Calm in the storm

I have this crazy knack for going hyper-calm when something really upsetting happens.

Today my purse, checkbook, wallet, money, cell phone, etc. were stolen out of my truck while I was helping a friend move (hey, it's what good Lesbians do).

Yeah, it's a bummer, and I'm kinda stressed, I suppose. The thieves apparently spent more with my credit cards in 2 hours than I've spent in one year. I have no cell phone now. I have nobody's numbers (which reminds me, if I know you, and I regularly call or text you from my cell phone, please e-mail me your number. The SIM card does no good if it's stolen with the phone, now does it?). No driver's license. My social security card happened to also be in my wallet (that's a big no-no, by the way). I had to cancel my checking account, which means I have to order new checks.

The biggest thing I'm trying to figure out is how do I establish my identity at the DMV to get my driver's license replaced? I don't have a copy of my birth certificate (which is actually the reason I had my social security card in my wallet...I was going to have this form notarized to validate my identity so I could get my birth certificate so that I could get a passport). I guess the DMV has my picture and signature on file. But somehow I have this feeling they don't just let people walk in with nothing to identify themselves and walk out with a valid driver's license.

And since I'm flying in about a week, how do I board a plane without valid picture ID? It's weird to think how much we rely on this stuff now, in our society.

I don't even have any cash right now and no means to get any. I guess I'll get a new bank card in a week or so. And I have a paycheck coming in the mail tomorrow. Of course, I don't think I can cash it without ID? It becomes kind of a catch-22.

I'm sure it will all work out, though. In fact, I went and had lunch with the folks I was doing the moving with, even though I'd noticed my purse missing a bit earlier and we'd determined it wasn't anywhere and had probably been stolen. OK, so maybe that wasn't the best thing - I should have been making those stolen credit card calls. I just figured I'd have time. So maybe the calm thing goes a bit too far.

I mean, I get more upset when someone in front of me slams on their brakes for no reason than I do when someone steals my purse! It occurs to me that maybe this is something I get from my Dad. My dad would drop a screwdriver on the floor and be hopping mad about it. He'd be full of "Oh, for pete's sake" and "Oh for dumb!" (a wonderful midwestern expression). But something major? He just gets pretty quiet and eerily calm. His mind gets analytical and he figures out what to do next.

When I was 17 I got in my first car accident, and it was completely my fault. So I go back home, and I say, "Um....Dad? Do we have good car insurance?" (ha.) He calls up the woman whose car I hit, and he says, "Hi, my name is _____. I understand you had the pleasure of meeting my daughter tonight in the Safeway parking lot."

He didn't yell at me. He didn't get upset. He told me I was going to pay every penny and we didn't report it to insurance. He made me pay for the repair of the other car, and that was that.

I love that about my Dad, and I'm really glad that I've gotten a bit of that from him.

Oh, and send me your number if you think I should have it. Email address is on my profile.

P.S. If you're wondering what this has to do with me being ex-gay, here's the connection(s):

1. I DO Exist! Even if I don't have picture ID, passport, birth certificate, Driver's License, credit cards, or cash. I'm going to make a video about it.

2. If it weren't for Exodus and my time as an ex-gay, I wouldn't even have had my stuff in a purse in the first place! All of this stuff would have been in a wallet in my back pocket where it belongs.

(yes, I'm joking...) :D