Muggings and such...

Alrighty, sorry I didn’t get the chance to blog last week…block exams kind of take over my life for a few days every month. Anyway, I don’t really have so much of a story, but rather a series of discussion points: (Don’t worry, they will probably be just as entertaining!)

A lot of people wanted to know why I named my blog Kathleen’s Skinny Latte. Ok, not a lot of people, just one. Anywho… I think the first part of the blog’s name is self-explanatory. Kathleen. Ta-dah! I know…if I were more creative I would have been an actor or something. The second part…Skinny latte…is one of my favorite drinks at Starbucks. Actually, it is a staple in the food pyramid for pharmacy students as well as undergrads, med students, nursing students, PT students. Whatever, I think you get the point. When I went to Seattle last year I made a point to stop at the first EVER Starbucks. Nerd moment. But I know that half the people that read this would do it too.

Here is a picture of some of the girls and I at the Starbucks in Seattle… (from left to right) Me, Victoria, Laura, Elise and Emily. The location of the store is in Pike’s Place, which is also one of their coffee roasts. Pike’s Place market is also a wonderful place to get raw oysters and fresh fish if you are into that kind of thing.

Onto my next topic: I ALMOST got mugged. Ok, so I was filling up my tank at the Speedway next to the College of Pharmacy after my evening class at 6:45pm. It was dark but since it’s a popular speedway, I have never really felt unsafe. So as I was filling up the tank in my car, I left my door open and was standing next to it because your not suppose to get inside the car. Getting back in can create static electricity, which can spark, and blow the place up. Normally I do not follow this rule and get back into my car anyway when I cannot stand the cold. But I was in a good mood and the weather was good, so I stayed outside at the pump.

That was when a man approached me and tapped me on the shoulder. I just about jumped out of my skin. He was gaunt and layered with coats and had really poor hygiene. I know Kentucky is known for having bad teeth (and by bad I don’t mean like the British version of bad, I mean missing teeth + abscesses), but this guy had something really gnarly going on inside his mouth.

He was wanting me to give him 35$ because that was what he needed to get the timing belt replaced on his car which had broken down just a little up the road with his wife and four kids. I explained I could give him a dollar because it was the only money I had on me at the time, but of course, it was in the car. I would have had to turn my back on him to get it out. As he continued to try to convince me to go to the ATM with him (yeah…not happening) he started to unzip his jackets while handing me his person items in exchange for taking him to the ATM.

Needless to say, as he continued to talk, he got more aggressive and hostile and started to corner me behind the gas pump and into my car door. I am clam and cool on the outside, but on the inside I am FREAKING OUT! I asked him if he was walking towards the speedway doors and he replied “yes” and I told him I would meet him up there when my pump stopped to give him the dollar. He finally agreed and went into the speedway then immediately back out to wait for me. I walked to him and gave him the dollar. He was so mad that I couldn’t give him more. I then got in my car and drove away.

The situation was ridiculous. I was sad because I knew his elaborate story was just a ploy to get drug money. (There were too many flaws in the story to be true. He could not change a timing belt with his own two hands and depending on the model, it could have been a chain-timing belt instead. And how was he going to get to Autozone? Transportation was not factored in the amount he would need to the timing belt.) I was scared because I was the only person he asked at the Speedway and clearly I was profiled because I had to dress up for lab earlier that day. Then he was not even thankful for what I could give him probably because drug addiction can turn people into very selfish beings.

I guess the bottom line is: always be alert and aware of your surroundings. Oh…and I will be boycotting that speedway because there were plenty of people around and not a single person offered to step in when Mr. Gnarly teeth got hostile. Would I have done the same if this instance didn’t happen to me? Yes, but that will be changing now. I hope when people read this, they will be more aware because that is a Speedway that frequently gets robbed and is a really popular snack place for pharmacy students. I may even invest in some self-defense classes.

The situation could have become worse and I am thankful I came out unharmed in the end.

P.S. Sorry Laura for the British-teeth thing. Of course this certainly is not true for your beautiful set of pearly whites! :)