Recovered

As a follow-up to last week's post, here's how I got my iPhone back.

Yes, a student had taken it. He had made two calls to the same number, one lasting about 15 minutes, the other lasting about 30 minutes. I gave this number to Mrs. Atkins on Monday. She called the number. The person on the other end said she didn't remember taking any calls from my number, but that she has a teen-age daughter who might have. The daughter wasn't home yet from school to ask, so Mrs. Atkins agreed to call again on Tuesday to see what this parent found out. The daughter apparently named one of our students as the person who had called her.

Mrs. Atkins tracked this student down. She gave him an ultimatum: produce the phone or get arrested. The phone came out pretty quickly. I got my phone back 2nd period; this student got a 5-day suspension.

Despite the frustration of the experience- and the frustration of having my photos and all my contacts wiped clean, erased- I am actually not as angry at this kid as one might expect. I was actually surprised when I found out who had done it. I've never had problems from him (well, except that he often doesn't turn work in, but he will sometimes participate in class)- he is generally polite, pleasant, likeable. Quite honestly, I think it was matter of the phone just being there. Often, I have students that will touch things or take things that don't belong to them just because they're there. There isn't any real criminal intent- they just don't always seem to get the idea of belonging when it comes to objects. It may not be theirs, but if it doesn't seem to belong to anyone else, it's okay for them to take it.

In this case, I'm sure this kid was at least subconsciously aware that the phone belonged to someone else- but I think the main reason he took it was "because it was there." Simply an opportunity that presented itself, and he took advantage of it. I'm not even sure if he is really aware of just how wrong his actions were. Maybe he is, but I kind-of doubt it.

Anyway, aside from missing photos, missing information, and a missing case, I've come out lucky- mostly, just inconvenienced. (We are going to try to get the case back from him when he comes off suspension, or get him to pay a $30 compensation fee...) I'm not sure how things will be when he gets back. He may act weird or uncertain. For my part, I've pretty much forgiven him and am prepared to let it go.

For now, I'm just ready to enjoy Spring Break!!!

Naked.

My phone is gone. Lost. Stolen.

For now, I blame my exhaustion. I blame my scatter-brained tendencies.
I blame the mentality of IPS students.

I left the phone on my desk, by my computer, sort-of camouflaged amidst all the black- the black cords, the black laptop computer, and the black metal paper tray- but still in sight. It was there at the beginning of 8th period; it was gone by the end of 9th.

Of course, I left it out by mistake. Normally, I am very careful about putting it back in my pocket. I was likely so tired from the previous late night (I didn't get to bed until about 1:30 a.m.) that when students started banging on my door after lunch, I simply forgot it was still on the desk and not in my pocket where it should have been.

That doesn't excuse what happened.

Mrs. Atkins made some suggestions about what to do when I talked to her about the situation after school.
AT&T made some suggestions about what to do when I called them after school.
I'm still really hoping it was intended as just a prank, that whoever took it will either give it back to me on Monday or find a way to sneak it back to my desk on the sly (so I can't actually incriminate them for the deed).

It's still gone, though, and I am currently without a phone. Naked. Exposed. Vulnerable. Powerless. Isolated. that is how I feel, knowing the reason I am without it is because someone took it.

By now, I know that. Because someone used it to make a 40-minute phone call to a landline number at 6:00 p.m., long after it had gone missing from my desk. Still, it hasn't been excessively used. Which gives rise to my hope that maybe it really was just a prank and not a malicious act of theft.

I don't know--and won't know much more until tomorrow. I have temporarily suspended the phone line so any attempts to run up charges should fail. So now, all I can do is wait. And hope. And pray.

Top Five

This isn't necessarily final- I'm still keeping my mind open to other options in case situations and circumstances direct my path another way- but for any who are interested, these are my current top five grad school picks, mostly based on tuition costs, possible living costs, and how I feel about the idea of living there:

(*Note: These are NOT in any particular order, really...)

1. University of Rhode Island

2. Syracuse University

3. University of Washington

4. North Carolina Central University

5. University of Kentucky

I do also like Kent State University, and I would be okay with MU or even IU down in Bloomington (though that would mean I would still have to deal with the ridiculosity of "Governor" Mitch Daniels and the State "Super"intendent Tony Bennett, neither of which I like at all right now.)

I do still like the idea of studying at Dalhousie University in Canada, but I'm really not sure if that would be financially feasible (nor am I certain I would be able to work while going to school there due to the hassle of obtaining a work visa...)

But there you have it. For now. Feel free to let me know what you think.

I promise, I plan to have my newsletter actually mailed/e-mailed by the end of this coming week!