comes back for his day of leave this weekend.