Just in case you aren’t subscribed to my Twitter feed, my big news of the past two weeks is that someone broke into my house and stole a few things. Long story short, I came home from a trip to DC for work, surprised to find my apartment door unlocked (hmm, I thought, I always lock my door), and even more surprised to notice a few changes (hmm, I swear I had a TV hanging on that wall... weird!). They took several things of moderate to high importance:

• My television
• A stack of sweaters (the red/pink pile), a stack of long-sleeved t-shirts, and my friend’s down jacket
• My computer
• The peripherals to my computer including a USB hub, and my 2 back-up hard drives (wah!!!)

In short, it was a total bummer, and I’m trying to make the best of it (“I’m happy I wasn’t there” or “well, it’s mostly replaceable” or “it’s good, I was feeling like things were a little cluttered in here,” depending on the day). Another way I’m trying to make the best of it is to offer some lessons I’ve learned from the experience. Here they are:

1. Have insurance for your stuff. My only solace when looking at those sad, sad cords hanging limply from the wall was that my homeowners insurance was going to pay to have it replaced. And when I called them, they were so lovely, and comforting and knew just what to say.

You do have insurance right? No?!? Well then, for the love of god, stop reading and get yourself some renters’ or homeowners’ insurance. If you’re lucky and have a family member who served in the armed services, you can get USAA insurance (thanks Grandpa Keenan!). It’s simply the best, and the people there are so wonderful and sweet. If not, they probably have something available through your work, or just search on google. Do it now!

2. Make friends with the cops. I know, I know, you’re subverting the dominant paradigm and the cops are The Man. Great, I understand, but when you call 911 in a panic and the flashing lights show up, you might want to be a little friendly and try to relate. For instance, name drop The Wire or talk about how CSI is so unrealistic to the forensic team who show up to dust for prints. You can even get an head start by saying hi to the beat cops on your block or attending community meetings or hanging out at cop bars. I promise, no one at Critical Mass need ever know. For instance, I happen to know a lovely (and tough) homicide detective. Then when you are in a panic, you have someone on your side to go down to the precinct and yell at them for not calling you back.

3. Back up your computer early and often and *remotely.* There’s nothing that is more of a bummer than thinking: it’s okay someone took my computer, I back it up twice a week! Let me just grab my external hard drive and... they took the hard drive. Rough. Now I will back up in at least two ways: external hard drive (stored away from my computer) and DVD and maybe online. Back up options that might have been a better choice are covered here. Additional ideas? Please add them to the comments!

4. Create an inventory of your stuff. When the cops are over, taking down the report, and ask for the serial numbers of everything that was stolen, do you have any idea where to find them? I sure didn’t. So the moment I purchased my new television I entered everything I knew about it into a brand new Google Spreadsheet. Serial number, model number, purchase date, cost, the whole nine. I also added non-stolen items: iPhone, digital camera, memory card...

Also, take a few minutes to walk around your home and take photos of everything, with a focus on important items. Then upload them to Flickr as private. Sure, this sounds like a mom thing to do, but I promise a few hours now will save you time and frustration later.

Other ideas for home inventories are here Add it to Things as a weekend project for a rainy day.

5. Find an advocate. Just like when you’re going to the doctor for something big, you need an advocate on your side. Someone who will work from home with you when you feel scared to leave your house. Someone who will bring you comfort food. Someone whom you can send an email to with the subject line “I give up on trying to reach anyone at the police station” who will then call that police station and pretend to be you. (Thank you, Alexis!)

6. Trust yourself. Everyone who hears your story will have a million “suggestions” and “advice” on how you could have done everything different/better. Smile like Hillary Clinton and thank them, and then just do what you need to do. You need to treat yourself to a Wii and spend all of your waking moments playing Guitar Hero? Go for it. You need to take a day off from calling the mean lady at the 77th precinct? Not a problem. You need to whine about it? Feel free to call me.

So, those are my lessons learned. I know some of these sound excessive, but I think all of them will help you to feel like you have some control when you walk in to a house stripped bare of your electronic devices.

UPDATES:
1. INSURED. I'm happy to report that after reading my sad, sad story of loss, two of my friends got renters' insurance. Congrats! This is my last motherly reminder to you to *get insurance now.*

2. LOCKED. When I was buying my new tv, the guy at the store told me that you can actually lock your tv to the wall, by putting something in the hole at the bottom of the bracket. Genius. My padlock is being amazon primed to my house as we speak, so future thieves beware. While on Amazon, I also picked up a new laptop lock. There is no clear-cut best product, so I bought one that I hope can't be picked with a penny, a bic pen, or a piece of paper.

3. RESTORED. So, it turns out Leopard doesn't let you move music from your iPhone or iPod back to your computer. The Apple Care experts told me that they might be able to restore iTunes Store purchases, but not any music I'd ripped from CDs. (Thanks, Apple.) Then I found Senuti--what a godsend. You can easily move music onto your computer from your iPod/Phone with no problem. (Now, if someone can help me figure out how to deauthorize all computers even though I've already done it once this year, I'd really appreciate it!)