Help replace my stolen laptop
Donation protected
Dear friends and family,
As many of you have probably heard, my laptop was stolen this past friday while I was working at a Starbucks in north Berkeley. I was sitting at a long table, with about 9 other people, when a man ran in, grabbed my laptop by the screen, and rushed out the door. Knowing that I was about to lose a year's worth of hard work, including the vast majority of my M.A. thesis, I ran after him (stupidity and technical troubles had kept me from backing up my work for about a year, so I was beyond desperate to catch him). As I sprinted after him, I shouted out for people to stop him, but everyone was too shocked and confused to take action. As I was running, I felt someone shove me hard from behind, and suddenly I was on the ground in the middle of the road. Luckily the car heading toward me stopped in time to avoid hitting me, but I had fallen right on my knee and it was killing me already. Still lying in the road, I looked up in time to see the man with my laptop jump into a car and disappear, along with all my hard work. I laid there in the road for a minute, trying to understand what had just happened. After I collected myself, I went back inside the cafe and learned that another woman's laptop had also been stolen by a second man--which explained how I ended up on the road. While we waited for the police to arrive everyone in the cafe offered a helping hand. Someone brought me a bag of ice, someone else a wet towel, and another a much appreciated cookie. To my embarrassment, four paramedics arrived and insisted that I let them dress my wounds. After they were done, a very sweet police officer sat with me patiently and took my statement. And then, it was over. I walked to my car and slowly began to come to grips with the fact that I was not going to recover my work (as a dear friend put it, it went something like, “My goodness gracious golly gee holy fuck”). I realized, of course, that I was just going to have to start over, and take it one day at a time. So, that’s where I am now…disappointed, and still a little angry, but looking forward and making plans. And, finally, that’s where you come in : )
Friends, I need your help. The work I lost is irreplaceable, but thankfully the machine I used to produce it is not! I’m hoping to buy a new laptop ASAP, so I can begin to rebuild that damn thesis and finally submit it. I would be very grateful for any help you can offer, $5, $10, anything! The laptop I’m hoping to buy is priced at $1,799 (+ tax) so any dent you can help me make in that cost would be very much appreciated. If y’all are just too generous, I’ll use the leftover funds to purchase an iCloud/dropbox/other storage service to insure that nothing like this ever happens again.
One more request: I’m going to need hundreds of study dates in the coming months, so let me know if you’d like to keep me company in the library this semester : )
Thank you in advance for your generosity!
As many of you have probably heard, my laptop was stolen this past friday while I was working at a Starbucks in north Berkeley. I was sitting at a long table, with about 9 other people, when a man ran in, grabbed my laptop by the screen, and rushed out the door. Knowing that I was about to lose a year's worth of hard work, including the vast majority of my M.A. thesis, I ran after him (stupidity and technical troubles had kept me from backing up my work for about a year, so I was beyond desperate to catch him). As I sprinted after him, I shouted out for people to stop him, but everyone was too shocked and confused to take action. As I was running, I felt someone shove me hard from behind, and suddenly I was on the ground in the middle of the road. Luckily the car heading toward me stopped in time to avoid hitting me, but I had fallen right on my knee and it was killing me already. Still lying in the road, I looked up in time to see the man with my laptop jump into a car and disappear, along with all my hard work. I laid there in the road for a minute, trying to understand what had just happened. After I collected myself, I went back inside the cafe and learned that another woman's laptop had also been stolen by a second man--which explained how I ended up on the road. While we waited for the police to arrive everyone in the cafe offered a helping hand. Someone brought me a bag of ice, someone else a wet towel, and another a much appreciated cookie. To my embarrassment, four paramedics arrived and insisted that I let them dress my wounds. After they were done, a very sweet police officer sat with me patiently and took my statement. And then, it was over. I walked to my car and slowly began to come to grips with the fact that I was not going to recover my work (as a dear friend put it, it went something like, “My goodness gracious golly gee holy fuck”). I realized, of course, that I was just going to have to start over, and take it one day at a time. So, that’s where I am now…disappointed, and still a little angry, but looking forward and making plans. And, finally, that’s where you come in : )
Friends, I need your help. The work I lost is irreplaceable, but thankfully the machine I used to produce it is not! I’m hoping to buy a new laptop ASAP, so I can begin to rebuild that damn thesis and finally submit it. I would be very grateful for any help you can offer, $5, $10, anything! The laptop I’m hoping to buy is priced at $1,799 (+ tax) so any dent you can help me make in that cost would be very much appreciated. If y’all are just too generous, I’ll use the leftover funds to purchase an iCloud/dropbox/other storage service to insure that nothing like this ever happens again.
One more request: I’m going to need hundreds of study dates in the coming months, so let me know if you’d like to keep me company in the library this semester : )
Thank you in advance for your generosity!
Organizer
Kellie Powell
Organizer
Berkeley, CA
