Today I was sitting at my desk, home alone at about 11am - doing some work things. Regular stuff, regular day. From my desk, I can see down our passage that leads to the front door with sweet stained glass detail. The front door leads to our front little courtyard, which leads to the front garden gate. That is the entrance. Cool.
So I'm sitting at my desk at my laptop in the dead quiet house. Usually I have the washing machine or something going for some background noise. Usually I keep the bunnies (Charlie, Lola and Roger) in the back courtyard in the day as they cause chaos and dig and do stupid rabbit things in the front. Usually I have a little lunch time nap (don't tell anyone) and usually I'll have the TV or something on for even more background noise.
All of which did not happen today.
I'd put the living room carpet in the washing machine because I'm a domestic goddess and this is how you wash carpets. Then I didn't know where to hang it up or to dry it as its huge, so I got over it and just left it in the machine. I am ADDICTED to doing washing and will do several loads a day. I love getting things clean and I love the noise of the cycles and it just soothes me. If you want to show me a good time, take me to a laundromat. I was also slightly hung over today from too much red wine last night, so I was pretty over it.
I felt bad about the bunnies being at the back, so I figured I would just let them make a mess in the front and deal with it later. I let them in to the house and scooted them in to the front garden. I had so much to do, so couldn't nap. I had a bit of hangover headache, so I didn't have the TV on. If my friend Candice hadn't come over for wine last night, then today would have turned out very differently.
So I'm sitting at my desk in dead quiet at about 11am / noon and I hear the bunnies freak out. Like, freak the fek out. They're usually squabbling, which means that they chase each other around the garden like idiots as they never catch each other, but whatever. Who am I to judge the lifestyle of rabbits anyway? I could hear them from down the passage, running around in crazy circles, stomping their paws and sort of huffing. They sounded scared like you'd imagine a bunny would react to being chased by a snake or something. I ignored them and then eventually I was muttering under my breath like "really bunnies can't you just get along you silly freaking..." and I stood up to go complain at them, I walked toward the front door and saw three or four very large men in my front garden.
They looked straight at me through the clear glass and when they noticed me they just kept coming toward me. One of them had jumped over the wall - given the bunnies a heart attack and then casually opened the garden gate to let the rest of his friends in. My eyes darted to their hands and I noticed tools but mostly I noticed this guy looking straight at me, and they closed the gate behind them. Our walls are pretty high, meaning that it was just me, these four dudes and three very frightened little rabbits. The situation really wasn't on my side.
I stood frozen about three meters from them, just the stained glass window and a very pathetic little security gate separating us. I ran up and down the passage a few times in terror like you see in cartoons and then I was like PANIC BUTTON. WHERE IS IT? There is one in the boys' room but that was too close to the door, so I ran to the kitchen just HOPING that it would work as I'd never tested that one when the alarm is deactivated. I pushed it and sirens went off and I sort of jumped in the same place shaking for a while, expecting them to be on their way down the passage by then.
I stuck my head around the corner and saw then leave quite casually, and they even closed the gate behind them. Then I heard several doors slam and they sped off in some sort of vehicle. I pressed the panic button like seven times. I phoned Graeme. I shouted and stomped my feet on the wooden floors hoping that my neighbour Nikki would hear me. Nobody came. Nobody called. Graeme arrived and then two of my other neighbours tried to get over the wall to check on me, and Graeme phoned the police who were there within about two minutes. ADT? They took THIRTY MINUTES to arrive. To a panic button. And we had to call them and ask them to come over. Like they were doing us a favour. I cannot hate them TOO much as the panic buttons sirens chased the dudes off but still. 30 minutes guys?
Apparently it was some sort of gang that has been doing the rounds in the Cape Town residential suburbs . Apparently they're called the Crowbar Gang or something. They have this nickname because they can get through ANY doors or gates. They carry jacks and things with them - fully kitted. Apparently it takes them about 20 seconds to open your door and about three minutes to clear out your house.
This means.
If my rabbits were not in the front, and if they had not lost their little bunny heads in fright - I would not have known that anyone was there until they were in the house. And I would not have been able to do anything to stop them. If I hadn't moved the rabbits to the front, if I wasn't a teensy hung over, if I hadn't decided to wash the stupid living room carpet... If I was having a nap, if I was in the bathroom, if I had the TV on as I almost always do... I would not have heard the bunnies running around and kicking a fuss down the passage, outside, through a closed door.
We are jacking up our security in many ways as of tomorrow and we KAKKED on ADT who can still not give me a rational, logical reason for their incompetence. We all make mistakes at work, but you do NOT mess up with a panic button - you know? If Graeme had been in a meeting or had his phone on silent... Guys I was so terrified. You can only imagine. And I am super fed up with crime. I am in serious mama bear mode right now and basically want to join the police force and lock bad people away all the time every day I am so angry. I just want to freak out and run around with a wooden spoon telling people to stand in corners.
These are the sweet little crazy bunnies that saved our house and heaven knows possibly my life today. Everything really does happen for a reason. Someone was watching over us today: Charlie, Lola and Roger. I'm grateful that you guys are such wimps. I love you! You did good bunnies - you did good! I do sort of see this gang going back to their boss tonight being like "My bra, we almost had that flat screen but these rabbits my oke - they were all over the place." My bunnies OWNED you. Douche bags.
