I'm almost too embarrassed to blog about this....

Every time I change bags or even put something down in a different place, something inevitably gets lost. I have a wallet with a keyring on it, and I attach my house keys, car keys, and another miscellaneous key to it. When I went out of town for the weekend, I left the wallet and the car keys at home and took the house keys with me. When I came back and unpacked, I set the wallet and house keys down next to each other, but didn't put the house keys back on the ring.

When I left out to go to work yesterday, I was in a hurry (as usual, I always procrastinate getting out the door to work). I had thrown the wallet on the dining room table with my phone and iPod, then picked them up, stuffing them in my pockets, on my way out the door. I really only remembered to grab my car keys because they were hanging by the front door and I saw them as I was walking out. Our doorknobs are always locked, so unless you make a point to unlock them, the door will lock behind you when you leave.

I ran out the door to work, running late, and with my jacket pockets full of stuff. Went about my normal day at work. Then went to the grocery store afterward. I only intended to spend the $27 I had in my pocket, but I made the mistake of going hungry. $59 on the debit card and one stop at McDonald's later, I was on my way home.

I parked in front of my house and fumbled around in my jacket pockets for the keys. I looked at the keyring, which only had the car keys on them, and told myself that I must have picked the house keys up separately, because I swore they were on the table with everything else. Several minutes of rummaging ensued, and still no house keys.

Now, the cell phone reception in the locker room at work (where my phone stays while I work) is dubious at best. If I leave the phone on, the charge is always low by the end of the night. This time around, the little battery icon is flashing red and the phone is telling me I need to RECHARGE THE BATTERY. I'm now sitting in my car looking at this near-dead phone and thinking I need to call somebody, preferably one of my roommates. Who do I call?

I see one roommate's girlfriend's car parked outside, but not the roommate's car. Normally, by 11:30, they're already gone to bed. However it's unusual, but not unheard of, for them to be out somewhere on a weeknight. I wondered if I just waited a little while if they would show up.

I knew I couldn't hold a call if I tried to, so I sent a text message to both my roommates. "Phone almost dead. Locked out of house. Anybody home?" And I got nothing back.

I rang my doorbell numerous times. I figured if anyone was inside, surely they'd hear it. It's an obnoxious beeping sound. But no one came down. I wondered if it was broken. It's broken before.

So by now it's 12:30 and I haven't made contact with anyone who can get me in my house. I felt badly trying to contact anyone else, because it's late at night. I'd still have to deal with getting into my house the next day. And my phone would still be dead.

So I huddled up in the back seat of the Jeep. With the groceries I had just bought. Made myself as comfortable as possible. Tried to ignore the need to go to the bathroom.

When I woke up at 8:10 this morning, I noticed the roommate's girlfriend's car was gone, so I knew they had been inside and I hoped my roommate was still in there. I rang the doorbell again and again, and eventually she came down.

I had all sorts of plans for this morning, but I chucked them all in favor of a few hours sleep in a bed with covers.

To add to the excitement, at about 3 a.m. I awoke to red flashing lights and sirens. I sat up to find three police cars pulled up at the bus stop in front of my house, right around the corner from where I was parked. I had visions of the cops tapping on my window, wondering why I was parked there sleeping and since we're here, what's up with the expired tabs?

I sort of wanted to get out and watch, but I didn't want to attract their attention or behave suspiciously. So I suspiciously peered over the back seat, through my tinted windows. All I could see was that there was a car parked backwards at the bus stop, and eventually it got towed. That car wasn't there when I got home. I don't know how it got there. I don't know what became of the driver. The cops didn't notice me. And I couldn't even take a cameraphone picture because my phone was dead.

I don't know why I have such a problem locking myself out of my house. This is the second time in the nine months I've lived in this house. Rest assured an extra set of keys will be made and hidden outside in the immediate future. Apparently my other roommate locked herself out of the house for a brief while this weekend also.

*sheepish*