Riddle Me This

This is just a super weird thing that happened to me. It's also ironic considering my last post on not being robbed yet. Well, I can no longer claim to not be a victim of theft. See if you can make any sense of the following tale, because I sure can't. 

So a couple nights ago I decide to go out. You know, to take care of business. It is midnight. I take a few items up to my vacant dorm room, stash my iPod in my bag, throw some clothing on top of said bag, grab my coat, and head out. 

Twelve hours pass. I return around noon the next day. My dorm room looks exactly as I left it, except for the two Venezuelans snuggling in another bed. Not suspicious. Venezuelans are notorious for their cuddle capabilities. I actually hope to go there and study under a guru.

I toss the clothes off my bag, retrieve the iPod inside, which is still in it's case with my headphones plugged in, just like the night before. All is well. Or so I thought.

I go downstairs and struggle to turn the iPod on. Battery is dead. I don't remember leaving it in such a state, but maybe I forgot to turn it off. Finally, after a bit of persuasion, it flashes to life. This is odd, the icon layout is totally different. And all my apps are gone. Did I accidentally do some kind of hard reset that wiped out my iPod? Well that would make some sense because now all my pictures, videos, and a ton of personal writing I had composed in the notes section are completely gone. Sadness envelopes me. Stupid iPod malfunction. 

But wait, there is still something saved on the iPod. Music. The problem is, its not my fantastic collection of thousands of songs that have not only kept me company on this trip, but, in some cases, even evoked inspiration. Instead there is a small pile of less than one hundred tracks. Now the truly terrible feeling sets in, because the main contributors to this rubbish stash of tunes are the likes of The Black Eyed Peas, Chris Brown, Enrique Iglesias, and Rihanna. This trash heap fails to qualify as music.

What kind of sick freak would defile my iPod like this? Hold the phone. I tear the case off my iPod and notice a couple things that were not there before. Oh nice, somebody also scratched it up. And also had Apple engrave it with the name Melody Etezadia? 

Now I get it. This isn't my iPod. Somebody stole mine and replaced it with the exact same model. Ok I really don't get it. So I slipped into my pair of detective underwear and went to work on this mystery. 

I team up with reception at the hostel to discover that no Melody Etezadia is currently checked in, nor has she ever been. What's up plot twist? Nothing I can't handle. 

I dig into the iPods internet history. Looks like a Castor Abreu is the last person to log in to Facebook on this device. Hello email address. 

I use the helpful world of Facebook to investigate these Melody and Castor characters. Melody lives in Massachusetts and is currently there. Castor is also from Massachusetts, but is  traveling in South America at the moment. Melody and Castor are not Facebook friends. I return to reception to investigate Castor. I bet he's still around and I'm going to nail this thieving creep. 

No! I'm too late. Castor has already checked out......a month ago! 

Then a moment of true panic swarms me. My iPod had been in my bag when it was switched. Other contents of that bag were my passport, camera, cash, credit cards, and other things I'd rather not lose. I feel sick as I sprint up the stairs to see what all had been taken. I'm already formulating plans for the emergency mode I'm just about to shift into. 

Wait. It's all still here? But why? Then again, why wouldn't it be? The person who stole my iPod obviously isnt a typical thief because they left me a replacement iPod. Who does that? So it's either a joke or I'm dealing with someone who is proper crazy. 

I spent the next bit of time interrogating other residents of the hostel. No one knows a thing. It slowly became apparent that this is no joke. I was robbed by the most considerate criminal ever.

I was fairly upset over the loss of all my music, pictures, videos, and writing for about an hour. Then I just had to laugh. What a weird thing to happen. Cant be mad. Honestly, it just makes me giggle to think about. 

As far as I can tell, this iPod has changed hands several times through sketchy means. Now that it's in mine, I'm going to do my best to hold on to it. Although, I wouldn't be upset if someone wanted to steal it and upgrade me to a similar model that doesn't leave me stranded in South America with only Katy Perry and Pink to keep me company.