Philly stole my wallet

So, this past week I attended the ACP/CMA National College Media Convention in Philadelphia. I went as a member of our student-run newspaper, Cardinal Points. I was super excited to attend this year because I had an awesome time at the last convention in New Orleans. I love going to the sessions with my notepad and scribbling down all of the tips the presenters (who are successful and usually pretty cool) have to say.

I packed all of my stuff and headed to the historical city in van with 7 other Cardinal Points members and our adviser. I was ready to learn, have a few drinks (I'm 21!) and hang out with my friends. I've never been to Philly, so I was psyched to see what the city had to offer.

Now, I'm from a small town. When I say small, I mean TINY. I graduated with about 30 people. It's insanely small. But I love it there. It's quiet, surrounded by beautiful views, farms, trees and family. I love going home because I always feel safe there. I've been to large cities both in the United States and abroad. I like to think that I've moved past the basic "touristy" person who makes dumb mistakes. That is... until I went to Philly and proved myself wrong.

On our third night in the city, I found myself at an Indian restaurant with a couple other Cardinal Points members. We were the only ones in the restaurant around dinner time... a little weird, but nothing to be too concerned about. It was a bit of a "hole-in-the-wall" kind of place. We sat down, and immediately the waiter gave off creeper vibes.

We contemplated leaving, but we were so hungry that we deicded to stay. Big mistake.

The waiter grew increasingly more creepy and annoying. He kept telling stories about his girlfriend back in India, showing us pictures on his phone, asking us irrelevant questions and just lingering around the table. As we began to eat our food, we noticed a strange man sitting behind us for just a few minutes. He got up, spoke to the man in a whisper and left.

We barely noticed it.

When it was time to pay, I saw that my wallet was missing. Shit.

I didn't think about it atthe time, but everything about that experience at the restaurant led me to believe I had been scammed and robbed by these guys. I checked my bank statements, and I saw I had over $400 in charges. UGH.

I cancelled my cards and called the police. They were less than helpful.

I lost two credit cards, my student ID, my license, $25 and a number of gift cards.

I could go on forever about how upset and pissed off I was that I didn't listen to my gut when I thought I should leave, but that will get me nowhere. Lesson learned: ALWAYS listen to what you're gut is saying!