prof_pangaea: the master (pangaea is divided into)
prof_pangaea ([personal profile] prof_pangaea) wrote2009-06-09 12:51 am
Entry tags:

note to self: don't do that

today was a bit more actively full of insanity than normal. i've been campaigning for a small political nonprofit lately, and an hour or so into my shift today the sky became orange and black and tornado sirens started going off. obviously i was walking around by myself with no shelter to be had, so i found a walgreens and hunkered down until someone came to pick me up and drove me back to the office downtown. then about ten minutes after i'd finally got back we went back out and started campaigning again because thewarning was over and it had stopped raining. while talking to lots of disgruntled white people i got to hear someone say that the tax on cigarettes was unfair because the money went to fund children's healthcare programs, and if some kids are going to be sickly all the time then maybe they should have just been aborted. also talked to a dude who seemed quite nice except he kept talking about how his wife had just left him a couple of weeks before and she'd taken his dogs and what was he going to do with this house and look at all these caterpillars on his bush, they were eating all of the needles and he'd spent a lot of time on that bush, he'd spent TWENTY YEARS keeping that bush healthy.

i ended up signing out later than everyone else, because i was the only person to get a formal field report form printed out before the printer died. usually i try to get a ride home with peeps cos headquarters are in a slightly shady part of town and taking the bus home required transferring to another bus at an even shadier area. not that i've ever had a problem before, but i do realise i am a tiny gay trans white guy. i had to decide between waiting for the transfer for about a half an hour on martin luther king blvd (doesn't matter what city you're in, MLK is never in a good neighbourhood), at an unlit bus stop, or walk home through a somewhat shady area, but one that i've walked through before and that gets better with each block closer to my street.

apparently my choice to walk home was the wrong one this night, since i got jumped by three young guys and beat up and robbed. dude ran up and punched me in the face, i ended up on the ground, two other dudes ran up and joined in. i was like, "oh fuck", cos i didn't know if i was just in for a mugging because i was small and alone, or if it was an attack cos i looked gay/trans whatever and they had just decided to give me a serious beatdown. in the middle of getting punched repeatedly i was like, "hey, what do you want, i'll give it to you!" and first dude was like, "do you have any money? give us your money!" so i was like, "okay, sure, let me get it," and pulled my wallet out of my back pocket. one dude tried to grab it but i actually said, "hey man, let me keep my driver's license" and kept a hold of the thing, pulled out the little cash i had, and held it out to them. one of them took the money and they all ran off (after punching me one last time, i'm pretty sure). they'd broken my glasses and knocked the lenses out, so i got up and started looking for them in the grass by the sidewalk for about thirty or sixty seconds before i thought, "wtf me, those dudes are only like A BLOCK AWAY." so i consoled myself with one lens and then called 911 on my cellphone in case they noticed they'd only got away with maybe 18 bucks (at most! probably more like 12) and a ticket to pridefest, and decided to come back for more.

the nice operator was like, "is there a safe, well-lit place nearby, like a gas station? you should walk towards it." and i was like, "um... no, i'll just walk toward my house,", cos there WAS a gas station, but it was almost across the street from where i was attacked and i'm pretty sure *someone* must have seen that shit go down. managed to get to art bar (a bar near my house) and i stopped there to wait for cops. i thought that was maybe a good idea since i couldn't see anything, and it's a safe place. talked to cops, showed them area where attack took place, got driven home, talked to roommates, called sister, cops came back to take some photos of my swollen face, talked to my sister again.

i'm actually pretty upbeat, except for the loss of my glasses, which i can't afford to replace. thankfully i've still got my old pair, but they do suck, rather. oh well. other than that, i got some bruises and am out less than twenty bucks, which is pretty good considering i got jumped by three guys. which is what i told my sister when she was freaking out. then she said that as a revenge i should invent a "backpack helicopter" and then fly over those dudes and pull down my pants and take a shit on them. these are the kinds of things my sister comes up with, which is why i love her.

meanwhile, this story is all much funnier if i tell it in person. oh written text, you really *do* affect tone!

[identity profile] biichan.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 06:46 am (UTC)(link)
Oh Jesus Christ, prof, that sucks. *hugs* I'm especially sorry about the glasses, since I know how fucking expensive those things are.

[identity profile] kindkit.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 06:48 am (UTC)(link)
Fucking hell. I'm so glad you're all right.

[identity profile] rapunzelita.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 10:04 am (UTC)(link)
Aw, man. That really sucks. *hugs*

(Fun fact: I actually feel safer walking at night in (vaguely) shady neighbourhoods in my city (Strasbourg is pretty tame, really), because there are actual people around, as opposed to the neighbourhood where I live, which is Empty-streets-land extraordinaire as soon as the night falls. Very reassuring, haha.)

[identity profile] spacefall.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 11:02 am (UTC)(link)
Bloody hell! Sorry about the specs and your dented self. :/

That $20 won't seem worth it when the helicopter comes.
Edited 2009-06-09 11:02 (UTC)

[identity profile] kels.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 11:40 am (UTC)(link)
HOLY CRAP. I AM SO CALLING YOU WHEN I GET HOME FROM WORK LATER TODAY.

[identity profile] watergal.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 12:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Yipes! I'm so sorry that happened to you, and really glad you're (mostly) okay! The world would be a much sadder place otherwise.

{{{the prof}}}

[personal profile] fannishnonsense 2009-06-09 12:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh man, that sucks! I'm glad you're OK, but still. Not a fun thing to go through.

[identity profile] fourzoas.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 12:49 pm (UTC)(link)
What a day! It's like the universe just popped you in the pinball machine and spent the day scoring.

*massive hugs* to you and the caterpillar guy.
nonelvis: (DT brooding hotness)

[personal profile] nonelvis 2009-06-09 12:59 pm (UTC)(link)
OH MY GOD. I'm *so* sorry! I'm glad you're okay (except for the glasses, which sucks), and I fully endorse your sister's revenge idea.

[identity profile] violetisblue.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 01:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, crap. :-( You did report this, right? I realize it's probably a long chance of finding them but they robbed you of hundreds of dollars effectively by breaking your glasses.

[identity profile] elliptic-eye.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 01:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Holy hell, Prof. If I were there, I'd hug you, except I wouldn't, 'cause I'd be afraid of squeezing something bruised. D:

[identity profile] renn.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 01:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, not the thing to have happened! Still, better to have broken glasses than, say, a broken nose or ribs.

[identity profile] livii.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 01:57 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm so sorry to hear this, hon, I can't even imagine. I hope you're ok.

[identity profile] nnwest.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 02:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Eek! Glad you're not seriously damaged!

[identity profile] eponymous-rose.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 02:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Yikes! *big virtual non-bruising-type hugs* That's so scary! I'm glad you're doing okay - it's awful that your glasses got broken on top of everything else.

Also, I could help with the helicopter backpack invention! Just saying.

[identity profile] fizzixrat.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 03:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Eek! Sad that this happened. Glad it didn't turn into something far worse.

[identity profile] skipthedemon.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 03:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh no! I'm so glad you're fairly ok. I'd be scared to death.

[identity profile] ionlylurkhere.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 05:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Shit. I'm so sorry that you got subjected to that. People suck. Except for the ones who don't. But those guys definitely do. Shit.

*hugs*

[identity profile] arefadedaway.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 05:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh Jesus fucking Christ. I'm so, so glad you're all right. Shit. *hugs you gently*

[identity profile] licoltvas.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 06:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Grr, that makes me want to find them and kick their asses girly vigilant-y style. (I think I may be reading to many comics these days)

I'm glad things didn't progress further and that you are ok + A GIANT HUG.

[identity profile] ghost2.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 07:13 pm (UTC)(link)
What an awful experience. I hope the police find the jerks who did it.

As for the glasses, you might be able to get a relatively cheap replacement through an online site (provided you know your prescription). I just ordered a new pair through Zenni Optical for $22 including postage, and I have a fairly strong prescription. Of course, I don't know if they'll be any good, but I've heard positive things about Zenni and the price is right.

[identity profile] charcoaleyes78.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 07:26 pm (UTC)(link)
that sucks. Hopefully, they are able to get those dudes. That's a prison time case.

Do we still get to see you this weekend???
infiniteviking: A lynx that appears to be gasping in shock, showing a number of sharp teeth. (8)

[personal profile] infiniteviking 2009-06-09 09:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Argh!! At least they didn't hurt you any further. Some humans shouldn't have crawled up out of the ooze in the first place. >/ I hope you're feeling better soon!

shit

[identity profile] undeadphantom.livejournal.com 2009-06-09 10:20 pm (UTC)(link)
I hope you're OK, although you seem to be handling it well. I would call you right now but you are prob at work as is the case most days I call you so please just give me a ring when you feel up to it.
Kisses.

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